Livingston Manor

Livingston Manor was a 160,000-acre (65,000 ha) tract of land in the Province of New York granted to Robert Livingston the Elder during the reign of George I of Great Britain. Located between the Hudson River and the Massachusetts border, the Livingston Manor was located in an area that later became a portion of Columbia County in the state of New York.

For the hamlet in Sullivan County, see Livingston Manor, New York. For the district located in Highland Park, New Jersey, see Livingston Manor Historic District.

History
Map of Livingston Manor in 1777
Map of Livingston Manor and Rensselaerwyck in 1777

Livingston Manor was a 160,000-acre (65,000 ha) tract of land in the colonial Province of New York granted to Robert Livingston the Elder through the influence of 5th Governor Thomas Dongan, and confirmed by royal charter of George I of Great Britain in 1715, creating the manor and lordship of Livingston.[1] The original patent was obtained in July 1686.[2]

Livingston Manor was approximately 20 miles wide from east to west and was approximately 12 miles long from north to south. It was located between the Hudson River on the west and the Massachusetts border on the east. Livingston Manor encompassed the area that would later become the towns of Livingston, Germantown, Clermont, Taghkanic, Gallatin, Copake, and Ancram, located in Columbia County, New York.[2]

The lords of the manor were:

Although an English-deeded tract, some sources list Livingston Manor with the patroonships of New Netherland.

Division of land

The first division of the estate occurred in 1728 upon the death of Robert Livingston the Elder, who stipulated that his third son, Robert Livingston (1718–1775), be granted 13,000 acres (5,300 ha) from Livingston Manor's southwest corner, a tract which Robert christened Clermont Manor.

In 1790, upon the death of the last lord of the manor, Robert Livingston, the remainder of Livingston Manor was divided among the heirs of his four youngest sons, rather than continuing to pass down through primogeniture. Robert's eldest living son, Peter R. Livingston (1737-1809), had made many unwise financial decisions and was perennially in debt, and it was feared the estate would end up claimed by his creditors were it passed on to him.[2]

The inheritors of the estate were all men who had distinguished themselves considerably during and after the American Revolution:

The land was divided among the families of these four men, and the power of the Livingston family was slowly diminished. A portion of the estate is still held by the family. The town of Livingston, New York occupies part of the original tract.

See also

References
  1. Livingston, Edwin Brockholst (1910). The Livingstons of Livingston manor; being the history of that branch of the Scottish house of Callendar which settled in the English province of New York during the reign of Charles the Second; and also including an account of Robert Livingston of Albany, "The nephew," a settler in the same province and his principal descendants. New York: The Knickerbocker Press. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  2. Livingston, James D.; Penney, Sherry H. (March 1987). "The Breakup of Livingston Manor" (PDF). The Hudson Valley Regional Review. 4 (1): 56–73. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
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