“Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in Florida, Missouri, on Nov. 30, 1835, the sixth child of John and Jane Clemens.” Several years later, in 1839, the family moved (Waisman OL). At seven in the morning, he arrived in Hannibal, Missouri, where his boyhood was going to be spent (Twain 428). “At the age of 13 he became a full-time apprentice to a local printer. He became a delivery boy, grocery clerk, and blacksmith's helper during summers or after school” (Gwinn 75). “Like many American authors of his day, Twain had little formal education. Instead of attending high school and college, he gained his education in print shops and newspaper offices. When his brother Orion, 10 years older than he, established th

Orion, Pleasant, Margaret, Benjamin, and Henry Clemens were Samuel's siblings (Waisman OL). He was four when the family moved to Hannibal, where his father kept a dry goods and grocery store, practiced law, and entered local politics. At age 11, Samuel’s father died. “From that time on, it became necessary for Samuel to contribute to the family's support” (Gwinn 75). Twain encountered a woman named Olivia L. Langdon (World 529). "Olivia Langdon was born in Elmira, New York, the daughter of a very wealthy coal businessman. She was an unhealthy teenager, suffering from tuberculosis of the spine from age 14 until about 20. Her poor health followed her throughout her life. Olivia met Sam Clemens in 1867 through his relationship with her brother Charles, who was Sam's fellow passenger on the Quaker City excursion” (Waisman OL). “The couple were wed on Feb.2, 1870. In 1874, Twain and his family moved into a luxurious new 19-room house in Hartford” (World 529). Born in 1870, their only son was named Langdon Clemens, after his mother. Their three daughters, Olivia Susan Clemens, born in 1872, Clara Langdon Clemens, born in 1874, and Jane Lampton Clemens, born in 1880, all carried down family names as well (Waisman OL). “Following Twain's brief career as a newspaper editor and columnist in Buffalo, N.Y., he and his wife moved to Hartford, Conn., in 1871.” Samuel’s only son, Langdon, died in 1872 (World 529). “Susy Clemens was born in Elmira, N.Y., and lived a short life, dying at the age of 23. In childhood, Susy often had poor health, similar to her mother. At 13, she wrote a biography of her father, which was included as part of Twain's Chapters From My Autobiography” (Waisman OL). “‘I shall have no trouble in not knowing what to say about him,' she observed in its opening paragraph, 'as he is a very striking character.’ Clara Clemens wrote My Father, Mark Twain (1931) many years later” (Zwick OL). Susy attended Bryn Mawr College for a year in 1890. “The following year, Susy became very ill, and was diagnosed with spinal meningitis. Just three days later, she died in the Clemens' Hartford home.” Clara Clemens, born in Elmira, N.Y., had a varied education while growing up; including home

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