Rev. William Baudertius
(1565)
(1640)

Children:
Mary Baudertius

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The Beekmans of New York, 1647-1877 Philip L. White, p. 9
Four years before William Beekman's birth Baudartius had been a leading figure at the famous Synod of Dort. In effect the Synod formalized and promulgated the religious views of the Protestant faction which had at last emerged victorious in a long political contest. The defeated party, representative largely of the commercial centers, had urged rigorous separation of church and state, tolerance of religious differences, and a liberal view of the requisites for salvation. It had also favored peace with Spain and the preservation of decentralized, merchant-dominated government. The victorious party, representative in considerable measure of the exposed frontier provinces and of the huge refugee population, insisted on close cooperation of church and state, the narrow predestinarian doctrine of salvation usually associated with Calvinism, and suppression of any form of heresy. The political policies linked with these doctrines were vigorous prosecution of the war against Spain for control of the southern provinces (later Blegium) and a more centralized government with greater popular participation. At the conclusion of the Synod the leader of the opposition party was tried for his earlier conduct, now found to be heretical, and executed.

Baudartius, as his participation in the Synod of Dort suggests, enjoyed considerable stature as an intellectual leader. At the Synod he had participated not only in the formulation of the doctrines of the Dutch Reformed Church, but also in prescribing its forms of worship. Furthermore, he was one of the handful of scholars selected to make the authorized translation of the Bible into Dutch.

In 1632 when the Old Testament translation was completed after many years of effort, it was immediately acclaimed on all sides and has been employed ever since. In addition to this scholarly activity William Baudartius also published some poems and a highly partisan chronicle of Dutch history from 1603 to 1624, one of the earliest scholarly works to be published in Dutch. He also left an autobiography which remains unpublished.

Rev. Gerardus Beekman
(17 May 1558, Cologne Germany)
(31 Jan 1625, Emmerich Germany)
+ Agnes Stunning
(13 Jan 1557)
(10 Mar 1614, Mulheim)

Children:
Henry Beekman
Harmon Beekman
Rev. John Beekman
Catharine Beekman
Margaretta Beekman [married Rev. N.N. Cnoetz]

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The Beekmans of New York, 1647-1877 Philip L. White, p. 6
Gerardus Beekman's career indicates quite clearly that his family must have enjoyed considerable stature. According to the family document of 1702 he studied in 1576-1578 at a German Protestant University where he reportedly "excelled" in literature and became proficient in five languages. His bride, it is said, came from a fmily associated with the noble House of Orange and Gerard himself was for a time a notary public at Cologne. The most clear-cut evidence of his standing, however, emerges from his involvement in an important historical development of the early seventeenth century.

Intertwined religious and nationalistic conflicts brought Europe in 1610 to the brink of continental warfare such as it was to know all too well less than a decade later in the Thirty Years' War. The Dutch, although temporarily at truce, had been struggling since 1566 for independence from the rule of Catholic-Spain. Cologne, still under Catholic control, contained nevertheless an aggressive Protestant community which had contributed financially to the Dutch cause, had harbored hordes of heretical refugees, and continued constantly to jockey for political advantage. Between Cologne and The Netherlands were many pettty German governments in which Protestants and Catholics struggled constantly for power.

In 1609 the death of the Catholic ruler of Julich, Cleve, Berg, and Mark in this area left two German Luterans, both already heads of powerful governments, as the strongest in a large field of claimants for his titles. Because consolidation of Protestant control in this area would have weakened the Spanish by strengthening the position of the Dutch and of other German Protestant communities, the Englash as well as the Dutch supported the two Lutheran claimants as they beat off the first Catholic attempt to regain control. A general conflict seemed inevitable until Henry IV of France, whose fear of Austria and Spain had led him also to support the Protestants, was killed by an assassin. The French government then came under less aggressive influences wiht the result that the general conflict was averted for some years.

Gerardus was involved in these developments in two ways. First, according to the family letter of 1702, he was among the members of one of the many Protestant delegations which journeyed to England in the quest for support against the Catholic forces. [Footnote: The letter states further that the Beekman coat of arms was granted Gerardus by King James I in the course of such a mission. Two seemingly diligent researchers were unable in 1923 to find evidence in London to support this assertion, but they thought it nto at all improbable.]

Secondly, according to a standard history of Cologne as well as the family manuscript, Gerardus was among the Protestant leaders of that city who in 1612 joined in the effort to erect at Mulheim, just down the Rhine from Cologne, an "evangelical stronghold" designed to usurp the commercial power of Cologne as well as to provide a fortress for the military security of Protestantism.

[The effort fails.] ...

This development put Gerardus Beekman in a difficult position. The Catholic authorities at Cologne were now backed by Spanish troops; they could not be expected to welcome the return of a resident who had been one of the leaders in the Mulheim operation which aimed to destroy them. The family account reports that Gerardus was forced to flee to avoid capture by Spanish troops and that in so doing he sacrificed considerable property which he had acquired at Cologne. In any case he now entered the service of the Elector of Brandenburg in Cleve. The official record of his son's marriage in 1621 notes that Gerardus was then "auditor and secretary" in the government of that German territory.

