'Twas Whose Night before Christmas? Moore Vs. Livingston

By Raymond C. Wilson

A Visit from St. Nicholas (also known as 'Twas the Night Before Christmas from its first line) has been called "arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American" and is largely responsible for some of the conceptions of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today. More than a decade after it was first published anonymously in the Sentinel, Clement Clarke Moore took credit for its authorship, though his claim to the poem is now in question. Many believe this beloved poem was actually penned by New York writer Henry Livingston, Jr.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raymond C. Wilson
• Release date: Dec 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005158354

Raymond C. Wilson

Raymond C. Wilson is a military historian, filmmaker, and amateur genealogist. During his military career as an enlisted soldier, warrant officer, and commissioned officer in the U.S. Army for twenty-one years, Wilson served in a number of interesting assignments both stateside and overseas. He had the honor of serving as Administrative Assistant to Brigadier General George S. Patton (son of famed WWII general) at the Armor School; Administrative Assistant to General of the Army Omar Nelson Bradley at the Pentagon; and Military Assistant to the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army at the Pentagon. In 1984, Wilson was nominated by the U.S. Army Adjutant General Branch to serve as a White House Fellow in Washington, D.C. While on active duty, Wilson authored numerous Army regulations as well as articles for professional journals including 1775 (Adjutant General Corps Regimental Association magazine), Program Manager (Journal of the Defense Systems Management College), and Army Trainer magazine. He also wrote, directed, and produced three training films for Army-wide distribution. He is an associate member of the Military Writers Society of America. Following his retirement from the U.S. Army in 1992, Wilson made a career change to the education field. He served as Vice President of Admissions and Development at Florida Air Academy; Vice President of Admissions and Community Relations at Oak Ridge Military Academy; Adjunct Professor of Corresponding Studies at U.S. Army Command and General Staff College; and Senior Academic Advisor at Eastern Florida State College. While working at Florida Air Academy, Wilson wrote articles for several popular publications including the Vincent Curtis Educational Register and the South Florida Parenting Magazine. At Oak Ridge Military Academy, Wilson co-wrote and co-directed two teen reality shows that appeared on national television (Nickelodeon & ABC Family Channel). As an Adjunct Professor at U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Wilson taught effective communications and military history for eighteen years. At Eastern Florida State College, Wilson wrote, directed, and produced a documentary entitled "Wounded Warriors - Their Struggle for Independence" for the Chi Nu chapter of Phi Theta Kappa. Since retiring from Eastern Florida State College, Wilson has devoted countless hours working on book manuscripts.

Book preview

‘TWAS WHOSE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS?

MOORE VS. LIVINGSTON

Written by

RAYMOND C. WILSON

Author of:

Out of Necessity

Commander in Chief

Martyr of the Race Course

The Hessians Are Coming

America’s Five-Star Warriors

The Men Who Saved West Point

The Men Who Saved the Liberty Bell

Pennsylvania Bucktails: Civil War Sharpshooters

Wounded Warriors - Their Struggle for Independence

European Royal Bloodlines of the American Presidents

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Volume One)

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Volume Two)

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Volume Three)

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Volume Four)

If These Walls Could Talk: Huling Hotel and Pack Horse Inn

Beyond the Bighorn: The Afterlife of George Armstrong Custer

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Presidential Edition)

Custer’s Luck Has Run Out: George Armstrong Custer’s Changing Image

‘TWAS WHOSE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS?

MOORE VS. LIVINGSTON

Published by Raymond C. Wilson at Smashwords

Copyright 2021 Raymond C. Wilson

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of

the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial

purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own

copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

Cover artwork: Reindeer in the Night Sky by Manning de V. Lee

Acknowledgement

I would like to acknowledge Mary S. Van Deusen for her tireless efforts to help prove that our common ancestor Henry Livingston, Jr. was the true author of A Visit from St. Nicholas, also known as A Night Before Christmas and ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas from the poem’s first line. Henry Livingston, Jr. was Mary’s 5th great grandfather and he was my distant cousin.

After gathering together years of Livingston family research about the poem, Mary worked closely with Don Foster, a specialist in attribution of anonymous texts and a Vassar Professor. Their research into the poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas, led to the conclusion that Henry Livingston, Jr. (not Clement Clarke Moore) actually wrote this beloved piece of literature. In 2000, Foster published the results of this research in a book entitled Author Unknown: On the Trail of Anonymous.

Mary also worked closely with MacDonald P. Jackson, an Emeritus Professor of English from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Jackson applied modern computational stylistics techniques to the corpora of verse left by both claimants, Clement Clarke Moore and Henry Livingston Jr., including a new test, statistical analysis of phonemes. Jackson’s book, Who Wrote The Night Before Christmas? (published in 2016) identifies Henry Livingston, Jr. as the true author of this classic poem and makes a significant contribution to the field of attribution studies.

Mary S. Van Deusen with dogs Waverly and Henry

Mary S. Van Deusen has researched the evidence on the poem's authorship since she became aware of the controversy back in 1999. Experts have argued for almost 100 years about who wrote the poem, but thanks to Mary’s efforts more and more of them are now coming behind Livingston as the true author. Mary S. Van Deusen was a plaintiff in the mock trial about the poem’s authorship held in Troy, New York, in 2013 and 2014. The 2013 trial ended in a hung jury. In the 2014 retrial, the jury announced Henry Livingston, Jr. as the true author of the disputed poem.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction

Father Christmas

St. Nicholas and Sinterklaas

Santa Claus

Impact of ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’ Poem

Chapter 2: Clement Clarke Moore

Distinguished Family

Biblical and Classical Career

Friendship with Washington Irving

Property Owner

Retirement and Death

Chapter 3: Henry Livingston, Jr.

Family Tree

Soldier, Farmer, Justice of the Peace, and Poet

Death and Burial

Chapter 4: The Beloved but Disputed Poem

A Visit from St. Nicholas

Controversy

Moore’s Claim of Authorship

Livingston’s Claim of Authorship

Chapter 5: Juried Trial to Find the Literal Truth

Mock Trial in December 2013

Claimant: Clement Clarke Moore

Claimant: Henry Livingston, Jr.

Jury’s Verdict in 2013

Mock Retrial in 2014

Jury’s Verdict in 2014

Afterword

Appendix A - Mary S. Van Deusen’s Poem

Appendix B - Series Reveals Evolution of St. Nick

Appendix C - Santa’s reindeer first named in 1823

Appendix D - List of Poetry by Henry Livingston, Jr.

Bibliography

About Raymond C. Wilson

Chapter 1: Introduction

A Visit from St. Nicholas, more commonly known as The Night Before Christmas and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously on 23 December 1823 in the Sentinel, the local newspaper of Troy, New York. A Visit from St. Nicholas has been called arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American and is largely responsible for some of the conceptions of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today. It has had a massive effect on the history of Christmas gift-giving. Before the poem gained wide popularity, American ideas had varied considerably about Saint Nicholas and other Christmastide visitors.

This poem offered a different take on Santa Claus, a figure who was, until that time, traditionally depicted as a thinner, less jolly, horse-riding disciplinarian, a combination of mythologies about the British Father Christmas, the Dutch Sinterklaas, and the fourth-century bishop Saint Nicholas of Myra.

Father Christmas