Gilbert Livingston (1690–1746)

Livingston was born on April 3, 1690, in Albany in the Province of New York, a part of British America. He 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. Among his large immediate family were Johannes Livingston (who predeceased their father), Margaret (née Livingston) Vetch (wife of Samuel Vetch, the Royal Governor of Nova Scotia); Philip Livingston, 2nd Lord of Livingston Manor, Robert Livingston of Clermont, and Joanna Livingston (wife of Cornelius Gerrit Van Horne). His father was born in Scotland before the family was exiled to Rotterdam, in the Dutch Republic; later sailing for North America where he became a prominent colonial official, fur trader, and businessman who was granted a patent to 160,000 acres (650 km2/ 250 sq mi) along the Hudson River that was confirmed by royal charter of George I in 1715. ==Career==

Livingston's parents sent him to study with the Rev. Solomon Stoddard, the pastor of the Congregationalist Church in Northampton, Massachusetts Bay Colony. However, Gilbert chose a career in trade, becoming a surveyor and then a merchant. His father helped him by employing him as his surveyor and then as his commercial agent. when he was succeeded by his nephew, Robert Livingston, later the 3rd Lord of Livingston Manor. Inheritance His elder brother Philip inherited six slaves, the lot and family house in Albany and the bulk of Livingston Manor becoming 2nd Lord of the Manor, and another elder brother, Robert, inherited three slaves and about 13,000 acres which became known as Clermont. His father intended Gilbert to inherit his Saratoga property and a house in Albany, however due to his "arrogance" and irresponsibility, his father sold half the Saratoga holdings to cover Gilbert's losses as a merchant and added a codicil to his will in 1722 which divided the remainder of the Saratoga property, and the income from the house in Albany, in fifths to all of his children with Gilbert's share in trusteeship under his brother Philip. Gilbert did inherit his father's Canastoga farm and a "slave boy" named Jupiter. ==Personal life==

In 1711, Livingston was married to Cornelia Beekman (1693–1742), a daughter of 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. She was a granddaughter of Wilhelmus Beekman, the former Mayor of New York, and a niece of Gerardus Beekman. Cornelia's niece, Margaret Beekman (the only child of her brother Henry Beekman), married Gilbert's nephew Robert Livingston (the only child of Robert Livingston of Clermont). Together, Cornelia and Gilbert were the parents of fourteen children, including: • Robert Gilbert Livingston (1712–1789), a successful merchant and Maj. with the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War who married Catharina McPheadres (1722–1792), a daughter of John McPheadris, in 1740. who married Jacob Rutsen (1716–1753) in 1737 (grandparents of Jacob R. Van Rensselaer); • Gilbert Livingston Jr. (1718–1789), a shipmaster who fled New York in 1743; he married Joy Darrell in 1748, and served with the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. • William Livingston (1724–1730), who died in childhood. Livingston died on April 25, 1746, in Kingston and was buried at what is known as the Old Dutch Churchyard there. Cornelia Van Cortlandt (1753–1847) (wife of Gerard G. Beekman, Jr.); Gilbert Livingston Van Cortlandt (1757–1786); Pierre Van Cortlandt Jr. (1762–1848), and Anne de Peyster Van Cortlandt (wife of Albany mayor Philip S. Van Rensselaer). Cornelia Stuyvesant (1768–1825) (wife of Speaker of the New York State Assembly Dirck Ten Broeck); Nicholas William Stuyvesant (1769–1833); Elizabeth Stuyvesant (1775–1854) (wife of Adjutant General of New York Nicholas Fish); and Peter Gerard Stuyvesant (1778–1847). ==References==