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Benjamin Fitzpatrick was the seventh of eight children of Bird Fitzpatrick and Alice Cross Fitzpatrick. He was born in Letohatchee, Alabama on September 18, 1900. His family moved to South Florida in 1903, and he lived there for the rest of his life, except for two years as a young man working for the Sante Fe Railroad in Arizona. Because of financial considerations, he had to leave school in the tenth grade. He became a dragline and crane operator. During the great Mississippi River flood of 1928 he worked on the levees in the vicinity of Memphis.

Frances Mae Thompson was the youngest child of Francis Alexander Thompson and Virginia Caroline Vereen Thompson. She was born in the Sylvan Grove community in Dale County, Alabama on May 17, 1908. She was orphaned in childhood and then lived with her brother Hartford and his family. At the age of 12 she made a crop, using farm equipment of her father's. She graduated from a business college in Lake City, Florida, where she was living with her brother Ben and his family.

Benjamin Fitzpatrick and Frances Mae Thompson were married in Marianna, Florida, on June 9, 1930. They then lived in Miami for the next thirty-two years. Both their sons were born there. In 1962 they moved to Boca Raton, Florida,where they lived the rest of their lives. Frances died on September 13, 1981, and Benjamin died on January 7, 1999.

Daniel Fitzpatrick was born on May 28, 1931. He attended public schools in Miami and in Midland City, Alabama, where he graduated from high school in 1948. He attended Auburn University and received the DVM degree in 1954. After three years in the army and two years in the employ of the State of Florida he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he practiced veterinary medicine until his retirement in 1989. In recent years he has worked as a consultant for the Tennessee Board of Veterinary Medicine. He married Charlotte Christine Johnson of Johnson City, Tennessee on September 30, 1955. They reside at 6618 Holt Road, Nashville, Tennessee 37211.

Ben Fitzpatrick, Jr. was born on September 28, 1932. He attended public schools in Miami. He received the BS degree from Auburn University in 1952 and the PhD degree from the University of Texas in 1958. He taught mathematics until his retirement from Auburn in 1992. He then taught in San Antonio, Texas until 1996. He married Marjorie Mae Higgins of Adamsville, Alabama on May 4, 1953.They reside at 7630 ALA HWY 147 N, Waverly, Alabama 36879.

Ann Charlotte Fitzpatrick is the daughter of Daniel and Charlotte. She was born in Knoxville, Tennessee on August 10, 1958. She attended public and private schools in Tennessee and graduated from David Lipscomb High School in 1976. She received the BS degree from Auburn University in 1982. She has since worked as an executive in the business sector. She married Willie Gable of Opelika, Alabama on June 10, 1979. They reside at 6635 Holt Road, Nashville, Tennessee 37211. They have one daughter, Jessica Lee Gable, born in Nashville on April 27, 1988.

Ben George Fitzpatrick is the son of Daniel and Charlotte. He was born in Nashville on August 29, 1960. He attended public and private schools in Tennessee and graduated from David Lipscomb High School in 1978. He received the BS and MS degrees from Auburn University in 1981 and 1983, respectively, and the PhD degree from Brown University in 1988. For a number of years he was a mathematics professor, first at the University of Tennessee and then at North Carolina State University. He now lives at 4435 Coldwater Canyon Avenue, Apt 205, Studio City, CA 91604 and is the co-owner of a technology consulting firm. He has three sons, Ian Thomas Fitzpatrick, born in Providence, Rhode Island on March 24, 1989, Kyle Ryan Fitzpatrick, born in Knoxville, Tennessee on July 3, 1991, and Zachary Connor Fitzpatrick, born in Raleigh, North Carolina on July 2, 1996.

Susan Frances Fitzpatrick is the daughter of Ben, Jr and Marjorie. She was born in Dallas, Texas on February 26, 1954. She attended public schools in Alabama and graduated from Auburn High School in 1972. She received the BS degree from Auburn University in 1976, and the MS and EdS degrees from Troy State University in 1986 and 1991, respectively. She teaches mathematics in the public schools of Alabama. She has two daughters, Katherine Michelle Hinds, born June 15, 1981, and Dinah Rebecca Adkins, born July 29, 1983. Both were born in Auburn. She married Kelly Warren Pool of Lanett, Alabama on June 26, 1992. They reside at 1602 Burbank St., Dothan, Alabama 36303.

Jack David Fitzpatrick is the son of Ben,Jr. and Marjorie. He was born in Austin, Texas on September 29, 1955. He attended public schools in Alabama and graduated from Auburn High School in 1974. He worked as a musician for a number of years. He received the BS degree from Auburn University in 1992 and is employed in the Ralph Brown Draughon Library.

Kenneth Daniel Fitzpatrick is the son of Ben,Jr and Marjorie. He was born in Austin, Texas on November 27, 1956. He attended public schools in Alabama and graduated from Auburn High School in 1975. He works as a carpenter. He resides in Jonas Ridge, North Carolina.

The sketchy bare bones history given above does give an accurate picture of the emphasis Frances, Benjamin, and boys placed on education. It does not tell much about the everyday life, the humor, the enjoyment of good food, the joy of reading, the pleasure afforded by music, the pride taken by family members in each others' achievements, above all, the urging by older family members to younger ones to "make something of yourself". It would take an entire treatise to deal with these matters, and it is not clear that it could ever be done to an author's satisfaction, much less to that of other family members.