Profile of James Livingston of Poughkeepsie during the Revolutionary War

DUTCHESS COUNTY MEN OF THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD JAMES LIVINGSTON, AND SOME OF HIS DESCENDANTS* James Livingston was born in Kingston, New York, March 29, 1728, the son of Gilbert Livingston and Cornelia Beekman, who was a daughter of Colonel - Henry - Beekman. James was a grandson of the first Robert Livingston and Alicia Schuyler. He married November 11, 1751, Judith Newcomb (born in 1733, at Lebanon, Connecticut, and died August 31, 1808), the daughter of Thomas Newcomb and Judith' „ Woodworth. James Livingston came to Poughkeepsie to live about the time of his marriage in 1751, and in 1753 bought a plot of land and built his home where he lived the rest of his life. This plot of one hundred and fifteen acres lay between the King's Highway (now the Post Road from New York to Albany) and the Hudson River, and extended from the land owned by his brother, Henry Livingston, who had come to Poughkeepsie several years before, north to the road Which is now Pine Street, Poughkeepsie. This tract now contains many streets and homes as well as the grounds of Vassar Brothers Hospital, Eastman Terrace, Eastman Park and the former location for many years of the Riverview Military Academy. During the War, of the Revolution a Continental shipyard occupied a part of the shore line, where two large frigates, the Congress and the Montgomery, as well as other naval vessels, were built. In later years the cove where the shipyard was located has been practically filled in and is now the site of the DeLaval Separator Company. A point of land extending into the river is still known as Shipyard Point. The James Livingston residence stood on a knoll not far from the entrance to Eastman Park. James Livingston was a captain in the Provincial Militia from 1760; ,was sheriff of Dutchess County 1761-1768; was a member of the Provincial Congress, 1776-1777, and served as chairman of the Committee of Safety in 1778. He died in 1790, aged 62 years. His wife died August 31, 1808, aged 75 years and three months. They left three *Note :—The writer wishes to acknowledge with thanks the assistance he has received, in the preparation of this article, from Mrs. Arthur T. Sutcliffe of New York City, Mrs. William H. Husson of St. Augustine, Florida, and Mrs. Eleanor Morland Stetson of Cambridge, Mass. 67