In no way did I mean to imply that Ms. Bailey's work was based on
fraudulent documents.  I should have been more careful in my original
posting.  I read the original book with genuine fascination, and I
apologize to Ms. Bailey for creating the negative impression.




Jim Edstrom



On Mon, 29 Feb, 2016 at 1:30:11 PM, Shoshana Bailey
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
 
To: [log in to unmask]

Mr. Edstrom,

I do hope you're not implying that any of my work was based on
fraudulent do=
cuments.=20

The DNA evidence that Mr. Carkeet based his conclusions on only recently
cam=
e to light.=20

"As someone who has done similar
professional research to evaluate and debunk historical narratives based
on fraudulent documents, I applaud Mr. Carkeet's work. Well done!"

Best regards,
Susan Bailey

Sent from my iPhone

> On Feb 29, 2016, at 1:19 PM, James Edstrom
<[log in to unmask]> w=
rote:
>=20
> I read Mr. Carkeet's article with absorbing interest. I had found
Susan
> Bailey's book to be a fascinating read and a wonderful story, and so
I'm
> probably like a lot of Twain aficionados--I wanted the story to be
true.
> After reading Mr. Carkeet's narrative, I think there can be no doubt
> that his conclusion--much to my disappointment--is exactly right. He
> documented all of his research with great care; I was particularly
> impressed that he took the time to evaluate Nina's diaries rather than
> to rely upon the typescript. As someone who has done similar
> professional research to evaluate and debunk historical narratives
based
> on fraudulent documents, I applaud Mr. Carkeet's work. Well done!
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
> Jim Edstrom
>=20
> Professor of Library Services and History
>=20
> William Rainey Harper College
>=20
> Palatine, Illinois
>=20
>=20
>=20
> On Sat, 27 Feb, 2016 at 12:12:05 PM, Hal Bush <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>=20
> To: [log in to unmask]
>=20
> Friends; first, thanks for this, & thanks mainly to you David.
>=20
> 2nd: I'm a little surprised there has been no response to David's
> conclusions, here on the Twain Forum, which do appear definitive. Then
> again, maybe it's not that surprising that nobody has responded, I
> suppose,
> given the constraints of civil behavior. (One might wonder about the
> currency of civility, given our odd presidential campaign season so
> far).
>=20
> 3rd: It was a fun ride while it lasted, laced with ironies; & quite a
> tale, in any event. 'nuff said ... -hb
>=20
> On Wed, Feb 24, 2016 at 9:09 AM, Taylor Roberts
> <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>=20
>> [The following email was written by David Carkeet. I am posting it on
> his
>> behalf. -TR]
>>=20
>> ---
>>=20
>> Most Forum members are aware of Susan Bailey=3DE2=3D80=3D99s book THE
TWA=
IN
>> SHALL=3D
>> MEET
>> (co-authored by Deborah Gosselin), which sets forth the theory that
> Susan
>> is Samuel Clemens=3DE2=3D80=3D99s great-granddaughter. As many of you
kno=
w,
> I
>> hav=3D
>> e been
>> researching this claim and the support cited for it, both documentary
> and
>> genetic. I have finished the study, and unfortunately my conclusion
is
> that
>> Susan was mistaken in her belief. I have written up my findings, and
> the
>> report has just been posted on twainquotes.com.
>>=20
>> http://www.twainquotes.com/Carkeet/AncestryReport.html
>>=20
>> The report is written for the general reader unfamiliar with the
> subject,
>> so it is both an introduction to the story and a consideration of the
>> evidence. In the course of my work, I had massive help from many
> Twainians,
>> almost all of them named in the report at one point or another, but a
>> special thanks goes to Barb Schmidt for her steady and insightful
>> assistance throughout.
>>=20
>> Thanks too to these collections for permission to publish previously
>> unpublished photos and documents: Burton Historical Collection,
> Detroit
>> Public Library; Kevin Mac Donnell, Mac Donnell Rare Books, Austin,
> Texas;
>> L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University; Mark
Twain
>> House and Museum, Hartford; Mark Twain Project, Bancroft Library,
>> University of California, Berkeley.
>>=20
>> If you have questions about the report, I will be happy to answer
> them.
>>=20
>> --David Carkeet [log in to unmask]
>>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
> --=20
> Prof. Harold K. Bush
> Professor of English
> 3800 Lindell
> Saint Louis University
> St. Louis, MO 63108
> 314-977-3616 (w); 314-771-6795 (h)
> <www.slu.edu/x23809.xml>
> .
.