Background
He was born near Poughkeepsie, New York, United States on May 20, 1746.
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He was born near Poughkeepsie, New York, United States on May 20, 1746.
He graduated from Yale College in 1762 and commenced the study of law but was forced to discontinue his studies after two years because of impaired health and later decided to enter the ministry. After studying at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands from 1766 to 1770 he received the degree of doctor of theology.
After studies he returned to New York as pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church. The Church in the former Dutch colony had for a long time been divided over the question of adherence to the Netherlands and the Dutch language, but within two years after his return Livingston had succeeded in reconciling the two opposing factions.
During the Revolutionary War and the British occupation of New York he returned to the Hudson River country and preached in Kingston, Albany, Lithgow, and Poughkeepsie, N. Y. , resuming his pastorate in New York in 1783. The following year, on the recommendation of the faculty at Utrecht, he was appointed professor of theology by the General Synod, thus establishing one of the first theological seminaries in the United States. In 1810 he was elected professor of theology and president of Queens College (now Rutgers University) in New Brunswick, N. J. , the original charter for which he had been influential in securing in 1766. He continued his theological classes and filled the twofold office of president and professor until his death in New Brunswick, N. J. , on Jan. 20, 1825.
His numerous writings include a Psalm Book (1789), the first hymnbook, in English, and The Constitution of the Reformed Dutch Church in the United States, accepted by the Synod in 1792 and published in 1793.
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Livingston was an ardent organizer of the United Church.
Livingston was zealous in missionary work.
On November 26, 1775, Livingston married his second cousin, Sarah Livingston, a daughter of Philip Livingston and his wife. Their only child was a son, Henry A. Livingston (1776–1849).