Mark Twain, born Samuel Clemens in 1835 in Missouri, grew up in Hannibal on the Mississippi River where he had many adventures as a boy that influenced his famous novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He had a variety of jobs as a young man, including steamboat pilot, before achieving fame as a writer. His books were hugely popular during his lifetime but he also experienced personal tragedies like the deaths of his wife and children.

1. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Research Project
THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER
Research Project
By: Lisa Donahoe

2. Biography
Mark Twain was born Samuel Longhorn Clemens in Florida, Missouri on November 30, 1835. He
was the sixth child of John and Jane Clemens. When he was four years old, his family moved to
Hannibal, Missouri, in which about 1000 people were living there at the time. His father, John,
was a very cold and stern person, while his mother, Jane, was a fun-loving, happy and outgoing
person. Mark's father died unexpectedly when he was 11 or 12 years old, leaving his family with
economical troubles and a near destitute state. As a child, Mark witnessed many murders and
deaths, such as when a local man killed a the local cattle rancher. Mark had a series of jobs as an
adolescent and into adulthood. When he was 15, he worked as a printer, occasional writer, and
editor for the Hannibal Western Union, and when he was 17 he moved to work in a print shop in
New York. When Mark was 21, a dream of his was fulfilled when he began learning about piloting
a steamboat. By 1859, he was a licensed pilot. However, when the civil war began just shortly
after starting the job, the steamboat business dropped and he was out of work. Missouri was split
from confederate and union, so Mark volunteered as a confederate soldier. By 1862, he needed a
job desperately so he ventured to the west in search of work, where he found a job as a reporter
for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. In 1869, his book The Innocents Abroad was published
and was an instant bestseller and made him famous. By age 34, he was one of the most popular
and famous writers in America. However, people in the East (who were moneyed and Victorian)
disapproved of Twain because he was a westerner. In Februrary of 1870, he married Olivia
Langdon and together they had 4 kids. His last 15 years, he was one of the most respected
American celebrities and was honored where ever he went

3. Biography (Pg. 2)
– however he fell in a depression and his life was hell. His daughter Suzy died at age 24 due to
spinal meningitis and his son Langdon died due to diphtheria. His daughter Jean had severe
epilepsy, and during attacks she tried to murder her housekeeper, but later she died due to a
heart attack. Mark was usually traveling when his wife was sick, and later she died of an illness.
Mark Twain died peacefully on April 21, 1910 in his home in Redding, Connecticut due to angina
pectoris.

4. Hannibal, Missouri
In 1830, Hannibal only had about 30 citizens. Rivers, fertile farmland, abundant timber attracted
settlers and created a thriving economy and in 1845, it was chartered as a city and the first mayor
elected was James Brady. Jobs available in Hannibal were pork packing, soap and candle making,
coopering, milling of lumber, milling of grain, rope making, and tanning (not the kind we do at
beaches today). In the daily life, flat boats with grain and hemp were tied up to the waterfront,
livestock fattened in the back country, logs were sent down from Wisconsin and Minnesota and
converted into boards as sawmills flourished. In 1830, the first school was built and in 1866, the
first high school was opened at Sixth and North Street. In 1837, the first newspaper, the
Commercial Advertiser, was released. The first railroad to cross the state of Missouri, the
Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, was completed in 1859.

5. Events (America)
In March 16, 1830 the Book of Mormon was published by Joseph Smith and the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-Day Saints was established. The Book of Mormon is a collection of ancient
writings telling about God's dealings with the three groups of people he led to the New World.
Only two of the three groups kept records – the Nephites and Jaredites.
In 1830, the Indian Removal Act was passed with support from then-president Andrew Jackson,
which allows the federal government to trade and negotiate with eastern tribes for land.
Financial aid was provided by the government for resettlement.
In 1833, Samuel Colt invents the revolver (gun). The revolver is a six shooter repeating firearm
that contains multiple chambers and at least one barrel for shooting. The gun later became
known as the Colt Paterson. Revolvers have been replaced by semi automatic pistols in the
military and law enforcement, but still remains popular in the role of back up and off duty guns
among law enforcement.

