Robert Reginald Livingston Explained

Office:Member of the New York State Assembly for Columbia County
Term Start:January 1, 1923
Term End:December 31, 1923
Predecessor:Roscoe C. Waterbury
Birth Date:4 August 1888
Birth Place:Clermont, New York, U.S.
Death Place:Hudson, New York, U.S.
Alma Mater:Princeton University
Columbia Law School
Party:Democrat
Parents:Robert Reginald Livingston
Mary Elizabeth Tailer
Spouse:
Children:Susan P. Livingston
Relations:Edward De Peyster Livingston (uncle)
Goodhue Livingston (uncle)
Earl E. T. Smith (cousin)
Edward Neufville Tailer (grandfather)

Robert Reginald Livingston Jr. (August 4, 1888 – November 7, 1962), was an American politician and farmer from New York.

Early life

Livingston was born on August 4, 1888, at Clermont in Columbia County. He was a son of Robert Reginald Livingston Sr. (1858–1899) of Northwood,[1] and Mary Elizabeth (née Tailer) Livingston (1863–1944).[2] [3] After his father's death, his mother lived at her New York home, 11 Washington Square North (built by her grandfather Thomas Suffern in 1833, and host to President Ulysses S. Grant in her childhood) and later at 1192 Park Avenue.[4] His sister, Laura Suffern Livingston,[5] married Howland Shippen Davis (executive vice president of the New York Stock Exchange),[6] in 1914.[7] [8] They owned the "Teviot" estate (built in 1843 by Eugene Livingston) in Tivoli,[5] which their son Howland later sold to Jann Wenner, publisher of Rolling Stone magazine.[9] [10]

A member of the prominent Livingston family,[11] his paternal grandparents were Robert Edward Livingston (son of New York State Senator and 11th Lt. Gov. of New York Edward Philip Livingston and Elizabeth Stevens Livingston, the eldest daughter of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston)[12] and Susan Maria (née de Peyster) Livingston (sister of Frederic James de Peyster).[13] Among his extended family were uncles Edward De Peyster Livingston (a lawyer who was included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred" in 1892[14])[15] and Goodhue Livingston,[16] an architect with Trowbridge & Livingston who designed the Hayden Planetarium.[17] His maternal grandparents were Agnes (née Suffern) Tailer and Edward Neufville Tailer, a prominent merchant and banker.[18] His aunt, Agnes Suffern Tailer, was married to U.S. Attorney Henry Lawrence Burnett,[19] and his first cousin, Earl Edward Tailer Smith was a diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to Cuba and mayor of Palm Beach.[20]

Livingston graduated from Princeton University in 1910 and Columbia Law School in 1914.

Career

After his admission to the New York bar, he took up the practice of law with the firm of Hunt, Hill and Betts at 120 Broadway. During World War I, he served as a Lieutenant in the American Expeditionary Forces of the U.S. Army. He later became a fruit farmer in New York, growing mostly grapes and apples. He helped organize and served as president of the Germantown Cold Storage Company, the first large commercial storage in the Hudson Valley, as well as founder and president the Germantown National Bank.

Political career

He was the Democratic candidate to represent Columbia County in the New York State Assembly in the years 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1925. He was defeated each time except for 1922, when he was elected to succeed Republican Roscoe C. Waterbury for the 146th New York State Legislature in 1923.[21] Livingston was replaced by Republican Lewis F. Harder.[22]

In 1928, he was candidate for U.S. Representative to represent New York's 27th congressional district, losing to Republican Harcourt J. Pratt. In 1932, he was an alternate delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York,[23] and served as chair of Columbia County Democratic Party in 1953.

Personal life

On February 23, 1922, Livingston was married to Alice Delafield Dean (1900–1975) by Bishop William T. Manning at St. James Church in New York City.[24] She was a daughter of Philip S. Dean of 790 Park Avenue[25] and Annandale in Dutchess County.[21] Before their divorce in 1932, they lived at 1192 Park Avenue where his wife hosted large parties,[26] and were the parents of one daughter, Susan P. Livingston (b. 1926)[27]

In January 1945, Robert, his sister, and their cousin Goodhue Livingston Jr., sold a piece of property located northwest corner of Sixth Avenue and 53rd Street in Manhattan. The inherited property was purchased by their grandfather, Robert E. Livingston, for $4,400 in 1863 and had been in the family since.[28]

On March 3, 1945, he remarried to Dorothy Champion Farrar Hutton at the Second Church in Newton in West Newton, Massachusetts.[29] Dorothy, who was born in England and attended private schools there, was a daughter of Walter F. Hutton.[30]

