Old Money Families and Early Landowners
In 1683 land in todays Columbia County was purchased from the Mohegan Indians. Most of the New England states were part of the New Netherlands then. In the late 17th and 18th centuries land patents (grants) were issued to many of the families who's ancestors still held property 200 years later. The Livingstons, Schuyler's, Beekman's were some of the earliest settlers.
See the Land Patent Map

Livingston:
The Livingston family were prominent landowners in the Hudson Valley since 1686.

  • Montgomery Place, Red Hook - Janet Livingston Montgomery, widow of General Montgomery
  • Mills Mansion, Staatsburg - Ruth Livingston Mills inherited her childhood home and property which had once belonged to her great-grandfather, Morgan Lewis, the third governor of New York State.
  • Van Cortland Manor - Philip Van Cortlandt and Joanna, daughter of Gilbert Livingston
  • Wilderstein, built by Thomas Holy Suckley's who was a descendant of the Beekman and Livingston families.
Dr. John Livingston (1608-1672), a Presbyterian minister, who was banished from Scotland in 1663, on account of his nonconformist views, and went to Holland soon after the restoration of Charles II.

His son Robert (1654-1728) accompanied his father when he immigrated to America in 1673.
He moved from the Massachusetts Bay colony, removed to Albany, N.Y., where he was secretary of the commissaries who superintended the affairs of Albany, Schenectady, and the parts adjacent.
He was married in 1683 to Alida, daughter of Philip Pietersen Schuyler, and widow of Nicholas Van Rensselaer. In 1686 he received from Governor Thomas Dougan a grant of land comprising large parts of what was subsequently set off as Dutchess county.

Robert's son John (1680 - 1720) married Mary Winthrop , only child of Fitz-John Winthrop, Governor of Connecticut.
Robert's son Gilbert (1690-1746) moved to Kingston before 1711.
President George Bush is a descendent of Gilbert Livingston.

Gilbert's son Robert Gilbert (1713-1789) was loyal to the British Crown, even though his three sons held commissions in the Continental army.

Thomas Holy Suckley's built. Suckley's fortune had been secured through the family export trade and real estate investments. He was a descendant of the Beekman and Livingston families

Beekman:
The Beekmans were residents of the country of the Rhine and a branch of the family were Barons of Belgium.

The Beekmans were large landowners and their preference was a water view from their home estates, whether it was on the Rhine or on the Hudson or East Rivers of New York when the settled in America. They also settled on the Raritan and Millstone Rivers of New Jersey.

Schuyler:
Pieter Schuyler was born in 1657 in Beverwyck (a fur-trading community north of Fort Orange on the Hudson River, now Albany), New Netherland (The 17th century area settled by Holland - now part of the Mid-Atlantic States of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Connecticut, with small outposts in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island) the son of Philip Pieterse Schuyler and Margarita Van Slichtenhorst.
He was the commander of the British forces during King William's War, at the Battle of La Prairie

Their many Schuyler children established the family name and the Schuyler Mansion in Albany. They were closely related with the great family patroons of New York, the Van Cortlandts and Van Rensselaers:

John Schuyler, Jr., was the third generation of the family in America, when he married Cornelia Van Cortlandt, connecting them with another prominent family.

His son Philip John Schuyler (November 20, 1733 - November 18, 1804) was a general in the American Revolution and a United States Senator from New York.

Mills:
Ogden Mills and his wife Ruth Livingston, who inherited the property in Staatsburg, built the mansion in 1895-96 and furnished in the styles of Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI.

Ogden got his money from his Grandfather, Darius Ogden Mills, who owned the Virginia and Truckee Railroad to supply wood for the Comstock Load (Silver mines) in 1859 in Nevada. Darius founded the Bank of California in 1864. Around 1870 Mills bought José de la Cruz Sánchez's one-tenth of his father's estate Rancho Buri Buri south of San Francisco and renamed in Millbrae. (Brea is a Scottish word, which means "rolling hills.")

Ogden leased part of Darius' estate, "Millbrae" bordering the SF Bay for an airport, Mills Field, now the San Francisco Airport.

Roosevelt:
Franklin's father James, bought the house where Franklin lived in 1867. James was seventh in a line of Roosevelts who were prominent members of New York City society. The Roosevelts had ties to the Hudson River Valley dating back to the 17th century, but it was not until 1818 that Franklin Roosevelt's great grandfather moved to the Hyde Park area.

Vanderbilt:
Frederick William Vanderbilt was the grandson of Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt (1794-1877) and the son of William Henry Vanderbilt -- both the richest men in America in their time.
Cornelius built his wealth in shipping and railroads.
Fredrick bought Hyde Park, as the property was known, in 1895. Links:
LIVINGSTON, Robert [1654-1728] -- American colonial immigrant, government administrator
Land Patent Map

last updated 28 Nov 2010