Gladys Love Smith Presley (1912-1958)

American Folk Figure. She was the mother of rock music icon Elvis Presley. She was born in Pontotoc County, Mississippi. Her parents were Robert Lee Smith and Octavia Luvenia "Doll" Mansell. Gladys' mother Doll gave birth to nine children. Doll was bedridden most of her life, and died at 59 from tuberculosis. Her father Robert was a cotton farmer and would occasionally pick up odd jobs to support his large family. In his fifties, he died suddenly of pneumonia, leaving Gladys (then 19) to work in Tupelo as a seamstress to help support the family. She married Vernon Elvis Presley on June 17, 1933. The family rented a house on the edge of Shakerag, an area of Tupelo. She gave birth to twin boys and named them Elvis and Jesse. Jesse was stillborn. In 1948, the Presleys moved to Memphis, Tennessee. They lived in public housing or in low rent homes in the poor neighborhoods of north Memphis. They attended the Assembly of God church. Elvis worked at various jobs to help support himself and his parents. They were a very close knit family. She had a very special relationship with her son, Elvis. Gladys Presley died of a heart attack brought on by acute hepatitis.

Bio by: Jane Stacy Eubanks