Henry Beekman
(14 Sep 1585, Cologne Germany)
(2 Dec 1642, Wezel Germany)
+ Mary Baudertius
(1600, Zutphen, Guelderland)
(17 Sep 1630, Berge)

Children:
Mayor Wilhelm Beekman
Rev. Gerard Beekman [married Joanna Plautius]
Martin Beekman [married Maria de Bois]
John Beekman [married Alida Brouwer]
Andrew Beekman
Alida Beekman [married Leonard Winnix]
Maria Beekman [married W. Harris and N.N. Sas]

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The Beekmans of New York, 1647-1877 Philip L. White, p. 9
Henry, the son of Gerardus Beekman, moved from Cologne to the nearby district of Berg, probably at about the time when it seemed likely that the cooperation of Brandenburg and Neuburg would assure Protestant control in that area. In Berg Henry is said to have become the owner of two mills, one of which reportedly manufactured gunpowder. After the death of his wife about 1619 the young entrepeneur sacrificed these business interests by moving to the United Netherlands in order to escape Catholic rule which had been imposed in Berg according to the terms of the settlement of 1614 between Brandenburg and Neuburg.

Settled at last in an area where Protestantism was secure, Henry married at Zutphen in 1621 the daughter of the theologian, William Baudartius, one of Dutch Calvanism's most zealously orthodox protagonists. Henry's occupation at the time of his marriage is not known, but the autobiography of his father-in-law states that he was later "secretary" of the city of Hasselt in the province of Overyssel. The letter of 1702 asserts further that the Dutch government named him Superintendent of its magazines at Hasselt and Wesel in 1629 when the Dutch war for independence had resumed in conjunction with the Thirty Years' War.

Shortly after this appointment the death of his wife, Maria, who had borne five sons since 1621, left Henry a widower for the second time. He married once more in 1634, but he himself lived only until 1642.

Rev. John Livingston
(21 Jun 1603, Moneyabrook, Sterlingshire Scotland)
(Aug 1672, Rotterdam, Holland)
+ Janet Fleming
(16 Nov 1613)
(13 Feb 1693/94, Rotterdam, Holland)

Children:
James Livingston [father of Robert 'the nephew']
William Livingston
Robert Livingston, 1st Lord

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Livingston Genealogy Reuben Hyde Walworth, p. 46
Rev. John Livingston, D.D., was minister of Killinchie in Ireland, & in 1648 was settled as minister of Stranwawere (sic) in Scotland. In 1694)8 he removed to Ancram in Teviotdale; and, after the restoration of Charles II, declining to take the oath of allegiance, he was banished and became the minister of the Scotts Chapel at Rotterdam in Holland, where he died.

Janet Fleming was the daughter of an Edinburg merchant.

Livingston, Ruth Lawrence, p.52-54
Reverend John Livingston, minister of Ancrum, who was born at Monyabroch, June 21, 1603, and at the age of ten years was sent to a Latin school, where we are told "Mr. William Wallace, an good man and a learned humanist was school-master." He subsequently spent four years at the University of Glasgow, and was graduated as a master of arts. Licensed in January, 1625, he commenced to preach at his father's and neighboring churches, but his aversion to Episcopal ceremoies prevented him for several years from being ordained minister and obtaining the presentation to a living in Scotland. In 1630 he accepted the invitation of Viscount Clandeboye to take charge of the parish of Killinchy in Ireland. He was there a year when the Bishop suspended him for non-conformity, but through the invervention of Archbishop Usher [James usher (1581-1656) Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of Ireland], the suspension was raised after a short time. The Scottish bishops, however, brought pressure to bear on the Irish government, and on May 4, 1632, he was again deposed for non-conformity. This suspension lasted two years.

Later he made several futil attempts to emigrate to America. He was in Scotland in 1637, taking a prominent part in the movement of the solemn league and covenant, venturing to London in 1638 "with several copies of the covenant and letters to friends at Court." In November, 1638, he was a member of the General Assembly, which met at Glasgow, and with the exception of that, which convened at Aberdeen in 1640, served in each General Assembly until 1650.

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He acted as chaplain of the regiment of the Earl of Cassillis, when England was invaded by the Covenanters. In 1641 he was in attendance on the Scot's army in Ireland under Sir George Monro. Between 1642 and 1648 he was employed on a series of missions to Ireland. In the latter year he was transferred by the General Assembly to Ancrum in Roxburghshire. In 1650 he was nominated by the Church of Scotland as one of the three delegates on the commission sent by the Committee of Estates to treat with Charles II, then at Breda, as to the conditions upon which he would be permitted to land in Scotland. Cromwell had his name inserted as one of the ministers in the ordinance of August 8, 1654, for settling the affairs of the Church of Scotland and "for certifying such as were proper to be admitted to a benefice."

For refusing to honor the anniversary of the restoration of King Charles II as a "holiday of the Lord" he was ordered to appear before the Privy Council on December 9, 1662, but being forewarned, left Ancrum before the messenger arrived with the summons and went to Edinburgh, where he remained "close for some days" while his friends were ascertaining what the government proposed to do. He appeared before the Council and was ultimately sentenced to banishment within two months and ordered to leave Edinbursh within forty-eight hours for the north side of Tay and there to remain "till he depart forth out of the country."

