Robert Livingston (1718–1775)

Robert R. Livingston (1718 – December 9, 1775) was a prominent politician, and a leading Whig in New York in the years leading up to the American Revolution.^[1]

Early life

Robert R. Livingston was born in 1718, the only child of Robert Livingston (1688–1775) of Clermont and Margaret Howarden (1693–1758). His paternal grandparents were Robert Livingston the Elder (1654–1728) and Alida Schuyler (née van Rensselaer) Livingston, daughter of Philip Pieterse Schuyler (1628–1683). His uncle was Philip Livingston (1686–1749), the second Lord of Livingston Manor. His great-grandfather was Reverend John Livingston, a Church of Scotland minister who died in exile in 1673.^[2]

Career

Livingston, known as 'Judge Livingston' to distinguish him from his eponymous father and other prominent Livingstons, was a member of the New York Provincial Assembly from 1759 to 1768. He served as judge of the admiralty court from 1760 to 1763 and as justice of the colonial supreme court in 1763. He was a delegate to the Stamp Act Congress of 1765,^[2] and, in 1775, a member of the Committee of One Hundred, which briefly governed New York City.

Family

Robert's daughter, Alida Livingston Armstrong and Daughter, Rembrandt Peale, ca. 1810

In 1742, he married Margaret Beekman, daughter of Henry Beekman and Janet Livingston (his second cousin), a descendant of Wilhelmus Beekman and heir to immense tracts of land in Dutchess and Ulster counties.^[3] Their children included:

• Robert Livingston (1746–1813), who married Mary Stevens, daughter of John Stevens, on September 9, 1770
• Edward Livingston (1764–1836), who married Mary McEvers on April 10 of 1788. After her death, he married Madame Louise Moreau de Lassy in 1905. She was the sister of Auguste Davezac.
• John R. Livingston
• Gertrude Livingston (1757–1833), who married Morgan Lewis (1754–1844), son of Francis Lewis (1713–1802)
• Janet Livingston (d. 1824), who married Richard Montgomery (1738–1775) in 1773.
• Catharine Livingston
• Alida Livingston (1761–1822), who married John Armstrong, Jr. (1758–1843), son of Gen. John Armstrong, Sr. (1717–1795)
• Joanna Livingston (1759–1827), who married Peter R. Livingston (1766–1847)
• Margaret Livingston

He died on December 9, 1775 at his estate in Clermont, New York, several months after his own father's death on June 27, 1775.^[3]

Descendants

His grandson-in-law was George Croghan, a nephew of William Clark, the explorer, Lewis Livingston, Charles Edward Livingston and George Rogers Clark. His granddaughters include Margaret Lewis, Elizabeth Stevens Livingston, Margaret Maria Livingston, Julia Livingston, and Coralie Livingston.

See also

• Livingston family
• Wilhelmus Beekman

References

1. "Archives Directory for the History of Collecting". research.frick.org. Frick Collection. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
2. "Livingston, Robert R. (1718-1775), [The Petition of Michael Theyser of the City of New York, Innkeeper]". www.gilderlehrman.org. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
3. "The Clermont Estate | Town of Clermont". www.clermontny.org. Town of Clermont. Retrieved 11 September 2016.

External links

• History of Clermont