Old Photograph Appletreehall Scotland

Old photograph of cottages, horses and people in Appletreehall village located two miles North East of Hawick, Scotland. Tour Scottish Borders. This Scottish village is located in the historic county of Roxburghshire. Nearby are Branxholme, Broadhaugh, Roberton, Wilton and Wilton Dean. Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh is a historic county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire to the north west, and Berwickshire to the north. To the south east it borders Cumberland and Northumberland in England.

Robert Livingston the Elder was born on December 13, 1654, in the village of Ancrum, near Jedburgh, in Roxburghshire. He was a New York colonial official, fur trader, and businessman; he was granted a patent to 160,000 acres along the Hudson River, and became the first lord of Livingston Manor. In 1663, his father, John Livingston, was sent into exile due to his resistance to attempts to turn the Presbyterian national church into an Episcopalian institution. The exiled family settled in Rotterdam, in the Dutch Republic, where English merchants also worked. Robert became fluent in the Dutch language, which helped him greatly in his later career in New York and New Jersey, part of the former Dutch colony of New Netherland. Following the death of his father in 1673, Robert Livingston returned to Scotland for a time. He sailed for Boston to find his fortune in North America. Livingston's father was well known in Puritan Boston, and a merchant advanced the young son enough stock and credit to undertake a trading venture to Albany, New York. Livingston arrived in Albany in late 1674. With his business and language skills, in August 1675 he became secretary to Nicholas Van Rensselaer, director of Rensselaerswyck, who died a few years later in 1678. In 1686, he and his brother in law, Pieter Schuyler, persuaded Governor Thomas Dongan to grant Albany a municipal charter like that awarded to New York City a few months earlier. Appointed as clerk of the city and county of Albany, Livingston collected a fee for each legal document registered. With Pieter Schuyler, he led the opposition in Albany to Leisler's Rebellion. He served as Secretary for Indian Affairs from 1695 until his death. In 1679, Livingston married Alida Schuyler, born 1656, died 1727 widow. She was the daughter of Philip Pieterse Schuyler, vice director of Fort Orange, giving Livingston an important connection in the community. Robert Livingston amassed one of the largest fortunes in 17th century New York. They had nine children together: Johannes Livingston, Margaret Livingston, Joanna Philipina Livingston, Philip Livingston, Robert Livingston, owner of the Clermont estate who married Margaret Howarden, Hubertus " Gilbert " Livingston, who married Cornelia Beekman, granddaughter of Wilhelmus Beekman, Mayor of New York[, William Livingston, Joanna Livingston and Catherine Livingston.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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