He remained at Leith until April 9th, when he boarded "old John Allan's ship" for Rotterdam. Here he spent the last few years of his life. Much of his time was occupied in compiling a polyglot Bible and preparing a new Latin translation of the Old Testament. His wife and two of his children joined him the following December; the other five then living remained in Scotland. he died in Rotterdam between August 14, and 21, 1672, in the seventieth year of his age.

He married, June 23, 1635, Janet Fleming, eldest daughter of Bartholomew Fleming, of that well-known Scottish family, the head of which was the Earl of Wigton, who with his son Lord Fleming was present at the wedding of his kinsman's daughter Janet. She was born November 16, 1613, and was buried in Rotterdam February 13, 1693-94.

Life of John Livingston Site   Excellent! Significant Scots Scottish Preacher's Hall of Fame

Mayor Wilhelm Beekman

Mayor Wilhelm Beekman
(28 Apr 1623, Statselt, prov Overysel, Holland)
(1717, Schenectady NY)
+ Catalina de Boogh 5 Sep 1649
(Holland-1700,Schenectady NY)

Children:
Hendrick Beekman
Dr. Gerardus Beekman [married Magdalena Abeel]
John Beekman
William Beekman
Maria Beekman [married Van Vleck]

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Beekman Family
Wilhelmus or William Beekman, son of Hendrick Beekman, born at Hasselt, Overyssel, April 28, 1623; died Sept 21, 1707. He lived at a time when Europe was engaged in religious wars and Protestants had begun to seek refuge from prosecution. He was the founder of the Beekman family in America.

He came to New Amsterdam, now New York, from Holland in the same vessel, the ship Princess, on May 27, 1647, with Director-General, afterwards Governor Peter Stuyvesant. Accompanying them were a number of poor persons of good family who came from the Rhine and made settlements on the Hudson River. They became, afterwards, firm supporters of their leader and benefactor, Willaim Beekman.

He was from early youth interested in religious matters and at the age of twenty-one was an officer in the Reformed Church in the Netherlands, which had then become the most advanced nation in the world in learning and thought. He had a good education and a splendid home training which enabled him at once to take a position in the best society of New Amsterdam. It is said that he brought some wealth with him and that his personal charm and friendship with Stuyvesant secured him many advantages as well as a prominent position as treasurer of the Dutch West India Company. At any rate he soon cut out the suitors for the hand of Catalina de Boogh, a belle in the society of New Amsterdam and the daughter of the wealthy Hendricks de Boogh of Albany NY and on Sep 5, 1649, within two years after his arrival in the country, they were married.

He was the ancestor of the well-known Beekman family prominent in the history of New York and New Jersey and his name is perpetuated in the names of William Street and Beekman Street, New York City. The Beekman homestead in New Amsterdam was built near the present corner of Pearl and Beekman Streets by William Beekman in 1670. He built the estate of Rhinebeck on the Hudson around the early to mid 1680's.

Margaretta van Slichtenhorst	Colonel Philip Schuyler

Colonel Philip Schuyler
(1627, Amsterdam North Holland Netherlands)
(9 May 1683, Beverwyck NY)
+ Margaretta van Slichtenhorst 12 Dec 1650
(1634, Nykerk, Gelderland, Netherlands)
(27 Jun 1711, NY)

Children:
Gysbert Schuyler
Gertruyd Schuyler [married Colonel Stephen Van Cortlandt]
Alida Schuyler
Mayor Peter Schuyler [married Engaltie Van Schaick]
Captain Brandt Schuyler [married Cornelia Van Cortlandt]
Captain Arent (Francis) Schuyler [married Janneke Teller]
Sybilla Schuyler [died at 1 month]
Colonel Philip Schuyler [married Elizabeth De Mayer]
Colonel Johannes Schuyler [married Elizabeth Staats]
Margareta Schuyler [married Jacobus VerPlanck]

I'm young Margarita van Slichtenhorst, My father's the Master, we call him Baas, Of de Heer van Renssalaer's Bouwerie, This brought us here from the Zuider Zee. My mother is dead, and I'm all alone To care for my father's simple home, But I try to do it as well as may be, Though I long for my home by the Zuider Zee. My father's a man who knows so much, Though you'd not understand his Holland Dutch. He is not handsome, and yet, you know, He's brave and kind, and I love him so.

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Genealogical and Personal Memorial of Mercer County, New Jersey Vol
Philip Pieterse Schuyler, the founder of the family in this country, came from Holland in the fourth decade of the seventeenth century and settled in the neighborhood of Albany. The records show that he was appointed by Governor Stuyvesant in 1656 to the office of vice-director of Fort Orange, now Albany. He discharged the duties, which were both civil and military, in so satisfactory a manner that he retained the position, except at short intervals, until near the end of his life.

His business transactions were large and varied and he became possessed of much valuable real estate, not only in Albany, but along the banks of the Hudson and even on Manhattan Island. He died in Albany, May 9, 1683, having made his will eight days before, disposing of a large property which was divided between his wife and numerous children. He seems to have been highly esteemed by his friends and neighbors and to have enjoyed the full confidence of the leading men of the colony from Governor Stuyvesant down.