6. Events (World)
In the 1840's, a potato blight and other agricultural issues across Europe cause a major food
shortage and famine conditions. The potato blight mysteriously began when a fog wafted across
the fields of Ireland carrying an airborne fungus. Winds from the south carried the fungus to
countryside Dublin, where the fungal spores settled on healthy leaves of the potato plants. The
damp conditions made it ideal for the fungus to spread from potato to potato.
The universal Catholic Apostolic Church forms in the UK, on July 14, 1835. The term Catholic
Apostolic Church belongs to the entire community of Christians who follow the Nicene Creed.
The Nicene Creed is part of the profession of faith required of those undertaking important
functions within the church.
On September 20, Farroupilha's Revolution begins in Rio Grande, Brazil, a republican uprising
caused by the belief that Rio Grande's economy differed from the rest of the country.

7. Mississippi River
The Mississippi river is approximately 3,779 km long and is the second longest river in the United
States, and the third largest river in the world. The river covers about 40%of the country
including all or part of 31 states. The name means “father of waters” in the Algonquian language.
The river rises in Minnesota and flows south, crossing through states such as Minnesota, Iowa,
Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi. The
annual temperatures range from 40 to 50 F at the Mississippi's source in Minnesota and about 70
to 80 F at it's “mouth”. Precipitation along the river's source varies widely, from 20 to 40 in the
north and 60 to 70 in it's New Orleans delta. Due to the massive amount of precipitation, the
lower section of the Mississippi is subjected to flooding. After the flood in 1927, efforts at
containing the river were high when 26,000 mi of land were inundated and the river rose 57 ft at
Cairo, and in the summer of 1993, heavy and prolonged rain raised to the upper section of the
Mississippi which became the worst flood ever experienced in the USA. The flood zone stretched
over the nine northern states. The lower river is used for oceangoing ships upstream to Baton
Rouge. From there to Cairo, a 12 ft channel is maintained, and from Cairo to Minneapolis a 9 feet
channel is maintained. The first Europeans to see the river inland were Hernando de Soto and his
party in 1541, and in the late 17 th century, Frenchmen Jacques Marquette, Louis Jolliet, and
Robert Cavalier de La Salle explored the river from the north. When they reached the mouth of
the Mississippi in 1682, they claimed the whole valley for France, however later the basin was
purchased by the United States in 1803. The original indian tribes of the area were Ojibwa,
Winnebago, Fox, Sauk, Chicksaw, Natchez, and Alabama.

8. Mississippi River (Pg. 2)
The river system formed pathways for much of the settlement of the central United States. The
advent of the steamboat in 1812 brought dependable transportation and the river traffic
increased, and in the civil war the control of the river was a major strategic objective. Eventually
though, the steamboats were replaced by diesel, screw driven towboats.

9. Women's Rights In 1800's
Women's rights in the 1800's are very different from today. Rights depended on where they
lived, their social class, and what part of the 1800's they lived in. Lower class women left school
early (if they even went to school at all) to work, while upper and middle class women tended to
stay in school longer. Educational opportunities improved in these years, and schools for both
genders were arising, however they were still unequal. Women of the underclass wore rags and
had messy hair, while upper class women wore veils, lace, corsets, and gloves so their body
would be covered to show modesty. Middle class women were offered jobs as domestic service,
agricultural labor, seamstress, washer woman, and serving the wealthy. Underclass women were
deprived of education and respected jobs, and out of desperation resorted to prostitution and
relied on relief organizations. Upper class women were not allowed to attend university or
college yet, but did have some basic knowledge of reading, writing, and arithmetic skills. In these
times, women who wished to remain single were often disrespected and pitied upon by the
community. However, women who were married technically had no rights – all their inheritance
and their body were given to the husband. Women's rights have changed dramatically over the
years, giving women more freedom and basic rights.

