Near Germantown in Columbia County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
A Vast Estate on the Hudson
Photographed By Steve Stoessel, May 9, 2020
1. A Vast Estate on the Hudson Marker
His son, Robert Jr. (1688–1775), created Clermont in 1728 when he inherited 13,000 acres in the southwestern corner of the Livingston Manor. Robert Jr., known as “Robert of Clermont," purchased 500,000 additional acres of Catskill Mountain land in 1750. A New York City lawyer and merchant, he built his stone and brick home on the bluff overlooking the Catskills and eventually retired here. Clermont remained the family's country seat for seven generations and 230 years.
Left inset:
Judge Robert Livingston (1718-1775), son of Robert Jr., married Margaret Beekman of Rhinebeck, who inherited 240,000 acres in Dutchess and Ulster counties from her father, another wealthy landowner. After her husband's death, and in the absence of their son Robert ("The Chancellor"), Margaret managed the huge estate and the reconstruction of Clermont after the British burned it in 1777.
Right inset:
Originally known as "Clare Mount” (clear mountain), the name was changed to the French
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Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1686.
Location. 42° 5.019′ N, 73° 55.16′ W. Marker is near Germantown, New York, in Columbia County. Marker can be reached from Clermont Avenue, 0.3 miles Woods Road (County Route 35). Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 Clermont Avenue, Germantown NY 12526, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Locust Avenue (a few steps from this marker); Burned by the British (within shouting distance of this marker); Robert R. Livingston (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Lilac Walk (about 500 feet away); A River Highway (about 500 feet away); The Carriage Barn (about 500 feet away); Clermont (approx. 0.3 miles away); a different marker also named Clermont (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Germantown.
More about this marker. Located at Clermont State Historic Site. The marker is the at the midpoint between the old ruins (the house
Photographed By Steve Stoessel, May 9, 2020
2. Looking South
Regarding A Vast Estate on the Hudson. Robert Livingston Sr. came to America and Albany in 1674. His father had been exiled from Scotland and taken refuge in Holland where Robert had learned to speak Dutch. This fluency gained him a position as personal secretary to Nicholas Van Rensselaer — a leading Dutch Patroon in the New York colony. He used this position to enter New York politics and gain a profitable public office. When Nicholas died a few years later, Robert married his widow, Alida Schuyler, in 1679. Livingston continued to gain influence, and with the backing of the Royal Governor, he received a land grant in 1715 of 160,000 acres along the Hudson. and continued to build his fortune until his death in 1728.
Robert bequeathed 13,000 acres of this grant to his third son, Robert Jr., and this became the basis for Clermont. Robert Jr. amassed a great fortune through land speculation in the Catskills, and investments in numerous enterprises including slave trading and privateering. By his death in 1775, he had acquired title to 500,000 acres in the Catskills that was passed on to his only child, Robert R. Livingston.
Judge Livingston (as this latest Livingston was known) was involved in New York politics. He married Margaret Beekman
Photographed By Steve Stoessel
3. Looking North
By the mid-1800's, the great manors were starting to decline. The Anti-Rent Wars forced changes to the nearly feudal rent laws, and the great manors begin to sell off their holdings. Changes in the national economy, such as industrialization, also diminished the role of land in wealth generation and maintaining the great estates became impracticable. Alice Delafield Clarkson Livingston, a Livingston by descent as well as by marriage, was the last Livingston to live at Clermont, and she bequeathed the house to New York State after her death in 1964.
Also see . . .
1. The Livingstons (Wikipedia). (Submitted on May 14, 2020, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York.)
2. Robert Livingstone the Founder (Wikipedia).
Livingston was the uncle of Robert Livingston the Younger, grandfather of Philip Livingston and William Livingston. Philip Livingston's granddaughter, Catherine Livingston married Abraham De Peyster. He was
Photographed By Wikipedia
4. Robert Livingston
“The Founder”
“The Founder”
1718
Through his son, Gilbert Livingston, he was the grandfather of Margaret Livingston (1738–1818), who married Peter Stuyvesant (1727–1805), a great-grandson of the Peter Stuyvesant who commanded the New Netherland colony on Manhattan island, and Joanna Livingston (1722–1808), who married Pierre Van Cortlandt (1721–1814), the first Lieutenant Governor of the New York.
Many Americans are descended from the Livingston family, including George W. Bush, the entire Fish and Kean families, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of New York Anna Morton, actors Montgomery Clift and Michael Douglas, actress Jane Wyatt, poet Robert Lowell, cinematographer Floyd Crosby and his son David Crosby, author Wolcott Gibbs, and almost the entire Astor family. (Submitted on May 14, 2020, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York.)
3. A Brief History of Clermont - Friends of Clermont. (Submitted on May 14, 2020, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York.)
4. Clermont - National Archives. National Register of Historic Places documentation (Submitted on January 17, 2024, by Anton Schwarzmueller of Wilson, New York.)
Photographed By Wikipedia
5. Robert Livingston
“The Judge”
“The Judge”
Photographed By Christies
6. Robert Livingston, III
Credits. This page was last revised on January 17, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 12, 2020, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York. This page has been viewed 247 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 12, 2020, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York. 4, 5, 6. submitted on September 10, 2020, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Michael Herrick was the editor who published this page.
