Day By Day Dates

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)

June 1, 1869 Tuesday 

June 1 Tuesday  Sam answered a letter from John J. Murphy, the New York agent for the San Francisco Alta California. Sam was still reading proofs, with “several chapters to read yet.” He was of two minds about going to California [MTL 3: 254-5].

June 4, 1869 Friday

June 4 Friday  Sam wrote from Elmira to his mother and family:

“In twelve months (or rather I believe it is fourteen,) I have earned just eighty dollars by my pen – two little magazine squibs & one newspaper letter – altogether the idlest, laziest 14 months I have ever spent in my life.”

June 17, 1869 Thursday

June 17 Thursday – Sam, Livy and Jervis Langdon attended the wedding of Livy’s childhood friend, Alice Hooker to John Calvin Day [Willis 50]. Livy and her parents left Hartford on June 21 and New York on June 22. Livy spent three days visiting with Fidele Brooks [MTL 3: 267n5].

June 21, 1869 Monday

June 21 Monday  Sam wrote from Hartford to Livy the day she left Hartford with her family.

“I don’t think I shall accomplish anything by tarrying here, & so I shall be in New York tomorrow evening” [MTL 3: 265-6]. Note: Sam had talked to Charles Dudley Warner about part ownership of the Hartford Courant, but the results were negative.

June 22, 1869 Tuesday

June 22 Tuesday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Samuel Bowles, editor of the Springfield, (Mass.) Daily Republican asking if he would sell part interest in the paper. Sam went to New York and arrived at 5 PM. He then went to Fidele Brooks’ home, where Livy was visiting and stayed until 10 PM [MTL 3: 268].

June 23, 1869 Wednesday

 June 23 Wednesday – Sam wrote from the Everett House in New York City to Livy’s mother, Olivia Lewis Langdon. Sam told Livy’s mother all was well with her daughter. He spent from 11 AM until 2 PM at the Brooks’ home [MTL 3: 268-9].

June 26, 1869 Saturday 

June 26 Saturday – Sam wrote from Elmira to his mother, and sister Pamela. Sam notified them that he’d shipped his trunk and valise from New York on June 24. Between June 23 and 26 Sam had received word from Abel Fairbanks raising the amount for only one quarter of the Cleveland Herald, and Sam expressed doubts that he would work out a deal with them.

July 1869

July – Sam’s article, “Mark Twain’s Eulogy on the Reliable Contraband” ran in the July issue of Packard’s Monthly [Camfield, bibliog.].

July 3?, 1869 Saturday

July 3? Saturday  Sam wrote from Elmira to his brother Orion Clemens. Sam conveyed Jervis Langdon’s offer to buy the Tennessee Land for $20,000 cash and $10,000 canal stock [MTL 3: 279-80]. (See July 7 entry).

July 5, 1869 Monday

July 5 Monday  Sam wrote from Elmira to Mary Mason Fairbanks with excuses why he had not yet come to Cleveland. He was writing next winter’s lecture; he “unexpectedly got aground here,” etc. [MTL 3: 280-1]. Sam had been away from Livy for a few weeks, and it’s most likely that he simply did not want to leave again so soon.

July 7, 1869 Wednesday

July 7 Wednesday – Orion replied to Sam’s July 3? Letter:

[Jervis Langdon] must not buy blindfold, or until he sends his Memphis agent there to examine….Neither you nor Ma nor Pamela know anything about the land….I have laboriously investigated the titles, localities and qualities and I would put its present value at about five thousand dollars, though Ma and Pamela would not be willing to take that.

July 12, 1869 Monday 

July 12 Monday – In Elmira, Sam wrote to Elisha Bliss, complimenting the promotional circular for IA and requesting that some be sent to his agent, James Redpath [MTL 3: 283].

Elisha Bliss wrote to Clemens.

Yours rec’d. Our Pros will be out in 2 or 3 days We are binding books also. We have deemed it best not to open our batteries right in the heat of haying

July 15, 1869 Thursday

July 15 Thursday  Sam went to Buffalo, New York and on to Cleveland to investigate and negotiate an interest in the Cleveland Herald with Abel FairbanksNote: Sam would purchase a third interest in The Buffalo ExpressJervis Langdon would loan Sam half of the $25,000 needed to purchase the interest.