Day by Day entries are from Mark Twain, Day By Day, four volumes of books compiled by David Fears and made available on-line by the Center for Mark Twain Studies.  The entries presented here are from conversions of the PDFs provided by the Center for Mark Twain Studies and are subject to the vagaries of that process.    The PDFs, themselves, have problems with formatting and some difficulties with indexing for searching.  These are the inevitable problems resulting from converting a printed book into PDFs.  Consequently, what is provided here are copies of copies.  

I have made attempts at providing a time-line for Twain's Geography and have been dissatisfied with the results.  Fears' work provides a comprehensive solution to that problem.  Each entry from the books is titled with the full date of the entry, solving a major problem I have with the On-line site - what year is the entry for.  The entries are certainly not perfect reproductions from Fears' books, however.  Converting PDFs to text frequently results in characters, and sometimes entire sections of text,  relocating.  In the later case I have tried to amend the problem where it occurs but more often than not the relocated characters are simply omitted.  Also, I cannot vouch for the paragraph structure.  Correcting these problems would require access to the printed copies of Fears' books.  Alas, but this is beyond my reach.

This page allows the reader to search for entries based on a range of dates.  The entries are also accessible from each of the primary sections (Epochs, Episodes and Chapters) of Twain's Geography.  

Entry Date (field_entry_date)

July 1, 1876 Saturday

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July 1 Saturday – Sam gave a reading of his sketch “Francis Lightfoot Lee of Virginia” at the Congress of Authors, Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [Schmidt; Etting’s letter of June 18 forwarded by Sam to Trumbull]. Sam was impressed by the West Point Cadets who also participated in the Centennial Exhibition [MTNJ 2: 126n24]. Lorch says Sam received $300 for a fifteen minute reading given in the “midst of a co

July 2, 1876 Sunday

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July 2 Sunday – In a letter to Mary Mason Fairbanks on Sept. 14, Sam wrote that he “staid nearly a whole day” in Philadelphia, which means he traveled back to Elmira through the night, arriving early in the morning of July 2 [MTLE 1: 79, 110].

July 3, 1876 Monday 

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July 3 Monday – Charles E. Perkins wrote to Sam: “Yours of the 1st inst is recd with check for taxes. I enclose tax bill receipted—also check for my half yearly charge of $150…The check for coupons for Mrs Clemens a/c is $404.25 and is deposited…” [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env. “Tax receipt for July ’76 / Recpt for Perkins to July ‘76”

July 4, 1876 Tuesday

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July 4 Tuesday  Sam wrote from Elmira to Moncure Conway, worried that the book and newspaper notice Conway had sent were lost. Communication with Bliss had become difficult at this point, with Sam having to ask Conway if the pictures from Bliss had arrived. They were needed for the English publication of TS. “I can’t find out from him,” Sam complained.

July 6, 1876 Thursday 

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July 6 Thursday  In Hartford, Sam wrote a short note of thanks to George Bentley of the Temple Bar in London, for money received for an article sent on Apr. 26 [MTLE 1: 80]. Note: It’s not known when Sam left Hartford and returned to Elmira, though Bliss wrote him on July 18.

July 18, 1876 Tuesday 

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July 18 Tuesday – Elisha Bliss wrote from Hartford to Sam.

Friend Clemens— / Two weeks sickness this hot weather has nearly used me up, but I am out again; I should have replied to you before had I been able to do it! Your proofs have also been delayed on a/c of my indisposition—

July 20, 1876 Thursday 

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July 20 Thursday – Elisha Bliss wrote enclosing proofs of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer [MTP].

Henry H. Halterman wrote from Jackson, Ohio asking for a $500 loan [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env. “$500 wanted.”

July 21, 1876 Friday 

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July 21 Friday – The American Publishing Co.’s edition of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was copyrighted by title page this day, even though it wasn’t offered for sale until Dec. 1876 [Duckett 106, citing Blanck].

