Helen Livingston (abt. 1585 - aft. 1633)

Born about 1585 in Scotland

Ancestors

Descendants

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Biography

Helen Livingston, daughter of Henry Livingston and Agnes Gray, was born say 1585.^[1] See the research note below regarding proof of her parentage.

Helen married James Duncanson, son of John Duncanson and Janet Watson, before 12 October 1610, but more likely about 1603 before the birth of their first son. They had:^[2][3]

1. Henry Duncanson born say 1604 (had his master's degree in 1626); died after 20 September 1626 when named in the will of his uncle, Walter Duncanson.^[4][5]
2. Jonet Duncanson baptized 13 April 1613;^[6] married (1) John Ardes, at Amsterdam, 20 December 1639,^[7] (2) Thomas Powell, widower of her sister Anne, and (3) Robert Orchard, by 1671;^[8] died after 21 November 1683 when she sponsored her niece's baptism;^[9] no known issue.^[10]
3. Maria Duncanson born say 1614; married at age 25, Jan MacFasse at Amsterdam, after 14 January 1640;^[11] and perhaps second, Pieter Loockermans;^[12] perhaps had issue with Loockermans. (there are some doubts about Maria and her parentage: please see the Research Notes on her profile).
4. John Duncanson baptized December 1615.^[13]
5. Anne Duncanson born say 1616 - 1617; married at age 28, Thomas Powell, at Amsterdam, about October/November 1646;^[14] died before her widowers marriage to her sister Jonet.^[8]
6. Margaret Duncanson baptized 17 March 1618;^[15] married at age 20, William Teller at Amsterdam, 6 February 1639;^[16] died probably at Albany, before 7 December 1662.^[17]
7. Katherine Duncanson baptized 15 April 1621;^[18] married at age 18, Alexander Glen, at Amsterdam, 31 October 1638;^[19] died at Schenectady, 13 November 1685.^[20]

James and Helen apparently had three additional children whose names are unknown. A directive from Charles I, about November 1633, directed payment of her late father-in-law's unpaid pension, styling her as "shoe being a poore widow haveing the charge of ten children."^[21]

She died after 15 August 1633 when she petitioned the King for her late father-in-law's overdue pension.^[22] It is not known if she remarried. It is also possible that she immigrated to Amsterdam where her five daughters were married (or published intentions to do so) between 1638 and 1646: her brother James was there at least as late as 1617, and she had Livingston relatives serving in the Scots Brigade in Holland in this time.^[23][24][25]

Research Notes

Proof of Parentage

On 12 October 1610, a John Livingston, styled as a legitimate son of Henry Livingston, witnessed a land purchase by James Duncanson. Later that same day, James and his wife, Helen Livingston, transferred the property to a James Livingston (relationship unknown). One of the witnesses to this transaction was the same John Livingston, but styled in this record as "brother german to the said Helen." Adrian Burke gives a complete transcript of both records.^[26]

