Morgan Lewis Livingston (April 3, 1799 – November 3, 1869), was an American heir and member of the prominent

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 ...

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Early life

Livingston was born on April 3, 1799, at his grandfather's home in Staatsburg in

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later o ...

. He was the eldest of twelve children born to

Maturin Livingston Maturin Livingston (April 10, 1769 – November 7, 1847), a member of the prominent Livingston family, was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life Maturin Livingston was born on April 10, 1769, in New York City. He was the son ...

(1769–1847), a former

Recorder of New York City The recorder of New York City was a municipal officer of New York City from 1683 until 1907. He was at times a judge of the Court of General Sessions, the Court of Special Sessions, and the New York Court of Common Pleas; Vice-President of the Boa ...

, and Margaret (

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 ...

Lewis) Livingston (1780–1860). His younger siblings included Gertrude Laura Livingston, Julia Livingston, Alfred Livingston, Mortimer Livingston, Susan Mary Livingston,

Robert James Livingston Robert James Livingston (December 11, 1811 – February 22, 1891), a member of the Livingston family, was a prominent businessman from New York. Early life Livingston was born on December 11, 1811, in New York City. He was the son of Maturi ...

, Maturin Livingston Jr., Henry Beekman Livingston, Angelica Livingston, and Blanche Geraldine Livingston. His younger sister Angelica married Alexander Hamilton Jr., the son of Secretary of State James Alexander Hamilton (and grandson of

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

, the first

Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

). His mother was the only daughter and sole heiress of New York Gov. Morgan Lewis and Gertrude (née Livingston) Lewis. His maternal grandmother was the daughter of Judge Robert Livingston of Clermont and Margaret (née Beekman) Livingston, and the sister of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston; Janet Livingston (who married Gen.

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish-born American military officer who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and ...

); Margaret Livingston (who married N.Y. Secretary of State Thomas Tillotson); Henry Beekman Livingston; Catharine Livingston (who married Freeborn Garrettson); merchant John R. Livingston; Joanna Livingston (who married Lt. Gov. Peter R. Livingston); and Alida Livingston (who married

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 ...

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

, and Minister to France, John Armstrong, Jr.). His father inherited his maternal grandfather's estate, the Staatsburgh House in Staatsburg, upon the death of Lewis in 1844. His paternal grandparents were Robert James Livingston and Susanna (née Smith) Livingston, herself the daughter of Chief Justice

William Smith William, Willie, Will, Bill, or Billy Smith may refer to: Academics * William Smith (Master of Clare College, Cambridge) (1556–1615), English academic * William Smith (antiquary) (c. 1653–1735), English antiquary and historian of University C ...

. His uncle was Peter R. Livingston and all of his Livingston family members were descended from

Robert Livingston the Younger Robert Livingston the Younger (1663 – April 1725), sometimes known as Robert Livingston Jr., or The Nephew was a wealthy merchant and political figure in colonial Albany, New York. Early life Livingston was born in 1663 in Edinburgh, Scotland ...

, through the Younger's eldest son, James Livingston.

Career

On October 13, 1814, Livingston matriculated at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

with the class of 1819, along with Edward Butler, nephew of General Richard Butler and Col. Thomas Butler. Butler courted Livingston's sister Julia, but eventually married Frances Parke Lewis, daughter of Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis and Lawrence Lewis, and grand-niece of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

(and great-granddaughter of

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 2, 1731 Old Style, O.S. – May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, who was the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, she served as the ...

). Julia later married Maj. Joseph Delafield, brother of Maj. Gen.

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

and Dr. Edward Delafield. Upon his father's death in 1847, his younger brother, Maturin Livingston Jr. inherited the family home in Staatsburgh, not Morgan, the eldest son.

Personal life

On March 30, 1829, Livingston was married to Catharine Currie Manning (1809–1886) in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She was the daughter of James Manning and Elizabeth (née Storm) Manning, and the younger sister of John Augustus Manning and William Henry Manning. Her paternal uncle was James Manning, the first President of Brown University, and her maternal grandfather was

Thomas Storm Thomas Storm (September 8, 1748 – August 4, 1833) was an American Revolutionary war officer and state legislator, rising to Speaker of the New York State Assembly in 1802. Early life Thomas was born in Hopewell, Dutchess County, New York, ...

, the

Speaker of the New York State Assembly The speaker of the New York State Assembly is the highest official in the New York State Assembly, customarily elected from the ranks of the majority party. As in most countries with a British heritage, the speaker presides over the lower hous ...

. Together, they were the parents of nine children, only two of whom married and had children, including: * Gertrude Livingston (1829–1878), who died unmarried. * Morgan Lewis Livingston Jr. (1831–1898), who died unmarried. * Silvia Julia Livingston (1833–1895), who died unmarried. * Rosalie Manning Livingston (1835–1874), who married Francis William Waldo (1836–1878), son of Horace Waldo and Sarah (née Hazard) Waldo, in 1858. After her death, he remarried to Gertrude Rhinelander Waldo. * Mortimer Livingston (1837–1892), who married Maria McCartie in 1863. * Annesley Livingston (1839–1870), who died unmarried. * Julia Livingston (1841–1920), who died unmarried. * James Manning Livingston (1843–1863), who was killed-in-action at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

. * Maturin Livingston (1849–1879), who died unmarried. Livingston died on November 3, 1869, in New York City. He was buried in the St. James Episcopal Churchyard in Hyde Park in

Descendants

Through his daughter Rosalie, he was the grandfather of Rosalie Livingston Waldo (1859–1907) and Katherine Livingston Waldo (1863–1899), who were both the elder half-sisters of Rhinelander Waldo, the

New York City Police The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

and Fire Commissioner, from their father's second marriage to Gertrude Rhinelander Waldo. Rosalie, who was born in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, and died in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, did not marry. Katherine married Preble Tucker (1860–1944), but died without issue at the age of thirty-five. Through his son Mortimer, he was the grandfather of Frances Livingston (b. 1864); Morgan Lewis Livingston (1866–1919), who married Ida Mary (née Lockwood) Walters, daughter of English immigrant Joseph Charles Lockwood, in 1903; Katherine Manning Livingston (b. 1868), who married George Winthrop Fallon in 1893; Robert James Livingston (b. 1870), who married Charlotte Ames, daughter of Daniel Burnett Ames in 1898; Julia Livingston (1872–1872), who died young; Alice Livingston (1874–1876); Edward Mortimer Livingston (b. 1876), who married Catherine Cecilia Chamberlain, daughter of Willis Henry Chamberlain; and Harold Maturin Livingston (b. 1880).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Livingston, Morgan Lewis 1799 births 1869 deaths Morgan Lewis Businesspeople from New York City United States Military Academy alumni