Henry Beekman Livingston
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Major Henry Beekman Livingston (October 13, 1748 – February 29, 1828 (aged 79)[1]) was born into a prominent family in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. His father was from Scotland and his mother from Holland. His grandfather was Gilbert Livingston son of Robert Livingston the Elder. A brother was John Henry Livingston. He married in 1774 to Sarah (or Sally) Wells. A year later, right after his first child (Catherine) was born, he joined the American Revolution.[2] He was the commander of the 4th New York Regiment from 1776 to 1799.
Henry suffered greatly from the death of his wife in 1783. This tragedy left him alone to raise their four children. On the tenth anniversary of his wife's death, however, he remarried. He and his second wife, (Jane Patterson), had four children together. Some of his descendants have claimed that he is the true author of Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas.
Unlike the man who has been recognized by most people as the true author of A Visit From St. Nicholas, Clement Clarke Moore, Henry Livingston was not well known. Most of his poetry was written for himself and his family and therefore was not published. His seemingly pleasant personality is a big part of Donald Foster's argument in Author Unknown, in which he states his opinion that Henry Livingston is the true author.
Although Henry Livingston never claimed authorship of A Visit From St. Nicholas, many of his descendants, including his great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter Mary Van Deusen, are determined to prove that he wrote it. Some of his other works have also been promoted by those who want to prove his authorship.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Van Deusen, Mary S.. Timeline of Henry's Life. Major Henry Livingston, Jr.: the author of "Night Before Christmas". Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
(Note that while the Sons of Liberty records agree with Van Deusen's date for Livingston's death, Heitman gives Livingston's death date as November 5, 1831.) - ^ The Known Members of the Commander-in-Chief's Guard. prepared by the Sons of Liberty Chapter, California Society SAR. Retrieved on 2006-12-26.
[edit] References
- Foster, Donald (2000). Author Unknown: On the Trail of Anonymous. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN 0-8050-6357-9.
- Heitman, Francis B. (1914). Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution. New, enlarged, and revised edition.. Washington, D.C.: Rare Book Shop Publishing Company.
- Nissenbaum, Stephen (1997). The Battle for Christmas: A Social and Cultural History of Christmas that Shows How It Was Transformed from an Unruly Carnival Season into the Quintessential American Family Holiday. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-679-41223-9.
