Henry Livingston Sr. – Poughkeepsie Enslaver
by Shannon Butler The name of Livingston is well known in the Hudson Valley. One can travel up and down both sides of the river and find residences or evidence of actions of several generations. A few Livingstons decided to make Poughkeepsie their home, most notably Henry Livingston Sr. (seen right). He served his county and state in many different capacities, with his longest role serving as our County Clerk. He was a son of Gilbert and Cornelia (Beekman) Livingston, and the grandson of the first Lord of Livingston Manor, Robert Livingston (there are a lot of Robert Livingstons, but the first Lord of the manor is where it all started, at least in this country.) So when it comes to wealthy members of Poughkeepsie society, Henry Livingston Sr. is one of the first. Henry studied as a land surveyor before he made his way into the position of County Clerk sometime around 1742, though his name does appear on documents as early as 1737 (it was made an official appointment in 1742). He married Susannah Conklin and ended up buying about 60 acres of land from her father, near what is now the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery. Henry also proved himself [...]