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Jervis Langdon, Jr Mark Twain Circular Newsletter of the Mark Twain Circle of America Volume 18 April 2004 Number 1 The Death of Jervis Langdon, Jr. Jervis Langdon, Jr. 1905-2004 Gretchen Sharlow, Director Center for MT Studies at Quarry Farm Shelley Fisher Fishkin Stanford University It is with deep appreciation and respect that the Elmira College community I was saddened to learn of the death of Jervis mourns the loss of Mark Twain’s grand- Langdon, Jr. on February 16, 2004, and wanted to nephew, Jervis Langdon, Jr., who died take this opportunity to remember him as a gra- February 16, 2004, at his home in Elmira, cious, generous and public-spirited man. I had the New York, at the age of 99. pleasure of meeting Jervis Langdon, Jr. and his With his 1982 gift of the beloved wonderful wife, Irene, three years ago in Elmira. I family home Quarry Farm to Elmira Col- was struck by the way he embraced the legacies lege, and his vision to nurture Twain both of his great grandfather, Jervis Langdon scholarship, Jervis Langdon, Jr. made a (Olivia Langdon Clemens' father, and Sam Clem- major impact on the world of Mark Twain ens' father-in-law), and of his grand-uncle Mark studies. The Elmira College Center for Twain, with wisdom and sensitivity. Mark Twain Studies was developed in In May, 1869, his great grandfather, Jervis 1983 with a mission to foster the study Langdon, purchased the East Hill property in El- Mark Twain, his life, his literature, and his mira that would become Quarry Farm, the home significant influence on American culture. of Olivia Langdon's sister Susan Crane, and the Scholars from around the world come to summer retreat in which Sam Clemens wrote Elmira College to stay at the Farm as many of his most important books. A little more Quarry Farm Research Fellows in Resi- than a century later, in 1982, Jervis Langdon, Jr. dence. Since 1983, scholars acknowledg- donated Quarry Farm to Elmira College (an insti- ing the Mark Twain resources at Elmira tution of which his great grandfather had been a College have published over 30 books and founding trustee) for use as a Center for Mark numerous articles. Since it’s founding, the Twain Studies. Since that time, innumerable Center has hosted four quadrennial inter- Twain scholars have had the unalloyed pleasure national conferences on The State of Mark of spending several days or several weeks work- Twain Studies. The fifth conference is ing in rooms that Clemens and his family inhab- scheduled for August 4-6, 2005. ited, imbibing the spirit of the place that unfail- We wish to thank Shelley Fisher ingly revived his creativity. I will never forget Fiskin for her fitting tribute to Jervis what it felt like to sit on the porch where Mary Langdon, Jr. Ann Cord told the Clemens family the story that would become the basis for "A True Story, that a Black man, an ex-slave—Jones—had been Repeated Word For Word as I Heard it," and in charge of burying their dead there, they were I will never forget the special treat it was to outraged. They stormed up to Elmira in a fury, chat with Donald Blandford, a distant rela- with an eye towards removing their dead for tion of Cord's, in Mary Ann Cord's kitchen. proper re-interment in the South. But when they Jervis Langdon, Jr.'s generosity allowed arrived, the meticulous records kept by Jones Quarry Farm to become the unique haven for (who had been taught to read and write by Clara Mark Twain scholars from around the world Thurston, the same woman who taught Olivia that it has become. Langdon) stunned them into silence, as did the Jervis Langdon, Jr., who was born in exemplary grave markings and 2,973 well-kept Elmira in 1905, was 99 years old at his graves for which he was responsible. Jervis Lang- death. A graduate of Cornell University Law don, Jr. and Irene Langdon had the wisdom and School, he was commissioned a captain, and the foresight to recognize that if action were not later a colonel, in the air transport division of taken to preserve a house in which John W. Jones the Army Air Corps in World War II, and had lived, that fascinating chapter of history might served as chief of staff to the U.S. com- vanish. They helped found the John W. Jones Mu- mander in the Philippines. During his long seum a couple of years ago as a museum to com- and productive life he served as chief execu- memorate not only the life and work of Jones him- tive of three major railroads—the Penn Cen- self, but also the history of the Underground Rail- tral, the Baltimore and Ohio, and the Rock road in the region. It is an institution that Twain Island. scholars should embrace and support. While