Sunday's Obituary: Sallie Jollett Clift

Sunday’s Obituary is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers asking us to post obituaries along with other information about that person.

Mrs. Clift Dies; Funeral Today At Shenandoah

SHENANDOAH, July 9 – Mrs. Sallie Clift, 73, widow of George T. Clift and a former resident of Shenandoah, died Friday in Garfield Hospital in Washington following an illness of six weeks. She had been in failing health for several years.

Mrs. Clift, who made her home in Shenandoah until six months ago when she went to live with her children in Washington, was a daughter of the late James and Lucy Ann Jollett, of Greene County.

Surviving are two sons, Leonard and Raymond Clift, of Washington; one daughter, Mrs. Wilson Suite, of Washington; three sisters, Mrs. A. J. Coleman and Mrs. Laura Sullivan of Shenandoah; and Mrs. W. B. Davis, of Harrisonburg; seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Monday afternoon at two o’clock from the Shenandoah United Brethren Church. Services will be conducted by Elder E. L. Cave assisted by the Rev. P. W. Fisher.

The body will arrive Monday morning and lie in state at the church until the hour of the funeral.

And from The Page News & Courier edition of 13 July 1944 page 4 column 6

Mrs. Sallie Catherine Clift, age 73 years, widow of the late George T. Clift, died at Garfield Hospital, Washington, D. C. on Friday, July 7, 1944 after several years of illness.

Mrs. Clift had been a patient in the hospital three weeks prior to her death.  A heart condition following several parlytic strokes ending in pneumonia, caused her death.

 Mrs. Clift was born in Greene County on May 10, 1871 and spent her younger life there. She was the daughter of the late James Franklin Jollette and Lucy Ann Shifflett Jollette. After her marriage to Mr. Clift she moved to Shenandoah. During the later years she spent a good part of her time with her children in Washington. She was a member of the Shenandoah U. B. Church and her body was brought there early Monday morning where it lay in state until 2:00 in the afternoon when her funeral was conducted by Elder B. L. Cave assisted by the Rev. P. W. Fischer.

 Mrs. Clift is survived by her three children: Leonard K. Clift, Raymond B. Clift, and Mrs. (Alda) Wilson Suite; seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren and three sisters:  Mrs. A. J. (Emma) Coleman, Mrs. W. B. (Mollie) Davis, and Mrs. W. J. (Laura) Sullivan. Two sisters and three brothers are deceased:  Mrs. Victoria Breeden of Washington, D.C., Mrs. Mitchel (Leanna) Knight of Greene County, U. F. Jollette of Baltimore, B. L. Jollette and Isaac Jollette, of Green County. Burial was in the U. B. Cemetery.

Wendy

© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

James Franklin Jollett's Kids: Sallie Clift

As part of my “Genealogy Do-Over” efforts AND to force myself to get crackin’ on my James Franklin Jollett book, Jollett Reunion, I will be researching and writing brief biographies of James Franklin, his wives, and his children.

Sallie Jollett

In May 11, 1872, James Franklin and Lucy Ann Jollett welcomed their sixth child, another girl, and named her Sallie Catherine. She attended school near Swift Run and learned to read and write.

At age 19, she married George Thomas Clift of Page County and moved to Shenandoah where George worked for the Norfolk & Western Railroad. They started a family right away. Within two years, they were the perfect American family with a little boy and a little girl. In five years, though, their perfect life was no more. Their two precious children died due to injuries from a house fire. Little Vernon died just 2 weeks after his 5^th birthday, and Daisey followed a week later.

George and Sallie Clift
Vernon and Daisey
about 1894 or 1895

Although Sallie and George had 3 more children, their marriage was never the same. George’s work with the railroad required quite a bit of travel allowing him to explore a number of relationships with other women over a period of many years. In 1913, Sallie discovered love letters hidden in various places around their house and property.

There was no reason for Sallie to whimper and beg George to remain faithful. There was no reason to profess her love anymore. His treatment of her had become abusive over time, both verbally and physically. When Sallie found the letters, she also found some inner strength to take action.

Sallie tracked down the latest girlfriend and knocked on her door. Sallie demanded she hand over George’s love letters or she would tell the girl’s parents.

Over 35 letters and postcards were entered into evidence in the divorce case of Sallie C. Clift vs. George T. Clift. All Sallie wanted was sole custody of their three children and money to help take care of them. Although George tried to blame Sallie, claiming SHE was the abusive one, SHE was the one who lost interest in their marriage, SHE was the one who abandoned him by refusing to cook his meals, the Court sided with her, granted a divorce, and awarded her $7 in monthly alimony.

The two younger children had nothing to do with George Clift after that, but the oldest son and his wife kept in contact, perhaps out of pity or obligation.

 

Sallie Clift about 1942 or 1943
used by permission of great-grandchildren

The children obviously understood what their mother had endured for so many years, and they sympathized with her plight. They appreciated all she had done to take care of them. After she died, her daughter Alda and Alda’s daughters wrote poems for the newspaper in memory of Sallie.

