The Thomas Warren Wisnatt came into the world on January 29th,

1947 in Pritchard, Alabama.

He was the last and final child born to Willie and Emma Wistnat.

But Thomas' childhood wasn't anything like the one of his three older siblings.

When Thomas was born, Emma Wistnatt, his mother, made an announcement and told her husband,

Willie, that she would no longer be sleeping with him. Willie more than likely didn't take

this statement seriously, or at the very least believed that

he could change Emma's mind about it. But the truth is that Willie wasn't very good at convincing

anyone to do anything. He was described as a timid and physically weak man. Where Emma was strong-willed

and opinionated, Willie was kind of a pushover. He usually

ended up being bullied into doing all the chores at home, but that was only when he wasn't drinking.

The truth was that Willie was also an alcoholic who rarely worked, and when he did, he usually

ended up spending most of his earnings on alcohol.

The children spoke of the times that Emma would go through Willie's wallet, as soon as he got

home from work and compare what was left to his pay slip. Whenever there was money missing,

the house would burst into a furious argument. Quote, she would fuss on him saying, you stole it.

Thomas's older sister Evelyn later recounted one of these fights between her parents,

and he would tell her that he had to pay so-and-so, like union dues. My daddy really had to steal

his own money to get anything. Willie also found an extra bit of courage

when he drank, and that was when he believed that he could turn things around with his wife,

Emma. Quote, Willie, go back to bed. Emma would begin shouting, waking everyone up in the house

in the middle of the night. Leave me alone. I told you to leave me alone.

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