Church Twain Helped Build In Danger

Carson City, Nevada is under fire today from a watchdog group thanks to repeated financial contributions to the First Presbyterian Church, a historic Carson City house of worship whose construction was funded in part by a young Sam Clemens in 1864, according to a story run by the Associated Press.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has called Carson City on the carpet for the money it has contributed for the maintenance of the 145-year-old church and its more modern, adjacent counterpart. Should the payments continue, the group has threatened to sue.

The city paid $78,800 to the church for sidewalks, landscaping and roof repairs last February. In 2006, the city gave $67,700 to help with design costs for the new church. City officials claim the money is not intended to defy church/state separation, but rather is being given for the preservation of a Nevada landmark.

While working as a newspaper man in the territory in his 20s, Clemens supported the construction of the church by raising approximately $200 (about $2,2oo in today's money) charging admission to his roast of Nevada's elected officials in January 1864.

New Book Examines Clemens' Years as a "Journalist"

It was during his time writing for the Virginia City newspaper the Territorial Enterprise during the 1860s that Samuel Clemens transformed on the printed page into Mark Twain. The young upstart cut his teeth writing satirical and often outrageous parodies of real-life news in the mining town, and its that writing which University of Hawaii English professor James E. Caron looks at in his new study, Mark Twain: Unsanctified Newspaper Reporter.

Brian Burnes of the McClatchy Newspapers has written up an interesting review of the book, explaining that although it is clearly a scholarly work and not as populist as Ron Powers acclaimed 2005 biography, it admirably does the job of painting the picture of Sam Clemens finding his literary voice.

Twain wrote for the Nevada Territory paper beginning in 1862, and didn't achieve major success as a published author until The Innocents Abroad ion 1869--providing Caron with a long stretch of fertile ground to cover.

EXCLUSIVE: Twain Scholar Responds to Controversial Nevada Findings

My last post concerned the recent report by Robert Stewart that would seem to indicate Mark Twain did a lot of embellishing in his autobiography and in Roughing It when it came to describing his early travels in Nevada. Last night I received a correspondence from David Antonucci, author of the conflicting report which ran alongside Stewart's findings. Here's what Mr. Antonucci had to say:

Stewart’s article is fraught with errors and invalid assumptions. Most obviously, his distance, terrain description and final location do not agree with the Roughing It account and related letters. He also conflicts with Twain contemporary and biographer George Wharton James on the location of the timber claim. I am ready to debate Stewart anytime, anyplace. I am preparing a point-by-point analysis that will show these and other discrepancies and will seek to present this to the Nevada Historical Society. It’s worthwhile to note that when I confronted Stewart with my criticisms he had no reply other than to say, “we just disagree.” A documentary filmmaker has reviewed both accounts and choose mine for their upcoming Twain documentary. Finally, my paper was peer reviewed by Twain scholars in 2005 at Fifth International Conference on the State of Mark Twain Studies.

Strong words from a man who is obviously passionate about his own evidence. Thanks to Mr. Antonucci for allowing me to reprint his words, and I hope he and Mr. Stewart will be able to air out their differences in the near future.

New Light Shed on Twain's Time in Nevada

It's long been known that Twain took much creative license in the crafting of his highly entertaining, posthumously published autobiography. Now, Twain scholar Robert Stewart is challenging the author's account of his grueling trek from Aurora to Virginia City, Nevada--where, as a young man, he came to work for local newspaper the Territorial Enterprise and get his first paid writing experience.

According to Twain's dramatic account, he walked alone from one town to the other; however, Stewart's research would indicate a much more mundane version, in which Twain actually rode on a horse, and was accompanied by a friend. In general, according to Stewart, the trip was far less difficult than Twain made it sound.

Stewart postulates that, much like a lot of the author's hyperbole in his autobiography, the license was taken in order to strongly accentuate his rise from obscurity to literary prominence.

"Reality was not as impressive, but Twain was not above altering reality when a good story was more effective, and it seems probable that he was the source of this story," said Nevada state historic preservation officer Ron James to the Reno Gazette-Journal.

In a second article, Stewart displays the research which helped him ascertain the exact route the young Sam Clemens took on his visit to the Lake Tahoe Basin. Both articles, in addition to a third article by David Antonucci postulating an alternate route, can be found in the recently published Summer 2008 issue of the Nevada Historical Society Quarterly.