Though nothing is positively known as to his antecedents in Holland, the fact that soon after coming to this country he was married to a daughter of the distinguished house of Van Slichtenhorst, and also that he was permitted to display his armorial bearings upon a window of the old Dutch church in Albany, seems proof positive that he came from gentle stock in the old country.

Margareta Van Slichtenhorst, the wife of Philip Pieterse Schuyler, whom he married in 1650, seems to have been a woman of remarkable force of character She was the only daughter of Brant Arentse Van Slichtenhorst. Margareta inherited from her father his courage and business ability, as also his public spirit. On several occasions when the safety of the colony was threatened by the French and Indians she was the largest single subscriber to funds for its defense. She administered her husband's estate with such success that it became one of the largest in the colony. She died in 1711 at the ripe age of eighty-two years.

Missing Source Notation
The FLATTS on the river front at Watervliet, just on the northern outskirts of Albany, though part of it was probably built by the Van Rennselaers as early as 1654 and repaired or rebuilt by them in 1668, became a Schuyler house in 1672, when Philip Pieterse Schuyler bought the bouwerij on the river front, and it so remained until very recent years.

From Philip Pieterse The Flatts descended to his son Pieter Philipse, that picturesque and sterling personage the Indians called "Quider," whom they both feared and loved because of his just dealings and integrity.

From "Quider" The Flatts passed to his son, Colonel Philip Pieterse, who married his cousin, Margarita Schuyler. This lady, commonly known in her day as "Madame Schuyler" or "Aunt Schuyler," was the subject of Memoirs of an American Lady.

Colonel Schuyler died in 1758, and not long afterwards The Flatts caught fire and the flames destroyed the roof and interior. Madame Schuyler got the wing of her house rebuilt. The main part of The Flatts, facing the river, was rebuilt in its present form a little later.

Abstracts of Wills Vol II 1708-1728
MARGARET SCHUYLER.
In the name of God, Amen. I, Margaret Schuyler, widow of Phillip Schuyler, sometime of Albany, merchant, being of sound mind, and considering that there having been some unhappy differences among my children; the youngest of them being apprehensive that by the strict rules of the common law, the will made by my said husband and myself on May 1st, 1683, might not be authentick enough to make such equal division among our eight children. But that Peter Schuyler, eldest son of my deceased husband, Peter Schuyler, might be entitled to all of the real estate. Yet, not thinking that my son, Peter Schuyler, would himself endeavor to take any such advantage, he being present at the making of said will. I give to each of our 8 children an equal part of all real and personal estate. And I being further willing to dispose of the real and personal estate, which, by of my husband. And my son Peter, at my request, being agreed with the seven other children, by deed, dated August 16, 1707, by which all further differences among them are prevented, I do give to my eight children, Gertruy, Alida, Peter, Arent, Phillip, Johanes, and Margaret, and to the three children of my son Brant Schuyler, namely: Phillip, Oliver, and Johanes, all my estate, real and personal. Provided always, that my son Phillip shall have the farm called the Flatts, with the utensils, he paying therefor, the sum of œ600, to the rest. And they are all to pay an equal part of 9 bushels of good merchantable wheat yearly, to the Patroon or Lord of the Manor of Rensselaerwyck. Mentions "Cornelia Schuyler, widow of my son Brant Schuyler." I make my sons, Peter and Johanes, and my son in law, Robert Livingston, husband of my daughter Allida, executors. Signed and sealed in Albany in my dwelling house.

Witnesses, Iona Rumney, Anthony Caster, John Dunbar. Proved in Albany, June 27, 1711, before William Van Rensselaer, Esq., and of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas.

Rensselaerswyck, New York Settlers, 1630-58
According to O'Callaghan, History of New Netherland, 2:69, van Slichtenhorst was appointed director of the colony Nov. 10, 1646, and sailed with his family and servants for Virginia Sept. 26, 1647. The records of the colony show that he arrived March 22, 1648, and held the office of director till July 24, 1652, when he was succeeded by Jan Baptist van Rensselaer. Between June 29, 1651, and July 24, 1652, van Slichtenhorst was most of the time at the Manhatans and J. B. van Rensselaer acted in his stead, for the first two months apparently in conjunction with Capt. Slijter. April 4, 1650, de Hooges complained to the council that Director van Slichtenhorst had thus far rendered no accounts. The director replied that hy wel wat souwde ontfangen dan dat het Antonij de Hooges heeft opgesnapt (that he would have received something if Antonij de Hooges had not gobbled it up). Van Slichtenhorst was still in the colony in July 1655 and lived in Holland in 1660.

Robert Livingston	Alida Schuyler

Robert Livingston, 1st Lord
(13 Dec 1654, Ancram, Roxburghshire, Scotland)
(20 Apr 1725, Manor of Livingston NY)
+ Alida Schuyler 9 Jul 1679, NYC
(28 Feb 1656, Beverwyck NY)
(27 May 1729, Manor of Livingston NY)

Children:
Johannes Livingston [married Mary Winthrop, dau of CT Governor]
Johanna Phillippina Livingston
Philip Livingston, 2nd Lord [married Catharine Van Brugh]
Robert Livingston, of Clermont [married Margaret Howarden]
Gilbert Livingston
William Livingston [died in childhood]
Johanna Livingston [married Cornelius Van Horne]
Margaret Livingston [married Colonel Samuel Vetch]
Catharine Livingston [died bef age 23]