Livingston, who lived at Northwood Farms until his death,[31] died at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson, New York on November 7, 1962.[32]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Year Book of the Dutchess County Historical Society . 1928 . The Dutchess County Historical Society . 59 . 31 March 2020 . en.
  2. News: MRS. LIVINGSTON, 82, NURSERY ADVOCATE; Member of Noted Family Dies - Ex-Delegate Had Served on Democratic State Group. 6 June 2017. The New York Times. 19 October 1944.
  3. News: TAILER-BROWN WEDDING.; Guests Gather at Baltimore for the Ceremony To-day.. 6 June 2017. The New York Times. 14 April 1909.
  4. News: MRS. LIVINGSTON HOSTESS.; Gives a Dance for Her Son, R. R. Livingston, and Fiancee, Miss Dean.. 6 June 2017. The New York Times. 17 February 1922.
  5. News: Rites Set at Tivoli for Mrs. Howland Davis . 31 March 2020 . . 1 June 1967 . 28.
  6. News: HOWLAND S. DAVIS, PARK EXECUTIVE; Former Vice President of Stock Exchange Is Dead . 31 March 2020 . . July 16, 1969.
  7. Book: The New York Times Index . 1914 . 227 . 31 March 2020 . en.
  8. Book: Leonard . John William . Mohr . William Frederick . Knox . Herman Warren . Holmes . Frank R. . Downs . Frank R. . Who's who in New York (city and State) . 1918 . Who's who publications, Incorporated . 272 . 31 March 2020 . en.
  9. News: Nemy . Enid . The Livingstons - A Clan's Story . 31 March 2020 . . 27 July 1981.
  10. News: Doxsey . Patricia . Rolling Stone publisher buys riverfront estate in Tivoli . 31 March 2020 . . February 3, 2008 . en.
  11. Book: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. 1880. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. 155. 18 April 2017. en.
  12. Book: Livingston. Edwin Brockholst. The Livingstons of Livingston Manor: Being the History of that Branch of the Scottish House of Callendar which Settled in the English Province of New York During the Reign of Charles the Second; and Also Including an Account of Robert Livingston of Albany, "The Nephew," a Settler in the Same Province and His Principal Descendants. 1910. Knickerbocker Press. 18 April 2017. en.
  13. News: Mrs. Susan de Peyster Livingston . 6 June 2017. The New York Times. 11 February 1910.
  14. News: McAllister. Ward. THE ONLY FOUR HUNDRED WARD M'ALLISTER GIVES OUT THE OFFICIAL LIST. HERE ARE THE NAMES, DON'T YOU KNOW, ON THE AUTHORITY OF THEIR GREAT LEADER, YOU UNDER- STAND, AND THEREFORE GENUINE, YOU SEE.. 26 March 2017. The New York Times. 16 February 1892. en.
  15. News: EDWARD LIVINGSTON DEAD AT FAMILY HOME; Was of Old and Distinguished New York Ancestry Funeral Tomorrow. . 6 June 2017. The New York Times. 20 January 1932.
  16. News: G. LIVINGSTON DIES; LONG AN ARCHITECT; Practitioner Here for 50 Years Included Hayden Planetarium, Oregon Capitol in His Work. 6 June 2017. The New York Times. 4 June 1951.
  17. Book: Trowbridge, Francis Bacon . The Trowbridge Genealogy: History of the Trowbridge Family in America . 1 . Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor . New Haven, CT . 1908 . 608–609 . 8 May 2015 .
  18. News: Edward N. Tailer Dead – Retired Merchant Was Member of an Old New York Family. 19 May 2018. The New York Times. 16 February 1917.
  19. News: Mrs. H. L. Burnett. 3 November 2017. The New York Times. 12 December 1932.
  20. News: Mrs. F. Tailer Carpenter Estate Split Between Sons. 19 May 2018. Newport Daily News. 13 January 1953. 5. en.
  21. Book: The New York Red Book . 1923 . Williams Press . 107 . 31 March 2020 . en.
  22. Web site: My Day Index: Livingston, Robert Reginald, 1888-1962 . www2.gwu.edu . The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Digital Edition . 31 March 2020 . 2018.
  23. Web site: Livingston, Robert Reginald (1888-1962) . politicalgraveyard.com . . 31 March 2020.
  24. News: ALICE D. DEAN, BRIDE OF R.R. LIVINGSTON; Bishop Manning Performs the Ceremony in St. James's Church in Madison Av. HER SISTER HONOR MAID Reception at Cosmopolitan Club-- Bridal Pair to Sail Tomorrow on Mediterranean Trip. . 31 March 2020 . . 24 February 1922.
  25. News: Livingston-Dean Wedding Feb. 23. . 31 March 2020 . . January 28, 1922.
  26. News: NEW YORKERS GIVE SEVERAL DINNERS; Mrs. Robert R. Livingston Is Hostess to Large Group at Her Park Ave. Home BARBARA HILL ENTERTAINS Gives Tea for Russian Ball Aides-Lucy Tew and Her Fiance Honored . 31 March 2020 . . 7 January 1938.
  27. News: WIFE SUES R.R. LIVINGSTON; Former Alice Delafield Dean Asks for a Divorce In Reno. . 31 March 2020 . . March 25, 1932.
  28. News: OLD HOLDING SOLD ON SIXTH AVENUE; Builders Get 53d St. Site From the Livingston Heirs --Dwelling Bought . 31 March 2020 . . January 12, 1945.
  29. News: MISS HUTTON BRIDE OF R.R. LIVINGSTON; Montreal Girl Is Wed in West Newton, Mass., to Member of Noted New York Family . 31 March 2020 . . March 4, 1945.
  30. News: TROTH ANNOUNCED OF DOROTHY HUTTON; Montreal Girl Will Be Bride of Robert R. Livingston, Member of Noted New York Family . 31 March 2020 . . 4 February 1945.
  31. News: R.R. Livingston Dies; Former Assemblyman . 31 March 2020 . . 9 November 1962 . 4.
  32. News: ROBERT LIVINGSTON, A FRUIT GROWER, 74 . 31 March 2020 . . 8 November 1962.