White (1843–1923) was born in nearby Canton, Connecticut. He graduated from Amherst College in 1872, shortly after Clemens lectured there on 27 February. In 1862 he had enlisted in the Twenty-second Regiment of the Connecticut Volunteers, serving until 7 July 1863. He graduated from Boston University Law School in 1875, was admitted to the bar that same year, and until 1880 practiced law in Boston. From 1880 until 1897 he worked in the oil business in Pennsylvania, eventually moving to Boise, Idaho, where he built electric power plants. White had helped to organize the Amherst lecture series in which Clemens appeared, presumably the occasion of their becoming acquainted (Amherst alumni obituary, courtesy of John Lancaster, Amherst College Library).

In November 1872 White obtained patent number 133,279 for a Mosquito-Net Frame, designed for attachment to a bed (Official Gazette, 2:584). He must have asked Clemens for his help in promoting his “ingenious contrivance,” for this letter was published in an advertising circular which is now the sole source for the text. Two other endorsements, both dated 1 March 1873, were also included: one from W. H. H. Murray, who spoke two weeks before Clemens in the Amherst lecture series, and another from Edward Hitchcock, M. D., an Amherst faculty member (“Course of Lectures in College Hall, Amherst,” Amherst College Library, PH in CU-MARK, courtesy of Thomas A. Tenney).