She married John Marshall Clemens (1798-1847), son of Samuel & Pamela (Goggin) Clemens, on May 26, 1823 in Adair Co, Kentucky and she had seven children, one of whom became the famous author "Mark Twain." She gave him the name Samuel and he was the sixth of seven siblings. Orion, Pamela, Pleasant, Margaret, and Benjamin were born in Tennessee, but Sam and Henry was born in Missouri. Samuel was born in Florida, Monroe County in 1835 after they moved to live near Aunt Patsey (Lampton) Quarles. Three years later, Henry was born in Hannibal, Marion County.
As a mama, Jane knew plenty about grieving. Several of her children and grandchildren did not live long enough to reach adult-hood and her youngest, Henry, died as a result of a steamboat explosion accident when he was a young man. However, as a devout Christian, she hoped to see them again in the by and by and while Sam was touring the Holy Land in 1867, he ordered a special Bible to be made for her, because he knew that would please her.
After John died of pneumonia, hard times fell on Jane and the remaining children. Orion, Sam's older brother, moved Jane and Henry to Iowa to live with him and his wife, Mollie, in 1853 after Sam left to go make his living as a journeyman printer in St. Louis. Jane died on October 27, 1890 and was laid to rest in Hannibal.
NOTE: According to this website, Jane Lampton Clemens was said to have been born in Winchester, Clark County, Kentucky in a brick house known as the "Trowbridge place," on the corner of Main and Hickman streets (then called "Highland" street). Harry Enoch, a writer for the Winchester Sun newspaper has disproved A. C. Quisenberry's claim here and here.
QUOTE: "What books she could have written!" ~ Mark Twain.
More to Read:
1. Jane Clemens: the Story of Mark Twain's Mother. By Rachel McBrayer Varble. Doubleday, 1964.
1. Jane Clemens: the Story of Mark Twain's Mother. By Rachel McBrayer Varble. Doubleday, 1964.
2. "Clemens, Jane Lampton." By Abby H. P. Werlock. The Mark Twain Encyclopedia. Edited by LeMaster, Wilson, & Hamric. Garland Pub, New York, 1993. p. 152. Retrieved from Website: Google Books.
3. The Clemens Family Chronology 1610-1912. William M. Clemens, New York, 1914. p. 21, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38. Retrieved from website: Archive.org
4. "Mark Twain Family Cabin." Museum of Appalachia, Norris, Tennessee.
5. Mark Twain: A Biography. The Personal and Literary Life of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. By Albert Bigelow Paine.
6. The Mark Twain Project (see "Letters").
7 .The Adventures of Tom Sawyer book.
8. Mark Twain's Journey to Jerusalem: Dreamland (Oct., 2017 documentary), kcpt.org
9. The Civil War Ironclads and His Mississippi. By James B. Eads, p. 76.
10. Before Abolition, African-Americans in early Clark County, Kentucky. By Lyndon Comstock. 2017. p. 339.
11. The Genealogy of Mark Twain. by Lucius Marion Lampton, M.D., copyright 1990, pages 78-79.
12. "Mark Twain." Steamboat Times: A Pictorial History of the Mississippi Steamboating Era website.
12. "Mark Twain." Steamboat Times: A Pictorial History of the Mississippi Steamboating Era website.
13. Findagrave #21750
QUOTE: “Jane Clemens, Little Sam’s Mother, decided when he was five years old, that he must have some book learning. She declared she was willing to pay somebody to take him off her hands for a part of each day and try and teach him manners." ~ Alfred Bigelow Paine.
Places to Visit in Missouri:
1. Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site, Florida (see Jane's rocking chair)
1. Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site, Florida (see Jane's rocking chair)
2.. Jane's home, 208 Hill Street, Hannibal
3. Judge Clemens' Offices, 116 Bird Street and 205 Hill Street, Hannibal
4. Grant's Drug Store/Pilaster House, 325 North Main Street, Hannibal
5. the Mississippi River and historic markers
6. Mt. Olivet Cemetery. It is located southeast, off Hwy 79 on 3rd Street, on to Fulton Ave on Route "I", Hannibal
4. Grant's Drug Store/Pilaster House, 325 North Main Street, Hannibal
5. the Mississippi River and historic markers
6. Mt. Olivet Cemetery. It is located southeast, off Hwy 79 on 3rd Street, on to Fulton Ave on Route "I", Hannibal
Note: Biography requested by John Vonderlin, a crafty fellow and history nut as well. 😉
Biography written by Dolores J. Rush. Updated: 10/27/2019.
