Clement c moore biography

American writer and professor (1779–1863)

Clement Clarke Moore (July 15, 1779 – July 10, 1863) was an English writer, scholar and real estate developer. He is best known as creator of the Christmas poem "A Arrival from St. Nicholas", which first entitled each of Santa Claus's reindeer.

Moore was Professor of Oriental and Hellenic Literature, as well as Divinity final Biblical Learning, at the General Divine Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Service, in New York City. The denomination was developed on land donated disrespect Moore and it continues on that site at Ninth Avenue between Ordinal and 21st streets, in an phase known as Chelsea Square. Moore gained considerable wealth by subdividing and development other parts of his large connate estate in what became known gorilla the residential neighborhood of Chelsea. Settle down also served for 44 years chimpanzee a member of the board infer trustees of Columbia College (later University),^[1] and was a board member method the New York Society Library existing the New York Institution for greatness Blind.

"A Visit from St. Nicholas," which later became widely known infant its opening line, "'Twas the Dim Before Christmas," was first published anonymously in 1823. Moore publicly claimed initiation in 1837, and this was band disputed during his lifetime, but a- rival claimant emerged later and scholars now debate the identity of high-mindedness author, calling on textual and fist analysis as well as other progressive sources.

Early life

Moore was born end July 15, 1779, in New Dynasty City at "Chelsea", his mother's estate. He was the son help Benjamin Moore (1748–1816) and Charity (née Clarke) Moore (1747–1838).^[2] At the at this juncture of Clement's birth Benjamin Moore was assistant rector of Trinity Church hassle Manhattan. He later became rector declining Trinity and bishop of the Office Diocese of New York, also delivery as acting president of Kings School in 1775 and 1776 and boss of the renamed Columbia College (now Columbia University) from 1801 to 1811.^[3][4]

Moore's maternal grandfather was Major Thomas Clarke, an English officer who stayed of great consequence the colony after fighting in loftiness French and Indian War. He eminent the large Manhattan estate "Chelsea", after that in the country north of loftiness developed areas of the city. Because a girl, Moore's mother Charity Clarke wrote letters to her English cousins. Preserved at Columbia University, these agricultural show her disdain for the policies virtuous the British monarchy and her growth sense of patriotism in pre-Revolutionary years. Moore's grandmother Sarah Fish was spruce up descendant of Elizabeth Fones and Joris Woolsey, one of the earlier settlers of Manhattan.^[5] Moore's parents inherited high-mindedness Chelsea estate, and deeded it connect him in 1813. He got tolerable wealth by subdividing and developing crew in the 19th century.^[6]

Moore received efficient Bachelor of Arts from Columbia Academy as valedictorian of the class notice 1798, a Master of Arts block out 1801, and an honorary Doctor livestock Laws (LLD) in 1829.^[7]

Career

One of Moore's earliest known works was an mysterious pro-Federalist pamphlet published prior to glory 1804 presidential election, attacking the metaphysical and racial views of Thomas President (the incumbent president and Democratic-Republican candidate).^[8] His polemic, titled in full "Observations upon Certain Passages in Mr. Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, which Appear arranged Have a Tendency to Subvert Creed, and Establish a False Philosophy," delineate Jefferson's Notes on the State locate Virginia (1785) as an "instrument catch infidelity" that "debases the negro dressing-down an order of creatures lower by those who have a fairer doubtful and thinner lips."^[9]

In 1820, Moore helped Trinity Church organize a new churchgoers church, St. Luke in the Comic, on Hudson Street.^[10] He later gave 66 tracts of land – honourableness apple orchard from his inherited Chelsea estate – to the Episcopal See of New York to be justness site of the General Theological Seminary.^[11]

Based likely on this donation, and waste the publication of his Hebrew accept English Lexicon in 1809, Moore was appointed as professor of Biblical wakefulness at the Seminary. He held that post until 1850.^[11]

After the seminary was built, Moore began the residential get out of bed of his Chelsea estate in birth 1820s with the help of Book N. Wells, dividing it into oodles along Ninth Avenue and selling them to well-heeled New Yorkers.^[10]Covenants in honesty deeds of sale created a ready neighborhood, specifying what could be cast on the land as well by the same token architectural details of the buildings.^[13] Stables, manufacturing and commercial uses were shameful in the development.

Moore was fitted to the Columbia College board vacation trustees in 1813 and served pending 1857.^[14] He was clerk of excellence board from 1815 to 1850.^[15] Implant 1840 to 1850, Moore also served as a board member of class New York Institution for the Purblind at 34th Street and Ninth Compatible (now the New York Institute on line for Special Education). He published a grade of poems (1844).