Signature Wealthy Men New York State Website

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Livingston Genealogy - Reuben Hyde Walworth
Robert Livingston was born in Scotland, but accompanied his father, Reverend John Livingston, when the dissident Protestant minister was banished from Scotland and sought refuge in Holland. Of some celebrity in Scotland and of good family, John Livingston became minister of Scotts Chapel at Rotterdam, a post he retained to his death. Robert Livingston stayed in Amsterdam until his father's death, and then decided to seek out his fortune in America. He made his way to Albany

Hendrick Beekman	Joanna Lopers

Hendrick Beekman
(9 Mar 1652)
(1716)
+ Joanna Lopers 5 Jun 1681
(30 Oct 1650-)

Children:
Wilhelmus Beekman [died aged about 14]
Catharina Beekman [married Captain John Rutsen]
Colonel Henry Beekman
Cornelia Beekman

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American Farmer 12/24/99
When Gilbert Livingston fell in love with Cornelia Beekman in 1711, he had chosen the daughter of a wealthy landowner who was prominent in the local militia, as well as a popular and well-known politician who had represented the County of Ulster in the New York Assemblies for almost 40 years.

Hendrick (Henry) Beekman would be at the height of his power for another 5 years until his death in 1716. Politically, he was on the same side of the coin as was Gilbert's father, Robert Livingston. Both were members of the NY Assembly with interests favoring the large property owner. Both were anti-Leislerians, and both came back into strong favor with the arrival of Governor Cornbury, whose skirts, it might be said, they clung to. Though against Cornbury's interests, both were also strong adherents of the Dutch Reform Church.

But where Robert Livingston made waves and made enemies, Henry Beekman seemed able to find a middle ground for his political survival. And, if Henry Beekman never rose as high in wealth or reputation as Robert Livingston, he also didn't have to survive orders for his arrest or have to fight the confiscation of his estates.

In this new land continually filling with new immigrants, Henry Beekman already had long roots. He was born in the New York of 1651 into a prominent family; his father, William Beekman, having come to the city in 1647 with Peter Stuyvesant, then Director-General and later Governor.

Although Major Henry Livingston, Jr. never knew his grandfather or his greatgrandfather Beekman, he would surely have heard stories through his mother, who was 23 years of age when she lost her father, Henry, and 24 when her 94 year old grandfather, William, died.

Johanna came to Henry Beekman as the widow of Joris Davidson. She was the daughter of Cornelia Melyn and Jacob Lugt de Loper, a Swedish ship's captain who died when Johanna was very small. Cornelia remarried Jacob Schellinger, and this is the family in which Joanna was raised.

Joanna was in her teens when her grandfather Melyn died, but she must have been raised with the stories of her grandfather's more than 12 voyages between America and Amsterdam attempting to gain undisputed rights to his Patroonship of half of Staten Island. And she would have heard the story of her uncle Cornelis, who died in his 20's in the Staten Island Massacre.

And these are the stories that Johanna would have told her young daughter Cornelia who, in turn, would have passed the stories on to her son, Harry Livingston.

Cornelia Beekman	Gilbert Livingston

Gilbert Livingston
(3 Mar 1690, Albany NY)
(25 Apr 1746, Kingston NY)
+ Cornelia Beekman 22 Dec 1711
(18 Jun 1693, Kingston NY)
(24 Jun 1742, Kingston NY)

Children:
Robert Gilbert Livingston [married Catherine McPheadres]
Dr. Henry Livingston, Sr.
Alida Livingston [married to Colonel Jacob Rutsen and Henry Van Rensselaer]
Lieutenant Gilbert Livingston [married Joy Darell in Bermuda]
John Livingston [died unmarried]
Joanna Livingston [married to Gen. Pierre Van Cortlandt]
Wilhelmus Livingston [died in childhood]
Philippus Livingston [died unmarried in West Indies]
Sheriff James Livingston [married to Judith Newcomb]
Samuel Livingston [died unmarried at sea as sailor]
Cornelius Livingston [died in childhood]
Catharine Livingston [married Jonathan Thorn]
Margaret Livingston [married to Peter S. Stuyvesant]

Will Gravestone

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Born a middle son in the high-pressure Livingston family, Gilbert was not as successful as his more famous older brothers, Philip and Robert. His father had made a good income as the collector of taxes. Given a figure that he had to collect, Robert Livingston paid that amount back to England, and then kept whatever tax monies he collected.

He passed this position on to Gilbert who, unfortunately, was not able to make the success of it that his father had. Gilbert held the responsibility at a time of economic downturn. The amount he was able to collect being significantly less than the amount he had to pay, he was forced to sell some of his wife's inherited property to make up the difference. So, while Philip and Robert's fortunes waxed, Gilbert's waned.

Though he did not have great financial success, he did have a good life. His wife, Cornelia Beekman, was the daughter of Hendrick Beekman, a large landowner, Colonel of Militia, and politician in the NY Assemblies for over 40 years. Through a very long and happy marriage, Gilbert and Cornelia had 14 children.

A lawyer, Gilbert held the positions of registrar of the Colonial Court of Chancery in 1720, and county clerk of Ulster the same year. For ten years (1728-1738), Gilbert represented the Manor as a member of the Assembly.

