Evening star., 1909-07-15
THE L|V|N GST0NS
Most important Family Living
on the Hudson.
LARGE OWNERS OF LAND
Patent Granted for 10000 Acres
on the East Bank.
CLERM0NT, THE MANOR HOUSE
Relations With Gen. Montgomery,
the Hero of Quebec, by Marriage.
Notable Funeral Parade.
CLERMoNT. THE MANOR HOUSE
BY WILLIAM f.. CT RTIS.

|
east bank of the Hudson river In
Duchess and Columbia counties. from
| Tarrytown to the city of hudson. and
| several branches Of the family still oc-
cupy the original grant made to the first
| Livingston in 1854. The I4ivingstons were
| without question the most important fam
| lily on the Hudson, and Robert r. Living
| ston. the chancellor and ambassador, was
the most influential and important con-
| tribution of the state of New York to
the personnel of the revolutionary period.
with the single exception of Alexander
Hamilton. He assisted Thomas Jefferson
to draft the Declaration of Independence
and wrote the constitution of New York.
Several of the original mansions are still
| standing, and the Manorial Church is
about four miles inland at the village of
| Clermont.
Robert r. Livingston was not the only
important member of the family, how
| ever, for In the New York assembly of
1850 which consisted of twenty-seven
members, there were no less than four
Livingstons. brothers and cousins-Phillip
of New York city, William for the manor
and Robert and Henry for Dutchess coun-
ty. By intermarriage with the Schuy-
lers, the Jays. the Garrettsons and other
important clans their influence became
pre-eminent throughout the state and
| their wealth and manner of living was
| equaled only by the Van Rensselaers and
| the Phillipses.
The original Livingston. from whom the
family traces it's lineage, was Lord Liv-
ingston, the first Earl of Linlithgow. who
stood close to King James l of Scotland.
! The fifth earl was the guardian of Mary
Queen Of Scots, and his daughter, Mary
| Livingston, was one OF the -four Marys"
who were playmates in childhood and
mo do nf n 10 fr
and unfortunate woman. Several of the
family were prominent in the pulpit of
| the Scotch kirk. and when the persecu-
tions of the Presbyterians began one Rob
ert Livingston, born in 1854. fled to Hol-
land with his family to escape the conse-
quences of his theology. There he learned
| the Dutch language and methods Of busi-
ness and increased the wealth he carried
from Scotland He became largely inter-
ested in the Dutch West India Company,
was appointed secretary to the commits
sion intrusted with the conduct of Indian
affairs and went to live at Albany in 1854.
tracts of land in Columbia county, which
was then wild and uninhabited. and in
ITO they were all consolidated in sin
gle grant He received a patent for
| 10000 acres along the east bank OF the
Hudson. for which he agreed to pay Ito
the kings most gracious majesty an an
nual rental of IS shillings, lawful
money! This magnificent estate was Gre
/
Livingston" In 1892 he built a manor
house on the bank of the Hudson at the
mouth of Livingston creek, and that was
the original family seat
Commission for Capt. Kidd.
| One of the most notable acts of this
eminent patron was to procure for Capt.
Kidd commission from the king for
privateering, and he fitted up at least two
| ships at different times SO that amiable
gentleman might be able to carry on his
business. There have been stories of
large amounts of treasure having been
concealed under the velvet turf of the
old manor house, and at intervals an epi-
demic of digging breaks out. but nobody
| has ever found anything worth digging
| for, because the lord of the Livingston
manor was too crafty and prudent per-
son to bury his talents in the ground. He
invested his dollars where they doubled
rapidly, and when he died. he was the
richest man in the American colonies
| with the possible exception Of Frederick
Phillipse. To his eldest SOP. Phillip. he
as the Lower Manor tact Of 1900
acres, and that was given to his second
son, Robert, who built new manor
house called "Clermont,' and that is
historic spot.
Both of the sons had large families.
highly endowed with brains as we'll as
lands and gold, and their descendants
have made themselves known and felt,
| and have occupied distinguished posi-
| tions in every branch of human activity.
Chancellor Livingston, the most emil
\ nent of the family, was grandson of the
Robert who built the Clerrnont, and in
herited that property.
Clermont was burned by Gen. Vaughan
the British general. who destroyed Kings
ton at the same time, but the house was
rebuilt at the close of the revolutionary
| war, and the Marquis de Lafayette was
Unfortunately we have no description of
| the original manor house, but the sec
ond was described In 1872 as lone of the
most commodious houses in the state,
having a river front of 104 feet, depth
.of 91 feet and consisting of a main body
of two stories and four pavilons, in one
OF which the chancellor had library
of 1900 well chosen volumes" And there
the great man died. in the spring of 1913,
after serving his country and his state
with distinguished ability, both at home
and abroad. and in many different capaci-
ties
! A sister of Chancellor Livingston mar
ried that brilliant Irish patriot, Ger. Rich
ard Montgomery, whose brief but brilliant
career furnishes one of the most dra amatic
and tragic scenes of the revolutionary
period. They spent their brief and happy
married life In a beautiful home at
adjoining the estate OF the famous Gen.
Armstrong, one of Montgomery's COM
rades in arms who married Miss Astor.
| The Armstrong home now belongs to
| Lieut.. Gov. Chanler OF New York, one of
| his descendants.
Left British to Aid Americans.
| Gen. Montgomery was born and edu-
Gated in Dublin. and entered the British
army. but his sympathies were so strong
ly with the American colonies that in 1772
| when his regiment. the 18th Fusilears
was sent to Boston to coerce the people
| of Massachusetts into paying the stamp
| tax. he with several of his comrades re-
signed his commission and emigrated to
| New York. He was received with most
cordial greetings by the American
patriots. and had not been in this coun-
try a year before he married Janet Liv-
| ingston in 1173. and purchased farm at
| lAnnandale, just north of Rhinebeck
| Montgomery at once threw himself
heart and soul into the affairs of the
colonies where his brilliant mental quail
tiles combined with his military expert
ence made him a valuable accession He
was Immediately chosen one of the couIl-
| Gil of safety and commissioned a briga-
dier general in the Continental Army.
Janet Livingston. his wife, has left us
pathetic recital of their brief and tragic
domestic experience. and she tells us
| that she was nearly overcome with
emotion and premonitions of sorrow when
| he brought her the news of his appoint
ment, but. quickly recovering herself,
sewed a cockade upon his hat and en-
braced him as a brave wife who loves
her husbands honor more than her own