Like his older brother Gilbert, John Henry began the study of law under Bartholomew Crannell, but Gilbert's dedication to his studies was so intense that his health broke. It was during this illness that John Henry began to meditate on the state of his soul, his father being a "divine of some eminence," according to a James Fennimore Cooper's biography of Melancthon Taylor Woolsey, the son of John Henry's sister Alida and Melancthon Lloyd Woolsey. John Henry had been named for his father and his great-great grandfather, Rev. John Livingston of Scotland, a famous Presbyterian preacher, whose autobiography was excerpted into John Henry's own many years later.

It was during this period of reflection that John Henry attended the revival meeting of a British evangelist, George Whitefield. The sermon impressed itself so strongly on the young man that he decided that he should change careers and prepare himself for the ministry. Although he didn't know the Dutch language, he decided that the Dutch Reformed Church was the right ministry to follow, one of his hopes being that he could be instrumental in bringing back together the diverging Dutch and American branches of that church. In order to afford the academic preparation, he received funds from his parents that would be eventually taken out of his portion of his inheritance from them.

Upon his return to New York, he took over as minister of a New York City Dutch Reformed Church, and performed the marriage of his sister Cornelia to Myndert Van Kleeck. Six years later, in 1775, the young minister was forced out of New York by the Revolution and the city's invasion by the British. John Henry became a chaplain for the Revolutionary army. 1775 was also the year that he married Sarah Livingston, his second cousin and the daughter of Philip Livingston, the signer of the Declaration of Independence. For a while the couple lived with her parents, but Philip was too prominent a target for safety. The couple moved in with his parents in Poughkeepsie but were forced to flee inland with the rest of the Livingston family, when the British admiral Clinton sailed up the Hudson River and fired on his father's home. Fearing for the security of patriots mentioned in his diary, John Henry burned the book - needlessly, as it turned out.

That quality of throwing himself into whatever he was doing with such passion continued throughout his life. He exhausted himself being pastor and professor of theology. He tried to quit as pastor to gain time for himself, but ended up accepting the positions of theology profession and first President of Rutgers College.

John Henry always stayed close to his family. He was with Henry and Sarah when their first child, Catharine, was born in 1775. In 1810 his sister Cornelia stayed with John Henry's family in her last illness. When Henry received word of his brother's death while still at Rutgers, Henry wrote in the family bible, "Died my brother the Revd. Doctor John H. Livingston at his house in the city of Brunswick in the state of New Jersey on the morning of Thursday the 20th of January 1825, without a pang or previous indisposition. The day preceding his decease he lectured the pupils of the Theological Seminary of which he was president, and evinced the full possession of his mental faculties. His age 78 years 7 months and 21 days."

Henry survived his brother by only three years.

Mar 2 '72

"Gilbert Livingston fetch'd away 7 load of hay out of John's meadow- One fag let me have for wintering his bull"

May 28 '72

"With Brother John I set off for New York, where I staid abt. a fortnight, & came up again with Hannah and Sally Hansen on board Hardenberg from Rhinebeck. Came home the 12th of June"

Jun 14 '76

"John Livingston Dr to 5 sh I let his negro have to bear his expenses to NYork am paid"

Nov 8 '82

"Brother John to 28 lbs honey at 9 Last summer my wife made for him."

After leaving college he began the study of law under the well-known counselor and advocate, Bartholomew Crannel, Esquire, of Poughkeepsie. He pursued this work with such assiduity that he undermined his health and had to give up all thought of studying for some time. After months of rest, however, his health improved, and his former vigor was restored. He had during his period of ill health taken time for serious reflection. He decided to leave the law for the ministry, to which he now felt a distinct call. Advised by a good friend, the Reverend Dr. Laidlie of New York, to prepare for this vocation by crossing the ocean for further study, John Henry Livingston went to one of the universities of Holland. At that time the Dutch Reformed Church in this country was laboring under certain grievances, which he thought his residence in Holland might help to remove. he sailed for Amsterdam in 1766 and attracted by the reputation of Professor G. Bonnet, one of the most eminent divines and scholars then on the Continent, he took up the study of theology at the University of utrecht, where he spent four years. On June 5, 1769, he appeared before the Classis of Amsterdam to be examined for licensure, and his success in this made him a regular candidate, or proponent, for the ministry.