Abigail Woolsey Taylor

Rev. Benjamin Woolsey
(19 Nov 1687, Dosoris, Long Island NY)
(15 Aug 1756, Long Island NY)
+ Abigail Taylor 1714, Long Island NY
(1695, Jamaica, Long Island NY)
(29 Mar 1771, NY)

Children:
Abigail Woolsey
Abigail Woolsey [married Rev. Noah Welles]
Colonel Melancthon Taylor Woolsey
[married Rebecca Lloyd]
[father of Mary, wife of Yale President Timothy Dwight]
[father of General Melancthon Lloyd Woolsey]
[grandfather of Commodore Melancthon Taylor Woolsey]
Benjamin Woolsey [married Esther Isaacs, Ann Muirson]
Sarah Woolsey [married Lt. John Lloyd]
Mary Woolsey [married Platt Smith]
Theodosia Woolsey
Hannah Woolsey [married Samuel McCour]

1896 Article Will

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Dr. Henry Livingston, Sr.

Dr. Henry Livingston, Sr.
(29 Aug 1714, Kingston NY)
(10 Feb 1799, Poughkeepsie NY)
+ Susannah Conklin 1742
(9 Jul 1724, Tarrytown NY)
(22 May 1793, Poughkeepsie NY)

Children:
Gilbert Livingston
Rev. Dr. John Henry Livingston
Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
Cornelia Livingston
Joanna Livingston
Susan Livingston
Lt. Robert Henry Livingston
Beekman Livingston
Helena Livingston
Alida Livingston

When Major Henry Livingston's father fell in love with Susannah Conklin, he had chosen the daughter of a a Captain commissioned in the Dutchess County Militia, September 1755 in which capacity he led a detachment to Albany in March 1757 to the relief of Fort William Henry when it was attached by the enemy. He was also a deacon, in 1749 and 1763, in the Poughkeepsie Dutch Reformed Church. Neither the Livingston family nor the Beekman family was in favor of the match. So Harry Livingston and Susannah Conklin eloped.

Naval Officers - Melancthon Taylor Woolsey, by James Fennimore Cooper
His mother [Henry's sister, Alida Livingston] was a lady of the well-known family of Livingston, and a daughter of a divine of some eminence.

Duchess County Doorways, p.164 Plate 169
The mantel shown on plate 169 is now in the house at Poughkeepsie which is maintained by the Daughters of the American Revolution as the Clinton Museum but originally it was in the house on the bank of the Hudson which was the homestead of the Livingston family.

Henry Livingston (1714-1799) bought a small house at Poughkeepsie in 1742 and added to it from time to time, until when he died it had become of generous proportions. During the nineteenth century it was still further enlarged and ultimately it was a rambling structure full of the story of the life of a family for a century and a quarter.

The executors of the will of Henry Livingston sold this homestead on March 7, 1800 to Henry Alexander Livingston (1776-1849), a grandson of the first owner, and at his death it passed to his widow. The latter died in 1870 and in 1872 the Hudson River Iron Company bought it. The company's successors, the Phoenix Horseshoe Company, used the house as an office-building for many years but in 1910 tore it down. At that time the mantel in the southwest parlor was presented to the Daughters of the American Revolution and set up in the Clinton Museum. A brass grate, once encircled by this mantle, is shown in an old photograph in the Year Book of the Dutchess County Historical Society for 1919.

The mantel recorded in plate 169 and the grate it once held were made in designs that were current in approximately the 'thirties and, although they were in the house that originally was the home of Henry Livingston, he died in 1799 and so the mantel and the grate date from the time of his grandson, Henry Alexander Livingston. It is therefore with the name and story of the latter that they are associated here.

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Livingston Genealogy Reuben Hyde Walworth, p. 19

Dr. Henry Livingston b. 8 Sept. 1714 at Kinston, son of Gilbert Livingston and Cornelia Beekman, m. Susan Conklin, daughter of John Conklin. They settled at Poughkeepsie, where he had a grant, for life, of the clerkship of Dutchess County. He was for many years a member of the Provincial Assembly from the County of Dutchess; was a Whig of the Revolution; and d. 10 Feb 1799 at his family residence, near Poughkeepsie, in the 85 year of his life.

Will of Henry Sr., 5 May 1786 (he died 10 Feb 1799)
In the name of God, Amen, I Henry Livingston of Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County Esq. being in usual health of body and of sound and disposing mind and memory, do this twenty fifth day of May in the year of our Lord Christ One thousand seven hundred and eighty six, make and publish this my last Will and Testament in manner following, that is to say:-

First:- I will that all my just debts and funeral charges be paid as soon as possible after my death and I order that the same be paid out of my personal estate.

Item, that a just and true inventory of all my estate both real and personal be made by my executors hereinafter named as soon as conveniently be done. Item, I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife, Susannah for and during the whole term of her widowhood, the house where I now live together with the farm and all lands in Poughkeepsie Precinct with barn, orchard, meadow and all appurtenances thereunto belonging and all the household furniture of what kind soever, all my plate and my slaves, all my cattle and horses of which I shall be possessed at the time of my death (also the income of my farms in Beekman Precinct if wanted in support of the next article).

