Table of Contents
- Collection Summary
- Biographical Note
- Scope and Content Note
- Subject Headings
- Related Material
- Administrative Information
- Access and Use
- Note
- Encoding Information
- Series List
- Container List
Collection Summary
Repository: | Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries |
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Creator: | Twain, Mark, 1835-1910 |
Title: | Samuel L. Clemens Papers |
Inclusive dates: | 1796-1984 |
Bulk dates: | 1853-1909 |
Quantity: | 12 cubic feet (37 boxes, 5 framed items) |
Abstract: | Includes manuscripts, notes, diaries, clippings, certificates, deeds and photographs; but of particular note are the letters Clemens wrote to his family describing his early adulthood as well as the development and progression of his writing career. |
Biographical Note
Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri, and died April 21, 1910 in Redding, Connecticut. He married Olivia Langdon in 1870 and they had four children: Langdon, Olivia Susan ("Suzy"), Clara, and Jane ("Jean"). Additional biographical information is readily available; however, some further genealogical information is helpful in explaining the inclusion of the Clemens material in the McKinney Family Papers:
Clemens' parents were John Marshall Clemens and Jane Lampton Clemens. Their children were Samuel, Orion (1825-1897), Pamela (1827-1904), Pleasant (1828-1829), Margaret (1830-1839), Benjamin (1832-1842) and Henry (1838-1858). SLC's sister Pamela married William Anderson Moffett, and they had a daughter Annie. Annie Moffet married Charles Webster, and one of their children was Alice Jane Webster. While at boarding school, Alice Jane changed her name to Jean and continued to use the name Jean Webster for the rest of her professional life. However, after marrying Glenn Ford McKinney, she was also known as Jean Webster McKinney.
TopScope and Content Note
Papers of Samuel L. Clemens include manuscripts of his stories written or signed by Clemens and one notebook, 1855-1868; his letters and telegrams to family members Orion Clemens, Pamela C. Moffett, Charles L. Webster, Jane L. Clemens, and others, 1853-1909, concerning his early experiences in Philadelphia, travelling, business affairs, mining in the American West, his writing and publishing affairs, trips to Hawaii in 1866 and Europe in 1867, political figures, his typesetting business, and family affairs; letters received, including several from William Dean Howells, 1874-1909, and later letters about Mark Twain history and materials, 1941-1975; and letters to Charles L. Webster from Clemens and illustrator E.W. Kemble about his illustrations for Huckleberry Finn and original and proof copies of Kemble's illustrations, 1884.
Other items include original manuscript memoirs on the Civil War by Gen. U.S. Grant, letters to Charles L. Webster from Grant, his photographs of Grant, Civil War scenes, and Grant's funeral, 1863-1885; manuscripts, diary entries, letters, clippings, and photographs of Isabel Van Kleek Lyon, Clemens' secretary, concerning the person and career of Samuel L. Clemens, 1903-1939, and notes from a conversation with Lyon by Samuel and Doris Webster, 1950-1953; letters, clippings, memoranda, legal papers, certificates, deeds, and contracts of Samuel L. Clemens' family members, 1807 and 1834-1944, including his parents John Marshall and Jane Lampton Clemens, his brothers Orion Clemens, Henry Clemens, his daughters Clara and Jean, and his sister Pamela Clemens Moffett, her husband William Anderson Moffett, their son Samuel E. Moffett, and their daughter Annie Moffett and her husband Charles L. Webster; and photographs of Samuel L. Clemens, his family, and related Websters, Moffetts, Fords, Dalrimples, and McKinneys, circa 1856-1955.
The Samuel L. Clemens Papers form part of the McKinney Family Papers.
TopAccess and Use
Access
Researchers will be asked to use photocopies of most correspondence in the collection unless there is a specific need for the originals. Otherwise, this collection is open for research according to the regulations of the Vassar College Archives and Special Collections Library without any additional restrictions.
Restrictions on Use
Permission to quote (publish) from unpublished or previously published material must be obtained as described in the regulations of the Vassar College Archives and Special Collections Library.
Related Material
TopSubject Headings
Names:
- McKinney, Jean Webster, 1876-1916
- Webster, Doris
- Webster, Samuel
Subjects:
- American literature
- Authors, American--20th century--Correspondence
- Family--New York (State)
- Funeral service
- Humorists, American--20th century--Correspondence
- Illustrated books, Children's
- Mines and mineral resources--West (U.S.)
