Author: Verplanck, Gulian Crommelin
Biography:
VERPLANCK, Gulian C. (1786-1870: ANBO)
Only one title in this bibliography is attributed to Verplanck and the attribution, though plausible, is disputed: that is "The State Triumvirate," a satirical poem first published in 1819 attacking the Mayor of New York, De Witt Clinton. Verplanck was engaged in more or less public literary warfare with Clinton from 1811 onward, notably with an 1815 Fable for Statesmen and Politicians published under the pseudonym "Abimelech Coody, formerly ladies' shoemaker." But the Fable was in prose, Verplanck's preferred medium; furthermore, The State Triumvirate is dedicated to G. C. V----, Esq."--which suggests a different author. Verplanck was in literary matters a natural collaborator, one of the "Knickerbocker Group" and of the "Bucktail Bards," so it is also possible that he was not a sole author but a contributor in the State Triumvirate. He was born into a very well-connected, wealthy New York family that included many lawyers and politicians. His mother, Elizabeth Johnson, died in 1789 and his father, Daniel C. Verplanck, remarried; their son was raised by his paternal grandmother. He graduated from Columbia in 1801, was called to the bar in 1807, and married Mary Elizabeth (Eliza) Fenno in 1811. The couple had two sons but their mother suffered from consumption and died in Paris, on a futile quest for health, in 1817. Verplanck never remarried but was extremely active in politics, literary journalism, and philanthropy. He held elected office at a state or federal level virtually without interruption from 1820 to 1841. At the time of his death in 1870, he was Vice Chancellor of the University of the State of New York and President of the state board of Commissioners of Emigration. He died in New York leaving an estate estimated at $2,000,000; there was a society funeral at Trinity Church followed by interment in the family vault at Fishkill NY. (ANBO 8 Dec. 2020; ancestry.com 8 Dec. 2020; Wikipedia 8 Dec. 2020; Commercial Advertiser [New York] 21 Mar. 1870) HJ
Other Names:
- Gulian C. Verplanck
- G. C. Verplanck