Thomas Farris, Sr. in Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1913 with his first two sons, Carter and "Fab." The Farris family emigrated from Syria, now Lebanon, before WW1. His father was named Farris Thomas Shamoon, a source of family puzzlement. They, like a number of the other emigree families from their community outside Beirut, found work cutting timber in southern Mississippi. A relative in Greenville encouraged them to come to that city, and then helped them get started in the grocery business in the all black "Riverton" section of Clarksdale. Thomas traveled back to Lebanon after his wife's death, and unexpectedly died there on October 31, 1957. Fab was one of the most famous showmen and gamblers in the Delta. (Mrs. Farris Brooks collection, ca. 1913)