An article in the Dec. 3, 2011 edition of The Boston Globe claims the Christmas classic was penned by Henry Livingston. It announces a new edition titled An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas that, for the first time, carries the name of Henry Livingston Jr. as author of the poem that first defined Santa Claus for American children.
First Published Anonymously
Better known by its first line, “’Twas the Night before Christmas,” the poem was first published anonymously on Dec. 23, 1823, in the Troy (NY) Sentinel. It was reprinted numerous times, again without acknowledgement of its authorship.
The author’s anonymity and a disputed timeline provide a backdrop for questioning the authorship of this traditional Christmas poem that has stirred the imagination of children for more than 185 years.
How Americans View Santa Claus
Scholars contend that how Americans have envisioned Santa Claus for nearly two centuries is rooted in how the jolly old gent was described in “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” The poem describes Santa, his sleigh and his Christmas Eve visit. It tells how he got in the house and even names his reindeer. Before that, St. Nicholas was largely a European concept, with varying myths and attributes.
Was Clement Moore the Author?
Clement Moore (1779-1863), a Columbia professor specializing in ancient literature, was generally accepted as the poem’s author. It seems that the person who gave the poem to the newspaper took it from the Moore home, believing Moore was its author.
This scenario gains credence because Moore’s friend, Charles Hoffman, put Moore’s name on the poem as early as 1837, Moore included the poem in an 1844 book titled Poems, and later in his life he wrote out this poem in script for friends. Additional evidence: Many years later his daughter, Mary (Moore) Ogden, sketched illustrations to accompany the poem.
Did Henry Livingston Jr. Pen the Santa Story?
The newly-emerged contending author is Henry Livingston Jr. (1748-1828), a New York gentleman farmer, Revolutionary War soldier, surveyor, judge and published poet. In 1774, he wed Sarah Welles. Their daughter Catherine was born shortly before he left to serve in the American Revolution. Then tragedy struck. Their son, Henry Welles Livingston, born in 1776, died from severe burns as a toddler. When Sarah died in 1783, Catherine was not yet 10 and there was another young son named Henry. A distraught Henry Livingston boarded the children out and began writing poetry as an outlet for dealing with personal tragedy.
During the next decade Livingston produced poetry and drawings for friends. Some of them were published in New York Magazine and The Poughkeepsie Journal. His drawings were signed, but his poetry was usually anonymous.
Livingston Descendants Search for Answers
Ten years after Sarah’s death, Livingston married young Jane Patterson, got a new lease on life and had a second family of eight more children. These children did not know until the 1850s that Moore was taking credit for what they claimed was their father’s poem. Sons Charles and Edwin, as well as Charles’ wife, Eliza (a former neighbor), recalled having Livingston read the poem to them as his own work as early as 1807.
In the 1870s, descendants of five of Henry’s children compared family stories about the poem and about 1919 great-grandson William Thomas began collecting family documents and interviewing relatives about family traditions concerning the poem. His findings are in a 1919 Duchess County Historical Society publication and serve as the basis of an article authored by Winthrop P. Tryon in the Aug. 4, 1920 edition of The Christian Science Monitor.
This generation’s researcher is descendant Mary Van Deusen of Wrentham, Massachusetts, a retired IBM researcher who has been researching the famous poem’s authorship for years. Her evidence includes a letter written by Moore in 1844. It indicates he tried to discover if the poem’s author had been identified. This was just before he put it in his own book of poems. Van Deusen’s website offers biographical material on Livingston, plus information relating to the authorship controversy.
Drawing Conclusions
Moore's connection with the poem has been questioned by Vassar Professor Donald Foster, an expert on textual content analysis, who cites evidence he feels indicates Moore could not have been the author. The major supporter of Moore’s authorship is Stephen Nissenbaum, a retired University of Massachusetts professor. Foster and Nissenbaum have compared the poem in question with other works by both Moore and Livingston, then reached opposite conclusions.
Both Foster and Nissenbaum have written books and their work is summarized online at websites put together by the University of Toronto English department and by Van Deusen.
What Matters Most – Text or Author?
Right now, the jury is out on the authorship of this famous Christmas poem, but publication of the new edition naming Livingston as its author may draw more critical attention to the authorship controversy.
When residents of New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood gather at Clement Clarke Moore Park the last Sunday of Advent for the annual reading of ‘Twas the Night before Christmas, will it really matter who wrote this valuable piece of Americana? Polling today’s children would probably indicate they recognize the poem’s description of Santa Claus coming down the chimney on Christmas Eve more than they do the names of either alleged author.
(A companion article gives details of Mary Van Deusen's long search for evidence her ancestor wrote this poem.)
Sources:
- Kahn, Joseph P., “A Clatter of Claims to a Classic,” Boston Daily Globe, Dec. 3, 2011
- Representative Poetry Online: Major Henry Livingston Jr., “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas,” website produced by the English Department, University of Toronto; accessed Dec. 3, 2011
- Representative Poetry Online: Poetry and Biography of Clement Clarke Moore; accessed Dec. 3, 2011
- Website of Livingston descendant Mary Van Deusen ; accessed Dec. 3, 2011
Rosemary E. Bachelor - Rosemary Bachelor, a prize-winning journalist, has had a career as an editor, feature writer, magazine publisher and author. Her latest ...