He was then invited to become the pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church in New York City. With the degree of D.D. from Utrecht, and ordained by the Classis of Amsterdam, he returned via England to New York and began his labors as a young divine. He applied himself almost at once to help effect a reconciliation between the famous Coetus and Conferentie parties which unhappily divided the church; in two years he had the satisfaction of finding harmony restored. In 1775 Dr. Livingston's ministry at the Dutch Reformed Church of New York was disrupted by the Revolution and hte invasion of New York City by the British. After his marriage at Kingston, Dr. Livingston remained with his father-in-law at that place for some time, visiting in New York, whenever practicable, what was left of his flock. Invited by the Consistory of the Dutch Church in Albany to minister to their spiritual needs, he moved there with his family and supplied the pulpit for nearly three years in conjunction with the Reverend Dr. Westerlo.

Mrs. Livingston's health did not thrive in the climate of Albany, and hoping to procure more beneficial conditions for her, he took up his abode in the summer of 1779 at Livingston Manor, preaching regularly in the village of Linlithgow where he lived, and extending his labors into the surrounding congregations whenever the call came, preaching both in the Dutch and in the English tongue. In April 1780, he refused a call to become associate pastor in his former church at Albany. After eighteen months residence at the Manor, he moved to his father's residence in Poughkeepsie, serving there the congregation which lacked a pastor. In this work he persevered until New York being evacuated in 1783, when he returned to his old charge in that city. He was the only one of the four ministers connected with the church at the beginning of the war who was permitted to resume his labors.

Previous to the disorganization of the churches in New York City because of the war, Dr. Livingston's name had been recommended by the Classis of Amsterdam as the best possible person to be appointed professor of theology in New York. Peace again permitting organization, the convention of ministers and elders that met in October, 1784, chose Dr. Livingston unanimously as professor of theology, and he was inducted into office May 17, 1785, on which occasion he delivered an elaborate and elegant Latin oration on "The Truth of the Christian Religion."

For nearly three years he alone performed the pastoral duties of the church which had been served by four ministers. He was obliged to seek rest in the country for a time, but the following winter he again resumed his labors, somewhat lightened by the help of a collegue. In 1787 Dr. Livingston was chairman of a committee to select psalms for the church in public worship. He was also a valuable member of a committee to form the church constitution.

For a time the synod made it possible for Dr. Livingston to devote a larger part of his time to his duties as professor. He moved to Bedford, a small village about two miles from Brooklyn, New York, and opened his Divinity Hall, at considerable pecuniary sacrifice. The plans fo the synod changing, he again took up his work in the city. When Dr. Livingston's associate was obliged, in 1805, to resign because of ill health, the duties that devolved upon Dr. Livingston taxed his strength overmuch, and he was finally transferred to New Brunswick, New Jersey, to fill the double office of theological professor and president of Rugers College, and here he continued his scholarly and effectivie activities to the end of his days. He prepared for the ministry more than one hundred and twenty young men, and his death occurred while in the midst of his duties.

p.16
writer thinks that Rev. John Livingston descended from Lord Livingston, his great great grandfather, afterwards Earl of Linlithgow. This nobleman, as history states, had, with Lord Erskine in 1547, the care of Mary, Queen of Scots, in the Castle of Dumbarton, where, at the invasin of Scotland by the Duke of Somerset, she was placed for safe keeping, and whence, not long after, she was conveyed to France, and delivered to her uncles, the princes of Lorrain.

...
The great, great grandfather of the venerable subject of this Memoir, and the common ancestor of the Livingston family in this country, was the eminently pious and celebrated minister of the gospel, Mr. John Livingston, of Scotland.

