Only White Female in the Penitentiary (1872)
Of the twenty convict women in the penitentiary, only one is white. She is only “sweet sixteen;” her life has been a chequered one. Her name is Mary ELLISON. When quite young she was thrown upon her own resources and fell by the wayside. She soon acquired a morbid propensity for theft.
About two years ago she was convicted of larceny, in Blount county, but having expressed anxiety to reform, was pardoned by Gov. SENTER after she had served about eighteen months of her term. From Nashville she went to Greene county, where she found a new field of operations, and was again convicted. This time she was sentenced for three years. She is now serving the first year of her second term.
Source: Cleveland Banner Newspaper, 8 Feb 1872. Google News Archive.