Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/782

744 were then at West Point. In the letter of invita- tion Washington writes : " If the ladies can put up with such entertainment, and will submit to partake of it on plates once tin, but now iron (not become so by the labor of scouring), I shall be happy to see them." — Walter's son, Henry Walter, lawyer, b. in Livingston Manor, Linlithgow, N. Y., in 1768; d. there, 22 Dec, 1810, was graduated at Yale in 1786, and, after studying law, began the practice of his profession in New York city. In 1792 he accompanied Gouverneur Morris as private secretary, when the latter was sent as minister plenipotentiary to Prance, and returned with him in 1794. Mr. Morris sent him to the president with the statement, '• You will find Mr. Livingston is to be trusted, for, although at a tender age, his dis- cretion may always be depended on." For some time- he was judge of the court of common pleas in Columbia county, and was twice elected to con- gress, serving from 17 Oct., 1803, till 3 March, 1807. He married the granddaughter of the chief justice of Pennsylvania, Mary Penn Allen, who was well known in New York society as " Lady Mary." — John William, a descendant of John, third son of the first Philip, naval officer, b. in New York city, 22 May, 1804 ; d. there, 10 Sept., 1885, was the son of William Turk, a surgeon in the U. S. navy, who married Eliza Livingston. The son sought, in 1843, and obtained permission from the legisla- ture to assume his mother's surname. In March, 1824, he was appointed midshipman in the U. S. navy from New York, and served in the Mediter- ranean squadron during the war with the pirates. He received his commission as lieutenant in June, 1832, and was assigned to the frigate " Congress," serving in the Pacific squadron in 1846-'7, seeing active service during the war with Mexico, then in the East India squadron in 1848-'9, after which he was on duty at the navy-yard in New York. In May, 1855, he was made commander, given charge of the " St. Louis," and cruised off the coast of Africa in 1856-'8. He then commanded the " Pen- guin," and was attached to the blockading squad- ron in 1861, during which year he was promoted captain, and also captured several vessels. In July, 1862, he was made commodore, and given charge of the Norfolk navy-yard after its evacuation by the Confederate forces until 1864, and in 1865 he was sent to the naval station at Mound City, 111. He was detached from this duty in 1866, and ordered on special service, having charge princi- pally of the sale of condemned government ves- sels. In May, 1868. he was commissioned rear- admiral, and in 1874 placed on the retired list, after which he lived in New York city. — Robert R (the initial R was assumed in order to distinguish him from other members of the family having the same name), son of Robert, the second son of the first Robert, jurist, b. in New York in August, 1718 : d. in Clermont, N. Y„ 9 Dec, 1775, turned his at- tention to law, and became well known in that pro- fession. In 1760 he was made judge of the admi- ralty court, and in 1763 a justice of the New York supreme court. He represented Dutchess county in the provincial assembly in 1759-68, and was chairman of the committee that corresponded with Robert Charles, the agent of New York in Eng- land. Judge Livingston was a member of the stamp-act congress in 1765, and was energetic in his refusal to sustain measures compelling the adoption of stamps. In 1767, and again in 1773, he served on commissions to locate the boundary- line between New York and Massachusetts, and he was also a member of the committee of one hun- dred that was elected in 1775 to control in all gen- eral affairs. He married Margaret, daughter of Col. Henry Beekman, and while he resided princi- pally at Clermont, he also had a city residence on Broadway, near Bowling Green. SirHenry Moore, governor of New York, describes him as " a man of great ability and many accomplishments, and the greatest [richest] landholder, without any ex- ception, in New York." His daughter, Janet, married Gen. Richard Montgomery. See " History of Clermont or Livingston Manor," by Thomas S. Clarkson (Clermont, 1869). — Robert R, son of Robert R, statesman, b. in New York city, 27 Nov., 1746 ; d. in Clermont, N. Y., 26 Feb., 1813, was grad- uated at Kings (now Columbia) college in 1765, and studied law with William Smith and his kinsman, William Livingston. He was admitted to the bar in 1773, and for a short time was associated in partnership with John Jay, who had been his con- temporary in college. Mr. Livingston met with great success in the practice of his profession, and was appointed re- corder of the city of New York by Gov. William Try- on in 1773, but lost this office in 1775, owing to his active sympathy with the revolutionary spirit of the times. In 1775 he was elected to the provincial assembly of New York from Dutch- ess county, and sent by this body as a delegate to the Con- tinental congress, where he was cho- sen one of a com- mittee of five to draft the Declaration of Independence. He was prevented from signing this document by his hasty return to the meeting of the provincial convention, taking his seat in that assembly on 8 July, 1776, the day on which the title of the " province " was changed to that of the " state " of New York, and he was appointed on the committee to draw up a state constitution. At the Kingston convention in 1777 the constitution was accepted, and he was appoint- ed first chancellor of New York under its provis- ions, which office he held until 1801. Chancellor Livingston continued a delegate to the Continental congress until 1777, was again one of its members in 1779-81, and throughout the entire Revolution was most active in behalf of the cause of inde- pendence. As chancellor he administered the oath of office to George Washington on his inaugura- tion as first president of the United States. The ceremony took place at the City Hall (where the present U. S. sub-treasury building, stands), then fronting on Wall street. It had been specially fitted up for the reception of congress, and the exact spot where Washington stood is now marked by a colossal statue of the first president, which rests on the original stone upon which the cere- mony took place. The statue was designed by John Q. A. Ward, and unveiled on the centennial celebration of the evacuation of New York, 25 Nov., 1883. ' Immediately after administering the oath Chancellor Livingston exclaimed in deep and impressive tones: " Long live George Washington, president of the United States." He held the office of secretary of foreign affairs for the United States in 1781-3, and in 1788 was chairman of the