...
He was born in Monyabroch, in Stirlingshire, June 21, 1603. "I observed," he says, in a narrative of his life, written by himself, "the Lord's great goodness, that I was born of such parents, who taught me somewhat of God, so soon as I was capable to understand any thing: -- I had great cares about my salvation, when I was but yet very young: I had the advantage of the acquaintance and example of many gracious Christians, who used to resort to my father's house, especially at communion occasions. -- I do not remember the time or means particularly, whereby the Lord at first wrought upon my heart. When I was but very young, I would sometimes pray with some feeling, and read the word with delight; but thereafter did often intermit any such exercise; -- I would have some challenges and begin, and again intermit. I remember the first time that ever I communicated at the Lord's table was in Stirling, when I was at school, where sitting at the table, and Mr. Patrick Simpson exhorting before the distribution, there came such a trembling upon me that all my body shook, yet thereafter the fear and trembling departed, and I got some comfort and assurance. I had no inclination to the ministry, till a year or more after I had passed my course in the college; and that, upon this occasion, I had a bent desire to give myself to the knowledge and practice of medicine, and was very earnest to go to France, for that purpose, and propounded it to my father, that I might obtain his consent, but he refused the same. Also, about the same time, my father having before purchased some land in the parish of Monyabroch, the rights whereof were taken in my name, and that land by ill neighbours being in a manner laid waste, and Sir William Livingston of Kilsyth, one of the lords of session, being very desirous to buy that land, that he might build a burgh of barony upon it at Burnside, my father propounded that I should go and dwell on that land and marry: but finding that course would divert me from all study of learning, I refused that offer, and rather agreed to the selling of it, although I was not yet major to ratify the sale. Now, being in these straits, I resolved that I would spend a day alone before God, and knowing of a secret cave on the south side of Mouse water, a little above the house of Jervis wood, over against Cleghorn wood, I went thither, and after many to's and fro's, and much confusion, and fear about the state of my soul, I thought it was made out unto me, that I behooved to preach Christ Jesus, which if I did not, I should have no assurance of salvation. Upon this, I laid aside all thoughts of France, and medicine, and land, and betook me to the study of Divinity."*

He preached his first sermon January 2, 1625, when about the age of twenty-two. The succeeding five years were spent partly in the diligent pursuit of his theological studies at home, in his father's house, and partly, in visiting different places, preaching occasionally, and cultivating an acquaintance with some of the most eminent ministers and professors of the Church of Scotland. In the court of this period, he received a number of calls from vacant congregations; but the opposition of those in power, and other difficulties that occurred, prevented his assuming the pastoral office.

June, 1630, Mr. Livingston was present at the celebration of the Lord's Supper in a certain place. Being yet merely a licentiate, he, of course, took no part in its appropriate services; but the next day, the congregation still remaining, and expressing a desire for some additional service, he was prevailed upon to preach.

The occasion was one of more than ordinary interest and solemnity; the circumstances under which he was constrained to preach were somewhat remarkable; and the happy fruits of the spirit which accompanied and followed the sermon were truly astonishing. Rarely, perhaps, has any single sermon been attended with such memorable and glorious results, since the days of the apostles.

A respectable writer gives the following account of the occasion and the sermon.*

"As the kirk of Shotts lies on the road from the west to Edinburgh, and is at a good distance from any convenient place of entertainment, some ladies of rank, who had occasion to pass that way, met at different times, with civilities, from the minister** at his house, which was then situate where the public inn is now. Particularly once, when through some misfortune befalling their coach or chariot, they were obliged to pass a night in the minister's house; they observed, that besides its incommodious situation, it much needed to be repaired. They, therefore, used their interest to get a more convenient house built for the minister in another place."

"After receiving so substantial favours, the minister waited on the ladies, and expressed his desire to know if any thing was in his power, that might testify his gratitude to them. They answered it would be very obliging to them, if he would invite, to assist at his communion, certain ministers whom they named, who were eminently instrumental in promoting practical religion. The report of this spreading far and near, multitudes of persons or different ranks attended there, so that for several days before the sacrament there was much time spent in social prayer."

"It was not usual, it seems, in those times, to have any sermon on the Monday after dispensing the Lord's Supper. But God had given so mch of his gracious presence, and afforded his people so much communion with himself, on the foregoing days of that solemnity, that they knew not how to part without thanksgiving and praise. There had been, as was said before, a vast confluence of choice Christians, with several eminent ministers, from almost all the corners of the land, that had been many of them there together, for several days before the sacrament, hearing sermon, and joining together in larger or lesser companies, in prayer, praise, and spiritual conferences. While their hearts were warm with the love of God, some expressing their desire of a sermon on the Monday were joined by others, and in a little the desire became very general.

"Mr. John Livingston, chaplain to the countess of Wigtown, (at that time, only a preacher, not an ordained minister, and about twenty-seven years of age,) was, with very much ado, prevailed on to think of giving the seermon. He had spent the night before in prayer and conference; but when he was alone in the fields, about eight or nine in the morning, there came such a misgiving of heart upon him, under a sense of unworthiness and unfitness to speak before so many aged and worthy ministers, and so many eminent and experienced Christians, that he was thinking to have stolen quite away, and was actually gone away to some distance; but when just about to lose sight of the kirk of Shotts, these words: Was I ever a barren wilderness, or a land of darkness, were brought into his heart with such an overcoming power, as constrained him to think it his duty to return and comply with the call to preach; which he accordingly did with good assistance, for about an hour and a half, on the point he had meditated from that text -- Ezek. xxxvi. 25, 26. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh."