J.W. Langdon wrote from NYC to solicit writing for his autograph album… “something original” [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env. “Unutterable cheek”

July 22, 1876 Saturday

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July 22 Saturday  In Elmira, Sam wrote a long conciliatory letter he marked PRIVATE to Elisha Bliss. In a July 20 letter Bliss answered Sam’s concerns and sent a few more chapters of proofs of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Bliss also had been sick, and objected to some of Sam’s suggestions. Sam’s wrote that his suggestions about shrinking the company were just that, and:

July 23, 1876 Sunday

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July 23 Sunday – The Philadelphia Sunday Republic published part of the fence-whitewashing episode of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer [The Twainian, Mar. 1944 p.4].

Charles Dudley Warner wrote from Hartford to Sam, sorry he hadn’t been able to get to Phila. soon enough to see him. He’d read TS “and greatly enjoyed” it. Much of his small scrawl is illegible [MTP]

July 24, 1876 Monday

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July 24 Monday  Sam wrote from Elmira to Moncure Conway. He’d discovered where The Adventures of Tom Sawyer excerpts in the newspapers were originating from—Moncure’s marketing letters to a Cincinnati paper.

July 26, 1876 Wednesday 

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July 26 Wednesday – The Hartford Courant printed “The Boy, the Beetle and the Dog. A Sketch from Mark Twain’s ‘Tom Sawyer,’ in Press.” This was taken from chapter 5 and was independent of Conway’s “London Letter” first sent to the Cincinnati Commercial (See June 26 entry.) It was reprinted Aug. 28 in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch [MTPO notes on July 24 to Conway].

July 29, 1876 Saturday 

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July 29 Saturday – Abraham Reeves Jackson wrote from Chicago, transcript of July 22 Evening Post editorial enclosed. Jackson passed on a letter from J.H. Dowling who wanted Sam to lecture there [MTP].

July 30, 1876 Sunday 

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July 30 Sunday  Sam wrote from Elmira to Montgomery Schuyler, journalist and architectural critic for the New York World, answering his letter of July 25. Sam had done a squib for the World but burned it, and would write another “in coming months.” No doubt he was responding to a request for an article [MTLE 1: 88].

July 31, 1876 Monday 

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July 31 Monday – Charles E. Perkins wrote to Sam acknowledging his of the 27th with the $3,000 to be invested for Livy. He complained of “infernal hot weather” [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env. “The 21st Thousand invested.”

July 31-August 7 Monday – Sam and Bliss wrote proof notes for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer [MTPO].

August 1876

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August – Sometime during the month at Quarry Farm, Sam began “A Record of the Small Foolishnesses of Susie & ‘Bay’ Clemens (Infants)”. The document would grow for nine years [MTNJ 2: 365n32]. (See July 1880 entry.)

August 1, 1876 Tuesday

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August 1 Tuesday  In Elmira, Sam sent a post card to the American Publishing Co. requesting two cloth copies of Charles Dudley Warner’s book, Mummies or Moslems [MTLE 1: 89; Aug. 8 to Bliss].

August 2, 1876 Wednesday

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August 2 Wednesday – Thomas C. Noble, Jr. wrote from Cumberland Centre, Maine to offer his services as an “old and experienced hand” of a playwright who would “be most happy to give…all the instruction” he needed. He’d been a teacher, and added, “If you do not answer me I shall write you twice a day for the next three months” [MTP]. Note: any answer is not extant.

August 4, 1876 Friday 

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August 4 Friday  Sam wrote from Elmira to Mary Mason Fairbanks urging her to visit. He claimed his “pet book, which lies at home one-third done & never more to be touched…Destroyed by a vacation,” so that he could not leave Quarry Farm to visit anyone since he was “tearing along on a new book” and that each time Livy took a trip down the hill it laid her up for two days [MTLE 1: 93].

August 5, 1876 Saturday

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August 5 Saturday – In Townsend Harbor, Mass., Howells wrote to Sam. After some playful recriminations about sending a long letter and receiving back only a postcard, Howells told of their vacation, his writing, and his beginning of the life of Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893) for the campaign. He also asked about Sam’s “double-barrel novel” and would he sell it to the Atlantic for next year? [MTHL 1: 142].