- Publishers and publishing
- Real property
- Type-setting
- Women--Diaries
Places:
- Europe--Description and travel
- Hawaii--Description and travel
- Philadelphia (Pa.)--Description
- United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
- United States--Politics and government--19th century
Document Types:
- Autographs
- Correspondence
- Photographs
VCL Categories:
- Family
- Literature and Writing
Encoding Information
Encoded by Elizabeth Clarke, June 2007. Updated by Emma Gronbeck, May 2023.
TopPhysical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
The microfilm copy of the collection requires a microfilm reader.
TopAdministrative Information
Preferred Citation
Samuel L. Clemens Papers, Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries.
Processing Information
Originally processed in the late 1970s. Numbers in brackets refer to the designations in this original processing. Those numbers are also used in the microfilm of the collection. Box and folder information was added in the summer of 2005 by Louise Loeb, VC 2007.
Acquisition Information
Included in the gift of the Jean Webster McKenney Family Papers, given to the college in 1977 by Jean Connor, Jean Webster's daughter, and her husband, Ralph Connor. Additional materials were purchased from a variety of sources in subsequent years.
Other Formats
The bulk of the collection is available on microfilm.
Series List
Series A. Samuel L. Clemens Manuscripts (Box 1) |
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Series B. Samuel L. Clemens Correspondence To Family Members (Boxes 2-10) |
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Series C. Correspondence To Samuel L. Clemens and Related Letters (Boxes 10-11) |
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Series D. Olivia Langdon Clemens Correspondence to Family Members (Box 12) |
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Series E. Clara Clemens Correspondence To Family (Box 12) |
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Series F. Jean L. Clemens Correspondence to Family (Box 12) |
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Series G. Susan Clemens (Box 12) |
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Series H. Mark Twain Birthday Celebrations (Box 12) |
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Series I. Samuel Langhorne Clemens' Funeral (Box 12) |
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Series J. Mark Twain's Homes (Box 12) |
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Series K. Mark Twain Clippings (Boxes 13 and 37) |
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Series L. Mississippi Life (Box 14) |
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Series M. Copies of Mark Twain Publications (Box 14) |
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Series N. The Mentor Magazine (Box 14) |
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Series O. Mark Twain Society's Publications (Box 14) |
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Series P. Materials Related to Huckleberry Finn (Boxes 15-16 and 36) |
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Series Q. Papers of Isabel Van Kleek Lyon, Secretary to Samuel L. Clemens (Boxes 17-22) |
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Series R. John Marshall Clemens Correspondence (Box 23) |
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Series S. Jane Lampton Clemens Correspondence (Box 23) |
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Series T. Orion Clemens Correspondence (Box 23) |
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Series U. Henry Clemens Correspondence (Box 23) |
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Series V. Pamela Clemens Moffet Correspondence (Box 24) |
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Series W. William Anderson Moffett Correspondence (Box 24) |
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Series X. Moffett-Bryan-Boone Lineage (Box 24) |
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Series Y. Erasmus M. Moffett Correspondence (Box 24) |
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Series Z. Samuel E. Moffett Correspondence (Box 24) |
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Series AA. Annie Moffett Webster Correspondence (Boxes 24-25 and 35) |
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Series BB. Walter Janes' Published Works (Box 26) |
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Series CC. Calvin Whitney Correspondence (Box 26) |
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Series DD. Luther Webster and Maria Whitney Webster, His Wife, Correspondence (Box 26) |
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Series EE. Charles L. Webster Correspondence Sent (Box 27) |
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Series FF. Charles L. Webster – Samuel L. Clemens Contracts (Box 27) |
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Series GG. Charles L. Webster Notebooks (Box 28) |
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Series HH. Charles L. Webster Correspondence Received (Boxes 29-31) |
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Series JJ. Charles L. Webster Correspondence Concerning General U.S. Grant's Memoirs (Boxes 31-32) |
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Series KK. "Personal Memoirs" of General U.S. Grant Manuscript (Box 32) |
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Series LL. Sir Charles L. Webster, Knight of the Order of Piano (Pius), Vatican, Rome Correspondence (Box 33) |
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Series MM. Estate of Charles L. Webster (Box 33) |
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Series NN. William Luther Webster Correspondence (Box 33) |
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Series OO. Samuel Charles Webster Correspondence (Box 33) |
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Series PP. Photographs (not microfilmed) (Boxes 33 and 37) |
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Series QQ. Ephemera (not microfilmed) (Box 36) |
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Series RR. Framed Portraits (Framed Storage) |
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Container List
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Details
Includes manuscripts, notes, diaries, clippings, certificates, deeds and photographs; but of particular note are the letters Clemens wrote to his family describing his early adulthood as well as the development and progression of his writing career.