After his graduation from Yale, he became engaged in the shipping business with William Alexander, Lord Stirling. He was also engaged in the slave trade with his father. Livingston's mercantile interests involved activities in the West Indies, North Carolina, and Fort Niagara, where he was involved in the fur trade.[7]
In 1748, he helped found the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and became one of its original trustees, serving until 1761.[8] In 1755, he furnished the supplies for the expedition of Governor William Shirley to Acadia.[9]
In 1775, he was a member of the Committee of One Hundred. He was a delegate to the New York Provincial Congresses, and was President from May 1775 to August 1775 and from September 1776 to March 1777.[10] He was also Chairman of the Committee of Safety from September 1776 to March 1777.[1] In 1776, he was appointed Treasurer by the Provincial Congress, and remained in office until 1778, after the establishment of the State Government.[2][11]
Personal life
His home in New York City was a large mansion on the east side of what is now Hanover Square, with grounds extending to the East River. Later he removed to Elizabethtown, N.J., and died there at the Liberty Hall.
On November 3, 1739, Peter Van Brugh Livingston married Mary Alexander (1721–1767), the daughter of James Alexander and Mary Spratt Provoost, and the sister of his business associate, Lord Stirling. Before her death in 1767, they had twelve children, including:[2]
Philip Peter Livingston (1740–1810), who was known as "Gentleman Phil," and who married Cornelia Van Horne (b. 1759).[12]
On April 9, 1771, he married Elizabeth Ricketts, the widow of William Ricketts, in Elizabethtown, New Jersey.[2]
Descendants and honors
Through his eldest son Philip, he was the grandfather of Van Brugh Livingston (1792–1868), who served as the American Chargé d'affaires (i.e. equivalent of the current U.S. Ambassador) to Ecuador from August 12, 1848 until November 12, 1849, appointed by President James K. Polk.[14]
Livingston's daughter Susan Niemcewicz established a scholarship at the College of New Jersey, named in honor of her father.[15][16]
^Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Livingston, William" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 813; see eleven lines from end. ....Peter van Brugh Livingston (1710–1792), was a prominent merchant and....was one of the founders of the College of New Jersey...."
