Henry Livingston, Jr.
Henry Livingston's Poetry


Without distinction, fame, or note
Upon the tide of life I float,
A bubble almost lost to sight
As cobweb frail, as vapor light;
And yet within that bubble lies
A spark of life which never dies.1
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poetry mss
poetry mss
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 Thrice Happy
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YouTube Poet You Always Loved
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PAGE THROUGH WHAT YOU LIKE BEST
ILLUSTRATED MINIBOOKS
PAGE
LINK 		TYPE OF POETRY
THE CHRISTMAS POEM
FUNNY POETRY
LOVE POETRY
MORAL FABLE POETRY
RELIGIOUS/INSPIRING POETRY
FAMILY POETRY
MUCH OF HIS POETRY


It is highly likely that many Carrier Addresses, that are not on the list below, were also written by Henry.
GUARANTEED TO BE HENRY'S BY BEING IN HIS HANDWRITING
*or chisel, for the tombstone
SHORT TITLE
 LISTEN
 PUBLISHED
 MSS
 DATE
 FIRST LINE
On my little Catherine sleeping . . YES 7 Sep 1775 "Sweet Innocent lye still & sleep,"
Easter . . YES 11 Apr 1784 "WHEN JESUS bow'd his awful head"
Job . . YES 1776 "'TWAS night. And thickest gloom prevail'd around."
Invitation to the Country WATCH . YES . "The winter all surly is flown,"
Nine Sisters Rebus . . YES . "Take the name of nine sisters that romp on Parnassus,"
Habakkuk, 3rd chapter, verses 17 & 18 . . YES . "THO frosts destroy, or blasts invade,"
Isaiah, LXV chap. 25th verse . . YES . "In that ecstatic, joyous day,"
Lo From the East .
.
YES . "Lo from the East the sun appears"
Montgomery Tappan (death of 1st cousin) . . YES 20 Nov 1784 "The sweetest, gentlest, of the youthful train,"
Sarah Livingston (death of wife) . . YES . "BEYOND where billows roll or tempests vex"
Henry Welles Livingston (death of son) . . YES . "A gentle spirit now above"
Queen of Love Rebus . . YES . "FAIRER than the queen of love,"
Deity Rebus .
Anonymous
AM
YES . "Take the name of the Deity lovers obey"
Joanna's 33rd Birthday WATCH . YES 16 May 1787 "On this thy natal day permit a friend - A brother -"
On ... Fragment . . YES . "Thy lips surpass the Ruby's glow"
Sally Livingston (death of a wren) . . YES . "Hasty pilgrim stop thy pace"
Settlement Invitation . . YES . "YES, yes my swain, thy faithful wife's prepar'd"
Apollo Rebus . . YES 1785 "The mount where old Homer has station'd Apollo"
Timmy (son of Yale Pres. Dwight) WATCH
R
CJPA
YES 7 Dec 1785 For the Poughkeepsie Advertiser
"Master Timmy brisk and airy"
The Dance (Nancy Crooke) WATCH . YES 1786 "Take the name of the swain, a forlorn witless elf"
A Valentine WATCH . YES 14 Feb 1786 "WELLCOME, wellcome, happy day,"
Gentleman Leaving Pakepsy . . YES 1786 "In summer the aerial musicians around"
Hero Rebus . . YES 1786 "That hero whose great and magnanimous mind"
Beekman WATCH . YES 1786 "To my dear brother Beekman I sit down to write"
Vine and Oak WATCH
NYMLR
YES ~1786 "A vine from noblest lineage sprung" Banks of the Hudson, Feb. 8, 1791
Spadille WATCH . YES ~1786 "Thou little four-leg'd paltry varlet,"
War Rebus . . YES 1786 "Take the name of that hero who dreadful in war"
Sages Rebus . . YES 1786 "Take the name of that planet which sages declare"
Carrier Address 1787 .
Richard and George
PJ
YES Dec 1786 "BEFORE the friends of Mr. Power"
Anne WATCH . YES 1787 "To his charming black-ey'd niece"
Acknowledgment WATCH
Anonymous
CJPA
YES 1787 For the Poughkeepsie Advertiser
"With the ladies' permission most humbly I'd mention"
Mistress Van Kleeck WATCH . YES 9 Jan 1787 "My very good landlady, Mistress Van Kleeck,"
Parody on the "Death of Wolfe" .
R
CJPA
YES bef 30 May 1787 For the Poughkeepsie Advertiser
"In a mouldering cave where the wretched retreat"
The Fly .
R
CJPA
YES . For the Poughkeepsie Advertiser
"As on a summer's fervid day"
Careless Philosopher's Soliloquy WATCH
R
CJPA
YES 5 Sep 1787 For the Poughkeepsie Advertiser
"I rise when I please, when I please I lie down"
Belle . . YES . "If ever 'twas proper and lawful and decent"
Frontier Song .
Anonymous
NYMLR
R
CJPA
 YES Feb 1791 For the Poughkeepsie Journal
"Let statesmen tread their giddy round"
Alcmena Rebus . NYWM YES 19 Feb 1794 "The son of Alcmena, the champion of fable,"
Pub note might go with next poem
Rispah . NYWM YES 19 Jul 1794 "FROM morn to eve from eve to rosy morn"
To Miss WATCH . YES 1789 "Hail! pride of each lass & the wish of each swain"
A Procession WATCH
CJPA
 YES 10 Mar 1789 "The legislators pass along A solemn, self-important throng!"
To Miss WATCH
R
NYMLR
YES Sep 1791 "Sweet as op'ning roses are,"
Epithalamium (marriage of sister Helena) .
Anonymous
NYMLR
YES June 1790 "'Twas summer, when softly the breezes were blowing,"
Monarchs Rebus . . YES . "The wisest of monarchs yet weakest of men,"
Catharine Breese Livingston .
Tombstone
 YES 13 Sep 1814 "We fondly nursed an opening rose,"
Frog King . R
Back of envelope 		YES Aft Sep 1825 "The frogs of calm & quiet tir'd"
Original Poems . R
Back of envelope 		YES Aft Sep 1825 "A cool reflecting northern sage"
A Fable [Bats] . . YES Apr 1827 "When time was young the story goes"
Scots Wha Hae Wie Wallace Bled WATCH . YES 1827 "In arts and arms Escotia stands"
Crane and Fox WATCH . YES 19 Feb 1827 "In long gone years a fox and crane"
Midas WATCH . YES 1827 "The miser Midas to his store"
God is Love WATCH . YES 1827 "I love my feeble voice to raise"
Dialogue WATCH . YES aft 1800 "Pray dearest mother if you please"
Without Distinction WATCH . YES . "Without distinction, fame, or note"
ATTRIBUTED TO HENRY BY DESCENDANTS' STATEMENTS OR BY OWNERSHIP
SHORT TITLE
 LISTEN
 PUBLISHED
 MSS
 DATE
 FIRST LINE
Carriers' Address, 1803 .
Anonymous
PB
NO aft 1800 "All hail to the season so jovial and gay"
Attributed by Henry's granddaughter, Gertrude Thomas
Catharine Livingston Breese .
CJPA
 NO 31 Aug 1808 "Her little bark on Life's wide Ocean tossed,"
Compare his daughter's obituary with that of Gilbert Cortlandt's
Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas WATCH
Anonymous
TS
NO Abt 1807-1808 "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"
By descendant attribution and style.
Carriers' Address, 1819 .
Frederick T. Parsons
PJ
NO 1 Jan 1819 "TIME, with his pinions broad and strong"
In the Thomas Collection
Poems in Henry's handwriting were published under the pseudonym "R" in:
The Poughkeepsie Journal, and the "New-York Magazine; or, Literary Repository."
A manuscript poem also appeared anonymously in the New-York Weekly Museum.

