Sam and Nina - Side-by-Side

Sam and Nina, side-by-side. The two never met but I thought it would be neat to have a comparison photo of them. There are not many photos of Nina Gabrilowitsch in circulation. This one is published at Hannibal Free Public Library (Hannibal, MO) from the collection of Mark Twain Home & Museum (Hannibal, MO).

Thank you to Vic Fischer from the Mark Twain Forum for sharing this information.

View full image and description of Nina at the Hannibal Free Public Library web site.

Nina was Clara's daughter, Sam's Granddaughter.

Mark Twain Library Launches Web Site on 99th Anniversary of Twain's Death

And we didn't even know it!

We launched the revised web site: http://www.marktwainlibrary.org at 3pm today and it wasn't until 8pm that I realized today was a special day times two!

Sam died on April 21, 1910.

Life was not a valuable gift, but death was. Life was a fever-dream made up of joys embittered by sorrows, pleasure poisoned by pain; a dream that was a nightmare-confusion of spasmodic and fleeting delights, ecstasies, exultations, happinesses, interspersed with long-drawn miseries, griefs, perils, horrors, disappointments, defeats,humiliations, and despairs--the heaviest curse devisable by divine ingenuity; but death was sweet, death was gentle, death was kind; death healed the bruised spirit and the broken heart, and gave them rest and forgetfulness; death was man's best friend; when man could endure life no longer, death came and set him free.

- Letters from the Earth

Read more Twain Quotes at TwainQuotes.com

Stormfield House Rebuilding Crew 1925

Stormfield House Rebuilding Crew at Clambake Picnic at Deep Hole in the Summer of 1925.

Front Row: L to R

William A. Reynolds, George W. Banks, William Banks, Lawrence W. Banks, Bernard Gagnon, Al Busser, Arthur Burr, Mason (Name Missing), William Busser, Sr.

Back Row: L to R

John Whitehead, William Busser, Jr., Clinton B. Hull, Steven Harker, Erwin Henderson, William J. Gagnon, George S. Banks, G. Samuel, Ricks, Oliver C. Banks, Jesse Banks, Mason (Name Missing)

Just as a point of information, George S. Banks was the Deputy Sheriff who, with the help of others, caught the two gentlemen who robbed Stormfield. His son, William Banks, was the General Contractor on the rebuilding of Stormfield, and his grandson, Lawrence Banks, was responsible for getting the giant mantle (which had been given to William Banks as partial payment for the construction work)into the hands of the Mark Twain House in Hartford. All are present in this photograph.

Many thanks to Gary Banks for forwarding this photo and the information associated with it!!

New Movie's Preview Released

http://digitalvideodynamix.com/twain

Visit above to view scenes from Dangerous Intimacy: The Untold Story of Mark Twain's Final Years.

Dangerous Intimacy tells the story of how, shortly after his wife's death in 1904, Mark Twain enjoyed the attentions of Isabel Lyon, his flirtatious - and calculating - secretary. Lyon desperately wanted to marry her boss, who was thirty years her senior. She manipulated the household into exiling Jean, Twain's youngest child and an epileptic, to a sanitarium. With the help of Twain's assistant, Ralph Ashcroft, who fraudulently acquired power of attorney over the author's finances, Lyon nearly succeeded in assuming complete control over Twain's household and estate.

Fortunately, Twain recognized the plot in time. In a still unpublished memoir he bemoans his fate as a "stripped and forlorn King Lear". So rife with twists and turns as to defy belief, the story comes to life via the voices of the participants and takes us into the heart of the Clemens household. In our documentary, based on the book by Karen Lystra, Jean Clemens emerges as a true heroine, one who struggled mightily to overcome her epilepsy and who was able to rejoin her father for the final, joyous months remaining in their lives.

Dangerous Intimacy: The Untold Story of Mark Twain's Final Years shows how Twain extricated himself from the lies, prejudice and self-delusion that almost turned him into an American Lear. Thanks to Karen Lystra's research, which liberates the author's last years from a century of popular misunderstanding, we see how, late in life, this American icon discovered a deep kinship with his youngest child and experienced the interplay of love and pain that is one of the hallmarks of his work.

Please View and Comment on the Preview.
~Brent
p.s. I have nothing to do with the film...just curious.

So far, One thumb down

Estate Values in 1910...Clemens vs. Colley

It's not even close!! While searching for Clemens Estate data back in November 2008 I was surprised to look down one line and see my great-grandfathers name. John Colley was a carpenter and later worked for Gilbert & Bennett, he did well enough to eventually purchase the Aaron Davis property on Church St. Georgetown but was no where near Mr. Clemens in 1910.

This is the breakdown of S.L. Clemens' Redding estate at the time of his death:
Grand List: $36,480; Dwellings and Buildings: (2)$26,500; Acres: 270 $6,750; Horses (3) $200; Cattle (1) $30; Coaches, Carriages, Wagons, Autos and Bikes $100; Musical Instruments $100; House Furnishings/Library $300; All stocks liable to taxation: $2,500

Stormfield & Mark Twain Lane in 1915

I recently received some great photos from Susan Durkee. They are photos from a March 1915 trip to Stormfield.

The first photo was a mystery for sometime that Susan and I worked on together. Via the Stormfield Guestbook I believe I found out where it was and who lived there...Angelfish Majorie Breckinridge lived "over on the hilltop, the cabin in the Glen." according to Sam's note next to her name in July 1909.













Clemens 1910 Redding, CT Estate Tax Assessment:
Grand List: $36,480:
Dwellings and Buildings: (2) Value $26,500; Acres: 270, Value $6,750; Horses (3) $200; Cattle (1) $30; Coaches,Carriages, Wagons, Autos and Bikes $100; Musical Instruments $100; House Furnishings/Library $300; All stocks liable to taxation: $2,500.

Update...finally

A month of silence has not been due to lacking interest, I promise!! It has been due to a poorly planned kitchen renovation...I mean, who plans a kitchen renovation in the middle of an economic downturn? Answer- me.

The good news is I'm not broke...yet. Okay, okay enough about me, I know you all tune in for Stormfield news. The Stormfield project is having a very positive impact in 2008. Kevin MacDonnell came to town last month and really was a huge boost to the 100th anniversary celebrations. I met with Kevin,his wife and Heather Morgan the day of his slideshow and had an amazing day exploring the grounds of Stormfield. Stormfield has changed quite a bit but there is something about being on those grounds that really make you appreciate nature and its ability to re-establish itself so quickly. Reviewing Kevin's historic photos and visiting Stormfield in the present day is a real eye-opener. It looks nothing like the Stormfield Sam knew, not even close.



This view is walking East on Mark Twain Lane. The house ahead is Isabel Lyon's Lobster Pot... you can't even see the rebuilt house on the grounds of the Lobster Pot today. Too many trees!

As we head into the new year I'm gearing up toward a grant writing frenzy...grants are going to be scarce in 2009 but I am confident this is a worthy
effort. If you'd like to help, all I need is comments that state this is a project the World needs...send them to bcolley@snet.net