USA > New York > Famous families of New York; historical and biographical sketches of families which in successive generations have been identified with the development of the nation, Vol. II > Part 2
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Peter R. elected Lieutenant-Governor.
Walter [1740], son of Robert, the third Lord, was an able lawyer and statesman. His public services were numerous and
Judge valued. Among other positions he held with success
Walter were the following: Member of the Provincial Congress (1775), Judge for Albany (1777), Member of Congress (1784-5), Commissioner of the U. S. Treasury (1785). His wife was Cor- nelia Schuyler, by whom he had issue.
His son, Henry Walter [1768], was graduated from Yale (1786) and admitted to the New York bar. In 1792, he was appointed Judge secretary to Minister Gouverneur Morris, and served Henry W. two years at Versailles. 1796 saw him Judge of Com- mon Pleas, and in 1803 and 1805 he was elected to Congress. His wife was Mary Penn Allen, by whom he had children.
From Robert Cambridge came John Swift [1785], Johnston, who married his kinswoman Sylvia Livingston, Robert Cambridge II., Robert Cambridge III., Robert Cambridge IV., John Griswold, Johnston II., Henry W., and Louis.
From John, the last Lord of the Manor, known as John of Oak Hill, come Herman and Cornelia, who married Clermont Living- ston. The Oak Hill mansion is now in the possession of John Henry, a grandson of Herman of Oak Hill.
Lieut .- From Philip come Walter and Edward Philip. The
Governor latter was a leading citizen of Columbia County, who Edward P. was elected Lieutenant-Governor in 1830. His descend- ants included Philip Jr., Henry, and Philip VI.
William, the war-Governor, had one distinguished son, Brockholst [1757]. He entered Princeton, but left college to go Lieut .- Colonel into the army, where he rose to be a lieutenant- Brockholst colonel. He became private secretary to John Jay, studied law, and was a member of the New York bar. In 1802, he was Judge of the New York Supreme Court, and in 1806 was made a Justice of the United States Supreme Court by President Jeffer- son. He was married thrice and had many children. His oldest
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son was Hon. Carroll, a merchant and financier, who was grad- uated from Columbia (1822).
His present representative is Charles Carroll.
Of Gilbert, the most distinguished descendant was his grand- son, the Rev. John Henry [1746], who was graduated from Yale in 1762, and took up the study of law. He went as far Reverend as the limited opportunities of the colonies would per- John Henry mit, and then crossed the sea and entered the University of Utrecht. Here a change came over his ambition, and after his law course he took up theology, and received the university degree and ordination by the Classis of Amsterdam. He returned to New York in 1770, becoming pastor of the Dutch Church at the corner of Fulton and William Streets, which office he held until 1810. During this period he was made a professor of theology by the General Synod, and in 1807 President of Queens, now Rutgers, College of New Brunswick, N. J. During the Revolution he was an enthusiastic rebel, and was ready to pray and to fight at all hours. He was one of the founders of the first missionary society in New York, Regent of the State University, and in his later years was universally known as "the father of the Dutch Re- formed Church in America."
In the fourth generation, the Clermont branch rose to the head. They seem to have inherited and to have added to the legal and intellectual talents of their father, "Judge Robert," and their grandsire, Robert of Clermont. The two greatest were Robert R., the Chancellor, and Edward, the jurist. Chancellor Robert R. [1746] was graduated from Columbia in Robert
1764, and studied law under William Smith, the historian, and his cousin, William Livingston, of New Jersey. After admission to the bar he became a partner of John Jay. He was a brilliant lawyer, and was made Recorder of the city of New York, relinquishing this office, in 1775, to become a delegate to Congress. He was one of the five who drafted the Declaration of Independence, and was prevented from signing by being called away to take part in the Provincial Congress of New York. In 1776, he was a member of the Provincial Convention which changed the title of the
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colony to the State of New York, and was made a member of the committee which drew up the first State constitution. He was made Chancellor, and held that honorable office from 1777 to 1801. From 1781 to 1783 he served as United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs. He administered the oath of office to George Washington at the City Hall, which then occupied the site of the present Sub-Treasury at Wall and Nassau streets. When the New York Convention adopted the Federal Constitution, he was its chief advocate.
