Philip Henry Livingston (1716 - 1778)

Born 15 Jan 1716 in Albany, Albany, New York Colony

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 12 Jun 1778 at age 62 in York, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

Philip Livingston was a Founding Father in the American Revolution.

Philip Livingston is Notable.

Signer of the Declaration of Independence

• A delegate to the First Continental Congress in 1774 and the Second in 1775, Graduated Yale in 1737

LIVINGSTON, Philip, (brother of William Livingston, cousin of Edward Livingston and Robert R. Livingston, and uncle of Walter Livingston), a Delegate from New York; born in Albany, N.Y., January 15, 1716; was graduated from Yale College in 1737; engaged in the mercantile business in New York City; member of the board of aldermen 1754-1762; member of the provincial house of representatives 1763-1769 and served as speaker in 1768; member of the New York Committee of Correspondence; delegate to the Stamp Act Congress in October 1765; register in chancery in 1768 and 1769; *Member of the Continental Congress from 1775 until his death; a signer of the Declaration of Independence; president of the New York Provincial Convention in 1775; member of the State assembly in 1776; served in the State senate in 1777; prominent in commercial and educational societies; died while attending the sixth session of the Continental Congress in York, Pa., June 12, 1778; interment in a tomb in Prospect Hill Cemetery, York, York County, Pa.

Signer of the Declaration of Independence from New York. He and his brother, William, were ardent patriots, and William would later sign the US Constitution. Born in Albany, New York, to a prosperous family. His family estate was over 160,000 acres (about 250 square miles). Young Philip was tutored at home, then sent to Yale University, where he graduated in 1737. In 1740, he married Christina Ten Broeck, daughter of the mayor of Albany, and the couple would have nine children. Philip Livingston became a merchant in New York City, and took an active part in civic affairs. He devoted much of time and money to civic improvements, helping to build the New York Chamber of Commerce, the New York Hospital, and the New York Society Library. He would also help establish Columbia University in New York City and Rutgers University in New Jersey. In 1758, he was elected to New York’s Colonial Legislature. As problems with England developed, he would urge moderation. He served as a delegate to the Stamp Act Congress in 1765, and though he hated the taxes, he continued to call for reason in dealing with Britain. He opposed the violence welcomed by the Sons of Liberty and dreaded the idea of war with Britain. Independence was a “vain, empty, shallow, and ridiculous project” he warned, and predicted that America would collapse if separated from England. In 1774, he was elected to the First and Second Continental Congress, serving from 1774 to 1778. Eventually he accepted the fact that independence was coming, and from that moment on, actively supported his new country. He would spent a large part of his own money to purchase supplies for the Army. When the British Army captured New York City, they seized his two homes, turning one into a military hospital and the other into a barracks. His family fled to Kingston, New York. Livingston did not live to see independence won; he died while attending Congress in York, Pennsylvania (where Congress had fled to when the British seized Philadelphia), in 1778 at the age of 62. He was first buried in the churchyard of the German Reformed Church on West Market Street, York, Pennsylvania. When the land was needed to build a Sunday School addition, all graves were moved to Prospect Hill Cemetery, York, Pennsylvania. (bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson)

Congressional Biography

PHILIP LIVINGSTON of New York City, b. 15th January, 1716; d. 12th June, 1778; graduated at Yale, 1737; Alderman of New York, 1754-1763; Member of the Provincial Assembly, 1759-1769; Speaker, 1768; Signer of the Declaration of Independence, 1776; State Senator, 1777;

Marriage

m. 14th April, 1740, Christina TEN BROECK, dau. of Col. Dirck TEN BROECK, b. 30th December, 1718, d. 29th June, 1801.

Children

• I. PHILIP PHILIP, b. 28th May, 1741 of whom later.
• II. Dirck, or Richard, b. 6th June, 1743; d. unmarried.
• III. Catherine, bapt. 25th August, 1745; d. 17th April, 1810; m. (firstly) 23d January, 1764, Stephen VAN RENSSELAER; m. (secondly) 19th July, 1775, Dominie Eilardus WESTERLO.
• IV. Margaret, bapt. 26th October, 1747; d. 17th January, 1830; m. 30th July, 1776, Thomas JONES, M.D.
• V. Peter Van Brugh, bapt. 13th March, 1751; d. unmarried in Jamaica, West Indies.
• VI. Sarah, b. 7th December, 1752; d. 29th December, 1814; m. 26th November, 1775, her cousin, Rev. John Henry LIVINGSTON, D.D., President of Queen's College, New Jersey, b. 30th May, 1746, d. 20th January, 1825.
• VII. Abraham, bapt. 3d July, 1754; d. unmarried in 1782; Commissary to the American Army during the War of Independence.
• VIII. Alida, bapt. 3d August, 1757; d. unmarried.
• IX. Henry Philip, Captain in Washington's Life Guards; bapt. 26th March, 1760; d. unmarried

Research Notes

Note: member of committee of one hundred, 1775, president of the provincial convention, 1775; member of continental congress, 1774-78; signer of the Declaration of Independence, 1776; member of provincial congress, 1776-77.

Sources

• The Livingston Family in America and its Scottish Origins
• Colonial Families in the U.S.[p.338]
• Find A Grave, Record added: Apr 26, 1998, Find A Grave Memorial # 2776
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Livingston
• Dexter, Franklin Bowditch. Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College (Holt, 1885) Vol. 1, Page 582
• Ramsburgh, Edith Roberts. The Livingstons of New York, "Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine" (The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Oct. 1923) Vol. 57, No. 10, Whole No. 374, Page 611

• Wikipedia "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Livingston"

• Stefan Bielinski "https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/l/phlivingston86.html"

• The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence "http://www.dsdi1776.com/signers-by-state/philip-livingston/"

• N-YHS Digital Collections › Rhode Island (Ship), Trade book of the sloop Rhode Island, December 1748-July 1749, https://digitalcollections.nyhistory.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A142555#page/2/mode/1up , accessed 10 Sep 2021.