Item, It is my will and I hereby order that if my daughter Helen shall be a minor and unmarried at the time of my death, she shall be educated and maintained in the rank and manner my other children were while minors out of the product and income of my estate until she shall arrive at the age of twenty one years or shall marry whichever shall soonest happen and that no deduction shall be made from her portion or share hereafter divided of or upon account of such mainenance. And I hereby give the care of educating my minor child aforesaid to my widow, and in case of her death to my executors.

Item- I give and bequeath unto my daughters, Cornelia and Helen and to each of them, one negro wench to be purchased out of any part of my estate not otherwise hereby disposed of and given at such time as my widow in her discretion shall determine.

Item- for the better maintaining of my widow and such of my children as are unmarried and shall chuse to dwell with their mother, I give to my said widow the whole income and profits of all my real estate wheresoever situate for and during so long a time as the same shall remain unsold or undivided by my executors.

Item- I will that all my whole estate real and personal which shall remain after the payment of my debts (except what is before bequeathed to my widow) shall be divided into ten equal parts and be given share and share alike unto all my children subject however to the deduction and deductions hereafter mentioned which division may be made either by sales of real estate whereby the dividensian be given in money or by an appraisement and assortment to be drawn for by lot as the majority of my executors shall determine.

Item- For effectually carryinginto exeuction my will respecting my real estate, I hereby give power to my executors hereinafter to be named to sell my real estate wherever such sale shall be necessary and agreeable to the purport and meaning of this my Will adn give conveyances and grant a title for the same.

Item- After the death or marriage of my widow, I will that all the estate hereby given until her shall be lso divided into ten equal parts and be distributed share and share alike unto all my children in the manner and form following that is to say:-

Item- I give and bequeath unto my son Gilbert and to his heirs and assigns forever the one whole equal tenth part of all my estate both real and personal of what kind soever which shall remain after the uses afore mentioned to have and to hold the same unto the said Gilbert his heirs and assigns forever; Subject nevertheless to a deduction of three hundred pounds (agreeable to the present estimate of gold or silver) being so much money advanced to him after he was of age which is my will shall be considered as a part of his dividend already apportioned to him, and as my said son Gilbert is indebted unto me for fees and services in the law as by account him will appear it is my will and meaning that such debt shall also be considered as another part of his dividend as far as the same shall extend and that he shall receive no part of my estate as any proportion of the legacy hereby bequeathed until the rest of my children shall each have received a sum equal to the said debt and the money advanced to him as aforesaid.

Item- I give and assign unto my son John, and to his heirs and assigns forever the one whole equal tenth part of all my estate both real and personal of what kind soever which shall remain after the uses aforementioned to have and to hold the same unto the said John his heirs and assigns forever subject nevertheless to a deduction of four hundred pounds (agreeable to the present estimate of gold and silver) being so much money advanced to him after he was of age which it is my will shall be considered as part of his dividend already apportioned to him and that he shall receive no part of my estate as any proportion of the legacy hereby bequeathed until the rest of my children shall each have received a sum equal to the money advanced to him as aforesaid.

Item- I give and bequeath unto my son Henry and to his heirs and assigns forever the one whole equal tenth part of all my estate both real and personal of what kind soever which shall remain after the uses afore mentioned to have and to hold the same unto the said Henry his heirs and assigns forever, subject nevertheless to a deduction of One thousand three hundred and fifty pounds being the valuation of a farm and estate granted to him by a deed of gift which sum (agreeable to the present estimate of gold and silver) it is my will shall be considered as a part of his divident already apportioned to him and that he shall receive no part of my estate as any proportion of the legacy hereby bequeathed until the rest of my children shall each have received a sum equal to the valuation of the estate given to him and it is my will that he shall be bound to fulfill the tenor of an obligation entered into by him for that purpose.

Item- In order to tender the distribution of my estate as equal as possible, it is my will that those tenth parts of my estate which in any dividends would otherwise have fallen to the share of my three eldest sons already named shall be divided share and share alike among my other children until such sums shall have been divided as shall entitle my said sons respectively to come in for their shares of future dividends according to my will and menaing already mentioned concerning each of them.

Item- I give and bequeath unto my children Cornelia, Joanna, Susannah, Alida, Robert, Beekman and Helen respectively and to their respective heirs and assigns forever the one whole equal tenth part of all my estate both real and personal of what kind soever which shall remain after the uses afore mentioned to have and to hold the same unto the said Cornelia, Joanna, Susannah, Alida, Robert, Beekman and Helen their respective heirs and assigns forever.

Item- If my daughter Helen should die under the age of twenty one years without any heirs of her body lawfully begotten, it is my will that the part of share by this will given and devised to her shall be equally divided share and share alike among all my children agreeable to the restrictions already mentioned.

Item- I here by nominate, constitute and appoint my said beloved wife Susannah and my sons Gilbert, John, Henry, Robert and Beekman to be the sole executors of this my last Will and Testament.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal at my dwelling house in Poughkeepsie aforesaid the day and year above written.

Henry Livingston L.S.

Signed, sealed, published and declared by the above named Henry Livingson as and for his last Will and Testament, in the presence of us, who subscribed our names as witnesses in the presence of the Testator.

Lawrence Conklin

Jacob V. Benschoten

A Lawrence Conklin was Henry's wife Susannah's brother, born in 1732.

