Philip Livingston was a man of exceptional British heritage. The Scottish portion of his lineage includes Egbert, the first Saxon king of much of England; Alfred the Great, the English monarch who defended England against a Danish invasion and created the first English navy; and Robert the Bruce, the famed king of Scotland, as well as other kings of Scotland and Anglo-Saxon kings. 

At the time of his birth on January 15, 1716, his grandfather had established the Livingston family firmly in the community of Albany, NY. Robert Livingston emigrated to the colony of New York in 1673. He gained wealth from the fur trade and won favor with the community gaining positions of civic leadership. He married the widow of Rensselaerwyck, which was the colony’s largest private landholding. He was the first lord of the 160,000-acre Manor of Livingston. His son, Philip, became the second lord and the father of the signer, Philip Livingston. 

After graduating from Yale College in 1737, Mr. Livingston became a merchant with a high reputation. Sir Charles Hardy, governor of the New York colony, stated, “among the considerable merchants in this city, no one is more esteemed for energy, promptness, and public spirit than Philip Livingston.” He lived in New York City on Duke Street and also owned a 40-acre estate in Brooklyn Heights.  

In addition to being a successful businessman, Mr. Livingston became a humanitarian and a philanthropist with lasting impact. His causes and efforts included the New York Public Library, the New York Chamber of Commerce, and the New York Hospital. His devotion to God led him to help found the Anglican King’s College (now Columbia University), establish the Livingston Professorship of Divinity at Yale, as well as be a benefactor of the city’s Presbyterian and Methodist churches. He also was a deacon and an elder in the Dutch Reformed Church.  

In the loyalist-dominated colony, Philip Livingston echoed many of the pragmatic sentiments of his fellow colonists. Many took great issue with England taxing the colonies without their consent. Mr. Livingston was a delegate to the Stamp Act Congress where debate was taken up to determine how to address Parliament’s overreach. In 1774, he was chosen to be a delegate to the First Continental Congress. And in July 1775, he and his fellow delegates appealed to King George III with the Olive Branch Petition in hopes of persuading reconciliation between the king and his subjects. The king rebuffed the gesture and declared them to be in a state of rebellion.

The next year, the Congress debated formal separation from Great Britain. When the vote for the resolution for independence took place on July 2, 1776, Mr. Livingston was not present. The New York delegation abstained from voting due to the state assembly withholding approval until they saw consensus on the resolution from the other 12 colonies. On July 9th, the assembly gave their support for independence and Livingston signed the Declaration, along with the other New York delegates, on August 2nd. 

Philip Livingston’s devotion to independence greatly affected him and his family’s safety. Upon the defeat of General Washington’s army on Long Island, they gathered at the Livingston’s residence and made the decision to evacuate the island. He led his family to Kingston to escape any more endangerment. Trouble, eventually, followed them and British General John Vaughan burned down Kingston in an apparent fit of rage. Gen. Vaughan and his troops continued up the Hudson River ten miles ‘til he and his men came to the Livingston family residence, Clermont, which was under the care of Mr. Livingston’s first cousin, Robert. To punish the Livingston family for joining the rebels, the house and 24 other buildings were burned.

Regarding Robert Livingston, he was quite successful in his own right as were many others of the Livingston family. He served as the first chancellor of New York. As the highest judicial officer in the state, he administered the presidential oath of office to George Washington at his inauguration. He also served as minister to France and negotiated the purchase of the Louisiana Territory with Napoleon Bonaparte. 

The man known for his discerning wisdom and great affection for his family and friends died on June 12th, 1778. Philip Livingston’s status and contribution to the young nation was recognized when Congress attended his funeral and declared a month-long period of mourning. 

Philip Livingston lived to be 62 years of age.