Mark Twain

Birth Name: Samuel Langhorne Clemens

Date of Birth: November 30, 1835

Place of Birth: Florida, Missouri, U.S.

Date of Death: April 21, 1910

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Place of Death: Redding, Connecticut, U.S.

Ethnicity: English, as well as Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh

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Mark Twain was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He is known for his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Mark was the son of Jane Casey (Lampton) and John Marshall Clemens. He was married to Olivia Langdon Clemens, until her death, with whom he had four children.

It is sometimes said that Mark had Cornish ancestry, through his patrilineal Clemens line. This does not appear to be correct. Most publicly available family trees of Mark Twain trace his patrilineal ancestry back to Wales.

Mark’s paternal grandfather was Samuel B. Clemens (the son of Jeremiah Clements and Elizabeth Moore). Mark’s grandfather Samuel was born in Virginia. Jeremiah was the son of Ezekiel Clements and Christina Castell. Elizabeth was the daughter of Gershom Moore and Mercy Furman.

Mark’s paternal grandmother was Permelia/Pamela Goggin (the daughter of Stephen Goggin and Rachel Clark Moorman). Permelia was born in Virginia. Stephen was the son of Stephen Goggin, who was Irish, and of Lettice Boyd. Rachel was the daughter of Thomas Moorman and Rachel Clark.

Mark’s maternal grandfather was Benjamin Lampton (the son of William Lampton and Martha Patsy Schooler). Benjamin was born in Virginia. William was born in Durham, England, the son of William Lampton and Sarah. Martha was the daughter of John Schooler and Martha Wharton.

Mark’s maternal grandmother was Margaret Montgomery “Peggy” Casey (the daughter of William Casey and Erythusa “Jane” Montgomery). Margaret was born in Virginia or Kentucky. William had Irish and Welsh ancestry. Erythusa was the daughter of William Montgomery and Jane Patterson.

Sources: Genealogies of Mark Twain –