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=Ethel Blair= ==Early life== A dubious story is related by Patricia Bosworth in her biography of Montgomery Clift about his mother Ethel's birth. According to Patricia's report, she was told that Ethel "Sunny" had been born from the union of Woodbury "Woody" Blair and Maria "Bobbie" Anderson. Maria had formed an attachment to Woodbury, but Maria's mother Elizabeth disapproved of the relationship. Maria and Woodbury continued meeting without her mother's approval and eventually married secretly. When her mother learned about the marriage, she either had it annuled, or forced Maria to do so. She then kept Maria a virtual prisoner, sometimes guarded by her sister Sophie. (This part of the story '''might''' have occured in Washington, D.C.) Maria however, according to this story, had already became pregnant. When it came time for the child's birth, they moved, in the Summer of 1888 to Philadelphia, [[Pennsylvania]] where Maria gave birth on 29 Sep 1888. The birth certificate, according to Patricia Bosworth, records her parents as "Sophie and Frank Adams". Her mother forced Maria to agree to give the child up for adoption. So far, this much of the story was told to Ethel, when she was 18, by Dr Edward Montgomery who had been the attending physician at her birth, and who had kept a watch over her, even though she was adopted by the Fogg family at the age of 1. Sophia Anderson, Maria's sister is reported to have told Sunny decades later, that Woodbury Blair was never told of his wife's pregnancy or the birth of their child. The doctor who delivered the child, Edward E Montgomery, kept her for a year, and finally she was adopted by the Charles Fogg family of Germantown. In 1895 Charles Fogg is listed as a machinist, age 48, while his wife Elizabeth is age 40. Evidently they had no children of their bodies. When Sunny was 18, she went to Cornell on a scholarship. It was then that Dr. Montgomery told her this story of her birth. The Blair family never accepted this story, at least they had not by the time of Patrica's book, published in 1978, calling it "hogwash" according to her report. Some of the Anderson family did accept the story. Sunny never met her mother, although she is quoted by Patricia as stating that she wrote letters that were never answered. Patricia states that Sunny learned that her mother "had recently died" in 1925/6, and at that time re-doubled her efforts to contact her family. The first odd question is that Montgomery Blair lived until 1933. So where is the evidence that she contacted him? Seven years is an awful long time. The second odd question arises when it's realized that Sunny's grandmother Elizabeth had died in 1905. This leaves on the table, why her mother and father, who outlived the supposed "evil grandmother" by 20 years, did not contact Sunny. Something about the story passed down, doesn't quite ring true. If Maria was being "held prisoner" this certainly ended by 1905. And in fact she was a co-executor of her mother Elizabeth's estate that year. Another rather interesting note, is that after I'd rapidly skimmed the list of contents of the "Patricia Bosworth papers" I saw no references to any member of the Blair or the Anderson family. I find that a bit too odd. If you, as an author, had heard such a bizarre story, wouldn't you follow it up to try to learn it's veracity? If you, as a mother were "determined" to be acknowledged by your relatives, wouldn't you actually simply go to Washington DC and pester them directly in person, instead of writing dozens of letters that go unanswered? Knowing that your father and mother are yet living? I'm fairly skeptical of something here... I'm just not quite sure what yet. ==Marriage== Ethel married in Oct 1914 to [[#William Brooks Clift|William Brooks Clift]] who she had met while both were at Cornell University in New Jersey. The family apparently traveled to various places as Bill was firstly an engineer "working on a dam" in Mississippi, and then a traveling bond salesman, possibly based in Nashville where he states he is living Jun 1917. They reportedly had several hard years before Bill was nominated as vice-president of Omaha National Bank. Ethel pregnant by the Summer of 1918 was told that at the end of pregnancy, she had to lie still to avoid problems. She was a rather small woman, which might explain this unusual advice. For the last six weeks of her pregnancy she lay in the hospital and the head of nursing Emma Wilke was so amazed that she decided to become the Clift's family nurse. In Omaha, Ethel gave birth to the couple's eldest child William Brooks Clift Jr in February 1919. A few newspaper articles, decades later, refer to Bill as Monty's "younger" brother. But this is not true. By 1919 the Clift's were living in Omaha, Nebraska and now well-off with a three-story house with stained glass, a private maid and also nurse Emma Wilke. A year later, Ethel again became pregnant, but this time with twins, and toward the end of 1920 she gave birth to at first Roberta, but several hours later, also Montgomery. When Montgomery Clift died in 1966, his mother Ethel was then living in New York City, while her daughter Roberta, then married to Robert C McGinnis was living