Author: clermontstatehistoricsite
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"The Gentleman Does Not Reason From Facts": Chancellor Robert R. Livingston and the Fight to Ratify the Constitution in New York
Not that George Clinton That George ClintonYes I know I\’ve done this jokebefore but its still funny When the Constitutional Convention adjourned in Philadelphia the fight to create a unified country out of thirteen individual states was far from over. In every state another convention was to be held where the leaders would decide whether…
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The River Ran Backwards and Other Adventures of Robert R. Livingston\'s First Steamboat on the Mississippi River
Mississippi River icon It is hard to imagine the Mississippi River without its iconic steamboats beating their way up and down stream. Even Mark Twain once wrote, of the steamboats on the Mississippi; “When I was a boy, there was but one permanent ambition among my comrades in our village on the west bank of…
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Lord Cornbury\'s Dress
Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon and Viscount Cornbury is perhaps the most maligned royal governor that the colony of New York ever had. His reign from 1702 to 1708 was marked with greed, bribery and rampant misuse of public funds. Yet the thing he is most remembered for is this: That’s right. If one was…
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Katharine Comes Home: An Exciting New Donation from a Livingston family Descendant
This small collection of mini-ature portraits proved to be justthe beginning. It all started almost three years ago, when a Livingston family member arrived from England with a surprise donation of several miniature portraits from Katharine Livingston Timpson\’s family–his family. Katharine Livingston Timpsonand her first two children:Theo and Kay Katharine, John Henry\’s daughter from his first…
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Dangerous Companion: Chancellor Robert R. Livingston and the Traitor’s Wife
Benedict Arnold Traitor The story of Benedict Arnold’s treasonous actions at West Point is so well known that the man’s very name is synonymous with traitor in the United States. He planned to turn over the fort at West Point along with all the soldiers stationed there to the British in exchange for a…
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Margaret Beekman Livingston and the Gunpowder Mill
Margaret Beekman Livingston\”Molly Pitcher ain\’t got nothing on me\” (probably not a real quote) By now you’ve surely read our previous post about Judge Robert R. Livingston’s gunpowder mill, well some newly discovered information has changed our view about who had the gunpowder mill rebuilt and ran it following the mill’s explosion and the Judge’s…
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Dance Puppets Dance: The Livingston Family and the Burr Hamilton Duel Part 2
John ArmstrongThe last living representative to the Continental Congresssuch a contrarian that he refused to die until he had been photographed This will make a whole lot more sense if you read Part 1 first! At this point another Livingston in-law stepped in to make Aaron Burr’s life miserable: John Armstrong who was married to…
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Dance Puppets Dance: The Livingston Family and the Hamilton-Burr Duel Part 1
Robert R. LivingstonNot a good guy to mess with Over the course of about two decades the Livingston family destroyed two men. By the end of 1804 one of the men was dead and the other was a shell of his former self who would never return to the political power he once had.…
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Old-Fashioned July 4th Festival at Clermont
The sounds, tastes, and smells of the Colonial era will converge at Clermont State Historic Site in Germantown this July 4thduring the site’s Old-Fashioned Independence Day Festival. From 2 to 10 p.m., the site will host a lively event with a little something for every member of the family. From 2 to 6 p.m., the…
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Was John R. Livingston a Murderer?
John R. Livingston in later years Of Judge Robert R. Livingston’s four sons John R. Livingston is perhaps the most forgotten. His oldest brother Robert helped to found this country. His next brother Henry found success as a soldier. Even his younger brother was a famous politician, serving in congress…
Clermont State Historic Site 