Henry Beekman

For the lawyer and judge from New York, see Henry Rutgers Beekman (judge). For the American watercolorist, see Henry Rutgers Beekman (artist).
Henry Beekman
Member of the New York General Assembly for Dutchess County
In office
1725–1759
Personal details
Born(1687-01-04)January 4, 1687
Kingston, Province of New York, British America
DiedJanuary 3, 1775(1775-01-03) (aged 87)
Rhinebeck, New York
Spouse(s)
Janet Livingston
​
​
(died 1724)​

Gertrude Van Cortlandt
​
​
(m. 1726)​
RelationsWilhelmus Beekman (grandfather)
Gerardus Beekman (uncle)
Robert R. Livingston (grandson)
Gertrude Livingston Lewis (granddaughter)
Edward Livingston (grandson)
ChildrenMargaret Beekman
Parent(s)Hendrick Beekman
Johanna de Loper Davidson Beekman

Henry Beekman (January 4, 1687 – January 3, 1775) was a prominent colonial American politician and landowner.

Early life[edit]

Beekman was born in Kingston, New York. the son of Judge Hendrick "Henry" Beekman (1652–1716) and his wife, Johanna (née de Loper) Davidson Beekman. His mother was the widow of Joris Davidson. His father served as a justice of the peace for Ulster County.[1] His sister was Cornelia Beekman, who married Gilbert Livingston, a son of Robert Livingston, first Lord of Livingston Manor.[2] Through his sister Cornelia, he was uncle to Margaret and Joanna Livingston. Margaret married Peter Stuyvesant, a great-grandson of the Peter Stuyvesant (who was the last Dutch director-general of New Netherland) and Joanna married Pierre Van Cortlandt, the first lieutenant governor of the New York.[3][4]

His paternal grandparents were Catalina (née de Boogh) Beekman and Wilhelmus Beekman, who served as the governor of the Colony of Swedes and acting mayor of New York City from 1682 to 1683 under Governor Anthony Brockholls.[2] His uncle Gerardus Beekman was elected president of the council and acting governor of the Province of New York in 1710.[2] His maternal grandparents were Captain Jacob de Loper and Cornelia Melyn (a daughter of Cornelius Melyn, Patroon of Staten Island).[5]

Career[edit]

From his father, Beekman inherited the large Beekman estate consisting of two large tracts of land in Dutchess County in the Province of New York. One in the area of Rhinebeck, New York and the other, called the "Back Lots" or Beekman Patent, in the south east corner of Dutchess County. From 1725 to 1759, he represented Dutchess County in the New York General Assembly.[6][7]

Personal life[edit]

Beekman was twice married. His first wife was Janet Livingston (1703–1724), a daughter of Robert Livingston the Younger. Together, they were the parents of:[8]

After his first wife's death in 1724, he married Gertrude van Cortlandt (1682–1777) in 1726. Gertrude was a daughter of Stephanus Van Cortlandt, the 10th and 17th Mayor of New York City.[8]

Beekman died in Rhinebeck, New York on January 3, 1775. His widow died two years later on March 23, 1777.[8]

Descendants[edit]

Through his daughter Margaret, he was a grandfather of Robert R. Livingston, the Chancellor of New York;[10] Janet Livingston (wife of Gen. Richard Montgomery);[11] Margaret Livingston (wife of Thomas Tillotson, an army surgeon who became New York Secretary of State);[12] Henry Beekman Livingston, who commanded the 4th New York Regiment at the Battles of Saratoga and Monmouth and during the winter at Valley Forge[12] and married Ann Hume Shippen, daughter of Prof. Dr. William Shippen;[8] Catharine Livingston (who married Freeborn Garrettson);[12][13] John R. Livingston, a merchant[14][15][16] who married Margaret Sheafe and, after her death, Eliza McEvers;[8] Gertrude Livingston (wife of Gov. Morgan Lewis); Joanna Livingston (wife of Peter R. Livingston, acting Lieutenant Governor of New York); Alida Livingston (wife of John Armstrong Jr., a U.S. Senator, U.S. Secretary of War, and U.S. Minister to France); and Edward Livingston, a U.S. Senator and U.S. Secretary of State who married Mary McEvers, the sister of Auguste Davezac.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Aitken, William B., Distinguished Families in America Descended from Wilhelmus Beekman and Jan Thomasse Van Dyke, Knickerbocker Press, New York, 1912, p. 7
  2. ^ a b c Lamb, Martha J. (1896). History of the City of New York: Its Origin, Rise and Progress. Volume 1. A. S. Barnes and Company. p. 301.
  3. ^ Judd, Jacob (1977). Van Cortlandt Family Papers Vol II. Tarrytown: Sleepy Hollow Restorations. pp. xxxviii, liv. ISBN 0-912882-29-8.
  4. ^ Van Cortlandt, Pierre (1721-1814) at The Political Graveyard
  5. ^ Baskas, Robert Scott (2008). Cornelius Melyn 3rd Patroon of Staten Island, New York His Children and Some Descendants. pp. 14–16.
  6. ^ Hough, A.M., M.D., Franklin B. (1858). The New York Civil List: Containing The Names And Origin Of The Civil Divisions, And The Names And Dates Of Election Or Appointment Of The Principal State And County Officers From The Revolution To The Present Time. Albany: Weed, Parsons and Co. Retrieved 19 September 2018.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Murlin, Edgar L. (1908). The New York Red Book. J. B. Lyon Company. pp. 356–365. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d e Livingston, Edwin Brockholst (1910). The Livingstons of Livingston Manor: Being the History of that Branch of the Scottish House of Callendar which Settled in the English Province of New York During the Reign of Charles the Second; and Also Including an Account of Robert Livingston of Albany, "The Nephew," a Settler in the Same Province and His Principal Descendants. Knickerbocker Press. pp. 77, 149, 237, 555. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  9. ^ Bonomi, Patricia U. (2014). A Factious People: Politics and Society in Colonial New York. Cornell University Press. p. 72. ISBN 9780801455346. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  10. ^ "Livingston, Robert (1746-1813) to John R. Livingston". www.gilderlehrman.org. Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  11. ^ Shelton, Hal T. (1996). General Richard Montgomery and the American Revolution: From Redcoat to Rebel. NYU Press. p. 38. ISBN 9780814780398. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  12. ^ a b c "Friends of Clermont Historic Site". friendsofclermont.org. Friends of Clermont Historic Site. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  13. ^ Andrews, Dee E. (2010). The Methodists and Revolutionary America, 1760-1800: The Shaping of an Evangelical Culture. Princeton University Press. p. 302. ISBN 978-1400823598. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  14. ^ Clermont State Historic Site (16 May 2016). "Clermont State Historic Site: Was John R. Livingston a Murderer?". Clermont State Historic Site. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  15. ^ "John R. Livingston (1755-1851)". www.nyhistory.org. New-York Historical Society. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  16. ^ Hess, Stephen (2017). America's Political Dynasties. Routledge. p. 552. ISBN 9781351532150. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  17. ^ Reynolds, Cuyler (1914). Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 1339. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
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