Born in 1873, Nellie Conley was the daughter of a freed slaves Cleon De Londa and Silas Crawford. Her father died at a young age while her mother worked as a laundress. Conley became interested in performing when she delivered lau dry to Louisville's Buckingham Theatre. There she saw two caucasian actresses who were customers of her mother. The two caucasian actresses, Mary Anderson and Fanny Davenport invited conley to their show and persuaded her to audition for a contest for the theatre. She won the contest and Her family moved to CINCINNATI, Ohio where she worked in dance troupes. |