Mark Twain's Only Grandchild

If you are not a member of the Mark Twain Forum, I would highly recommend you sign-up today: http://www.twainweb.net/

The Mark Twain Forum is an e-mail list that includes all the World's top scholars and enthusiasts. Last week a true gem arrived from R. Kent Rasmussen. Mr. Rasmussen is an author of six book on Twain and is considered an authority in Mark Twain studies.

"A moment ago, I noticed that today's date is August 18 and recalled its significance in Clemens family history. As much was made of last year's centennial of Mark Twain's death, it may be worth mentioning that today is both the 115th anniversary of Susy Clemens death and the 101st anniversary of Mark Twain's only grandchild, Nina Gabrilowitsch's birth.

It's hard not to wonder what Mark Twain would have made of that coincidence."

He went on to wonder out loud where in the house Nina was born, noting that it was doubtful that Clara would use the same bed that her father had died in just months before.

That question was answered by Kevin Mac Donnell, a Twain collector and top-tier authority on both Mark Twain's works and his life.

"I have Nina's original birth certificate and it doesn't say. Clara's music room was over the loggia, but her bedroom was near the top of the stairs. It was roomy with a terrific view of the backyard, pergola, and Redding, and had it's own big bathroom, so I suspect that's where Nina made her debut. The bedroom, not the bathroom. I have a batch of letters from Clara from just before and after Nina's birth and no clues there either."

So, my mission for next August 18th is to have more information on where Nina Gabrilowitsch's birth took place at Stormfield.




A Photo shopped image I created to show Sam and Nina, side-by-side.