presley31
10-07-2008, 06:11 AM
By Lawrence Buser (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Former Whitehaven resident Florence Clark says she spent some time at Graceland as a teen, but that her daughter most definitely was not fathered by Vernon Presley.
Her daughter, Alice Elizabeth Tiffin, now 46, filed a petition in Memphis two weeks ago claiming to have DNA proof that she is Vernon's daughter -- and Elvis' half-sister -- and seeking to be named an heir.
She recently changed her name to Eliza A. Presley.
Her mother, however, said her daughter, who she put up for adoption at birth, also used to claim Elvis was her father and that anyone with common sense would know both claims are bogus.
"There is no Presley connection," said Clark, 67, who lives in Oregon. "I would be rich if there was a Presley connection. Do you think I would walk away from that? Would any girl walk away from that if they had a child by Vernon or Elvis?"
Vernon Presley died in 1979 at age 63. Elvis died in 1977 at age 42.
In her Probate Court petition, Eliza Presley, who was born in 1962 in Texas, says she has DNA testing results that prove she is the daughter of Vernon Presley.
She has been unavailable for comment, but Donald Yates, head of DNA Consulting in Scottsdale, Ariz., said he has worked on the case for the past five years and that he is "99.99 percent sure" that Eliza and Elvis are half-siblings and that Vernon is their father.
He said there was no DNA available from Vernon, but that samples from other Presley family members, including Elvis, were tested. Yates would not say how DNA from Elvis was obtained.
According to her court petition, the discovery is the result of a lifelong search to learn the identity of her father.
Not so, says her mother.
Florence Clark said her daughter has known since age 19 that her father was another Memphis man -- she moved to Texas when she learned she was pregnant -- and that her daughter has spent time with him in the past.
Clark said that as a teen she often hung out at the gates of Graceland and eventually met Elvis and joined his entourage on trips to the movies, to the fairgrounds and to a skating rink.
She said she also met Vernon on a few occasions, but that there was no romantic involvement with him or with Elvis, who she said used to call her "Brown Eyes."
"That man never touched me, not once, and I'll take any test in the world to prove it," said Clark, who is divorced and has three other grown children.
"I have no motive for anything. I just know what the truth is. When she found out I knew Elvis, she started trying to put Elvis as her father. This is the first time I've heard about Vernon."
A hearing is set for Wednesday in Probate Court.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/oct/07/mom-daughter-not-sister-of-elvis/
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Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Former Whitehaven resident Florence Clark says she spent some time at Graceland as a teen, but that her daughter most definitely was not fathered by Vernon Presley.
Her daughter, Alice Elizabeth Tiffin, now 46, filed a petition in Memphis two weeks ago claiming to have DNA proof that she is Vernon's daughter -- and Elvis' half-sister -- and seeking to be named an heir.
She recently changed her name to Eliza A. Presley.
Her mother, however, said her daughter, who she put up for adoption at birth, also used to claim Elvis was her father and that anyone with common sense would know both claims are bogus.
"There is no Presley connection," said Clark, 67, who lives in Oregon. "I would be rich if there was a Presley connection. Do you think I would walk away from that? Would any girl walk away from that if they had a child by Vernon or Elvis?"
Vernon Presley died in 1979 at age 63. Elvis died in 1977 at age 42.
In her Probate Court petition, Eliza Presley, who was born in 1962 in Texas, says she has DNA testing results that prove she is the daughter of Vernon Presley.
She has been unavailable for comment, but Donald Yates, head of DNA Consulting in Scottsdale, Ariz., said he has worked on the case for the past five years and that he is "99.99 percent sure" that Eliza and Elvis are half-siblings and that Vernon is their father.
He said there was no DNA available from Vernon, but that samples from other Presley family members, including Elvis, were tested. Yates would not say how DNA from Elvis was obtained.
According to her court petition, the discovery is the result of a lifelong search to learn the identity of her father.
Not so, says her mother.
Florence Clark said her daughter has known since age 19 that her father was another Memphis man -- she moved to Texas when she learned she was pregnant -- and that her daughter has spent time with him in the past.
Clark said that as a teen she often hung out at the gates of Graceland and eventually met Elvis and joined his entourage on trips to the movies, to the fairgrounds and to a skating rink.
She said she also met Vernon on a few occasions, but that there was no romantic involvement with him or with Elvis, who she said used to call her "Brown Eyes."
"That man never touched me, not once, and I'll take any test in the world to prove it," said Clark, who is divorced and has three other grown children.
"I have no motive for anything. I just know what the truth is. When she found out I knew Elvis, she started trying to put Elvis as her father. This is the first time I've heard about Vernon."
A hearing is set for Wednesday in Probate Court.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/oct/07/mom-daughter-not-sister-of-elvis/
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