Olivia Langdon Clemens
Encyclopedia
Olivia Langdon Clemens was the wife of the famous American author, Samuel Langhorne Clemens
, better known as Mark Twain
.
to Jervis Langdon and Olivia Lewis Langdon. Her childhood home from 1847 to 1862 was the building at what is now 413 Lake Street, Elmira, NY. Jervis was a very wealthy coal businessman. The family was religious, reformist, and abolitionist. Olivia, called Livy, was educated by a combination of home tutoring and classes at Thurston’s Female Seminary and Elmira Female College
. Her health was poor. She was an invalid for part of her teenage years (about six years), and she suffered from what was probably tuberculosis myelitis or Pott's disease
. She continued to have health problems throughout her life.
in New York City. Clemens courted her throughout 1868, mainly by letter. She rejected his first proposal of marriage, but they became engaged two months later, in November 1868. The engagement was announced in February 1869, and in February 1870, they were married. The wedding was in Elmira, and the ceremony was performed by the Congregational
ministers Joseph Twichell
and Thomas K. Beecher
.
, where they lived in a house purchased for them by Olivia’s father Jervis. Life was difficult for them at first. Jervis Langdon died of cancer in August, followed a month later by Olivia’s friend Emma Nye, who died in the Clemens’ home. Their first child, Langdon Clemens, was born in November, but was premature. Olivia contracted typhoid fever
, and became very ill. They moved to Elmira, so that Olivia’s family could watch over her and Langdon.
In 1871, the family moved again, to Hartford, Connecticut
. They rented a large house in the Nook Farm neighborhood, and quickly became important members of the social and literary scene there. They were well off due to Samuel Clemens’ earnings from his books and lectures, and Olivia’s inheritance, and they lived lavishly. In 1874, they moved into a distinctive house they had had built on land they purchased. They lived there until 1891., articles and even lectures that he would give. She was a "faithful, judicious, and painstaking editor," Clemens wrote. This was one of the things that Livy had on her list of things to do, and she prided herself in helping her husband to edit these works.
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
, better known as Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
.
Early life
Olivia Langdon was born in 1845 in Elmira, New YorkElmira, New York
Elmira is a city in Chemung County, New York, USA. It is the principal city of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses Chemung County, New York. The population was 29,200 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Chemung County.The City of Elmira is located in...
to Jervis Langdon and Olivia Lewis Langdon. Her childhood home from 1847 to 1862 was the building at what is now 413 Lake Street, Elmira, NY. Jervis was a very wealthy coal businessman. The family was religious, reformist, and abolitionist. Olivia, called Livy, was educated by a combination of home tutoring and classes at Thurston’s Female Seminary and Elmira Female College
Elmira College
Elmira College is a coeducational private liberal arts college located in Elmira, in New York State's Southern Tier region.The college is noted as the oldest college still in existence which granted degrees to women that were the equivalent of those given to men...
. Her health was poor. She was an invalid for part of her teenage years (about six years), and she suffered from what was probably tuberculosis myelitis or Pott's disease
Pott's disease
Pott's disease is a presentation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis that affects the spine, a kind of tuberculous arthritis of the intervertebral joints...
. She continued to have health problems throughout her life.
Courtship and wedding
Langdon met Samuel Clemens in December 1867 through her brother Charles. Their first date was to a reading by Charles DickensCharles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
in New York City. Clemens courted her throughout 1868, mainly by letter. She rejected his first proposal of marriage, but they became engaged two months later, in November 1868. The engagement was announced in February 1869, and in February 1870, they were married. The wedding was in Elmira, and the ceremony was performed by the Congregational
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
ministers Joseph Twichell
Joseph Twichell
Reverend Joseph Hopkins Twichell , writer and pastor, was Mark Twain's closest friend for over forty years, and appears in A Tramp Abroad as "Harris." They met at a church social after the Civil War when Twichell was pastor of Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, his only pastorate for...
and Thomas K. Beecher
Thomas K. Beecher
Thomas K. Beecher was a preacher and the principal of several schools. He was a traveling man, living in many places such as: Litchfield, Connecticut, Boston, Massachusetts, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Elmira, New York. There is a memorial statue built in Elmira, New York were he spent a large portion...
.
Life after wedding
Olivia and Samuel moved to Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, where they lived in a house purchased for them by Olivia’s father Jervis. Life was difficult for them at first. Jervis Langdon died of cancer in August, followed a month later by Olivia’s friend Emma Nye, who died in the Clemens’ home. Their first child, Langdon Clemens, was born in November, but was premature. Olivia contracted typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
, and became very ill. They moved to Elmira, so that Olivia’s family could watch over her and Langdon.
In 1871, the family moved again, to Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
. They rented a large house in the Nook Farm neighborhood, and quickly became important members of the social and literary scene there. They were well off due to Samuel Clemens’ earnings from his books and lectures, and Olivia’s inheritance, and they lived lavishly. In 1874, they moved into a distinctive house they had had built on land they purchased. They lived there until 1891., articles and even lectures that he would give. She was a "faithful, judicious, and painstaking editor," Clemens wrote. This was one of the things that Livy had on her list of things to do, and she prided herself in helping her husband to edit these works.