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resolution [Smith's Hist, of N. Y. page 163.]," He went afterwards to England, for
the purpose of attending to his affairs; and while
there, was the means of starting an enterprise
against the pirates, at that period very numerous
and destructive. It is no small evidence of the regard entertained for him, and of the confidence reposed in his judgment, that the King,
Lord Chancellor Somers, the Duke of Shrewsbury, the Earls
of Romney and Oxford, and other persons of distinction, engaged in the adventure, though it ultimately failed through the villany of Kid, who was
intrusted with its execution.
He was connected by marriage with the ancient
and very respectable Schuyler family, and had three
sons, Philip, Robert, and Gilbert. Among the children of Philip were — Philip Livingston, Esq. one
of the illustrious band of Patriots, who signed the
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE; and William
Livingston, L.L.D. for a series of years Governor of the State of New-Jersey, a man of warm
piety, and distinguished for the extraordinary powers of his mind.
Robert had only one son (Robert), the head of
the Clermont family, as it is sometimes called, by
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PAGE 035: CHAPTER I
way of distinction, and to which belonged the late
celebrated Chancellor Livingston.
Gilbert had five sons and two daughters. Henry,
his first son, was the father of John H; — and of
Henry, it may be said, that he was an amiable,
dignified, and excellent man. Blessed by nature,
with a strong mind — liberally educated — elegant of
manners — irreproachable in morals, he enjoyed,
through a long life, the esteem and confidence of
the community. He was for a considerable period
a member of the colonial legislature of New York;
and he was, by Letters patent, proprietor of the
office of Clerk of the county in which he resided.
This office he retained after the revolutionary war
until his death. When the arduous struggle for
Independence commenced, he espoused with some
zeal a cause dear to every genuine American, and,
throughout the contest, was a decided friend to
his country.
He was born September 8th, 1714, and died
February 10th, 1799, at his paternal estate, which
is situate in Dutchess county, near Poughkeepsie,
on the banks of the Hudson, and which is now in the
possession of his grandson, Col. H. A. Livingston,
having belonged to the family for more than a
century.
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