Ancestors

Biography

First born child and only son of Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, and his wife Olivia Langdon. He was born prematurely in the first winter after his parents marriage. The apple of their eye, he was known as Langdon by the family. He was apparently never robust, and his health was weak throughout his short life. At 16 months he was joined by a little sister, Olivia Susan, called Susy. In April of 1871, after riding with his father, he came down with a cold which later developed into diphtheria. His father blamed the child's illness upon himself for the rest of his life, thinking that taking him out without what he later regarded as sufficient clothing was to blame for him falling ill in the first place. Langdon's subsequent death devastated his parents to the point that they were unable to attend his funeral, Olivia was still too frail following the birth of Susy, and Sam feared leaving her alone. Langdon was laid out in his grandparents parlor in Elmira, the same room from which his parents were married, and buried beside his grandfather. For the remainder of his life, Twain rarely spoke of his son's death. Bio by: Iola, FAG ID 46780914.

Sources

• Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 04 April 2020), memorial page for Samuel Langdon Clemens (17 Nov 1870–2 Jun 1872), Find A Grave: Memorial # 6093045, citing Woodlawn Cemetery, Elmira, Chemung County, New York, USA; Maintained by CMWJR (contributor 50059520).

• "BillionGraves Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV3M-KRXK : 24 June 2015), Langdon Clemens, died 07 Jun 1872; citing BillionGraves (http://www.billiongraves.com : 2012), Burial at Woodlawn National Cemetery, Elmira, Chemung, New York, United States. 21:56, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

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