in Austin, Texas. Ethel died in June 1988 in Austin, Travis County, [[Texas]], probably living with or near her daughter. ==Primary sources for 3== *[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&db=1900usfedcen%2c&=%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c&gsfn=Charles&gsln=Fogg&sx=&gs1co=1%2cAll+Countries&gs1pl=1%2c+&year=&yearend=&sbo=0&sbor=&ufr=0&wp=4%3b_80000002%3b_80000003&srchb=r&prox=1&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&pcat=35&fh=93&recid=60816542&recoff=1+2&fsk=CIAAHbIBe-43-9e&bsk=&pgoff= 1900 Census of Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania] *[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=1910USCenIndex%2c&rank=0&=%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c&gsfn=Ethel&gsln=Fogg&sx=&gs1co=1%2cAll+Countries&gs1pl=1%2c+&year=&yearend=&sbo=0&sbor=&ufr=0&wp=4%3b_80000002%3b_80000003&srchb=r&prox=1&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&pcat=35&fh=20&recid=73507095&recoff=1+2 1910 Census of Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania] *[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=6482&iid=TN-1877598-3887&fn=William+Brooks&ln=Clift&st=r&ssrc=&pid=28200957 ''World War I Draft Registration Cards''] : "William Brooks Clift; resident of 120 24th Avenue South, Nashville, Tennessee; born 18 Dec 1886 in Chattanooga, Tenn; bond salesman for National City Co. of 137 South LaSalle, Chicago; married; Capt. Infantry, 4 years, Cornell University, NJ; claims exemption because of Support of Wife; Signed W B Clift; Medium height, slender build, blue eyes, dark brown hair, no disabilities; signed by City Clerk Chicago IL, but recorded at Nashville 5 June 1917" *[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=7488&iid=NYT715_3792-0206&fn=Ethel&ln=Clift&st=r&ssrc=&pid=2001939314 ''New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957''], Sailing on the "Fort Victoria" out of Hamilton, Bermuda on 30 Jan 1926, arriving New York 1 Feb 1926 : "Ethel Clift, 30, born 1895, Phildelphia, PA, address Yorktown Heights, New York" *[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=7488&iid=NYT715_3859-0412&fn=Ethel&ln=Clift&st=r&ssrc=&pid=2002369432 ''New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957''], Sailing on the "Fort Victoria" out of Hamilton, Bermuda on 29 May 1926, arriving New York 31 May 1926 : "Ethel Clift, 32, born 1894 New York, living at Southill, Yorktown Heights, New York; W Brooks Clift, age 7, born 1919 Omaha NE; Roberta Clift, age 5, born 1921 Omaha NE; Montgomery Clift, age 5, born 1921 Omaha NE; Emma Wilke, 40, single, born 1886, Chicago IL, living at Southill, Yorktown Heights, New York" *[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=7488&iid=NYT715_4052-0055-1&fn=Ethel&ln=Clift&st=r&ssrc=&pid=2000278960 ''New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957''], Sailing on the "Fort Victoria" out of Hamilton, Bermuda on 7 May 1927, arriving New York 9 May 1927 : "Ethel Clift, 34, born 1893 Yorktown Heights, NY, residence Yorktown Heights, NY; Brooks Clift, 8, born 1919 Omaha, NE; Edward Clift, 6, born 1921 Omaha, NE; Roberta Clift, 6, born 1921 Omaha, NE; Emma Wilkie, 44, born 1883 Chicago, IL" *[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=7488&iid=NYT715_4832-0024&fn=Ethel&ln=Clift&st=r&ssrc=&pid=2040121051 ''New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957''], Sailing on the "Bremen" 16 Sep 1930 out of Bremen, arriving at New York 22 Sep 1930 : "Ethel Clift, born 29 Sep 1892 Philadelphia PA, residence 1400 Dearborn Street Chicago, IL; Brooks Clift, born 4 Feb 1919 Omaha NE; Montgomery Clift born 16 Oct 1920 Omaha, NE; Ethel Clift, born 16 Oct 1920 Omaha, NE; Emma Wilke, born 6 Feb 1885, Detroit, IL [as found]" *[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=7488&iid=NYT715_5073-0019&fn=Ethel&ln=Clift&st=r&ssrc=&pid=2014454558 ''New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957''], Sailing on the "Conte Grande" out of Genoa 6 Nov 1931, arriving New York 16 Nov 1931 : "Ethel Clift, born 29 Sep 1892 Philadelphia, PA, residence 44 Wall Street, New York; Brooks Clift, born 4 Feb 1919 Omaha, NE; Ethel Clift born 6 Jun 1922 Omaha, NE; Montgomery Clift, born 6 Jun 1922 Omaha, NE....Emma Wilke, born 6 Feb 1885 Beecher, IL, resident 44 Wall Street New York" *[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=ssdi%2c&rank=0&=%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c&gsfn=ethel&gsln=clift&sx=&gs1co=1%2cAll+Countries&gs1pl=1%2c+&year=&yearend=&sbo=0&sbor=&ufr=0&wp=4%3b_80000002%3b_80000003&srchb=r&prox=1&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&pcat=34&fh=0&recid=13267915&recoff=1+2 ''Social Security Death Index''] : "Ethel Clift, born 29 Sep 1892 [as found], SSN issued by New York (1964-65), died 27 Jun 1988, last residence Austin, Travis County, Texas" ==Secondary sources for 3== *''Montgomery Clift : A Biography'', by Patricia Bosworth; Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich; New York (1978), 397 pages *[http://trees.ancestry.com/owt/pedigree.aspx?pid=24837836&st=1 "Ethel Fogg"] on OneWorldTree ==See Also== *[http://www.nypl.org/research/manuscripts/the/theboswo.xml Guide to the Patricia Bosworth papers]
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