Sallie Catherine JOLLETT (11 May 1872 Greene Co, VA – 7 Jul 1944 Washington D.C.) and George Thomas CLIFT (Sep 1865 Page Co, VA - ?) married 30 Mar 1891 Luray, Page Co, VA

1. Vernon F. CLIFT (15 Mar 1892 Shenandoah, VA – 30 Mar 1897 Shenandoah, VA)
2. Daisey L. CLIFT (8 Aug 1893 Shenandoah, VA – 8 Apr 1897 Shenandoah, VA)
3. Leonard Jennings CLIFT (29 May 1899 Shenandoah, VA – 18 Dec 1977 Calvert Co, MD) and Lena Mae SECRIST (8 Mar 1900 Roanoke, VA – 3 Jan 1980 Prince Georges, MD) married 31 Aug 1918 Hagerstown, MD
4. Raymond Bertram CLIFT (27 Sep 1900 Shenandoah, VA – 14 Jun 1985 Arlington, VA) and Jessie Rebecca Oliver LLOYD (26 Aug 1908 Augusta Co, VA – 19 Mar 1991 Alexandria, VA) married 21 May 1927 Baltimore, MD
5. Alda Beatrice CLIFT (5 Jun 1905 Shenandoah, VA – Jun 1982 Prince Georges, MD) and 1) Leon Dewey Monger (25 Jul 1899 Page Co, VA – 15 Apr 1953 Norfolk, VA) married 15 Jan 1920 Hagerstown, MD; 2) Wilson SUITE (1905 St Marys Co, MD – Jul 1960 Washington D. C.)  married after 1930

Wendy

© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - With a Little Help from the Non-Population

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued a challenge:  write one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It can be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem – anything that focuses on one ancestor.

Our challenge this week is to look at one of the non-population schedules to learn more about our ancestors. In my on-going quest to sort out the various William and Sarah/Sallie Sampsons of Greene County, Virginia, I recently reviewed the non-population agricultural schedules.

There were two William Sampsons in Greene when the special census was conducted in 1850. Both had wives named Sarah. Both couples were roughly the same age. While only one Sarah was Sarah Jollett, both couples lived near other Jolletts or married Jollett cousins making it difficult to determine which Sampson couple is “mine.”

I wonder if the size of farm and near neighbors could shed some light on this puzzle.

1 – William Sampson

1850 Non-Population Agriculture Schedule

100 acres improved land and 142 unimproved

Value of the farm $700 and value of tools $100

2 horses, 2 cattle (non-milking), 7 sheep, 12 swine; value of livestock $250

Production: 100 bushels wheat, 18 bushels rye, 500 bushels Indian corn, 45 bushels oat, 300 pounds of tobacco, 22 pounds of wool, 10 bushels Irish potatoes, 50 pounds of butter, 15 pounds of flax, 1 bushel of flaxseed; value of products $100

Value of homemade manufactures $40

Value of slaughtered animals $80

This William lived close to Lucy Sampson, widow of John Sampson and mother of one of the Williams. His close neighbors in the non-population schedule included John McMullan, James Knight, Jacob Hammer, and Hiram Eddins.

These neighbors match those of the 1850 census in which the household of William and Sarah included two of five children, Maria and Franklin. I know this is Lucy Sampson’s son William and his family because William and Franklin took care of selling some land that had been left to William’s brother in their father’s will.

2 – William Sampson 

1850 Non-Population Agriculture Schedule

76 acres improved land and 71 acres unimproved

Value of the farm $50 and value of tools $6

1 horse, 1 work cow, 3 other cattle, 6 swine; value of livestock $70

Production: 30 bushels wheat, 10 bushels rye, 150 bushels Indian corn, 20 pounds of butter, 1 ton of hay, 1 pound of hops

Value of homemade manufactures $20

Value of slaughtered animals $45

This William’s neighbors included John Jarrell, William Conway, Rufus K. Fitzhugh, John Teal, and William Sims. Close neighbors in the 1850 census were Jarrell, Conway, and Sims. Jarrell and Conway are also mentioned in a deed from 1850 in which this William gave his land to his wife and the children listed in the 1850 census.

What does matching the census and non-population schedule do for my research? Probably not a whole lot. I had previously determined that the second William and Sarah are mine based on ages and gender of children in the 1840 census. However, a closer look at the description of the two Williams’ farms and production has reinforced the impression I’ve long held: that the OTHER William and Sarah were more well-to-do than MY William and Sarah.  

© 2015, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Tombstone Tuesday: Sallie Jollett Clift

Tombstone Tuesday is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers which asks us to create a post including an image of a gravestone of one or more ancestors; it may also include a brief description of the image or the ancestor.

Image Source:  Findagrave.com
Photo by Judy Campbell

Sarah Catherine "Sallie" Jollett Clift

11 May 1872 -  7 July 1944

 

Sallie (I wrote about her HERE and HERE) is buried in the EUB Church Cemetery, also known as Coverstone Cemetery, in Shenandoah, Virginia where many of her sisters and brother are also buried.  It’s lovely to visit this cemetery where so many of the family are together one last time. 

Black Sheep Sunday: Sallie Jollett Clift

Black Sheet Sunday is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers asking us to create a post with the main focus being an ancestor with a “shaded past.”

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.

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. 

George and Sallie Clift
with children Vernon and Daisy
who died in a fire in 1897

In 1920, the two boarders listed worked for the railroad.  Now I can see how maybe these men invited women “to see their etchings,” but there’s nothing to suggest Sallie was acting as a madam. 

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.

Standing: Laura Sullivan, Victoria Breeden,
Sallie Clift, Mary Frances Davis
Seated:  Emma Coleman

Victoria Breeden, Sallie Clift, Mary Frances Davis,
Leanna Knight, Laura Sullivan, Emma Coleman

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