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

I have read this story every Christmas Eve for as long as I can remember, it's always been part of our Christmas traditions and it will always have a special place in my part because of that.Lowe, James. "A Christmas to Remember: A Visit from St. Nicholas". Autograph Collector. January 2000. 26–29. Based likely on this donation, and on the publication of his Hebrew and English Lexicon in 1809, [11] Moore was appointed as professor of Biblical learning at the Seminary. He held this post until 1850. [10] A scan of the poem, which was printed in the December 29, 1877 issue of ‘Home Circle’ newspaper, published from Boston.

Clement Clarke Moore Park, located at 10th Avenue and 22nd Street in Chelsea, is named after Moore. The speaker of the poem hears the hoof-prints of reindeer “prancing and pawing” on his roof; and then, just as he’s closing his window, “Down the chimney Saint Nicholas came with a bound!” The poem takes on particular interest for the modern viewer here, as the speaker gets his first clear look at a Saint Nicholas who appears quite different from the Santa Claus of today: Nevius, Michelle & Nevius, James (2009), Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City, New York: Free Press, ISBN 141658997X , pp. 51–52 Our daughter and I had not read this together since she was very little but she could still recite some passages as I read. At age 12, near 13, she thinks that she is too old and mature for many "childish" things, but not for this classic beloved Christmas poem. One sign of her growing maturity is that she was also interested in my telling her facts about Dr. Clement Moore from the very good introduction to this free Kindle edition. Unfortunately, as usual, there were no illustrations in this edition.

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In 1813, Moore married Catherine Elizabeth Taylor, daughter of William Taylor and Elizabeth (née Van Cortlandt) Taylor. William Taylor was a New Jersey lawyer who had served as chief justice of Jamaica. [35] Elizabeth Van Cortlandt was a direct descendant of Stephanus Van Cortlandt, the first native-born mayor of New York City and first patroon of Van Cortlandt Manor, as well as the niece by marriage of Sir Edward Buller, 1st Baronet. [36] Together, Catherine and Clement Moore were the parents of nine children: [37] Collins, Paul (2006). "Jefferson's Lump of Coal", The New York Times, 24 December 2006. Retrieved 30 April 2013.

Burrows, Edwin G.& Mike Wallace (1999). Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511634-8 The first completely musical rendition, that used the text of the poem in its entirety without material additions or alterations, was the cantata "A Visit from St. Nicholas" composed by Lucian W. Dressel in 1992 and first performed by the Webster University Orchestra, SATB Soloists, and Chorus. [37] More recent performances of the cantata have been performed by regional orchestras and choruses in Missouri, Illinois and Colorado. [38] Original copies [ edit ] Copy of the poem hand-written by Clement Clarke Moore Lowe, James. "A Christmas to Remember: A Visit from St. Nicholas," Autograph Collector, January 2000, pp. 26–29A Visit from St. Nicholas" (also known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas", 1823) attributed to Clement Clarke Moore Stedman, Edmund Clarence (1900). An American Anthology, 1787-1900 ([6th impression]ed.). Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company. p.15. hdl: 2027/loc.ark:/13960/t72v36z23. Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863) was the only child of Benjamin Moore, an Episcopalian minister and rector of Trinity Church in New York City. (The elder Moore would go on to become the Episcopal bishop of New York and president of Columbia College.) His mother, Charity Clarke, was a feisty American patriot. From his mother’s side of the family, Moore inherited the farmland that would, during his lifetime, become New York City’s Chelsea district.

When Moore's maternal grandmother died in 1802 she left four slaves to Moore's parents. In his 1956 biography of Moore, Samuel W. Patterson asserted that the four remained with the Moore family and were not freed until the full abolition of slavery in New York in 1827, [33] and this assertion has been repeated in many other works. It is incorrect. Manumission records show that Benjamin and Charity Moore freed one of the four, Charles Smith, in 1803. In the 1810 U.S. Census Benjamin Moore is listed as having two slaves in his household, who according to manumission records were subsequently freed in 1811 and 1813 and did not have the same names as the inherited slaves. In the 1820 Census, Clement Moore's first as a head of household, he is listed as having no slaves. [34] Personal life [ edit ] Foster depicts the scholar as a self-righteous, moralizing paragon of rectitude who we can’t wait to deflate. (Foster 227) Moore was incapable of writing this poem, Foster argues, because he was a rich, all-around nasty person, who hated noisy kids, and by the way, his sons were all philanderers. Moore was “a grouchy pedant, a student of ancient Hebrew who never had a day of fun in his life. In fact he was against it” (Foster 227). Sarah Bryan Miller. "Long saga behind composer's Christmas cantata". St. Louis Post Dispatch. 1 December 2017. Moore, James W. (1903). Rev. John Moore of Newtown, Long Island, and some of his descendants. The Library of Congress. Easton, Pa., Printed for the publisher by the Chemical Publishing Co. p.108.

Benjamin Moore | Columbia University Libraries". library.columbia.edu . Retrieved December 8, 2022.