For the record, I don’t believe for one minute Sallie Jollett Clift was a black sheep. But she has a bit of a reputation in our family lore. Not deserved, I say.
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| 11 May 1872 - 7 Jul 1944 |
Those whispering behind her back said she ran a house of ill-repute. I understand how that rumor got started.
Sallie and her husband George divorced in 1914. What’s a woman to do? She took in boarders. In 1920 and in 1930, she is listed as a keeper of a public boarding house.
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| George and Sallie Clift with children Vernon and Daisy who died in a fire in 1897 |
In 1930, no boarders are listed at all. Sallie’s grandchildren were there. I doubt she could run a bawdy house with babies under foot. (Click on the image to enlarge it.)
The other reason I don’t think she was a black sheep is that Sallie was present at all the family reunions posing happily with her sisters. Mary Frances Jollett Davis was a church-going woman who had her own hymnal. Emma Jollett Coleman dressed in the dark somber clothing associated with the Dunkards, and her husband was the official prayer-deliverer at family events. I doubt these two would have tolerated Sallie’s presence if she was up to no good.
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| Standing: Laura Sullivan, Victoria Breeden, Sallie Clift, Mary Frances Davis Seated: Emma Coleman |
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| Victoria Breeden, Sallie Clift, Mary Frances Davis, Leanna Knight, Laura Sullivan, Emma Coleman |
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| Standing: Emma Coleman, Laura Sullivan, Mary Mary Frances Davis, Sallie Clift, Victoria Breeden, Ulysses Jollett Seated: James Franklin Jollett and Eliza Coleman Jollett |
Of course, this is just my take on it. If Sallie was running a brothel, then it’s because she was doing what she could to take care of her sons, daughter, and grandchildren. Maybe that would make her a grey sheep.
Wendy
Wendy
