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William Livingston (November 30, 1723 – July 25, 1790) served as the Governor of New Jersey (1776–1790) during the American Revolution and was a signer of the United States Constitution. His grandfather, Robert Livingston the Elder, was a son of the Rev John Livingston a lineal descendant of the fifth Lord Livingston. He was the Brother of Philip Livingston and cousin of Robert R. Livingston, the Chancellor, as well as the grandson of Albany, New York mayor, Pieter Van Brugh.
Livingston was born in Albany, of Scottish descent, and was raised by his grandmother until the age of 14. He graduated from Yale University in 1741 and then studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1748 and began his practice in New York. He moved to Elizabethtown, New Jersey in 1772, where he built a large country home to house his growing family. The house, known as Liberty Hall, still stands today.
The home became a center of activity, in part due to its proximity to Francis Barber's academy and visits from young men. (Alexander Hamilton, a boarder at the academy, was a frequent early visitor.) Three of Livington's daughters — Sarah, Susan, and Catherine — came to be known as 'the three graces'. The height of social activity during this era was the wedding, at Liberty Hall, in April 1774 of Sarah to a young New York lawyer, John Jay.
Livingston was a member of the Continental Congress from July 1774 to June 1776. In October 1775, he was commissioned a brigadier general of the New Jersey Militia and served until August 1776 when he was elected Governor of New Jersey — holding the office until his death in 1790.
For much of the time between 1776 and 1779, the family was located in Parsippany for safety. Liberty Hall was frequently visited by British troops or naval forces since there was a substantial reward for Livingston's capture. The family returned in 1779 to begin restoring their looted home. Livingston's daughter, Susannah, married John Cleves Symmes in 1780 and became the stepmother-in-law of President William Henry Harrison. A descendent of William Livingston was Julia Kean, mother of New York Governor / Congressman Hamilton Fish. William Livingston's sister Sarah was married to Continental General William Alexander (aka Lord Stirling); their daughter was married to William Duer (1747-1799) and became the parents of William Alexander Duer and the grandparents of William Duer (1805-1879).
Livingson was a delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and one of the signers of the Constitution.
Livingston was originally buried in Trinity Church, New York, but was reinterred at Green-Wood Cemetery, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, in 1846.
Because he was the first Revolutionary governor, he is often cited as the first governor of New Jersey. The current numbering of New Jersey governors reflects this.
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1723 births | 1790 deaths | Continental Congressmen | Governors of New Jersey | Signers of the United States Constitution | People from Albany, New York
"William Livingston"