A Jacob Van Benschoten was born in the same town as Henry Sr., Kingston NY, and baptized in the same Dutch Reformed church (21 Jan 1722).

Rev. Dr. Noah Welles
(25 Sep 1718, Colchester CT)
(31 Dec 1776, Stamford CT)
+ Abigail Woolsey 1751
(31 October 1730, Oyster Bay, Long Island NY) (28 Oct 1811)

Children:
Sarah Welles [married Henry Livingston, Jr.]
Noah Welles, Jr. [married Euphemia Hoog]
Dr. Benjamin Welles [married Sarah Nelson]
Major Melancthon Woolsey Welles [married Abigail Buel]
Mary Sylvester Welles [married Abigail Buel]
Theodosia Welles
Abigail Welles
Elizabeth "Betsey" Welles
Rebecca Welles
William Welles
Apollos Welles
John Welles [married Sarah Rice Hulbert]
James Welles

May 22 '84 "My son Harry began boarding at Mrs. Welles at Stanford at 4 sh per week." Jul 17 '85 "Gave Maj. John Davenport 10 dollars to pay to Mrs. Welles in full for boarding Harry-- I gave him 6 dollars for Mr. Davenport to pay out in necessarys for Caty." Jan '87 "Mrs. Abigail Wells x to cash L2.9.0 Feb 6 '87 "Settled with Mrs Welles & took my son home. Her amount for boarding Harry 1 year & 7 weeks was L17"14 & schooling Harry & Caty 47 weeks at 9x per week was L1x in all L19 9 I paid her 14.3.8 Due this day 5.5.4" Henry Livingston Day Book

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Rev. Welles graduated from Yale College with his good friend William Livingston, who became the Governor of New Jersey. Although he was considered for the presidency of Yale, he didn't get the post. He was made a Yale Fellow two years before his death.

After Rev. Noah Welles' death, Henry Jr. took in William Welles and Melancthon Woolsey Welles to raise.

His writings include:

A discourse delivered at Fairfield, at the funeral of the Rev. Noah Hobart M.A. late Pastor of the First Church of Christ there; who departed this life December 6th, 1773. In the 68th year of his age and 41st of his ministry.

Patriotism described and recommended, in a sermon preached before the General Assembly of the colony of Connecticut, at Hartford, on the day of the anniversary election, May 10th, 1764.

Animadversions, critical and candid, on some parts of Mr. Beach's late "Friendly expostulation," in a letter, from a gentleman in New-England, to his friend in Pennsylvania.

The Divine right of Presbyterian ordination asserted, and the ministerial authority, claimed and exercised in the established churches of New-England, vindicated and proved: in a discourse delivered at Stanford [i.e., Stamford], Lord's-Day, April 10, 1763.

The real advantages which ministers and people may enjoy especially in the colonies, by conforming to the Church of England; faithfully considered, and impartially represented, in a letter to a young gentleman.

A vindication of the validity and divine right of Presbyterian ordination, as set forth in Dr. Chauncy's sermon at the Dudleian lecture, and Mr. Welle's [sic] discourse upon the same subject, in answer to the exceptions of Mr. Jeremiah Leaming, contained in his late Defence of the Episcopal government of the church.

Firmly behind the Revolution, Rev. Welles died from a prison fever contracted as an army chaplain, while visiting a prisoner-of-war ship.

The wife of Rev. Welles was the aunt of Henry's brother-in-law, General Melancthon Lloyd Woolsey. Noah, himself, was the best friend and Yale chum of Henry's father's first cousin, Governor William Livingston.

JOHNSON FAMILY PAPERS
Eighty-one letters, 1742-1773, from William Livingston (1723-1790) to his classmate, the Reverend Noah Welles (Y.1741), pastor of the Congregational Church in Stamford, Connecticut; from the Johnson Family Papers. Microfilmed February 1970. 340 frames. 1 reel 35mm. HM 14 price each: $40.00. price set: $40.00

Timothy Dwight, Travels in New England and New York
Vol. III, 1822, p.499
Noah Welles (1718-1776). Yale 1741, tutor 1745-46, died thirty years to the day after beginning his ministry at Stamford. Welles was also known for his association with William Livingston in the defense of Presbyterianism against Anglican attacks.

The Rev. Dr. Noah Welles, of this town, was also educated at the same seminary, where he took the degree of A.B. in 1741; and was ordained over the First Church, December 31, 1746. In this station he continued till his death in 1776. Dr. Welles was early distinguished for his talents. His imagination was vivid and poetical, his intellect vigorous, and his learning extensive. His manners at the same time were an unusually happy compound of politeness and dignity. In his conversation he was alternatively sprightly and grave as occasion dictated, and entertaining and instructive. At the same time he was an excellent minister of the Gospel, exemplary in all the virtues of the Christian life, an able preacher, a wise ruler of the church, and an eminently discreet manager of its important concerns. He was one of the three chosen friends of the later Gov. Livingston, of New Jersey, to whom he addressed, when young, a handsomely written poem, prefixed to his Philosophic Solitude. He was appointed a tutor of Yale College in 1745, chosen one of the fellows in 1774, and died December 31, 1776, at the age of fifty-eight.