Jane Lampton Clemens (1803-1890)	Sam Clemens' mother. A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Jane Lampton married John Clemens in 1823, at the age of 20. She bore seven children, yet outlived all but three of them. When Jane's children became adults and moved from their hometown of Hannibal, Missouri, Jane went to live with them — first with her son Orion in Keokuk, Iowa, and then with her daughter Pamela in St. Louis. In 1870, Jane and Pamela, now also a widow, moved to Fredonia, New York, to be near Sam, who was living in Buffalo. She lived there for 13 years before moving back to Keokuk to live with Orion. In 1890, at the age of 87, she died in Keokuk. Although Sam saw his mother infrequently after leaving Hannibal, usually on his lecture tours, she had a great influence on his life and he often corresponded with her. Jane Clemens is remembered as a cheerful, affectionate, and strong woman, with a gift for storytelling.
John Clemens (1798-1847)	Sam Clemens' father. A native of Virginia, John Clemens was licensed to practice law in 1822. He married Jane Lampton in 1823, and moved to Tennessee, where his first child, Orion, was born. In Jamestown, Tenn., he worked as the town circuit court clerk, and had a law practice on the side. During this time, John accumulated the deeds to more than 70,000 acres of land, which he considered the means to an eventual fortune for his family. These dreams never came to fruitition, however, and the land was eventually sold off in the 1880s without making the family wealthy. In 1835, John moved his family to Florida, Missouri, the site of Sam Clemens' birth, where he ran a dry goods store. Four years later, the Clemens family settled in Hannibal, Mo., John's final residence. In Hannibal, he opened a general store and was a lawyer. As well, he served as justice of the peace and on a circuit court jury. It was while campaigning for the position of circuit court clerk in March 1847 that John contracted pneumonia and died. Sam Clemens was 11 years old at the time. John Clemens was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery outside Hannibal.
Orion Clemens (1825-1897)	Sam Clemens' oldest brother. Although 10 years his senior, Orion Clemens maintained a very close relationship with Sam throughout their lives. Born in Gainesboro, Tennessee, Orion was 15 when the Clemens family moved to Hannibal, Missouri. In 1849, Orion bought the Hannibal Journal newspaper, which he renamed the Hannibal Western Union. It was at this paper that Sam began his writing career, coming to work for his brother in 1851. In September 1853, Orion moved to Muscatine, Iowa, where he founded the Muscatine Journal. Orion married Mollie Stotts in December 1854, and the couple moved to Keokuk, Iowa, where Orion started a printing company. About a month later, Sam and Henry Clemens came to work for Orion, but were forced to leave when the company became a financial flop. With his lack of success in the newspaper and printing businesses, a pattern of failure was emerging that would plague Orion during his lifetime. Good fortune shined on Orion briefly when he was appointed secretary of the Nevada Territory by President Lincoln's attorney general in 1861. The position was a result of Orion's steady campaigning for Lincoln during the run up to the election. Orion asked Sam to accompany him on the trip out West, and with the closing down on the steamboat industry on the Mississippi, Sam was thrilled to be included. Based in Carson City, Orion got to work on the organization of the region's new government. After a year, Mollie and their daughter, Jennie, joined him, and an expensive house was built for the family. In Orion's three and a half years as secretary of Nevada, he earned a postitive reputation among the citizenry, and was considered a likely candidate for the position of secretary of state after statehood was granted in 1864. However, he failed to win the nomination after refusing to attend the nominating convention and adopting an anti-whiskey stance. With the election of Nevada's first government as a state, Orion found himself out of a job. In 1866, Orion and Mollie (Jennie had died two years earlier) returned to Keokuk. The stigma of failure continued to burden Orion. After several years, Orion headed to New York, where he worked as a newspaper proofreader. By this time, Sam Clemens was becoming an established literary celebrity, and was earning enough money to regularly contribute to Orion and Mollie. In 1870, Sam got Orion a job with Elisha Bliss' American Publishing Co. as an editor, but he lasted in this position for only two years. The couple moved back once again to Keokuk, where Orion had a string of business failures, including raising chickens, practising law, and writing a novel. By this time, they were depending fully on Sam's contributions for their livlihood. In the early 1880s, Jane Clemens, Orion's mother, came to live with him in a house bought by Sam. Orion died in Keokuk in 1897.
Pamela Clemens Moffett (1827-1904)	Sam Clemens' older sister. Born in Jamestown, Tennessee, Pamela Clemens was the second child of John and Jane Clemens. Pamela and Samuel were close siblings, maintaining a correspondence throughout their lives. Pamela was a kind, good-hearted child, but was somewhat sickly. She was an accomplished musician, even giving guitar and piano lessons during her teenage years. In 1851, she married William Moffett, a successful business man from Kentucky. After settling in St. Louis, Pamela had two children, Annie and Samuel. It was with the Moffetts in St. Louis that Sam stayed after leaving Hannibal in 1853. With William's death in 1865, Jane Clemens moved in with her daughter. The two widows settled in Fredonia, N.Y., in 1870 to be nearer Samuel and his family. It is considered that Pamela was the inspiration for Mary Sawyer in The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer.
Henry Clemens (1838-1858)	Sam Clemens' younger brother. 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.