In 1801, the Government appointed him Minister Plenipoten- tiary to France, where he negotiated the cession of Louisiana to the United States as well as the settlement of the French claims. It was while abroad that he made the acquaintance of Robert Fulton, with whom he formed a quasi-partnership for the develop- ment of steam navigation, in which he had already done much hard work. His capital built the Clermont, the first steamboat in the New World, which was named after his family home. His other public services would fill a volume : he was prominent in the construction of the canal system of New York State, in adjust- ing the eastern boundary which gave the State of Vermont to the Union, and in establishing the American Academy of Fine Arts, which is now the National Academy of Design. He contrib- uted to agricultural literature and was noted as an authority upon the subject. So great was his talent as an advocate that Franklin called him " the Cicero of America." When Congress asked each State of the Union to place the statues of two of its prominent citizens in the Capitol, he and George Clinton were selected for the high honor by the Empire State.
His homestead at Clermont is still in the possession of his grandson, Clermont.
Edward, the jurist [1764], was graduated from Princeton in 1781, studied law, and was admitted to the bar upon attaining his majority. He built up a large practice, made quite a fortune in ten years, and was elected to Congress in 1794, 1796, and 1798. There was considerable opposition to the policy of Washington's Cabinet at one time, and among its leaders he, Madison, and
Rev. Dr. John H. Livingston
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Gallatin were the foremost. His were the resolutions which demanded copies of the papers given to John Jay in respect to the treaty with Great Britain. Washington, backed by the unani- mous vote of his Cabinet, declined, and for a few days there was talk of a conflict between the two branches of the Government. In 1801, the Government made him United States Attorney for the District of New York, and the people elected him Mayor. During his term of office the present City Hall was built, the front and sides being of white marble, while the back was of cheap brown-stone, since "it would be out of sight to all the world."
When the yellow fever broke out in 1803, and all who could afford it deserted the city, he remained at his post, fighting the epidemic, and finally contracting the disease. During his illness he was robbed and almost ruined by his confidential agent and was compelled to start life anew. He conveyed all his property to a trustee for the payment of his debts, and on the expiration of his term of office as mayor went to New Orleans, which was then an American city, where he opened a law office in order to retrieve his wealth. With great shrewdness, he accepted land instead of money for his fees, and thus established the beginnings of a new fortune.
Finding the law of the new State a confused muddle of English common law, French code, and Spanish law, he drew up a code of procedure, of which a part in 1805 was adopted by the Louisiana Legislature. This was the beginning of the first great code ever drawn up in an English-speaking community, and in its final form has been held up to the admiration of the world by the great jurists of every land. It began a new era in American jurispru- dence. Edward was sent to Congress three times from Louisiana and in 1824 finished his civil code, which completed the codifica- tion of the State law. In 1826, he paid off the last of his debts, and in 1829 was elected United States Senator from Louisiana. In 1831, he was made Secretary of State, and in 1833, Minister to France. A patriot, a statesman, a scholar, and a diplomat, his claim to a high place will be his record as a jurist.
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A brother of Edward, Henry Beekman [1750], raised a com- pany of soldiers in 1775, and took part in the invasion of Canada.
Major-Gen. For his valor he received a sword of honor from Con-
Henry gress. He was aide to General Philip Schuyler, Colonel Beekman of the Fourth New York, aide to Lafayette in Rhode Island, and an officer at Valley Forge. He served in the War of 1812, where he rose to be a major-general. He married Ann Horne Shippen, with whom he lived happily many years in the Beekman mansion at Rhinebeck, which he inherited from his mother.
Among others who have added distinction to the family name is John William, a descendant of John, the third son of the second John William Lord of the Manor [1804]. His father was Dr. William the Admiral Turk, surgeon in the United States Navy, and his mother Eliza Livingston. In 1843, the Legislature sanctioned his assumption of his mother's name. He entered the navy in 1824, served in the war with the Mediterranean pirates, in the war of Mexico, and during the great civil conflict. In 1868, he was commissioned Rear-Admiral, and placed upon the retired list, after which he made his home in New York City.
Colonel James [1747] was a son of John and grandson of Robert the nephew. He served in the Revolution, where he proved a faithful and efficient soldier, to whom Wash- Col. James ington expressed his gratification "that the post was in the hands of an officer so devoted as yourself to the cause of your country." The reference is to Stony Point, and the time the treason of Benedict Arnold.
