Florida Girl: Short Stories of Family, Community & History: 1804-1969

By Barbara J. Sorey

Florida Girl is a personal and historical depiction of a way of life that was typical for many African Americans families whose existence in this country began with the shackles of slavery continuing into the Civil Rights era of the nineteen sixty's.

In the search to find links to her family history the author discovers the white slave owner of her paternal Great Great Grandfather Henry Sorey. She has also traced the maternal link to her Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother, Willis and Easter Smith Dixon.

These stories could not be told without reflecting on her life and sharing a part of her soul. The author maintains the love, respect and admiration for her family and a close-knit community.

She is thankful that she has lived to write her stories. Stories that are part of the legacy of herself; her family; Clearwater, Florida; Pinellas County and the state of Florida.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Oct 24, 2007
• ISBN: 9780595917150

Barbara J. Sorey

Author Barbara J. Sorey, continues to write her memoirs based on real life experiences and situations. The stories in Florida Girl reflect an existence that was familiar to many African Americans trying to maintain normalcy in their lives with love, strength and support while dealing with the hostilities of bigotry and prejudice.

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Short Stories of Family, Community & History: 1804-1969

Barbara J. Sorey

iUniverse, Inc.

New York Lincoln Shanghai

Florida Girl

Short Stories of Family, Community & History: 1804—1969

Copyright © 2007 by Barbara J. Sorey

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-0-595-47438-7 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-0-595-91715-0 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

FOREWORD

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

REFERENCES

REFLECTIONS

THE FAMILY QUILT: PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER

PEOPLE, PLACES, THINGS & HAPPENINGS

SPECIAL TIMES

THE THREE J’S

RELATIVES COME TO VISIT

SINGING FOR JESUS

A CHANGE IS GONNA COME

THE CLASS OF 1969

In retrospect becoming a writer is what I have been groomed to be. The development began early in my life.

For as long as I can remember having books around our home and being able to read were always requirements in our household.

Vivid memories of Momma and I sitting in the wooden chairs, at our table in the kitchen are scenes that will forever be remembered. She’d give me paper and pencil and carefully pronounce the words that she wanted written.

Momma had very little education, but she always kept a Webster’s dictionary around the house to use as a reference for spelling words that she found to be difficult.

Lord knows I’ve written countless grocery lists for Momma to take with her grocery shopping.

If there were a name of a product that I couldn’t spell, she made sure that she saved the label of the package for me to copy. Seldom did she have to repeat this practice on a word or name that was previously introduced.

There were the times, as a young girl, that I held the office of church Secretary as well as preparing and participating in the annual Spelling Bees, which allowed for more opportunities to write, spell and pronounce different words and names.

Momma would surely be mystified and distressed at the same time to hear that a lot of children today can’t read when they enter first grade. I can hear her say, Judy you got to know how to read ‘cause that’s the only way you are going to be able to learn anything.

She was right.

This book is dedicated to the memory of over one hundred and twenty African American families that lived in an area of Clearwater, Florida known as the Heights or Mack Dixon Subdivision.

♦ ♦ ♦

Ash, Bailey, Barber, Barnes, Battle, Berry, Boyd, Boykins, Breland, Bryant, Buchanan, Carnes, Carter, Catia, Chandler, Chisholm, Clay, Coley, Collins, Crowder, Cruder, Curtis, Darby, Davis, Dixon, Dorsey, Ellis, Faust, Frazier, Freeman, Gainey, Gardner, Garrison, George, Gibson, Glen, Goodloe, Grannison, Grant, Gray, Green, Hamilton, Hammonds, Harper, Harris, Hatchett, Heard, Henry, Hodges, Hopkins, Isaacs, Jackson, Jenkins, Jones, Jordan, Keene, Kerbo, Kitchen, Larkin, Lee, Leslie, Lewis, Lloyd, Longworth, Lyles, Mack, Martin, Merricks, Miller, Miss Cherry, Miss Patsy, Miss Seenie, Mr. Moses, Mr. Will, Mobley, Moore, Morgan, Morrow, Murray, Nattiel, Neal, Odums, Oliphant, Payne, Payton, Pearson, Pendleton, Pettis, Pittman, Porter, Preston, Rayner, Reed, Reddick, Rembert, Rhodes, Richardson, Rawls, Robinson, Rooks, Rowe, Sanchez, Scrivens, Seymour, Shaw, Slocumb, Speights, Swanson, Thomas, Todd, Triplett, Turner, Wagner, Walker, Wallace, Warren, Washington, Waters, Weaver, Whittier, Williams, Witherspoon,

Woolridge, Young, Yopp, and Zipper families.

♦ ♦ ♦

At this writing descendants of the Keene, Lewis, Merricks, Morgan, Odums, Rembert, Rooks, Turner and Wallace families continue to maintain property on the original home sites.

New Zion Missionary Baptist Church and Friendship Missionary Baptist Church are two of three original churches that continue to open their doors every Sunday Morning for worship. Many descendants of the early settlers maintain their membership at these sanctuaries.

Closing the doors to Williams Elementary School, rezoning laws and eminent domain contributed to the demise of this once sprawling African American community.

INTERNET SEARCH—AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE, BLACK HISTORY, AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY, FLORIDA

HISTORY

CONTACT THE AUTHOR at