Sources

1. ↑ Adrian Benjamin Burke, "The Livingston Ancestry of the Duncanson Sisters of New Netherland: Part I of III: Identifying their mother Helen Livingston," The Genealogist 27 (2013): 28-50 at 45, American Ancestors.
2. ↑ Adrian Benjamin Burke, "Livingston Ancestry, pt I", 49-50.
3. ↑ Gordon L. Remington, "The Duncanson Wives of Four New Netherland Settlers: Glen, Teller, Powell, and Loockermans," New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, 128 (1997) 1-10 at 10, New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.
4. ↑ Will of Walter Duncanson, National Archives PROB 11/150/84, National Archives Discovery Centre catalogue entry.
5. ↑ Adrian Benjamin Burke, "The Livingston Ancestry of the Duncanson Sisters of New Netherland: Part III of III: Identifying their maternal grandmother Agnes Gray," The Genealogist 28 (2014): 58-89 at 86-87, appendix I (full transcript) American Ancestors.
6. ↑ Remington, "The Duncanson Wives" 4, citing Old Parish Registers, Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, FamilySearch Library microfilm 1040205, img 331, FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-CSHZ-RH78.
7. ↑ Amsterdam DTB 990:57, FamilySearch Library microfilm #113359, item 1, img 61, FamilySearch Image: 3QS7-L9QV-K57W.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Jonathan Pearson, Contributions for the Genealogies of the First Settlers of the Ancient County of Albany, From 1630 to 1800 (Albany: J. Munsell, 1872) 85, 88, Internet Archive.
9. ↑ Records of the Reformed Dutch Church of Albany, New York 1683-1809 Excerpted from Year Books of The Holland Society of New York (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. for the Clearfield Company, 2003), 1: 32, Internet Archive.
10. ↑ Adrian Benjamin Burke, "Re: Duncansons," email to Greg Cooke, 20 September 2023.
11. ↑ Amsterdam DTB 453:70, FamilySearch Library microfilm #113199, img 530, FamilySearch Image: 3QS7-89QV-49Q5-M.
12. ↑ Joel Munsell, The Annals of Albany, 10 vols., (Albany: Munsell & Rowland, 1858), 9: 82, Internet Archive.
13. ↑ Remington, "The Duncanson Wives 4, citing Old Parish Registers, Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland", FamilySearch Library microfilm 1040205, img 335, FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-CSHZ-RH7X.
14. ↑ Amsterdam DTB 464:53, FamilySearch Library microfilm #113204, img 260, FamilySearch Image: 3QS7-L9QV-7XJW.
15. ↑ Remington, "The Duncanson Wives", 4, citing Old Parish Registers, Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, FamilySearch Library microfilm 1040205, img 338, FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-CSHZ-RHQ5.
16. ↑ Amsterdam DTB 450:41, FamilySearch Library microfilm #113199, item 1, img 41, FamilySearch Image: 3QS7-89QV-49WD-Z.
17. ↑ Janny Venema, Deacons’ Accounts 1652-1674, Beverwijck/Albany (Rockport, Maine: Picton Press, 1998), 106.
18. ↑ Remington, "The Duncanson Wives", 4, citing Old Parish Registers, Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, FamilySearch Library microfilm 1040205, img 445, FamilySearch Image: 3QS7-89QV-VJ3T.
19. ↑ Amsterdam DTB 970: n.p., FamilySearch Library microfilm #113353, img 331, FamilySearch Image: 3QSQ-G9QV-GV3W.
20. ↑ Jeannie F-J. Robison & Henrietta C. Bartlett, Genealogical Records: Manuscript Entries of Births, Deaths and Marriages Taken From Family Bibles 1581-1917 (New York: The Colonial Dames of the State of New York, 1917), 94, Google Books.
21. ↑ The Earl of Stirling's Register of Royal Letters: Relative to the Affairs of Scotland and Nova Scotia From 1615 to 1635, 2 vols., (Edinburgh, p.p., 1885), 2: 698, Internet Archive.
22. ↑ Adrian Benjamin Burke, "Livingston Ancestry, pt I", 48, (full transcript of record) citing National Library of Scotland, "Fletcher of Saltoun Papers, MSS. 17503, folio 19 National Library of Scotland catalogue entry.
23. ↑ James Balfour Paul, The Scots Peerage, 9 vols., (Edinburgh: David Douglas,1904-1914) 6: 448-450, Internet Archive.
24. ↑ Adrian Benjamin Burke, "Livingston Ancestry, pt I", 49.
25. ↑ James Ferguson, Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade in the Service of the United Netherlands, 1572-1782 (Edinburgh: Scottish Historical Society, 1899), 69n, Google Books.
26. ↑ Adrian Benjamin Burke, "Livingston Ancestry, pt I", 29-31, citing National Archives of Scotland, B66/1/9, Protocol Book of John Williamson, 1605-1613, National Archives of Scotland catalog entry.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to all who have contributed to this profile. Click the Changes tab to see those previous edits.

Magna Carta Project

This profile was developed for the Magna Carta project by Greg Cooke, finishing in October 2023, and was reviewed for the project by Michael Cayley on 18 October 2023.

This profile has been identified by the Magna Carta Project as in a trail from Magna Carta Surety Baron Gilbert de Clare to Helen's daughters Margaret and Catherine. The trail, which was badged 11 December 2023, is set out in the Magna Carta trails section of Margaret Duncanson's Profile.

See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".