June 2, 2014

The Elusive Brockholst Livingston


I came upon him while researching the Peckham family of New York.  Miranda, daughter of Peleg Peckham and Desire Watson, was born in Rensselaerville, Albany County in 1802. The family relocated to Cooperstown and likely she met her husband-to-be there. They married in 1827 in New York City and lived in Albany where he died of cholera in 1832. They had no children.

That is almost all I knew of Brockholst except that he was a a lawyer and educated at Columbia Univerity. Then I found this record:

In the The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volumes 17-18 p 60 there is a notation: Anne Van Beuren, born 1789, died 1827, who married Brockholst Livingston, a lawyer of this city, died in 1832, grandson of Governor William Livingston of New Jersey, and had no issue.

Well !! Seems he had been married previously and that his first wife died in the same year that he married Miranda. New information !

Looking further, I discovered that he married Anne in 1818 and that she died in Cooperstown, NY where Miranda was living ... they married about 6 months after he was widowed.

But I was not sure who Brockholst's parents were. Governor William Livingston had a number of sons including a Supreme Court Justice known as Brockholst Livingston (1757-1832) although his first name was actually Henry which he dropped in favor of his middle name. Miranda's husband was NOT the Justice's son.

I could not find a baptism record nor other confirming references. Just today I found this record on page 1335 of vol 3, Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York by Cuyler Reynolds:

William Livingston, son of Gov William and Susannah (French) Livingston, was born on March 21, 1754, died 1817.  He married Mary Lennington and they had the following children:  Jane, Phillip, Brockholst, John L, Matthew, john Jay and Essex Ridley.

So, that seems to be him.  Now I need to find where he is buried. 

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