Philip Livingston

BORN – January 15, 1716 at Livingston Manor, south of Albany, NY.  Parents (Scottish ancestry) - Philip Livingston (b1686-d1749, 2nd Lord of the Manor) and Catharine van Brugh (b1689-d1756)  Eleven Children – Robert Livingston (b1708-d1790, 3rd Lord of the Manor), Peter van Brugh Livingston (b1710-d1792), John Livingston b1714-d1788), Philip Livingston (b1716-d1778), Hendrick (Henry) Livingston (b1719-d1772), Sara Livingston (b1721-d1722, as infant), William S. Livingston, Sr. (b1723-d1790), Sarah Livingston Alexander (b1725-d1805), Alida Livingston Hoffman (b1728-d1790), Catherine Livingston Lawrence (b1733-d1770).         

DIED – June 12, 1778 (age 62), at York, PA of congestive heart failure.  Religion – Presbyterian.  Buried - Prospect Hill Cemetery, York, PA, in York where he was attending the Continental Congress  as a delegate from New York. 

APPEARANCE -  Somewhat irritable, yet exceedingly mild, tender, and affectionate to his family and friends.  Silent, reserved, dignified which made it somewhat difficult for strangers to approach him.  Seldom engaged in conversation. Avid reader.

FAMILY – Married – Christina Ten Broeck (b1718-d1801) in 1740.  Eleven Children - Henry Philip Livingston  (b1740-___), Philip Philip Livingston III (b1741-d1787), Richard Ten Broeck Livingston (b1743-d1784), Catherine Livingston van Rensselaer (b1745-d1810), Margaret Livingston Jones (b1747-1830), Peter van Burgh Livingston (b1751-___), Sarah Livingston Johnson (b1752-d1814), Abraham Livingston (b1754-d1782), Alida Livingston Jones (b1757-___), Richard Dirck Livingston (___), Henry Philip Livingston (b1760-d1802).     

OCCUPATION – MERCHANT, LEGISLATOR.  Graduated from Yale College (now Yale University) in 1737.  Became a successful import Merchant in New York City.  Helped establish Columbia and Rutgers Universities.  Member of the Continental Congress representing New York from 1774 to 1778. 

AT SIGNING – Age 60 at signing.  His cousin, Robert R. Livingston was also a member of the Continental Congress representing NY and a member of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration, but was recalled before the signing. 

AFTER SIGNING – Continued to serve in Congress in Philadelphia until his death in 1778.  Spent heavily on the war from his personal fortune.  Died suddenly two years after signing while attending the Continental Congress in York, PA.  He had several homes in NY - (1) Duke Street House in Manhattan near Wall Street – was used by the British as a barracks - (2) Brooklyn Heights Country House – was used by George Washington after his defeat in the Battle of Long Island where the decision was made to evacuate the Island.  Destroyed by fire in the mid-1800’s.  It was later used by the British as a Royal Navy hospital - (3) Kingston House – the family fled north to Kingston.  The British burned the town and house to the ground.

HISTORIC SITES

Gravesite – Prospect Hill Cemetery, York, PA (1849).  Located at 700 North George Street, York, PA 17404, Phone 717-843-8006, Website www.prospecthill.org.  The remains of Philip Livingston were reburied at Prospect Hill from another burial site after the cemetery was created in 1849.

Manor – Livingston Manor, Linthigo (Livingston), NY.  Original 160,000 acre estate on the east side of the Hudson River in Duchess and Columbia Counties in NY.  The manor house was built in 1699 in Linlithgo (now Livingston, NY) at the junction of the Roeliff Jansen Kill and the Hudson River.  The three Lords of the Manor are buried at the Livingston Memorial Church near the town.   

Clermont - Clermont State Historic Site, (1782).  Located at One Clermont Avenue
Germantown, NY 12526, Phone 518-537-4240, Website /www.friendsofclermont.org, in the southwest corner of the original Livingston Manor Estate.  Established by Robert Livingston and inherited by Robert R. Livingston, Jr. - first cousin of Philip.  Robert was a member of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration, but was not a Signer.          

Kingston, NY – Located on the west side of the Hudson River.  It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British on October 16, 1777 coming up the river from New York city, after the Battles of Saratoga.  Philip Livingston had a house in Kingston which was burned by the British.

Rhinebeck, NY - Beekman Arms Tavern and Dalamater Inn, Rhinebeck, NY, on the east side of the Hudson River across from Kingston.  Located at 6387 Mill Street, Rhinebeck, NY 12572.  Established in 1776, the tavern is the oldest operating inn in America.  Phone 845-876-1776.  Website - www.beekmandelamaterinn.

Gravesite of Philip Livingston, Prospect Hill Cemetery, York, PA (1849). 

Located at 700 North George Street, York, PA 17404, Phone 717-843-8006, Website www.prospecthill.org.

Part of the engraving on the monument states, “Eminently distinguished for his talents and rectitude, he deservedly enjoyed the confidence of his country and the love and veneration of his friends and children.”