"As he was about to close, a heavy shower coming suddenly on, which made the people hastily take to their cloaks and mantles, he began to speak to the following purpose -- "If a few drops of rain from the clouds so discomposed them, how discomposed would they be, how full of horror and despair, if God should deal with them as they deserved; and thus he will deal with all the finally impenitent. That God might justly rain fire and brimstone upon them, as upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and the other cities of the plain; that the Son of God, by tabernacling in our nature, and obeying and suffering in it, is the only refuge and covert from the storm of divine wrath due to us for sin; -- that his merits and mediation are the alone skreen from that storm, and none but penitent believers shall have the benefit of that shelter." In these, or some expressions to this purpose, and many others, he was led on about an hour's time (after he had done with what he had premeditated) in a strain of exhortation and warning, with great enlargement and melting of heart."

The same historian goes on to state some facts, showing the powerful and permanent effects of this sermon upon many of the hearers: but instead of extending the quotation, it will not be amiss to present a brief extract from the work of another, in confirmation of the above account, especially as it contains a more general view of the effects produced.

Mr. Fleming, an author of unquestioned veracity, in his work upon the fulfilling of the Scriptures says -- "I must also mention that solemn communion at the kirk of Shotts, June 20, 1630, at which time there was so convincing an appearance of God, and down-pouring of the spirit, even in an extraordinary way, that did follow the ordinances, especially that sermon on Monday, June 21, with a strange unusual motion on the hearers, who in a great multitude were there convened, of divers ranks, that it was known, which I can speak on sure ground, near five hundred had at that time, a discernible change wrought on them, of whom most proved lively Christians afterwards. It was the sowing of a seed through Clyddisdale, so as many of the most eminent Christians in that country could date either their conversion, or some remarkable confirmation in their case, from that day; and truly this was the more remarkable, that one after much reluctance, by a special and unexpected providence, was called to preach that sermon on the Monday, which then was not usually practiced; and that night before, so that the Monday's work might be discerned, as a convincing return of prayer."

Mr. Livingston says himself, in reference to this memorable occasion. "The only day in all my life wherein I found most of the presence of God in preaching, was on a Monday after the communion, preaching in the church yard of Shotts, June 21. 1630. The night before I had been in company with some Christians, who spent the night in prayer and conference. When I was alone in the fields, about eight or nine o'clock in the morning, before we were to go to sermon, there came such a misgiving of spirit upon me, considering my unworthiness and weakness, and the multitude and expectation of the people, that I was consulting with myself to have stole away somewhere, and declined that day's preaching, but that I thought I durst not so far distrust God; and so went to sermon, and got good assistance, about one hour and a half, upon the points which I had meditated on, Ezek, xxxvi. 25, 26. -- And in the end, offering to close with some words of exhortation, I was led on about an hour's time, in a strain of exhortation and warning, with such liberty and melting of heart, as I never had the like in public all my life time. Some little of that stamp remained on the Thursday after, when I preached in Kilmarnock, but the very Monday followin, preaching in Irvine, I was so deserted, that the points I had meditated and written, and which I had fully in my memory, I was not, for my heart, able to get them pronounced: so it pleased the Lord to counterbalance his dealings, and to hide pride from man. This so discouraged me, that I was resolved for some time not to preach, at least, not in Irvine; but Mr. David Dickson would not suffer me to go from thence, till I preached the next Sabbath, to get (as he expressed it) amends of the devil. -- I stayed and preached with some tolerable freedom."

