His mother, Emily Vermeule, was a classical scholar, as was his father Cornelius Clarkson Vermeule III, who served for many years as director of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.
His mother, Emily Vermeule, a classical scholar, was the Doris Zemurray Stone Professor at Harvard (Radcliffe). His father Cornelius Clarkson Vermeule III served for many years as Curator of the Classical Department at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.