Ella Gifft

 ( 1880s Births ) 

Ella Gifft, also Ella Gift (26 December 1964), was a Black Entrepreneurship and Suffrage from the United States Virgin Islands, who founded the Suffragist League and was one of the first women to register to vote in the territory. She smuggled alcohol into the territory during the prohibition era, activity which is remembered in the Folk music "Over the Side".

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Suffrage Gifft was one of the first suffrage activists in the US Virgin Islands and according to the memoir of Joseph O'Neal, was a "teacher from Jost Van Dyke".

Joseph Raymond O'Neal (2025). 9781465326362, Xlibris Corporation. . ISBN 9781465326362

She established the Suffragist League there on 29 December 1932. Other prominent suffragists in the movement included Bertha C. Boschulte, Eulalie Stevens, and Edith L. Williams, who were all teachers.

(1998). 9780253113863, Indiana University Press. . ISBN 9780253113863

Reportedly, when Herbert Hoover visited St Thomas, Gifft waited to meet him, then presented him with a petition for the islands to have their own governor, which she had secreted on her person. The group was aware of developments in Puerto Rico led by Milagros Benet de Mewton to gain enfranchisement there in 1929.

(1998). 9780253113863, Indiana University Press. . ISBN 9780253113863

Due to their pressure, in 1936 Judge Albert Levitt ruled that women were allowed to vote in the 1936 election.

(1998). 9780253113863, Indiana University Press. . ISBN 9780253113863

An influential figure in politics, Gifft also encouraged Earle B. Ottley to seek election to the Legislative Assembly in 1936.

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Prohibition

During prohibition, Gifft brought alcohol into the islands illegally. According to a still popular folk-song called "Over the Side", she hid rum in specially made pockets in her pantalettes, but had to throw it over the side of the boat when customs officials caught up with her.

Colleen Ballerino Cohen (2025). 9780813550312, Rutgers University Press. ISBN 9780813550312

(1998). 9780028649290, Schirmer Books. . ISBN 9780028649290

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Citations

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Bibliography

• (2025). 9781317461609, Routledge. . ISBN 9781317461609
• Rosalyn Terborg-Penn (1998). 9780253113863, Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253113863

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External links

• "Over the Side". A story about Ella Gifft and her attempts to smuggle rum to the USVI

Categories: 1880s Births, 1964 Deaths, Year Of Birth Uncertain, People From The Danish West Indies, United States Virgin Islands Educators, United States Virgin Islands Businesspeople, Suffragists From The United States Virgin Islands, 20th-century American Businesswomen, 20th-century American Businesspeople, 20th-century American Women Educators, 20th-century American Educators, African-american Businesspeople

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