Peter Van Brugh Livingston (bp. November 3, 1710

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

– December 28, 1792 Elizabethtown,

Union County, New Jersey Union County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 575,345, making it the seventh-most populous of New Jersey's 21 counties. Its county seat is Elizabeth.

) was a

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

who was a wealthy merchant and who served as the 1st

New York State Treasurer The New York State Treasurer was a state cabinet officer in the State of New York between 1776 and 1926. During the re-organization of the state government under Governor Al Smith, the office was abolished and its responsibilities transferred to the ...

from 1776 to 1778.

Early life

Peter Van Brugh Livingston was the second surviving son of

Philip Livingston Philip Livingston (January 15, 1716 – June 12, 1778) was an American merchant and statesman from New York City. He represented New York at the October 1774 First Continental Congress, where he favored imposing economic sanctions upon Great B ...

(1686–1749), the 2nd Lord of

Livingston Manor Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the Province of New York granted to Robert Livingston the Elder during the reign of George I of Great Britain. History Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the colonial Province of New York granted ...

, and Catharine Van Brugh (b. 1689). His older brother was Robert Livingston (1708–1790) and his younger brothers included

(1716–1778), a signer of the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...

, and

William Livingston William Livingston (November 30, 1723July 25, 1790) was an American politician who served as the first governor of New Jersey (1776–1790) during the American Revolutionary War. As a New Jersey representative in the Continental Congress, he sig ...

(1723–1790), a signer of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

and the 1st Governor of New Jersey. Livingston graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1731, and settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Livingston's mother was the only child of his namesake,

Pieter Van Brugh Pieter Van Brugh (1666 – July 1740) was the Mayor of Albany, New York from 1699 to 1700 and from 1721 to 1723. Early life and family Pieter Van Brugh was a member of the Dutch aristocracy of Albany. Pieter Van Brugh was the oldest son of J ...

(1666–1740), the Mayor of

from 1699 to 1700 and from 1721 to 1723. His grandfather's sister, Catharina Van Brugh, married

Hendrick van Rensselaer Hendrick van Rensselaer (October 23, 1667 – July 4, 1740) was director of the Eastern patent of the Rensselaerswyck manor. The estate was composed of land in Columbia County, New York, and land opposite Albany, New York, on the Hudson River, ...

, the son of

Jeremias van Rensselaer Jeremias van Rensselaer (Amsterdam, 16 May 1632 – October 12, 1674) was the third son of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, one of the founders and directors of the Dutch West India Company who was instrumental in the establishment of New Netherland ...

patroon In the United States, a patroon (; from Dutch ''patroon'' ) was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland on the east coast of North America. Through the Charter of Freedoms a ...

Rensselaerswyck The Manor of Rensselaerswyck, Manor Rensselaerswyck, Van Rensselaer Manor, or just simply Rensselaerswyck ( nl, Rensselaerswijck ), was the name of a colonial estate—specifically, a Dutch patroonship and later an English manor—owned by the va ...

. Livingston's maternal great-grandfather, Johannes Pieterse van Brugh (1624–1697), was one of the early settlers of

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...

and was prominently connected with the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...

. His paternal grandparents were Alida Schuyler (1656–1727) and

Robert Livingston the Elder The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

(1654–1728), and his uncle was Robert Livingston (1688–1775) of Clermont.

Career

After his graduation from Yale, he became engaged in the shipping business with

William Alexander, Lord Stirling William Alexander, also known as Lord Stirling (1726 – 15 January 1783), was a Scottish-American major general during the American Revolutionary War. He was considered male heir to the Scottish title of Earl of Stirling through Scottish line ...

. He was also engaged in the slave trade with his father. Livingston's mercantile interests involved activities in the West Indies, North Carolina, and

Fort Niagara Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great Lakes. The fort is on the river's e ...

, where he was involved in the fur trade. In 1748, he became one of founders and original trustees of the College of New Jersey (now

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

), and served until 1761. In 1755, he furnished the supplies for the expedition of Governor

William Shirley William Shirley (2 December 1694 – 24 March 1771) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of the British American colonies of Massachusetts Bay and the Bahamas. He is best known for his role in organi ...

Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...

. In 1775, he was a member of the Committee of One Hundred. He was a delegate to the

New York Provincial Congress The New York Provincial Congress (1775–1777) was a revolutionary provisional government formed by colonists in 1775, during the American Revolution, as a pro-American alternative to the more conservative New York General Assembly, and as a repla ...

es, and was President from May 1775 to August 1775 and from September 1776 to March 1777. He was also Chairman of the Committee of Safety from September 1776 to March 1777. In 1776, he was appointed

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

by the Provincial Congress, and remained in office until 1778, after the establishment of the State Government.

Personal life

His home in New York City was a large mansion on the east side of what is now Hanover Square, with grounds extending to the East River. Later he removed to Elizabethtown, N.J., and died there at the

Liberty Hall Liberty Hall ( ga, Halla na Saoirse), in Dublin, Ireland, is the headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU). Designed by Desmond Rea O'Kelly, it was completed in 1965. It was for a time the tallest b ...

. On November 3, 1739, Peter Van Brugh Livingston he married Mary Alexander (1721–1767), the daughter of James Alexander and Mary Spratt Provoost, and the sister of his business associate, Lord Stirling. Before her death in 1767, they had twelve children, including: * Philip Peter Livingston (1740–1810), who was known as "Gentleman Phil," and who married Cornelia Van Horne (b. 1759). * Mary Livingston (1742), who died in infancy. * Catherine Livingston (1743–1775), who married Nicholas Bayard. * James Alexander Livingston (b. 1744). * Mary Livingston (1746–1780), who married Capt. John Brown. * Peter Livingston (b. 1753), who married Susan Blondel. * Sarah Livingston (1755–1825), who married Capt. James Ricketts. * William Alexander Livingston (1757–1780), who was killed in a duel. * Susan Livingston (1759–1853), who married (1) John Kean in 1789; (2) Count Julian Niemcewicz in 1800, aide to Kosciuzko. * Elizabeth Livingston (1761–1787), who married French consul Monsieur Otto. * James Alexander Livingston (b. 1763), who died young. * Ann Livingston (b. 1767), who died young. On April 9, 1771, he married Elizabeth Ricketts, the widow of William Ricketts, in

Elizabethtown, New Jersey Elizabeth Township, also called Elizabethtown, was a township that existed in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, from 1664 until 1855. The area was initially part of the Elizabethtown Tract, purchased from the Lenape on October 28, 166 ...

Descendants and honors

Through his eldest son Philip, he was the grandfather of Van Brugh Livingston (1792–1868), who served as the American

Chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

(i.e. equivalent of the current U.S. Ambassador) to Ecuador from August 12, 1848 until November 12, 1849, appointed by President

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

. Livingston's daughter Susan Niemcewicz established a scholarship at the College of New Jersey, named in honor of her father.

References

;Notes ;Sources

Political Graveyard
Google Books
''The New York Civil List'' compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (page 35; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) {{DEFAULTSORT:Livingston, Peter Van Brugh 1710 births 1792 deaths Peter Van Brugh Schuyler family Members of the New York Provincial Congress American people of Scottish descent American slave traders American people of Dutch descent New York State Treasurers Yale College alumni Van Brugh family Politicians from Albany, New York Politicians from New York City Politicians from Elizabeth, New Jersey American businesspeople in shipping 18th-century American businesspeople

Early life

Career

Personal life

Descendants and honors

See also

References