Robert Gilbert Livingston

Robert Gilbert Livingston
Portrait of Robert Gilbert Livingston by John Mare
Born(1712-12-24)December 24, 1712
Kingston, Province of New York, British America
DiedAugust 27, 1789(1789-08-27) (aged 76)
Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S.
OccupationMerchant
Spouse
Catharina McPheadres
​
​
(after 1740)​
Parent(s)Cornelia Beekman Livingston
Gilbert Livingston
RelativesSee Livingston family

Maj. Robert Gilbert Livingston (December 24, 1712 – August 27, 1789) was an American merchant and a Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War.

Early life

Livingston was born on December 24, 1712, in Kingston in the Province of New York, a part of British America.[1] He was the eldest of fourteen children born to Cornelia (née Beekman) Livingston (1693–1742) and Gilbert Livingston (1690–1746), a lawyer and politician in colonial New York. Among his siblings were Alida Livingston (wife of Jacob Rutsen and Hendrick van Rensselaer), Joanna Livingston (wife of Pierre Van Cortlandt), Margaret Livingston (wife of Peter Stuyvesant).[2]

His maternal grandparents were Joanna (née Lopers) Beekman and Hendrick Beekman, a large landowner, Colonel of Militia, and member of the New York General Assembly for over 40 years.[3] His father was a younger son of Alida (née Schuyler) Van Rensselaer Livingston and Robert Livingston the Elder, the first Lord of Livingston Manor, who amassed one of the largest fortunes in 17th-century New York.[4][5]

Career

During the American Revolutionary War, Livingston was a prominent Loyalist who fought with the British Army, reaching the rank of Major.[6]

Livingston was a successful merchant and had a shop next to Samuel Hake, his son-in-law who was a wholesale merchant.[7]

Personal life

In 1740, Livingston was married to Catharina McPheadres (1722–1792), a daughter of John McPheadris and Helena (née Johnson) McPheadris. Together, they were the parents of:[2]

  • Robert Gilbert Livingston Jr. (1749–1791), who married Margaret Hude (1751–1824).[8]
  • Helen Livingston (1751–1791), who married Samuel Hake, Commissary General of the British Army in North America.[6]
  • Catherine Livingston (1756–1829), who married John Reade (1745–1808).[9]
  • Gilbert Robert Livingston (1758–1816), who married Martha De Lancey Kane (1758–1843).[2]
  • Henry Gilbert Livingston (1758–1817), who married Ann Nutter.[2]
  • Simon Johnson Livingston (b. 1762)[2]

Livingston died on August 27, 1789, in Poughkeepsie, New York "after a tedious illness at an advanced age".[1] His widow died on August 5, 1792, also in Poughkeepsie.[2]

Descendants

Further information: Livingston family

Through his daughter Catherine, he was a grandfather of Catherine Livingston Reade (1777–1863), who married her cousin Nicholas William Stuyvesant, a great-great-grandson of Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch Director-General of New Amsterdam.[2]

Through his daughter Helen, he was a grandfather of Helen Livingston Hake (1773–1807), who married Frederic de Peyster and was the mother of New York City lawyer Frederic de Peyster.[6] Livingston left an extensive estate, including three farms in Otsego County, New York and extensive lands in Duchess County, New York,[10] to his granddaughter Helen.[6]

Through his son Gilbert Robert, he was a great-grandfather of Gilbert Livingston Beeckman, a prominent New York merchant who was the father of Robert Livingston Beeckman, who served as the Governor of Rhode Island.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 84. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. 1953. p. 6. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Aitken, William Benford (1912). Distinguished Families in America, Descended from Wilhelmus Beekman and Jan Thomasse Van Dyke. Knickerbocker Press. p. 19. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  3. ^ Henry Reed Stiles, ed. (1886). The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. p. 85.
  4. ^ Bielinski, Stefan. "Robert Livingston - the founder". exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov. New York State Museum. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  5. ^ Livingston, Devon Brockholst (1910). The Livingstons of Livingston Manor: Being the History of that Branch of the Scottish House of Callendar which Settled in the English Province of New York During the Reign of Charles the Second; and Also Including an Account of Robert Livingston of Albany, "The Nephew," a Settler in the Same Province and His Principal Descendants. Knickerbocker Press. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d McKito, Valerie H. (10 August 2015). From Loyalists to Loyal Citizens: The DePeyster Family of New York. SUNY Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-4384-5812-0. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  7. ^ Kierner, Cynthia A. (2018). Traders and Gentlefolk: The Livingstons of New York, 1675-1790. Cornell University Press. p. 258. ISBN 978-1-5017-3153-2. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  8. ^ Revolution, Daughters of the American (1935). Lineage Book. The Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. p. 32. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  9. ^ Craine, J. Robert T. (1971). The Ancestry and Posterity of Matthew Clarkson (1664-1702). J.R.T. Craine. p. 119. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  10. ^ Society, Dutchess County Historical (1938). Year Book of the Dutchess County Historical Society. The Society. Retrieved 11 August 2021.