Father Christmas promising baby asleep in a cradle". The figure of Santa Claus had originated in the US, drawing at least partly upon Dutch St Nicolas traditions. A New York publication of 1821, "A New-Year’s Present", contained an illustrated poem "Old Santeclaus with Much Delight" in which a Santa figure on a reindeer sleigh brings presents for good children and a "long, black birchen rod" for use on the bad ones. In 1823 came the famous poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas", usually attributed to the New York writer Clement Clarke Moore, which developed the character further. Moore's poem became immensely popular
Clement Moore Butler Richard Channing Moore, Bishop of Virginia. Clement Moore Butler Clement Moore Butler (1810–1890) was an Episcopal clergyman who served as Chaplain of the Senate (1850–1853). Clement Moore Butler was born on October 16, 1810, in Troy, New York, the son of David Butler and Chloe Jones Butler. He graduated from Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, in 1833, and the General Theological Seminary, New York, in 1836. Butler was ordained by Bishop Benjamin Treadwell Onderdonk in June 1837. The wagon journey the evening before was not without incident, as the Bishop made improper advances toward Mrs. Butler. She was one of a