With him in the same command, during the first part of the conflict, were his fearless brothers, Lieutenant - Colonel Lieut .- Col. Richard and Captain Abraham. A son of the last Richard named was Captain John P., who served with distinc- tion in the War of 1812.
Colonel James married Elizabeth Simpson, a belle of Montreal, Elizabeth by whom he had issue. His daughter Margaret became Cady Stanton the wife of Judge Daniel Cady of New York, and the child of this union, Elizabeth [1815], became Mrs. Elizabeth
Maturin Livingston From a miniature
Mrs. Maturin Livingston (Margaret Lewis) From a miniature
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Cady Stanton, the most eminent woman-reformer of the nineteenth century.
From Robert, the nephew of the first Lord of the Manor, comes a long and important branch, which includes James, John, Robert, James II., Maturin, Maturin II., and is represented to-day by Mrs. Cavendish-Bentinck and Mrs. Ogden Mills.
In point of numbers, the Livingstons are almost unrivalled. They have been marked by high patriotism, a warm love for humanity, and a progressive spirit, which at times amounted to radicalism. Through their blood runs the hereditary Scotch ten- dency towards strong feelings and forcible action. They have been characterized by great physical and mental vitality, and, unlike many successful families, have not borne fruit and then withered away. The old Scotch character has reappeared in many ways. They have been strong friends-and strong foes,- and have never feared to express their convictions or to beard authority in the cause of right. The clannish spirit has expressed itself in an intense family feeling, which has caused each to help all relatives in trouble, and has gone so far as to cause many inter- marriages. To this feeling may be ascribed the care with which they have preserved memorials and souvenirs of their ancestors, and the self-sacrifice displayed whenever called upon to serve the family, the State, and the nation.
VOL. II .- 2
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Morris
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ZİTYOM ziarul
Lewis Morris Signer of the Declaration of Independence
XXIII
MORRIS
EW YORK has been cosmopolitan from its first settlement. With the Knickerbockers, or Dutch, came over Huguenots and subjects of the British Crown. These were speedily fol- lowed by Germans, West Indians, and New Englanders. To this early mixing of types and bloods may be ascribed the characteristics of the New Yorker which have made him distinct from the citizen of every other great metropolis. Just as the Dutch were made up of people from the various provinces of Holland, so the British contingent was drawn from the different types which constitute the population of the United Kingdom.
As if to preserve a spiritual equilibrium, the solid Englishman was offset by the impetuous Scotchman and the strong and in- domitable Welshman. To the little principality of Wales, Man- hattan owes many of its most distinguished citizens. Of these, the head and front was the Morris family, which for more than two centuries has been in the foreground of municipal, state, and national activity. From a genealogical as well as an historical viewpoint, its career in both the Old World and the New has been of deep interest. Long before the Land of the Silures had become an appanage of the British Crown, it took a leading part
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in the councils of the little nation. Its very name is derived from Maur-Rhys, the Great Rhys, who was a Prince of Guintland (now embodied in Monmouthshire) in the latter part of the twelfth century. Maur is the Cymric for great, and was prefixed to the name qualified, unlike the Romance practice of suffixing, as ex- emplified in Charle-Magne. It was not until the seventeenth century that the present orthography was adopted.
The first Maur-Rhys was one of the conspicuous figures in British history. He was the neighbor and friend of Strong-Bow, Earl of Striguill, and, with that reckless warrior, invaded Southern Ireland, and conquered all the country around Waterford. The two adventurers might have become great Irish princes, but Henry II., their monarch, was a very thrifty and diplomatic char- acter, who rewarded their prowess by giving them complimentary letters and titles, but added their conquests to the Crown posses- sions. The descendants of Maur-Rhys were proud and fierce warriors in the Plantagenet period, when they enjoyed great pros- perity. Their star changed in the fifteenth century, during the wars of York and Lancaster, in which they lost much of their property, and at one time were in danger of extermination by political foes. During this period one of their princesses, a woman of rare beauty, married the Duke of Saxony, from whom was descended the Elector of Saxony.
