Clermont State Historic Site

The recent passing of singer/song writer David Crosby was sad, and we of course extend our deepest sympathies to his family, but his something about his passing did catch my attention. Several outlets used his full name in his obituary, which was David van Cortlandt Crosby. This got me thinking, was there a chance that David Crosby was a Livingston? With a name like that he almost had to be tied into New York State aristocracy and all of those families intermarried many times over the years. I had to check.

Now please bear with me as I usually don’t do straight up genealogical work.

David’s father was Floyd Delafield Crosby, and his mother was Aliph van Cortlandt Whitehead.

David’s paternal grandfather was Frederick van Schoehoven Crosby.

His paternal great grandfather was Edward Nicoll Crosby.

Edward’s mother was Jane Murray Livingston.

Jane was the daughter of Henry Alexander Livingston.

Henry was the son of Sarah Livingston.

Sarah was the daughter of Philip “the Signer” Livingston, who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

So, if my math is correct David Crosby was the great-great-great-great-great grandson of Philip “the Signer.”

Is this historically significant? Probably not, but it’s a pretty cool piece of information that might win you the big prize in a trivia contest someday.