Although Twain usually has some basis of truth in his facts, this sounds like a "blind lead" to me. At least three of Twain's great grandfathers were long dead in 1847. I suspect the one I couldn't find, John Clemens' maternal grandfather, was also dead. I've become a bit confused here myself as _The M.T. Encyclopedia_ says John Clemens' mother, Pamela Goggin Clemens, lived from 1775 to 1844, but _M.T. A to Z_ says she was Pamelia Moorman. Both agree she remarried Simon Hancock after Twain's grandfather died. larry marshburne [log in to unmask]