In the reign of the Stuarts, ill-fortune again overtook them. They incurred the displeasure of King James, and their estates were confiscated by his son, Charles 1. At that time the heads of the house were three brothers, Lewis, William, and Richard. William, after a vain struggle, determined to emigrate to the New World. He sold his property, and giving a moiety to his son John, set sail for the American plantations. He died upon the voyage. His son John was of a more adventurous Captain John disposition. He remained in Wales, trying to regain his ancestral lands, and when the Civil War broke out, was among the first to join the Parliamentary army, in which in 1651 he was a captain. In 1652, he went with a British expedition to Bar- badoes, which was conquered and added to the British kingdom.
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He received grants of land in the new possessions and increased his fortune by marrying an heiress. This was the beginning of the West-Indian branch of the family.
William's brothers, Lewis and Richard, remained at home. They also entered the Parliamentary service, the former raising a regiment at his own expense, from which he gained Colonel
the title of colonel. Richard was a captain in this regi- Lewis
ment, and afterwards lieutenant-colonel. Notwithstanding the result of the war, they did not recover their confiscated estates, Cromwell paying them handsome indemnities instead. Captain Richard
The two men were among the bravest of Cromwell's warriors. Their most famous exploit was the capture of Chep- stow Castle, which they carried by fire and sword. From this feat they took as a crest a castle in flames on a rock, with the motto, Tandem vincitur. The uncles kept up a correspondence with their nephew John, and upon the latter's advice Lewis bought an estate in Barbadoes. He still yearned for the excite- ment of war, and urged Cromwell to attack Spain in the West Indies. He was apparently unsuccessful, because he sailed for his plantations as a settler and not a soldier. His action seems to have been a ruse of some sort, as he had scarcely arrived in his new home when Cromwell organized an expedition to attack Hispaniola (now Hayti and San Domingo), and with the an- nouncement came a commission for Colonel Lewis Morris. For his gallantry in this little war, the Colonel received many pressing invitations to return to England, and, just before the Restoration, had begun to arrange for the voyage. The advent of Charles Il. changed his plans. Instead of returning, he sent post-haste for his brother Richard, who came out by the next sailing vessel. Subsequent events showed the wisdom of the course. The two brothers had made many enemies during the wars, and proceed- ings had been begun against them, when Richard left home for- ever. There were many ex-Parliamentarians in Barbadoes, so that Richard had a hearty welcome when he arrived. Here he met, wooed, and won Sarah Pole, an heiress and belle. He re- mained in Barbadoes several years, attending to his brother's estate
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and the one he had secured by marriage. The brothers were dissatisfied with the slow life of the West Indies, and determined upon a change. In pursuance of this, Richard in 1668 sailed for New York. He took with him a large amount of money, which he invested sagaciously in New York and New Jersey real estate shortly after his arrival.
The New York property consisted of three thousand odd acres near the Harlem, which he named Bronxland from the River Bronx lying to its north. This purchase made Richard Morris one of the largest landed proprietors in Westchester County. In 1671, Rich- Lewis II. the Chief Justice and Governor ard had a son whom he named Lewis, after the great Colonel. Captain Richard was very active in public affairs and served upon many bodies during the admin- istrations of Lovelace, Evertse, and Colve. He died suddenly about 1675. There must have been a deep love between the two brothers, because the death disclosed a singular contract between them to the effect that if Captain Richard died Colonel Lewis would come on and become a father to the former's child or chil- dren. The Colonel was true to his word. When the news reached him of his brother's death, he disposed of most of his estates in Barbadoes and came on to New York (1676). In October of that year he invested his wealth in New Jersey property, purchasing 3540 acres in East Jersey, which he named Tinton, and another tract in the same neighborhood. He called the entire territory Monmouth, and from this name Monmouth County took its title. It seems quite odd that the English shire which had produced so many fearless opponents to the British Crown in the days of Cromwell should give its name to an American county on which again the British Crown was to meet opposition and defeat. The first opponents transported the name across the sea, and in the course of years their descendants renewed the wars of a previous century.
Colonel Lewis was indefatigable in all business matters. He attended to his own estate and to that of his nephew, Lewis II. He served upon the staff of Governor Andros and engaged in many private enterprises. One of these was the establishment
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of iron works in New Jersey, which for many years turned out an excellent grade of pig iron. He died in 1691 without issue, leaving his great estate to his nephew.
