Thankful Denison Clift (1780 - 1861)
Artist: Orlando Hand Bears (1837)
Medium: Oil on canvas, 33 1/3 x 27 1/2 inches
Provenance: Donated by Thankful Cornwall (1908 - 2001) in 1963
Thankful Denison Clift was the daughter of Isaac Denison and Eunice Williams (she was third great-granddaughter to Captain George Denison and Ann Borodell). She was born on the 20th of May 1780. After her marriage to Colonel Amos Clift, she moved to the Groton side of Mystic, to 26 Clift Street where she had eight children, five boys and three girls; four of her sons and one daughter lived to adulthood. Her husband died in 1818, shortly after the birth of their last child. Thankful took over his real estate business, and was perhaps the first woman developer in the region. Thankful Denison Clift died on the 22nd of January, 1861 at the age of 81 and is buried beside her husband and family in Elm Grove Cemetery in Mystic.
Pictured Below: Buttonhole Ripper (right) and Cloak Clasp (left) owned by Thankful Denison Clift, donated by Thankful Cornwall.
