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The older gentleman on the left in this photo is my maternal great uncle William Middlebrooks, born circa September 1894 in Woodbury, Meriwether County, GA. Uncle Bill was a real character; suave and debonair- a gambler, a fighter, a drinker. Uncle Bill didn't take NO mess. As the story goes, Uncle Bill had to flee his home in Woodbury under the "cloak of darkness". Family tradition says he was in an "altercation" with a white man over a pair of shoes, and was smuggled out of town with the sheriff "hot on his trail". He was first taken to Griffin, GA, but eventually made his way to Chicago where he changed his name to Bill Sutton. He later returned to Georgia where he died in August 1977.
Shoot! Uncle Bill sounds like my kinda Guy! In that day (and this one) if a black man bowed down it was OVER. He had to write his own rules -- yep, I wouldn't call him a Black Sheep at all... I'd call him a Hero -- living life on his own terms!:-)
ReplyDeleteRest Uncle Bill.
Luckie.
What a wonderful picture thank you for sharing. Who is the man on the right, what a wonderful smile.
ReplyDeleteLuckie, you're right-Uncle Bill did live his life on his own terms. That's one of the things that mad him so special.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Life Goes On. The man on the right is Uncle Bill's nephew Robert.