Robert Livingston the Elder

Robert Livingston the Elder (December 13, 1654 – October 1, 1728) was a New York colonial official, and first lord of Livingston Manor. He married Alida Schuyler (widow of Nicholas Van Rensselaer) in 1679. He was the father of nine children, including Philip, Robert and Gilbert. He was also uncle of Robert Livingston the Younger, grandfather of Philip Livingston and William Livingston.

Early life

He was born in the village of Ancrum, near Jedburgh, in the County of Roxburgh, Scotland, one of seven children of the Reverend John Livingston, a lineal descendant of the fifth Lord Livingston, ancestor of the earls of Linlithgow and Callendar , a minister of the Church of Scotland, who was sent into exile in 1663 due to his resistance to attempts to turn the Presbyterian national church into an Episcopalian institution. The exiled family were raised in Rotterdam, in the Dutch Republic, thus Robert Livingston was fluent in the Dutch language, which helped him greatly in his later career in the former Dutch colony of New Netherland.

Career

Following the death of his father in 1673, Robert Livingston returned to Scotland and then sailed for Boston to find his fortune in North America. Livingston moved to Albany, New York where he became wealthy in the fur trade, and then obtained a patent to 160,000 acres (650 km²) that would become Livingston Manor in Columbia and Dutchess County.

With his brother-in-law Peter Schuyler, he led the opposition in Albany to Leisler's Rebellion. He served as Secretary for Indian Affairs from 1695 until his death. In 1696, he backed Captain William Kidd's privateer voyage on the "Adventure Galley". He served as a representative to the New York provincial assembly in 1709–1711 and 1716–1725 and was elected speaker in 1718.

Family and descendants

Livingston's son Gilbert was married to Cornelia Beekman (a granddaughter of Schenectady Mayor Wilhelm Beekman). Their daughter married New York Lt. Governor Pierre Van Cortlandt. One of the Van Cortlandts' daughters married Albany Mayor Philip Schuyler Van Rensselaer. Mrs. Van Cortlandt's sister-in-law married the great-grandson of New York Colony Governor Peter Stuyvesant. They were grandparents to New York Governor Hamilton Fish. Another daughter of Gilbert Livingston named Margaret Livingston married Peter Stuyvesant {1727-1805} also a great-grandson of Peter Stuyvesant. Their son Nicholas William Stuyvesant {1769-1833} married Catherine Livingston Reade-also a great-granddaugther of Gilbert Livingston.

Another relation was niece Catherine Schuyler, married into the De Peyster family; her son was loyalist Arent Schuyler De Peyster. Arent's nephew, Abraham De Peyster, was a loyalist Officer who served with the King's American Regiment and was at Battle of King's Mountain; Abraham was married to Catherine Livingston, a grandaugther of Philip Livingston {1686-1749 2nd Lord of the Manor}.

Notable descendants include Presidents of the United States George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, the entire Fish and Kean families, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, actors Montgomery Clift and Michael Douglas, actress Jane Wyatt, poet Robert Lowell, cinematographer Floyd Crosby, his son David Crosby, author Wolcott Gibbs, and almost the entire Astor family.

External links

* [http://www.bookrags.com/biography/robert-livingston/ Biography of Robert Livingston]
* [http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/l/rlivingston94.html Robert Livingston]
* [http://www.iment.com/maida/familytree/henry/bios/robertlivingston1stlord.htm Robert Livingston, First Lord of Livingston Manor]
* [http://www.friendsofclermont.org/history/index.html History of Clermont]