10. Q&A
Q: When and where was Mark Twain born?
A: Born in Florida, Missouri on November 30, 1835
Q: Where did he grow up?
A: Hannibal, Missouri
Q: Who were his parents? What jobs did they have? Did he have siblings?
A: The sixth child of John and Jane Clemens; John worked as a store keeper, lawyer, judge, and a
land speculator, Jane worked as a home maker.
Q: What significant events took place in his childhood?
A: Father died when he was 11 or 12, witnessed many deaths as a child
Q: Did he go to school? College?
A: Never went to school past elementary, however did go to college
Q: What jobs did he have as a child or young adult?
A: Age 15, worked for Hannibal Western Union, age 17 worked in a print shop in NY, age 21
steamboat pilot
Q: Did he get married? If so, when and to whom? Did they have kids?
A: Married to Olivia Langdon in February 1870 and had 4 kids
Q: What jobs did he have as an adult?
A: Reporter for Virginia City Territorial Enterprise and an author and writer

11. Q&A (Pg. 2)
Q: What books did he publish?
A: Adventures of Huckeberry Finn, Adventures of Tom Sawyer, 1601, A Connecticut Yankee in
King Arthur's Court, A Dog's Tale, A Double Barrelled Detective Story, A Horse's Tale, Alonzo Fitz
and Other Stories, Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven, Chapters From My Autobiography,
Christian Science, Complete letters of mark Twain, Curious Republic of Gondour, Editorial Wild
Oats, Essays on Pauk Burget, Eve's Diary, Extracts From Adams Diary, Fenimor Cooper's Literary
Offenses, Following the Equator, Golsmith's Friend Abroad Again, How to Tell a Story, In Defence
of Harriet Shelley, Is Shakespeare Dead, Life on the Mississippi, On the Decay of the Art of Lying.
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, Roughing It, Sketches New and Old, Some Rambling Notes
on an Idle Excursion, The 30,000 Dollar Bequest and Other Stories, The American Claimant, The
Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut, The Gilded Age, The Innocents
Abroad, Letters from Earth, The Man Who Corrupted Hailleyburg, The Mysterious Stranger, The
Prince and the Pauper, The Stolen White Elephant, The Tragedy of Puddi'nhead Wilson, Those
Extraordinary Twins, Tom Sawyer Abroad, Tom Sawyer Detective, What is Man
Q: For what is he most well known?
A: Author of Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckeberry Finn
Q: When and how did he die?
A: Died on April 21, 1910 due to angina pectoris
Q: What other important or interesting information did you find about him?
A: 1) Ran away from home often. 2) Named his dogs I Know, You Know, and Don't Know. 3) Born
on the day Halley's Comet came 4) He loved cats.

12. Reflection
I believe that Mark's life experiences influenced the plot of Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Some of
the things Tom does might be based on what Mark did. As a child, Mark witnessed many murders
and in Tom Sawyer, he witnesses the murder of Doctor Robinson. Mark also hated school, and in
the novel Tom is constantly skipping school and it seems as if Tom dislikes school as well.
Hannibal's description and St. Petersburg's description sound similar to each other, so Mark
might have been just giving Hannibal a fake alias. I believe that Mark was telling his childhood in
another character's perspective.

13. Works Cited
Trimble, Stanley W. "Mississippi River." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Online, 2012.
Web. 29 Nov. 2012
"Mark Twain Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2012.
PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2012.
"1835." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Nov. 2012. Web. 29 Nov. 2012
"Revolver." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Nov. 2012. Web. 29 Nov. 2012
"Yuku Free Message Boards." Topic. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2012
"Visit Hannibal | Hannibal.net | The Hannibal Courier-Post." Visit Hannibal | Hannibal.net | The
Hannibal Courier-Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2012.
"Mark Twain's Mississippi: Economic Development." Mark Twain's Mississippi: Economic
Development. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2012.