To John Jay from Matthew Clarkson, 23 September 1799
From Matthew Clarkson
New York Septr. 23rd.—1799.
Dear Sir
I have recd. your Letter of the 13th. Inst.1 informing me of a Letter you had recd. from Mr. C. Sands & recommending Mr. Wm. Livingston in strong terms for the Office of Surrogate for Kings County,2 this Letter was inclosed to me by Mr. Livingston & which I forwarded to you, Mr. L. in his Letter to me mentioned the subject & wished me to promote his views in endeavoring to obtain that Office for him, feeling myself delicately situated, in my answer to him I declined interfering on the subject, this was the line of conduct I intended pursuing until I received your Letter.
Your Excellency may recollect that a similar Office was held for a length of time by Mr. Livingston in New Jersey, that his ability is equal to the discharge of its duties there can be no doubt, his conduct in New Jersey you are well acquainted with, I shall therefore only mention to you what has come to my knowledge since his residence in King’s County. during the life time of Mr. John VanderBilt3 I had frequent opportunities of hearing of Mr. L. his information respecting him was always very satisfactory; he felt warmly attached to him and was very much his Friend. I can recollect of but one Instance
which he said came to his knowledge of his being in liquor,— this was under circumstances that made it appear very trivial. Mr. VanderBilt had a good opportunity of knowing Mr. L. who lived in one of his houses near to his own dwelling, & was in the habit of seeing him daily, since his death I have but seldom ^heard^ of him. the information I have recd., with some exceptions as to prudence, has been very generally favorable, I went on purpose to see him some time in July last & was very much pleased with his appearance, it was evident to me, that tho’ he might not have relinquished a vice altogether, to which he was very much adicted while in New Jersey, that he must have done it in a very great degree, Indeed such was the impression his appearance made on me that I mentioned to him our having about one hundred & fifty pounds in reserve, that if he could point out any mode of employing it to advantage I was convinced his Trustees would advance it to him, he declined it, observing that he wished it to remain where it was until something offered in which it might be of service to him— To Judge Hobart and Mr. Watts I communicated the good opinion I entertained of Mr. L & we agreed upon a day on which we would meet to consult his Father’s Will,4 in order, if it could be done with propriety, we might relinquish our Trust, that so unpleasant a circumstance might not interfere with his future views & be a hindrance to any thing that might offer in his favor, previous to our meeting however, and upon further enquiry, I was given to understand, tho Mr. L had mended very much he had not wholly quitted drinking & that money it was thought [illegible] ^might^ be prejudicial to him, upon this we relinquished our intention.—
I do not suppose that Mr. L can be very generally known in King’s County, nor do I believe, if he was, there would be much disposition to promote his views, the Inhabitants are very generally contracted, and are for keeping every thing to themselves. I should hope, & am strongly inclined to believe, if he should obtain this Office that it will have a very sensible effect upon him, that finding he is attended to, he will exert himself to deserve it, that there is a very great [illegible]mation in him I have no doubt & having mended so much it is but reasonable to conclude that when he finds himself of importance in Society & has something to occupy his mind that he will be still more attentive to his conduct— As I know however that you must be delicately circumstanced in this business & as I wish not to promote or advise any thing that may hereafter be deemed improper I would suggest Mrs. Jay’s obtaining information from Mrs. Symms who I am informed visits frequently at his house & where Mrs. Kettletas, the mother of Mrs. B. Livingston resides,5 & if it should appear that his conduct was as correct at home as I have reason to believe it is abroad I think confidence might be placed that the Office would be well disposed
of.— I have formed a very favorable opinion of his Wife & every information confirms me in this opinion.—6 I am Dear Sir with perfect Esteem & Regard Your Excellency’s most obedt. Servt.
M. Clarkson
His Excellency John Jay
ALS, NNC (EJ: 09800). Endorsed: “… abt. W. W. Livingston”.
1. JJ to Clarkson, 13 Sept. 1799, above.
2. Livingston had surrendered his commission as surrogate for Essex County, N.J., in July 1789 after complaints about failure to settle his accounts and complicity in the fraudulent issuance of a certificate. See PWL, 5: 322–23, 326–28, 387, 390.
3. John Vanderbilt (1752–1812) of Flatbush represented Kings County as a state assemblyman from 1784 to 1786 and as a state senator in 1787.
4. Clarkson, John Sloss Hobart, Robert Watts, and Susannah (Susan) Livingston Symmes were trustees of William Livingston Sr.’s estate. William Sr. had omitted his son from inheritance in his will of 30 June 1790, but promised to alter his will upon William Jr.’s proper behavior for a year. He restored a £500 share of the estate for William in a codicil dated 6 July 1790. PWL, 5: 442–45, 445n8 and n12, 448n2.
5. Elizabeth Van Zandt Keteltas, mother of Catherine Keteltas Livingston, wife of Brockholst Livingston. Mrs. Symms is possibly William and SLJ’s sister Susannah (Susan) Livingston Symmes. See , 4: 1n1; PWL, 5: 554.
6. JJ’s nomination of Livingston, a resident of Flatlands, for the position of surrogate of Kings County was approved by the Council of Appointment in January 1800. William retained that poorly remunerated post until 1814 when he was removed by the Council of Appointment in response to public complaints. At that time he was reported to have a large family (seven children) and no property or other profession. After William’s death in 1817, JJ provided some financial assistance to his wife Mary Lennington Livingston in support of John Jay Livingston (1791–1848), a son suffering from fits of insanity.
In 1801, William sought JJ’s support for his publication of William Livingston Sr.’s papers and memoir, but JJ declined to get involved in preparation of the memoir, citing lack of leisure to do so. Proposals for a subscription to Memoirs, or biographical sketches of William Livingston, Esqr., late governor of New Jersey; with a collection of his fugitive pieces in verse and prose, appeared in many newspapers in 1801–2, beginning with the New-York Gazette of 15 July 1801, but the work was not published at that time. The plan was revived by Theodore Sedgwick Jr., who published A memoir of the life of William Livingston. … With extracts from his correspondence, and notices of various members of his family in 1833; PWL, 5: 447–48, 448n5.
See Clarkson to JJ, 21 Oct. 1799, ALS, NNC (EJ: 09801); the enclosed petition of residents of Kings County in support of Livingston’s appointment as surrogate to the council of appointment, 12 Oct. 1799, AD, NNC (EJ: 09858); JJ to Clarkson, 16 Jan. 1800, ALS, NNYSL (EJ: 02864); William Livingston to JJ, 30 Jan. 1800, ALS, NNC (EJ: 08311); 25 June 1801, ALS, NNC (EJ: 12814); and 5 Oct. 1801, with Dft of JJ’s reply of 12 Oct. 1801 on verso, ALS, NNC (EJ: 13081); PAJ to Leffert Lefferts, 28 Mar. 1814, ALS, NNC (EJ: 10012); DftS, NHi; JJ to Ann Jay, 18 Jan. 1818, ALS, NNC (EJ: 05936); and PAJ to JJ, 19 Mar. 1818, ALS, NNC (EJ: 06210).