Name Edward Livingston Role Politician | Died June 16, 1840 | |
Edward Livingston (April 3, 1796 Dutchess County, New York – June 16, 1840 Albany, New York) was an American attorney and politician. He served as Clerk and Speaker of the New York State Assembly.
Contents
Early life
He was the son of Philip Henry Livingston (1769–1831) and Maria Livingston (1770–1828). His paternal uncle was Edward Philip Livingston (1779–1843), the Lt. Gov. of New York, and his maternal uncles were Henry Walter Livingston (1768–1810), a U.S. Representative, and Robert Fulton (1765–1815), an engineer who developed a successful steamboat that ferried passengers from New York City to Albany and back again and invented the first practical submarine in history.
His paternal grandfather was Philip Philip Livingston (1741–1787), the only son of Philip Livingston (1716–1778), a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1775 to 1778 and signor of the Declaration of Independence, who married and left issue. Philip Philip settled in Jamaica, West Indies prior to the Revolution, therefore, remaining a British subject. The elder Philip was married to Christina Ten Broeck (1718-1801), the sister of Abraham Ten Broeck (1734-1810) who was married to Elizabeth Van Rensselaer, sister of Stephen Van Rensselaer II, patroon of Rensselaerwyck.
His maternal grandparents were Walter Livingston (1740–1797), the 1st Speaker of the New York State Assembly, and Cornelia Schuyler (1746–1822), the granddaughter of Pieter Schuyler. Walter was the son of Robert Livingston (1708–1790), 3rd Lord of Livingston Manor. His paternal great-grandfather, Philip was the younger brother of his maternal great-grandfather, Robert.
Career
He was Clerk of the New York State Assembly in 1822, 1823, 1824, 1826 and 1827, following Dirck L. Vanderheyden and serving from January 2, 1822 until January 4, 1825 when Horatio Merchant became Clerk. Livingston again served, replacing Merchant, beginning on January 3, 1826 until January 1, 1828 when Francis Seger, who later became a member of the New York State Senate, took over.
Livingston served as District Attorney of Albany County from June 14, 1825 to March 27, 1838.
Speaker of the New York Assembly
He was a member of the New York State Assembly representing Albany Co., in 1833, 1835 and 1837, and was Speaker in 1837, serving alongside Charles Humphrey.
At the conclusion of the session where he was Speaker and which was his last public office, the House presented their thanks to Livingston "for the able, dignified and impartial manner in which he has presided over its deliberations." In response, Livingston replied:
"The flattering compliment which you have awarded to my efforts to subserve the public interests, by unanimously declaring that my conduct as your presiding officer merits approbation, is the reward for which I have labored, and its bestowment will ever be cherished by me with grateful recollections.
The time of this session has been engrossed with much business of a local nature, and with many propositions and laws of a general character, in the disposition of which, questions of great public concernment, were involved. That we have had an active agency in maturing and passing many laws of a local character, which the wants of the community demanded, cannot be denied. Upon questions in which the people at large have expressed an interest, the Assembly has pronounced its judgment upon most, if not all the leading topics to which their attention has been called. More of public law than is usually adopted at any session of the Legislature, will be found to have passed into enactments; whether for good or evil, will be determined by our constituents, to whose judgment, I doubt not, we are all alike willing to submit with perfect cheerfulness. As the diversified claims of our large population for legislative aid annually increase, it is a matter of congratulation that we are enabled to adjourn at an earlier period than the Legislature of last year. This is a high testimony in favor of your industry and devotion to the public business.
Personal life
In 1819, he was married to Sarah Ray Lansing (1797–1848), the daughter of Cornelia (née Ray) Lansing (1757–1834) and John Ten Eyck Lansing, Jr. (1754–1829), the former Speaker of the New York State Assembly and Chancellor of New York from 1801 to 1814. Her sister, Jane Lansing (1785–1871) was married to U.S. Representative Rensselaer Westerlo (1776–1851), and sister Frances Lansing (1791–1855) was married to Jacob Livingston Sutherland (1788–1845). Together, they were the parents of:
Livingston died June 16, 1840 in Albany, New York. He was buried at Albany Rural Cemetery.
Descendants
Through his son, Edward Livingston, he was the grandfather of Clarisse Hazeltine Livingston, who made her debut in 1887, and Edward Livingston, Jr. (b. 1871), who graduated from Harvard in 1893 and Columbia University Law School in 1896.