Van Brugh Livingston

Livingston was born in New York City in 1792 and was named after his paternal grandfather, Peter Van Brugh Livingston, who died in the year he was born.[1] He was the son of Loyalist Philip Peter Livingston (1740–1810), who was known as "Gentleman Phil,"[2] and Cornelia (née Van Horne) Livingston (b. 1759).[3] His siblings included Charles Ludlow Livingston (1800–1873), Philip Livingston and Richard Livingston.

His paternal grandmother was Mary Alexander (1721–1767), the daughter of James Alexander and Mary Spratt Provoost. His grandfather was a business associate of Lord Stirling, who was his grandmother's brother.[4] His paternal grandfather, Peter Van Brugh Livingston (1710–1792), was a delegate to the New York Provincial Congresses and served as New York State Treasurer. He was the son of Philip Livingston (1686–1749), the 2nd Lord of Livingston Manor. His grandfather's older brother was Robert Livingston and his younger brothers included Philip Livingston, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and William Livingston, a signer of the United States Constitution and the 1st Governor of New Jersey.[4][5] His maternal grandparents were David Van Horne and Anne (née French) Van Horne, herself the daughter of Philip French III and Susanna Brockholst.[4]

Livingston graduated from Columbia College in 1811.[6]

From 1816 to 1819, Livingston, along with Albert Rolaz Gallatin (1800-1890), the second son of Albert Gallatin who was then Minister to France, made a tour of Europe from 1816 to 1819.[1] While in Scotland, he was the guest of his kinsman, Sir Thomas Livingston, where he met and had his portrait painted in Edinburgh by Sir Henry Raeburn in 1819.[7] The painting, or a replica, is now in the collection of the New-York Historical Society.[6]

On April 10, 1848, Livingston was appointed the inaugural Chargé d'affaires to Ecuador at Quito, the Chief of Mission or modern equivalent of the U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador by the 11th President James K. Polk, a Democrat. The Secretary of State during his service was James Buchanan, who later became the 15th President.[8] Originally, Daniel S. Dickinson and John Adams Dix, the U.S. Senators from New York wanted Polk to appoint Livingston as Head of the U.S. Legation to the Papal States, but after much discussion, Dix and Dickinson agreed to suggest a South American post to Livingston and Polk immediately sent the appointments of Jacob Martin (to the Papal States), Elijah Hise (to Guatemala) and John Appleton (to Bolivia) to the Senate and, two weeks later, sent an appointment for Livingston as charge to Ecuador.[9]

He succeeded James Chamberlayne Pickett who had served as Plenipotentiary for signing a Treaty of Peace and Commerce with Ecuador.[10] He presented his credentials on August 12, 1848 and served, during the presidency of Vicente Ramón Roca,[11] until his mission was terminated on November 12, 1849 by a transmitted recall note.[12]

While in office, Polk reasserted the Monroe Doctrine which opposed European colonialism in the Americas.[13] In his role, and due to England's ostensible propping up of former Ecuadorian president Juan José Flores as a monarch, Livingston was instructed to say that "the intervention or dictation, direct or indirect, of European Governments in the affairs of the Independent States of the American Hemisphere will never be viewed with indifference by the government of the United States. On the contrary, all the moral means, at least, within their power, shall upon every occasion be employed to discourage and arrest such interference."[14]

Livingston was succeeded by John Trumbull Van Alen under the Whig administration of President Zachary Taylor following his election in 1848.[15]

Shortly after returning to the United States from his European travels, Livingston was married to Mrs. Maria "Harriet" Elizabeth Houston.[6][25] She was the widow of Sir Patrick Houston[26] of Georgia.[1] Together, they lived in Bleecker Street, in Manhattan,[25] and were the parents of ten children, including:[27]

• Elizabeth Ludlow Livingston (1836–1895),[28] who was born in Dobbs Ferry, New York and who married real estate developer Joseph Montgomery Strong (1822–1894),[29] the youngest son of Rev. Paschal Neilson Strong and Cornelia Adelaide Kane Strong, in 1856[29] Strong was associated with the firm of Strong & Ireland.[30]
• Van Brugh Livingston (1840–1904),[31] who married Ada Mary Jaudon (b. 1839).[31]

He was an avid family historian and, like his father, shared an appreciation of the fine arts. In his an appendage to his will in 1856, he recorded the transfer of several Livingston family paintings to his son, Van Brugh Livingston.[32][33]

Livingston died in New York City on July 16, 1868.[26][34]

• Livingston, Van Brugh: An Inquiry Into the Merits of the Reformed Doctrine of "Imputation," as Contrasted With Those of "Catholic Imputation;" or, The Cardinal Point of Controversy between The Church of Rome and the Protestant High Church: Together with Miscellaneous Essays on the Catholic Faith New York: Casserly & Sons (1843)