ASSUMED TO BE HENRY'S BY PSEUDONYM "R" IN THOSE PUBLICATIONS
SHORT TITLE
 LISTEN
 PUBLISHED
 MSS
 DATE
 FIRST LINE
Gilbert Cortlandt (death of 1st cousin) .
R
CJPA
NO 6 Dec 1786 For the Poughkeepsie Advertiser
"BEYOND where billows roll or tempests vex"
Marriage Tax WATCH
R
CJPA
NO pub 4 Apr 1787 For the Poughkeepsie Advertiser
"With tears in my eyes I the other day saw"
The Writing of Hezekiah . R
CJPA 		NO 15 Apr 1788 For the Poughkeepsie Advertiser
"WHEN blooming health and chearful days"
Song. - Tune, German Spa WATCH
R
NYMLR
NO bef Mar 1791 "Shrew'd remarkers often say"
Arabella .
R
NYMLR
NO bef Feb 1793 "Blooming as the youthful May,"
Past is the Hour WATCH
R
NYWM
NO 6 Aug 1794 For the Weekly Museum
"PAST is the hour, forever flown,"
ACROSTIC On Eliza Hughes WATCH
R
CJPA
NO 12 Sep 1798 For the Poughkeepsie Journal
"E v'ry grace in her combine," September 12, '98.
ACROSTIC .
R
NYWM
NO 9 Oct 1794 For the Weekly Museum
"M UCH I admire, thou loveliest of the fair,"
Adventures of an American Eagle . R
CJPA 		NO Mar 20 1822 For the Journal
"A Capac rose, a Capac fell"
Carrier Addresses (the poem given by newsboys at New Year in exchange for a tip),
are found in Henry's MSS and identified by descendants.
CARRIER ADDRESSES HIGHLY PROBABLY HENRY'S BY STYLE
SHORT TITLE
 LISTEN
 PUBLISHED
 MSS
 DATE
 FIRST LINE
PJ Carrier Address, 1788 .
CJPA
 NO 1 Jan 1788 "And now our good patrons pray melt into pity"
Compare this with Carrier's Address of 1787
PB Carrier Address, 1807 .
PB
 NO 1 Jan 1807 "To the regions of Pluto, and banks of the Styx,"
PJ Carrier Address, 1811 .
CJPA
 NO 1 Jan 1811 "Young Misses have their Valentine,"
PJ Carrier Address, 1815 .
CJPA
 NO 1 Jan 1815 "REPLETE with much event - important - vast!"
PJ Carrier Address, 1816 .
CJPA
 NO 1 Jan 1816 "FAREWELL, FIFTEEN, farewell forever!"
PJ Carrier Address, 1823 .
CJPA
 NO 1 Jan 1823 "An ancient sage was once requir'd"
When a poem is consistent with Henry's style, whether it is signed "R" or not
(since not all R's are Henry, (e.g., The Portfolio)), then the poem is

