Olivia Langdon Clemens
| Olivia Langdon Clemens | |
|---|---|
 Olivia in 1869 at about 24 years old. |
|
| Born | Olivia Louise Langdon November 27, 1845 Elmira, NY |
| Died | June 5, 1904 (aged 58) Florence, Italy |
| Resting place | Elmira, NY |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Mark Twain (m. 1870–1904) |
| Children | Langdon (d. June 2, 1872), Susy, Clara, Jean |
Olivia Langdon Clemens (November 27, 1845 – June 5, 1904) was the wife of the famous American author, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain.
[edit] Early life
Olivia Langdon was born in 1845 in Elmira, New York 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.
[edit] Courtship and wedding
Langdon met Samuel Clemens in December 1867 through her brother Charles. Their first date was to a reading by Charles Dickens 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.
[edit] Life after wedding
Olivia and Samuel moved to Buffalo, New York, 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.
