Edward Philip Livingston

Edward Philip Livingston (November 24, 1779 Kingston, Jamaica – November 3, 1843 Clermont, Columbia County, New York) was an American politician.

Early life

He was the son of Philip Philip Livingston (1741–1787, son of Philip Livingston) and Sara (Johnson) Livingston (ca. 1749-1802). He was a grandnephew of William Livingston, Governor of New Jersey; grandson of Philip Livingston, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; first cousin once removed of Walter Livingston, Speaker of the New York State Assembly; first cousin once removed and nephew by marriage of Edward Livingston,Secretary of State; and second cousin of Henry Walter Livingston, a United States Representative from New York.

Livingston was a 1796 graduate of Columbia College.

Career

After his father-in-law's death, Edward P. Livingston became the master of Clermont Manor. He resided at Clermont Manor from 1802 until the time of his death. Livingston was a member of the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York from 1827 to 1831.

He served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the militia, was aide-de-camp to Governor Dewitt Clinton, and served as Judge of the Columbia County Court of Common Pleas.

He was aide to Governor Daniel D. Tompkins, and private secretary to his father-in-law Robert R. Livingston (1746–1813), then US Minister to France.

New York State Senate

Edward P. Livingston was a member of the New York State Senate (Middle D.) from 1808 to 1812, and lost his seat to Martin Van Buren. He was a presidential elector in 1820, voting for James Monroe and Daniel D. Tompkins; and again a member of the State Senate (3rd D.) in 1823 and 1824.

Lieutenant Governor of New York

He was proposed in 1830 for Governor of New York, but his candidacy was questioned by some opponents in the Democratic-Republican Party on the grounds that he had been born on the island of Jamaica. As a naturalized citizen of New York, Livingston was eligible to run, but his foreign birth was used to prevent his nomination. Instead Enos T. Throop, who had succeeded to the governorship when Martin Van Buren became United States Secretary of State, was nominated for a full term as governor, and Livingston was nominated for lieutenant governor. Throop and Livingston won, and Livingston served from 1831 to 1832. He was again a presidential elector in 1832.

Return to NY Senate

He was again a member of the State Senate (3rd D.) in 1838 and 1839. He resigned his seat on October 9, 1839.

Personal life

On November 20, 1799, he married Elizabeth Stevens Livingston (1780–1829), the eldest daughter of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston. Their children included:

• Margaret Livingston (1808–1874), who married David Augustus Clarkson (1793–1874), who were the parents of Thomas Streatfeild Clarkson (1837–1894), namesake of Clarkson University.
• Elizabeth Livingston (1813–1896), who married Edward Hunter Ludlow (1810–1884), and were the grandparents of Anna Hall Roosevelt, and great-grandparents of Eleanor Roosevelt.
• Clermont Livingston (1817–1895), who married Cornelia Livingston (1824–1851), and were the parents of John Henry Livingston (1848–1927), who married Catherine Livingston Hooker (d. 1867), daughter of Hon. James Hooker, and Mary Livingston (d. 1876), who married Frederic de Peyster (1843–1874), the son of Maj. Gen. John Watts de Peyster.
• Robert Edward Livingston (1820–1889), who married Susan Maria Clarkson de Peyster (1823–1910)

After the death of his wife in 1829, and while he was Lt. Governor of New York, Livingston happened to look in the gallery of the Senate Chamber in Albany, where he saw Mary Crooke Broom (1804–1877) seated, and was struck by her beauty. She was "reckoned the most beautiful girl in all this region." They married in 1832. She was the eldest child and daughter of William Broom and Ann Crooke Barber.

Livingston died in Clermont on November 3, 1843. He was buried at Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery in Poughkeepsie, New York. Upon his death, he left Clermont Manor to his son Clermont. After his death, his second wife remarried to Judge Charles Herman Ruggles.

Descendants

Livingston was the grandfather of Thomas Streatfeild Clarkson (1837–1894), namesake of Clarkson University. He was also the great-great-grandfather of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.