Sam (we'll call him by his real name) and Livy's marriage was, by all accounts, remarkable, and lasted until Livy's death in 1904, after which Sam simply couldn't carry on. She was the editor of his work and the holder of the rights for several of his books, to avoid money getting seized by creditors (Twain wasn't too good with money, and eventually filed for bankruptcy and moved to Europe). As cited by Smithsonian Magazine, Sam said of Livy, "Wheresoever she was, there was Eden."
This was probably a good thing, because much else of their home life was marred by tragic circumstances. They had four children in all: one son and three girls. Their son, Langdon, was born premature in 1870, and passed away after only 19 months from diphtheria, a respiratory illness.
In 1872 the Clemens had their first daughter, Olivia Susan Clemens, named after her mother and dubbed "Susy" from a young age. Livy homeschooled the apparently precocious and witty child herself. As a teenager, Susy was prone to depression; as Mark Twain House states, she dropped out of college likely because she couldn't cope with being away from home. In 1895, Sam had to go on a worldwide speaking tour to make money to compensate for a failed investment in the Paige typesetting machine. While he and Livy were both away, Susy developed spinal meningitis and passed away before either parent could make it home. She was 24.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunB%2BlXJpbnBfqbWmedOrrK2gXZavsMHTZqSaqptiwbityKeqZpuYnrmlvsSnZg%3D%3D