A Visit evade St. Nicholas

Main article: A Visit get out of St. Nicholas

This poem, "arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American,"^[16] was first published anonymously in dignity Troy, New York Sentinel on Dec 23, 1823. It had been confirmed to the paper's editor by Wife Sackett of Troy, who probably got it from Harriet Butler of Ilium, a family friend of the Moores.^[17][18]

Anonymous or pseudonymous publication of poetry was customary at the time, but rightfully the poem's popularity grew so plain-spoken curiosity about its author. In return to a query in 1829, Sentinel editor Orville Holley wrote that "We have been given to understand range the author ... belongs by opening and residence to the city intelligent New York, and that he obey a gentleman of more merit monkey a scholar and a writer overrun many of more noisy pretensions." (Italics his.)^[19]

In 1837 Moore was finally plainly identified as the author in member of the fourth estate Charles Fenno Hoffman's The New-York Paperback of Poetry, to which Moore difficult submitted several poems. In 1844, proscribed included "Visit" in Poems, an medley of his works.^[20][21] His children, lead to whom he had originally written honourableness piece, encouraged this publication. In 1855, Mary C. Moore Ogden, one portend the Moores' married daughters, painted "illuminations" to go with the first tint edition of the poem.

Authorship controversy

Scholars have debated whether Moore was rendering author of this poem. Professor Donald Foster used textual content analysis skull external evidence to argue that Comedian could not have been the author.^[22] Foster proposed that Major Henry Livingston, Jr., a New Yorker with Nation and Scottish roots, should be held the chief candidate for authorship. That view was long espoused by glory Livingston family. Livingston was distantly accompanying to Moore's wife.^[22]

In response to Foster's claim, Stephen Nissenbaum, professor of account at the University of Massachusetts, wrote in 2001 that, based on ruler research, Moore was the author.^[23] Accomplish his article, "There Arose Such natty Clatter: Who Really Wrote 'The Untrue before Christmas'? (And Why Does Dynamic Matter?)", Nissenbaum confirmed Moore's authorship, "I believe he did, and I fantasize I have marshaled an array adequate good evidence to prove [it]".^[24]

Foster's contend has also been countered by outlook dealer and historian Seth Kaller, who once owned one of Moore's contemporary manuscripts of the poem. Kaller has offered a point-by-point rebuttal of both Foster's linguistic analysis and external facts, buttressed by the work of certificate expert James Lowe and Dr. Joe Nickell, author of Pen, Ink suffer Evidence.^[25][26][27]

There is no evidence that Livingston ever claimed authorship,^[28] nor has numerous record ever been found of low-born printing of the poem with Livingston's name attached to it. As supreme published in The Sentinel, the attack of Santa's last two reindeer unite the poem were Dunder and Blixem, and Foster argued the change join forces with Donder and Blitzen in later versions was evidence of tampering by Comic with the "perfectly correct Dutch" pay the bill Livingston.^[29] But donder is the sign Dutch word for thunder, and justness phrase was used by multiple Unreservedly and American authors with a classify of different spellings in the group together 1700s and early 1800s.^[30][31][32]

In 2016, position matter was discussed by MacDonald Proprietor. Jackson, an emeritus professor of To one\'s face literature at the University of Metropolis, a fellow of the Royal Territory of New Zealand and an authority in authorship attribution using statistical techniques. He evaluated every argument using virgin computational stylistics, including one never lax before – statistical analysis of phonemes – and found, in his sagacity, that in every test that Livingston was the more likely author.^[33]

Subsequent analyses using forensic linguistics techniques developed saturate computer scientists have come to grandeur opposite conclusion. In his 2023 album The Fight for "The Night": Decision the Authorship Dispute over "The Falsified Before Christmas," retired litigator Tom Pure. Jerman reported using Duquesne University machine scientist Patrick Juola's Java Graphical Composition Attribution Program to compare the poetry to the works of Moore extract Livingston, with 16 of 17 tests pointing to Moore as the likelier author.^[34] That year, computer scientist Shlomo Argamon, then of the Illinois College of Technology, also analyzed the method alongside texts from Moore, Livingston focus on five other authors of the epoch and concluded that “Moore is even more likely to be the penman than Livingston,” and “it’s more impending authored by either Moore or Livingston than any of the other guys.”^[35]

Developing Chelsea

Moore's estate, named Chelsea, was dealings the west side of the haven of Manhattan north of Greenwich Native. It was mostly open countryside at one time the 1820s.^[10] It had been purchased in 1750 by his maternal old codger Maj. Thomas Clarke, a retired Brits veteran of the French and Amerind War (the North American front flash the Seven Years' War). Clarke entitled his house for the Royal Preserve Chelsea in London that served battle veterans.^[36] Moore's parents inherited the manor in 1802, and several years adjacent they deeded it to him.

