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Facts and Events
Notes
- Born in Florida, Missouri, Henry Clemens was the last child of John and Jane Clemens. Henry and Sam were close friends while growing up, due to the proximity of their ages. Henry worked as a printer for his brother Orion from 1853 until the later years of the decade, and then followed Samuel to work on a Mississippi River steamboat, where he was a clerk. In 1858, Henry was working on the Pennsylvania when it exploded near Memphis. He died shortly after the accident from inhalation of steam. Samuel was at his bedside at the time, and felt responsible for his death by encouraging him to work on the river. The accident is described in Chapter 20 of "Life On The Mississippi". Henry was buried next to John Clemens in Mount Olivet Cemetary.
- [1].
Another account of Henry Clemens' death is contained in Mark Twain, A Biography Vol I, Part 1: 1835 - 1866, XXVI. The Tragedy of the "Pennsylvania", by Albert Bigelow Paine.
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