The bluff soldier had a warm heart and took pleasure in charitable and religious work. His contributions were many, and when he found that St. Peter's Church in Westchester had no bell, he presented a handsome one to it, which is still extant. Upon its lip in ancient lettering is the inscription : " Colonel Lewis Morris, 1677."
Lewis II., better known as Lewis the Chief Justice, is one of the most romantic characters in colonial history. He was a dreamer and yet sternly practical, a born soldier, and yet a good business man ; an able judge, but one who never seemed to read or study precedents ; ambitious, and yet scornful of the opinions of those in authority ; a fountain of fun and humor, and yet so vitriolic in his bitterness as to keep his enemies in perpetual sus- pense ; and, rarest of all, a successful politician, who despised tact and placating, and depended entirely upon truth and even brus- querie. His uncle, Colonel Lewis, became his guardian when he was five years old, and the iron-willed soldier soon found that the boy was a second edition of himself. They played a game of cross-purposes which even after two centuries sounds like a bit of delicious comedy. The uncle secured a tutor, a pious Quaker, whose ambition was to become an Indian missionary. The boy objected to the tutor and discharged him. The uncle reinstated him. The boy attempted to chastise the tutor, and was roundly flogged by the uncle.
Nothing discouraged, the youngster immediately started a new plan of campaign. He found out the Quaker's aspirations, and then studied his habits. He soon learned that the pious pedagogue was in the habit of praying every day at a stated hour beneath a certain tree. The boy went there an hour ahead of the expected time, climbed the tree, and hid himself in the thick foli- age. As he expected, the teacher appeared, knelt, and, according to the custom of the times, wrestled with the Lord. Finally, when he paused for lack of breath, the boy piped out in a
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simulated voice: "Hugh Copperthwaite ! Hugh Copperthwaite !" The simple-minded Quaker answered : " Here am I, Lord. What wouldst thou with me ?" There was a pause, and then from the depth of the leaves came the command in the solemn words: "Go, preach my Gospel to the Mohawks, thou true and faithful servant !"
The tutor went back to the house, offered his resignation, and had packed his trunks for his departure, when the trick was be- trayed. There was a stormy scene, and the old Colonel adminis- tered the rod in a way that would have pleased King Solomon. The next morning there was no boy around the place. The Colonel gave himself no uneasiness, believing that his nephew had stayed out over-night in the woods, or had gone to a neigh- bor's and would be back in a day or two. A week passed with no news of the youth. Inquiries were instituted, and it was found that he had run away to Virginia. Here he stayed some time, and then took ship and went to the West Indies. He earned a poor subsistence by serving as a scrivener. Even then he wrote a fine hand, and spelled with an accuracy that was uncommon in those years. But he tired of the work, and sighed for home. He managed to get to New York, where the Colonel received him with open arms. There was a council of war between the two, which must have been unique. The Colonel confessed that he could not govern his nephew, and then declared that, as the latter had to be governed in order to make him a man, the only thing left was to marry him off as quickly as possible. He accord- ingly brought about the union of his ward with Isabella, daughter of Sir James Graham, when the former was but twenty years of age.
The marriage had the desired effect. Lewis II. became a serious man and entered upon a public career immediately. He be- came a member of the Governor's Council and soon afterwards Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in East Jersey. In 1697, he added lands to his estate in Bronxland, and the same year erected it into a Lordship or Manor, called Morrisania. The charter was very liberal, giving him the right to deodands, wrecks, estrays,
Robert Hunter Morris Governor of Pennsylvania, 1754
" Old Morrisania," New York Gouverneur Morris's Residence
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flotsam, and jetsam. This charter made the Morris family one of the five which possessed manorial estates in Westchester County. In 1700, he was made President of the Governor's Council, and two years afterwards, Governor of New Jersey.
He was elected a member of Cornbury's Council, and while there became champion of the people's cause against the tyranny of the Governor. In 1707, he was sent to the General Assembly, where he was soon the leader of that body. In 1718, he was made Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New York, being the first native to hold the office. In 1734, he made a voyage to Eng- land, where he laid the grievances of New York before the Crown. On his return he advocated the separation of New York from New Jersey, which was afterwards accomplished. In 1738, New Jersey became a province or State, with Morris as Governor.
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