Notable Men of Alabama (1904) by Joel C. Dubose, p. 85: "Benjamin Franklin Cliett, retired citizen of Sylacauga, Ala., is a native of Columbia county, Ga., where he was born Jan. 31, 1849. His father, Minor Johnson Cliett, was born in the same county, Oct. 10, 1817. In early life he was an active Whig, but after the war became a Democrat. He was during his life a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity. He married Sarah A. Smith, daughter of Arthur and Emily (Skinner) Smith, of Columbia county, Ga., and in 1858 came to Alabama, where the father followed farming until his death, which occurred May 4, 1873. Sarah A. Cliett died on Sept. 19, 1887. Benjamin F. Cliett was one of a family of fourteen children, eight of whom grew to maturity, and five of whom are still living. When he was nine years of age the family settled in Talladega county, where he has ever since lived. He was educated in the common schools and, like his father, became a tiller of the soil. He prospered, and in time became one of the wealthiest farmers in Talladega county. He now owns three farms, including about six hundred acres of the finest land in the county, though he lives retired in the town of Sylacauga, enjoying the fruits of his labor in earlier years. He and his wife are both members of the Baptist church, and for thirty-three years he has been a member of Sylacauga lodge, No. 200, Free and Accepted Masons. In politics he is an unswerving Democrat and always takes an active part in political affairs. For thirty years he has been a member of the county executive committee, and he has been frequently called upon to serve his party as a delegate to the State or congressional conventions. He served three terms as justice of the peace, and is now on his eight year as county commissioner. Mr. Cliett is a mixture of Scotch, French, and German. The Clietts are French; the Smith family is of Scotch-Irish extraction, while a trace of German blood runs through the Skinners. On June 12, 1873, he married Elizabeth Oden, daughter of John Piney Oden, and they had two children, Jeptha Lee Cliett and Sadie E. Cliett, both living in Sylacauga."

Bio Courtesy Of Ray Isbell