Verplanck was born in February 1751 and was only nine months old when his father died.[2] He was the youngest of the six children of Gulian Verplanck (1698–1751) and Mary (née Crommelin) Verplanck, who married in 1737. His father had been a fourth generation New Yorker who owned significant property and amassed a considerable fortune.[3]
After graduating from King's College in 1768, his elder brother sent him to Holland to acquire practical experience in mercantile and banking procedures by working at his uncle's firm, Daniel Crommelin and Sons.[6] After returning to New York, he was one of the most prominent merchants in the city and had extensive dealings with Holland.[7]
"When the Duke of Clarence, then a young midshipman, afterward William IV, was in New York, Gulian Verplanck was his associate, skated with him upon the Collect, and rescued him from drowning when he fell through a hole in the ice."[7]
In 1784 he married Cornelia Johnston, a daughter of merchant David Johnston.[5] They lived in New York with their seven children in the vicinity of Riverside Drive and 123rd Street.[8] Among his children were:[7]
Maria Cornelia Verplanck (1785–1825), who married William Allen.[9]
David Johnston Verplanck (1789–1829), who was active in Federalist politics and was a editor of the New York American, later ran by Charles King.[7] He married Louisa Augusta Gouverneur, a daughter of merchant Nicholas Gouvernuer.[9]
Emily Verplanck (1791–1869), who married Claude Sylvaine Guillard in 1822.[9]
Verplanck died on November 20, 1799, in New York. Two years after his death, his widow married George Cairnes, the Reporter of the Supreme Court of New York State.[7]
