Sarah Livingston Jay

Sarah Van Brugh Livingston was born on August 2, 1756 to Susannah French Livingston, a wealthy landowner and William Livingston, a well-educated, wealthy, lawyer, and patriot. Her father, William Livingston was one of the signers of the United States Constitution at the 1787 Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a delegate from the State of New Jersey where he then served as its first elected governor. William Livingston was a Dutch American through his mother’s side. His mother was Catherine Van Brugh, the daughter of Albany, New York mayor Pieter Van Brugh. William was also a brother of Philip Livingston, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Since he came from a wealthy family, he benefited from private tutors for his education through the equivalent of our current high school level. He entered Yale University in 1738, and graduated in 1741, when he was only 18 years old. While he was at Yale, he developed a strong interest in art, languages and poetry. Livingston went on to study law, as a clerk under James Alexander and William Smith, both considered to be the best legal minds of that day. Both Alexander and Smith were champions of civil rights, and their influence on Livingston became clear as he grew more mature. In 1748, Livingston was admitted to the bar and opened a law practice in New York City, where he became known as a strong supporter of civil rights, specifically freedom of religion and freedom of the press. In 1747, Livingston married Susannah French, the daughter of a wealthy New Jersey land owner. The couple had a large family, even for that time, consisting of 13 children. In 1772, the Livingston family moved to Elizabethtown [now Elizabeth], New Jersey where they built a large country home to house their growing family. The house known as Liberty Hall still stands there today. Because of her father’s education and strong political background he found it necessary to educate his children...