August 24 and 25 Tuesday – Sam wrote from Elmira to his mother, Jane Clemens and family about his plans to stay with the Langdon family:
“…a week or two…This is the pleasantest family I ever knew. I only have one trouble, & that is that they give too much thought & too much time & invention to the object of making my visit pass delightfully” [MTL 2: 243-4].
New York natives Jervis and Olivia Lewis Langdon (1810-1890) were quite wealthy from lumber and coal businesses. Jervis was a strong abolitionist and friend to Frederick Douglass (1818-1895). The Langdon home had been a stop on the Underground Railroad for runaway slaves. Charles was their only son, Susan Langdon Crane (1836-1924) an adopted daughter, and Olivia Louise Langdon. Sam’s wife to-be had suffered from a fall on the ice and been bedridden until shortly before this time. After this visit, Sam began a campaign through letters and oaths to reform to win Livy’s hand in marriage. Lucky for Sam, Jervis was his ally; Jervis liked to laugh, and so liked Sam.