PROBABLY HENRY'S BY PSEUDONYM AND/OR STYLE
SHORT TITLE
 LISTEN
 PUBLISHED
 MSS
 DATE
 FIRST LINE
A Fair Bargain .
unsigned
PJ
NO 21 Jul 1791 "AS Satan was taking an airing one day"
Tipple and Smoke .
unsigned
PJ
NO 15 Jan 1799 "WITH a pipe of Virginia, how happy am I,"
New-York Rebus and Solution .
A.B.; New York
NYMLR
NO 1791 "TAKE a city once founded on Victory's field,"
New-York, April 16, 1791.
For the Poughkeepsie Journal Owner .
.
NO 30 Sep 1795 "To carry NEWS in bales or casks,"
 
Fair Adaline .
unsigned
PB
NO 24 Aug 1802 For the Barometer
"FAIR Adaline sigh'd
  on her brave warrior's breast,"
Hope Need pub .
R
LM
NO 13 Dec. 1817 For the Ladies Museum
"Amid the varying scenes of life,"
Rose and Snail .
CJPA
 NO 4 Sep 1822 "A Snail thus once addressed a Rose:"
Filly and Wolf .
CJPA
 NO 13 Nov 1822 For the Journal
"'Twas on a May morn's earliest dawn,"
COULD BE HENRY'S
SHORT TITLE
 LISTEN
 PUBLISHED
 MSS
 DATE
 FIRST LINE
On a ROBIN's being taken .
AM
p.815
 NO Oct 1788 "On sportive pinions once I flew," New-York, Oct. 20, 1788
A Receipt for Writing Novels .
WKMU
2, 94, p.336
 NO 19 Apr 1797 For the New-York Weekly Magazine
"TAKE a heroine, free from the tincture of vice,"
Christmas Hymn .
Henry
PJ
NO 25 Dec 1801 "HARK! what glad sounds the dreary desart cheer,"
Poughkeepsie, Dec. 25, 1801.
Hannibal Rebus .
Climax
WkMu
NO 9 May 1795 "THE name of a general famed of old,"
May 7. Climax.
On the New-Year .
unsigned
NYWM
NO 2 Jan 1802 For the New-York Weekly Museum
"LO from the east the sun appears"
Affectation . Esop
NYWM 		NO 8 Mar 1806
15 Mar 1806 		For the New-York Weekly Museum
"I ONCE was told a damsel fair,"
Tears of Science . . NO undated "At the seat of Instruction where once she was blest,"
OTHER PEOPLE'S WORK SUBMITTED BY R
in New-York Magazine or Poughkeepsie Journal
SHORT TITLE
 LISTEN
 PUBLISHED
 MSS
 DATE
 FIRST LINE
Shepherd's Address to Milk Maid .
R
CJPA
NO 6 Dec 1786 For the Poughkeepsie Advertiser
"COME live with me, and be my love,"
Milk Maid's Response .
R
CJPA
NO 24 Jan 1787 For the Poughkeepsie Advertiser
"IF all the world and love were young,"
The IX ode of Horace .
R
CJPA
NO 17 Oct 1787 For the Poughkeepsie Advertiser
"WHILE I was pleasing in your arms,"
The Hiding-Place .
R
NYWM
NO bef 8 Oct 1791 "Hail sov'reign love that first began"
This poem was written by Rev. Jehoida Brewer
(1752-1817), and published in the
Gospel Magazine in October of 1776.
The small differences might imply that Henry
knew the poem from hearing it,
rather than from reading it.
AM American Magazine
CJPA Country Journal and Poughkeepsie Advertiser
[Poughkeepsie Journal]
NYMLR New-York Magazine; or, Literary Repository
NYWM New-York Weekly Museum
PB Political Barometer
TS Troy Sentinel





        
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