Jason L. Clift
1842-1843

Born: 20 October 1842 in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois1
Died: 26 October 1843 in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois2
Buried: Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois3
FamilySearch ID: KPCX-RLV
FindaGrave Memorial ID:  44889390

Jason L. Clift was the son of Mary Clift and Gustavus Hills.

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Life Sketch

Jason L. Clift was the son of Mary Clift and Gustavus Hills. He was born 20 October 1842 in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois.4 Prior to his birth, his mother, Mary Clift, declared in an affidavit for the Nauvoo High Council that she was pregnant with the illegitimate child of Gustavus Hills. As a result, Gustavus Hills was disfellowshipped.5 On 15 September 1842, after a paternity suit was brought against him by Robert Clift, Gustavus Hills agreed to financially support Mary Clift and her child.6

Jason L. Clift in Nauvoo sexton records (1843).

Unfortunately, Jason L. Clift died 26 October 1843 at the age of one year and six days from black canker (diptheria).7 He was buried at the Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois.8

Theodore Turley later recorded Jason’s name as “Jason Turley,” giving rise to the belief that Jason was the result of the plural marriage between himself and Mary Clift.9 This is likely why the family long believed that Theodore Turley took Mary Clift as a plural wife in or before January 1842.10

“Jason Turley” on Mary Clift’s family memorial.

Related Links

Timeline

1842
September 3-4: A case was brought before the Nauvoo High Council against Gustavus Hills, accused of having “illicit intercourse” with “a certain woman by the name of Mary Clift by which she is with child.” Hills was also accused of telling Mary Clift that church leaders did the same and “the time would come when men would have more wives than one &c.” Gustavus Hills was found guilty of the charges and disfellowshipped.11
September 15: Gustavus Hills signed a paternity agreement committing to financially support Mary Clift and their unborn child.12
October 20: Jason L. Clift, son of Mary Clift and Gustavus Hills, was born in Nauvoo.13

1843
October 26: Jason died at the age of one year and six days from black canker (diptheria).14 He was buried in Nauvoo.15

Important Places

Nauvoo, Illinois: Jason was born in Nauvoo in October 1842 and died there the following year. He was buried at the Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds.

  1. Family Memorial-Mary Clift.
  2. Family Memorial-Mary Clift; William D. Huntington records, 1839-1884, Nauvoo cemetery record, 1839-1845, image 242 of 252, Jason L. Clift, 26 Oct. 1843, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=43801da4-6d22-4f24-9fbf-20712836a4f7&crate=0&index=241, accessed March 2021.
  3. FindaGrave.com, memorial page for Jason L. Clift (1842–26 Oct 1843), memorial no. 44889390, citing Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds, Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, USA; William D. Huntington records, 1839-1884, Nauvoo cemetery record, 1839-1845, image 242 of 252, Jason L. Clift, 26 Oct. 1843, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=43801da4-6d22-4f24-9fbf-20712836a4f7&crate=0&index=241, accessed March 2021.
  4. Family Memorial-Mary Clift.
  5. John S. Dinger, ed., The Nauvoo City and High Council Minutes (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2011), p. 424-426; Gary James Bergara, “‘Illicit Intercourse,’ Plural Marriage, and the Nauvoo Stake High Council, 1840-1844,” John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 23 (2003): 75-77.
  6. Gary James Bergara, “‘Illicit Intercourse,’ Plural Marriage, and the Nauvoo Stake High Council, 1840-1844,” John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 23 (2003): 76-77. A transcript of the agreement is available online here.
  7. Family Memorial-Mary Clift; William D. Huntington records, 1839-1884, Nauvoo cemetery record, 1839-1845, image 242 of 252, Jason L. Clift, 26 Oct. 1843, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=43801da4-6d22-4f24-9fbf-20712836a4f7&crate=0&index=241, accessed March 2021.
  8. FindaGrave.com, memorial page for Jason L. Clift (1842–26 Oct 1843), memorial no. 44889390, citing Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds, Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, USA.
  9. Family Memorial-Mary Clift.
  10. See, for example, p. 56 of The Theodore Turley Family book (a.k.a. Red Book), published in 1978.
  11. John S. Dinger, ed., The Nauvoo City and High Council Minutes (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2011), p. 424-426; Gary James Bergara, “‘Illicit Intercourse,’ Plural Marriage, and the Nauvoo Stake High Council, 1840-1844,” John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 23 (2003): 75-77.
  12. Gary James Bergara, “‘Illicit Intercourse,’ Plural Marriage, and the Nauvoo Stake High Council, 1840-1844,” John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 23 (2003): 76-77. A transcript of the agreement is available online here.
  13. Theodore Turley recorded Jason’s surname as Turley in his family memorial. Family Memorial-Mary Clift.
  14. Family Memorial-Mary Clift; William D. Huntington records, 1839-1884, Nauvoo cemetery record, 1839-1845, image 242 of 252, Jason L. Clift, 26 Oct. 1843, Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=43801da4-6d22-4f24-9fbf-20712836a4f7&crate=0&index=241, accessed March 2021.
  15. FindaGrave.com, memorial page for Jason L. Clift (1842–26 Oct 1843), memorial no. 44889390, citing Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds, Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, USA.