John Henry Livingston (May 30, 1746January 25, 1825) was an American Dutch Reformed minister and member of the

Livingston family The Livingston family of New York (state), New York is a prominent family that migrated from Scotland to the Dutch Republic, and then to the Province of New York in the 17th century. Descended from the 4th Lord Livingston, its members included s ...

, who served as the fourth President of Queen's College (now

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

), from 1810 until his death in 1825.

Early life

Livingston was born on May 30, 1746, near

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Town of Poughkeepsie, New York (state), New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie i ...

in what was then the

Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

British America British America collectively refers to various British colonization of the Americas, colonies of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and its predecessors states in the Americas prior to the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1 ...

. He was a son of Dr. Henry Livingston (1714-1799) and Susannah Storm (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Conklin) Livingston (1724-1793). His siblings included

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

man Gilbert Livingston, author Henry Livingston Jr. (the grandfather of

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Sidney Breese and Admiral Samuel Livingston Breese), and Alida (née Livingston) Woolsey. His maternal grandparents were Capt. John Conklin and Annetje (

Storm) Conklin. His paternal grandparents were Lt. Col. Hubertus "Gilbert" Livingston, himself the son of

Robert Livingston the Elder Robert Livingston the Elder (13 December 1654 – 1728) was a Scottish-born merchant and government official in the Province of New York. He was granted a patent to 160,000 acres (650 km2/ 250 sq mi) of land along the Hudson River, becomin ...

, 1st 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. Located between the Hudson River and the Massachusetts border, the Livingston Manor was locate ...

, and Cornelia (née Beekman) Livingston, a granddaughter of Wilhelmus Beekman, Mayor of New York, and niece of Gerardus Beekman. 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, ...

with a Bachelor of Arts in 1762. In 1762, he matriculated at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of 39,769 students, a ...

(the Netherlands).Album Studiosorum Academiae Rheno-Traiectinae. MDCXXXVI-MDCCCLXXXVI, kol. 164. and on May 16, 1770, he earned a

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor o ...

at the same university. The title description of his thesis was: ''Specimen theologicum inaugurale exhibens observationes de foederis Sinaitici natura ex ejus fine demonstrata. Qod summo deo annuente, Ex Auctoritate Rectoris Magnifici, Meinardi Tydeman, ... Publico offert examini Johannes H. Livingston A.L.M. V.D.M. Neo-Eboracensis. – Trajecti Ad Rhenum : Joannis Broedelet''.

Career

Livingston was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

into the ministry of the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

by the Classis of Amsterdam in 1770. Subsequent to his return from the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, Livingston served as a pastor to the

Reformed Church Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

in New York City. He became a leading figure in the church and negotiated the peaceful reunifications of its two opposing factions. In 1778, Livingston inherited the Jamaican sugar plantation Friendship Estate from his father-in-law, as the family were well-established slave owners in the Caribbean. Along with his brother-in-law Philip Philip Livingston (1741-1787), he sold the plantation and over two hundred slaves bound to the property in 1784. When Queen's College offered Livingston the presidency as early as 1807, he initially declined. However, the Trustees continued to offer, and Livingston accepted the post in 1810. He was also a professor of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

. Queen's College fell into financial trouble and was forced to close its doors in 1816. Livingston continued teaching at the New Brunswick Theological Seminary (which shared facilities with Queen's College), and continued to lobby and fundraise for the reopening of Queen's College. This was gained ten months after his death in 1825.

Residence

After being chosen to head Queen's College, Livingston purchased a plot of land in nearby Raritan Landing, which was afterward known as the Livingston Manor. A

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

mansion built by descendants Robert and Louisa Livingston around 1843 stands on the property, now known as Livingston Homestead. At the turn of the 20th century, the property was developed as a streetcar suburb. In 2004, it was designated as part of the Livingston Manor Historic District.Spies, Stacy. ''National Register nomination for Livingston Homestead'' (Washington, DC, National Park Service, 2001). The house and the district are listed on the

New Jersey Register of Historic Places The New Jersey Register of Historic Places is the official list of historic resources of local, state, and national interest in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The program is administered by the New Jersey's state historic preservation office wit ...

and the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Personal life

On November 26, 1775, Livingston married his second cousin, Sarah Livingston (1752–1814), a daughter of Philip Livingston, a

man and signor of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

, and Christina (née Ten Broeck) Livingston, sister of Albany Mayor Abraham Ten Broeck. Their only child was a son: * Henry Alexander Livingston (1776–1849), who was elected as a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

and the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

. Henry married twice and had eighteen children. Livingston died on January 25, 1825, in

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

Descendants

Through his only child Henry, he was the grandfather of eighteen grandchildren, including Christina Ten Broeck Livingston (d. 1858), Cornelia Beekman Livingston (d. 1858), Henry Philip Livingston (d. 1861), Frederica Charlotte (née Livingston) Kendrick (d. 1898), Henrietta Ulrica Livingston (d. 1916), Sarah (née Livingston) Hoff (1797–1818), Eliza H. Livingston (1799–1819), John Alexander Livingston (1801–1865), Louisa Matilda (née Livingston) James (1807–1849), Robert Sayers Livingston (1819–1821), Jane Murray (née Livingston) Crosby (1830–1911) and Augustus Linlithgow Livingston (1839–1911).

References