Twain scholars will always be When I was in Elmira in 2001 for the Fourth indebted to him for having donated Quarry International Mark Twain Conference, Jervis and Farm to Elmira College for use as a Center Irene Langdon were kind enough to invite me to a for Mark Twain Studies, I want to recognize, delightful lunch at their home. I was intrigued to as well, another institution—a younger insti- hear Mr. Langdon's reminiscences about his fam- tution—that he also helped launch. Jervis ily, and to learn about John W. Jones and the mu- Langdon, Jr., who was in charge, at various seum they hoped to establish. After lunch I was points in his career, of some of the nation's taken for a fascinating drive past the Jones house, leading railroads and was a member of the and past other Jones- and Langdon-related sites in Railroad Hall of Fame, also helped sustain Elmira. During the last three years, we corre- the legacies of his great grandfather's com- sponded now and then, sharing items of mutual mitment to another railroad, the Under- interest. It was a privilege and a pleasure to have ground Railroad, by helping to found the the chance to meet Jervis Langdon, Jr., and to John W. Jones Museum in Elmira. count him as a friend. I will miss him. With funds supplied by Jervis Lang- don and others, John W. Jones, a former [For more on John W. Jones, see a recent issue of slave himself, helped make Elmira a key The Chemung Historical Journal devoted to him: stop on the Underground Railroad, shepherd- The Chemung Historical Journal vol. 49, No.2 ing hundreds of other fugitive slaves to free- (December 2003). See in particular, "History of dom. His "day job" was looking after the John W. Jones" by Barbara S. Ramsdell, pp. 5408- dead in Elmira's Civil War prison camp. 5424" and the photo on p. 5407. I am grateful to Some time after the war, when members of Irene Langdon for having shared this material with the Daughters of the Confederacy learned me.] Spend Two Weeks with Mark Twain Elmira College announces the 2004 Summer Mark Twain Teachers Institute. Who? Sponsored by the Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies and the Elmira College Of- fice of Continuing Education and Graduate Studies, the institute is under the direction of Michael J. Kiskis, Professor of American Literature, Elmira College. Visiting faculty include accomplished Mark Twain scholars Victor A. Doyno, Professor of English, SUNY Buffalo; Kerry Driscoll, Profes- sor of English, St. Joseph’s College; and Laura E. Skandera Trombley, President, Pitzer College. What? Participants will come away with resources both practical and theoretical to enhance their understanding of Mark Twain within the context of American literary culture. The primary focus of the two-week seminar is on strategies for teaching Mark Twain. One week will focus on Twain’s ma- jor novels; the second will focus on travel writings, essays, short fiction, and auto/biography. Partici- pants will be eligible to earn 3 graduate credits through Elmira College’s graduate program. When? July 19 – 30, 2004 Where? Seminar meetings will be held at Quarry Farm, on East Hill overlooking the city of Elmira, NY. Quarry Farm was the summer home of the Langdon family and became the home of Olivia Langdon Clemens’ sister and brother-in-law, Susan and Theodore Crane. Participants will stay on the Elmira College campus. Cost? $2000, which includes opening reception, graduate tuition, room and board from July 18 – 30, 2004. Lunches will be provided at Quarry Farm. Enrollment is limited to a maximum of 25 participants. Information and registration materials can be requested by contacting Elmira College’s Office of Continuing Education and Graduate Studies. Phone 800-354-4720 or 607-735-1825; fax 607-735- 1150; email [email protected]. You may also contact Dr. Michael J. Kiskis, Institute Director: phone 607-735-1827; email [email protected]. Website addresses: www.elmira.edu/graduate; www.elmira.edu/Twain. Current Mark Twain by e-mail ([email protected]), or by other means. Bibliography Books James S. Leonard The Citadel Budd, Louis J. Mark Twain: Social Philoso- pher. University of Missouri Press, 2001. 276 Current Mark Twain Bibliography is a means pages. $19.95. Reissue of Budd’s classic 1962 of giving notice of what’s new in Mark Twain study. Called by the Indiana Magazine of His- scholarship. Where annotations are used, they tory “the most comprehensive study of the sub- are in most cases descriptive blurbs provided ject [Twain’s social and political views] that has by publishers (or in some cases, by authors) been made.” with value judgments edited out.
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