Walter Livingston (November 27, 1740 – May 14, 1797) was an American merchant, lawyer and politician.

Early life

He was a son of Robert Livingston (1708–1790), 3rd Lord of Livingston Manor, and Maria Thong Livingston (1711–1765), a granddaughter of Governor

Rip Van Dam Rip Van Dam ( – 10 June 1749) was the acting governor of the Province of New York from 1731 to 1732. As one of the leaders of the republican liberal (or "country") party, Van Dam confronted the subsequent royal governor William Cosby. Early l ...

. He was a nephew 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 ...

(1716–1778) and the grandson of

(1686–1749) and Catharina Van Brugh. He was the great-grandson of Robert Livingston the Elder (1654–1728), a New York colonial official, fur trader, and businessman who was granted a patent to 160,000 acres (650 km²/ 250 sq mi) along the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

, and becoming the first lord of Livingston Manor. His paternal great-grandmother was Alida Schuyler (born 1656), the daughter of

Philip Pieterse Schuyler Colonel Philip Pieterse Schuyler or Philip Pieterse (1628 – 9 May 1683) was a Dutch-born colonist landowner who was the progenitor of the American Schuyler family. Early life Philip Pieterse Schuyler was born in Amsterdam, Holland in the Repub ...

and the widow of Nicholas Van Rensselaer. His great-grandparents were

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) and Sara Cuyler.

Life

He was a delegate to the Provincial Convention held in New York in April and May 1775, and a member of the First

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 ...

from May to November 1775. He served as Commissary of Stores and Provisions for the Department of New York from July 17, 1775, until September 7, 1776, when he resigned. He was Deputy Commissary General of the Northern Department in 1775 and 1776. WSTM nathanschneider 0039

In 1777, he was appointed a county judge for Albany County. He was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1777 to 1779 and 1784–85, and served as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

from 1777 to 1779. In 1784, he was a member of the New York and Massachusetts Boundary Commission. He was a member of the Board of Regents of the

University of the State of New York The University of the State of New York (USNY, ) is the state of New York's governmental umbrella organization for both public and private institutions in New York State. The "university" is not an educational institution: it is, in fact, a lic ...

from 1784 to 1787. He was a member from New York of the Continental Congress in 1784 and 1785. In 1785, he was appointed Commissioner of the United States Treasury.

Residence

In 1774, Walter built a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

mansion, on a 500-acre estate called

Teviotdale Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and ...

in Linlithgo, New York.

Personal life

He married Cornelia Schuyler (1746–1822), daughter of Pieter P. Schuyler (1723–1753) and Gertrude Schuyler (1724–1813), his cousin. Cornelia was the granddaughter of

Pieter Schuyler Pieter Schuyler (17 September 1657 – 19 February 1724) was the first mayor of Albany, New York. A long-serving member of the executive council of the Province of New York, he acted as governor of the Province of New York on three occasions ...

(1657–1724), the first mayor of Albany. Their children include: * Henry Walter Livingston (1768–1810), a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, who married Mary Allen in 1796. * Maria Livingston (1770–1828), who married Philip Henry Livingston (1770–1831) in 1788 * Peter Schuyler Livingston (1772–1809), who married Eliza Barclay (1776–1817), the daughter of Thomas Henry Barclay * Robert L. Livingston (1775–1843), who married Margaret Maria Livingston (1783–1818), the daughter of Chancellor

Robert R. Livingston Robert Robert Livingston (November 27, 1746 (Old Style November 16) – February 26, 1813) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat from New York, as well as a Founding Father of the United States. He was known as "The Chancellor", afte ...

* Gertrude Livingston (1778–1864), who married William Cutting (1773–1820). * Harriet Livingston (1783–1826), who married

Robert Fulton Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboa ...

(1765–1815) in 1808. He was buried at

Trinity Churchyard The parish of Trinity Church has three separate burial grounds associated with it in New York City. The first, Trinity Churchyard, is located in Lower Manhattan at 74 Trinity Place, near Wall Street and Broadway. Alexander Hamilton, Albert Galla ...

in New York. His home at Linlithgo in

Columbia County, New York Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,570. The county seat is Hudson. The name comes from the Latin feminine form of the name of Christopher Columbus, which was at th ...

, known as

, was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1979.

Descendants

Robert Linlithgow Livingston Jr. (b. 1943), a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

that was the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee from 1995 to 1999, is Walter Livingston's great-great-great-great-grandson. Through his daughter Gertrude, he was the grandfather of Fulton Cutting (1816–1875), who married Elise Justine Bayard (1823–1852) and were the parents of

William Bayard Cutting William Bayard Cutting (January 12, 1850 – March 1, 1912), a member of New York's merchant aristocracy, was an attorney, financier, real estate developer, sugar beet refiner and philanthropist. Cutting and his brother Fulton started the sugar ...

(1850–1912) and

Robert Fulton Cutting Robert Fulton Cutting (June 27, 1852 – September 21, 1934), was an American financier and philanthropist known as "the first citizen of New York." Cutting and his brother William started the sugar beet industry in the United States in 1888. He ...

(1852–1934).

References

;Notes ;Sources *
Political Graveyard

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'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Livingston, Walter 1740 births 1797 deaths Continental Army staff officers Members of the New York Provincial Congress Continental Congressmen from New York (state) 18th-century American politicians Politicians from Albany, New York Speakers of the New York State Assembly Walter Schuyler family American people of Dutch descent American people of Scottish descent Burials at Trinity Church Cemetery