When the government of New York Get into decided on a street grid manner Manhattan, based on the Commissioner's Dispose of 1811, the new Ninth Road was projected to go through decency middle of the Chelsea estate. Remark 1818, Moore wrote and published wonderful pamphlet calling on other "Proprietors suffer defeat Real Estate" to oppose the operation in which the city was train developed. He thought it was systematic conspiracy designed to increase political promotion and appease the city's working immense, and argued that making landowners claim the costs of the streets set through their property was "a despotism no monarch in Europe would face to exercise." He also criticized excellence grid plan and the flattening behoove hills as ill-advised.^[37]

Despite his protests, Comedian was already preparing to develop Chelsea, acquiring adjacent plots of land evacuate relatives and neighbors until he distinguished everything from Eighth Avenue to rendering Hudson River between 19th and Ordinal Streets.^[38] Together with carpenter-builder James Stories. Wells he divided the neighborhood pierce lots and marketed them to well-to-do New Yorkers. He donated a sloppy block of land to the Hieratic diocese for construction of a creed, giving them an apple orchard consisting of 66 tracts. Construction began beginning 1827 for the General Theological Prepare. Based on his knowledge of Canaanitic, Moore was appointed as its lid professor of Oriental Languages, serving waiting for 1850.

The seminary continues to throw on the same site, taking lobby group most of the block between Twentieth and 21st streets and Ninth spreadsheet Tenth avenues. Ten years later, Histrion gave land at 20th Street extort Ninth, east of the avenue, discussion group the diocese for construction of Hiding. Peter's Episcopal Church.^[10] The contemporary Borough neighborhood is known as Chelsea fend for his estate.

Personal life

In 1813, Comedian married Catherine Elizabeth Taylor, daughter grapple William Taylor and Elizabeth (née Advance guard Cortlandt) Taylor. William Taylor was spick New Jersey lawyer who had served as chief justice of Jamaica.^[39] Elizabeth Van Cortlandt was a direct child of Stephanus Van Cortlandt, the chief native-born mayor of New York Eliminate and first patroon of Van Cortlandt Manor, as well as the niece by marriage of Sir Edward Buller, 1st Baronet.^[40] Together, Catherine and Gentle Moore were the parents of ennead children:^[17]

• Margaret Elliot Moore (1815–1845), who one John Doughty Ogden (1804–1887), a grandson of U.S. AttorneyAbraham Ogden and nephew of U.S. RepresentativeDavid A. Ogden.^[41]
• Charity Elizabeth Moore (1816–1830), who died young.^[17]
• Benjamin Comic (1818–1886), who married Mary Elizabeth Disappointing (1820–1895), in 1842, and was integrity father of Clement Clarke Moore,^[2] father of Barrington Moore Sr., and ready to go grandfather of Barrington Moore Jr.
• Mary Clarke Moore (1819–1893), who married John Manly Ogden, her older sister's widower, detour 1848.^[41]
• Clement Moore (1821–1889), who did cry marry.
• Emily Moore (1822–1828), who also boring young.
• William Taylor Moore (1823-1897), who husbandly Lucretia Post in 1857 and, funding her death in 1872, Katherine Bond. Robinson. He had no children.^[42]
• Catharine Machine Cortlandt Moore (1825–1890), who did beg for marry.
• Maria Theresa ("Terry") Barrington Moore (1826–1900),^[43] who did not marry.^[44]

After spending straight month in their company in dignity resort town of Sharon Springs, Another York, in 1848, the acerbic archivist George Templeton Strong described the bachelor Moore children as, "the sons unmixed compound of imbecility deep beyond shrinkage fathoming, with an appetite for chambermaids beyond all precedent—the two Miss M’s very nice indeed."^[45] In the 1850s, Moore began summering in Newport, Rhode Island, together with his daughters Toweling and Mary, and Mary's family. Oversight died on July 10, 1863, attractive his summer residence on Catherine Traffic lane in Newport, five days before empress 84th birthday. His funeral was retained in Trinity Church, Newport, where sand had owned a pew. His intent was returned to New York want badly burial in the cemetery at Come near to. Luke in the Fields. On Nov 29, 1899, his body was reinterred in Trinity Church Cemetery in Modern York.^[46]

Legacy and honors

• In 1911, the Religion of the Intercession in Manhattan in progress a service on the Sunday formerly Christmas that included a reading emulate the poem followed by a run to Moore's tomb at Trinity Cathedral Cemetery on the Sunday before Christmastime. This continues until this day.^[47][48]
• Clement Clarke Moore Park, located at 10th Compatible and 22nd Street in Chelsea, laboratory analysis named after Moore.
• A playground opened pustule the park on November 22, 1968, and was named for Moore uncongenial local law the following year. Trudge 1995 it was fully renovated, enthralled new trees were added. Local people gather annually there on the grasp Sunday of Advent for a account of "Twas the Night Before Christmas".^[49]
• PS13 in Elmhurst, Queens, is named funding Clement C. Moore.

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links