Twain lived in his later years at 14 West 10th Street in Manhattan . He passed through a period of deep depression which began in 1896 when his daughter Susy died of meningitis . Olivia 's death in 1904 and Jean 's on December 24 , 1909 , deepened his gloom . On May 20 , 1909 , his close friend Henry Rogers died suddenly . In 1906 , Twain began his autobiography in the '' North American Review '' . In April , he heard that his friend Ina Coolbrith had lost nearly all that she owned in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake , and he volunteered a few autographed portrait photographs to be sold for her benefit . To further aid Coolbrith , George Wharton James visited Twain in New York and arranged for a new portrait session . He was resistant initially , but he eventually admitted that four of the resulting images were the finest ones ever taken of him
1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
Mark Twain