Shortly after that signal blessing upon his labours, this eminent servant of Christ, received and accepted a unanimous call from the church of Killinchie, in Ireland, where he was made, in some degree, useful to an ignorant but tractable people. And about this time, a similar extraordinary manifestation of divine power attended his preaching upon another Monday after communion, at Holy-wood, upon which occasion, it is said, that a much greater number were converted. Under these two famous sermons indeed, it was calculated, that the good work of the Spirit was either begun or revived in the hearts of no less than fifteen hundred persons. But he now became an object of bitter persecution; was proceeded against for non-conformity; and deposed. The effect of this arbitrary and cruel measure was, to induce him and a number of his friends, to think seriously of emigrating to New England. A vessel was built for the purpose; and they actually set sail for America: but encountering from the moment of their departure, violent adverse winds, and being driven back at last, after a lapse of nearly two months, to the port whence they had loosed, the design was altogether abandoned. In 1638, he settled in a place called Stranrawer, in Scotland; and for ten years he exercised his ministry here with great comfort, and some measure of success. He had not been long in this place, before some of his parisioners expressed a wish to be present at his morning family exercises. To gratify them, as his house could not conveniently accomodate all who might desire to attend, he assembled them every morning, in the Church, by the ringing of the bell, and spent about half an hour with them in singing, expounding the word of God, and prayers.

While he retained this interesting charge, he was several times sent by the General Assembly of the church of Scotland to visit some vacant parishes in the North of Ireland. Each missionary tour occupied three months; and, "for the most part of all these three months," he says, "I preached every day once, and twice on the Sabbath: the destitute parishes were many: the hunger of the people was very great; and the Lord was pleased to furnish otherwise than usually I was wont to get at home. I came ordinarily the night before to the place where I was to preach, and commonly lodged in some religious person's house, where wer were often well refreshed at family exercise: usually I desired no more before I went to bed, but to make sure the place of Scripture I was to preach on the next day. And rising in the morning, I had four or five hours myself alone, either in a chamber or in the fields; after that we went to church and then dined, and then rode some five or six miles more or less to another parish."

From Stranrawer he removed in 1648, to Ancrum, in Tiviotdale. With the people of this place, he continued, a number of years, beloved and useful; but that intolerant spirit of the time, which could brook no mode of worship -- no ministerial services, not conformed to prelatical rule, at length, procured his banishment, with that of several other eminent ministers, from the kingdom of Great Britain.

In April 1663, he fled to Holland, and settled in Rotterdam. His wife and two of the children followed him toward the close of the year, but five children remained in Scotland.

Having now considerable leisure, though he preached frequently to the Scots' congregation in this city, he diligently cultivated the study of the Hebrew language, and attempted to prepare for publication, a volume containing the original text of the Bible, in one column, and the several vulgar translations in another. The design was approved by Voetius, Essenius, Nethenus, and Leusden: and having spent much time in comparing Panin's version with the original text, and with other later translations -- such as Munster's, Junius,' Diodati's, the English, but especially the Dutch, the latest, and esteemed the most accurate translation, he sent his manuscripts to Dr. Leusden, in complaince with a request of that learned professor, expecting they would be printed and published in Utrecht. It is not known what became of the work; -- but shortly after it was put out of his hands, he rested from hi slabours on earth, and entered into the joy of his Lord. He died August 9th, 1672, aged 69 years, having resided in Rotterdam a little over nine years.

p.35
Gilbert had five sons and two daughters. Henry, his first son, was the father of John H; -- and of Henry, it may be said, that he was an amiable, dignified, and excellent man. Blessed by nature, with a strong mind -- liberally educated -- elegant of manners -- irreproachable in morals, he enjoyed, through a long life, the esteem and confidence of the community. He was for a considerable period a member of the colonial legislature of New York; and he was, by Letters patent, proprietor of the office of Clerk of the county in which he resided. This office he retained after the revolutionary war until his death. When the arduous struggle for Independence commenced, he espoused with some zeal a cause dear to every genuine American, and, throughout the contest, was a decided friend to his country.

He was born September 8th, 1714, and died February 10th, 1799, at his paternal estate, which is situate in Dutchess county, near Poughkeepsie, on the banks of the Hudson, and which is now in the possession of his grandson, Col. H.A. Livingston, having belonged to the family for more than a century.

He was the son of Henry Livingston, and S. Conklin his wife, and born at Poughkeepsie, in Duchess county, in this State, on the 30th of

p.51
The reader will no doubt be gratified to see his own account of a work, which resulted in a cordial submission to Christ as the Lord, his Redeemer.

"A Book," he says, "of Bunyan, I think it was -- Grace abounding to the chief of sinners, first excited sharp and irresistible alarms in my soul, but I obtained no particular instruction nor received any other advantage from that book. In my father's library, among other religious books, I found Dodedridge's Rise and Progress, &c. This gave me more enlarged and correct views of religion than I ever had before."

...
p.52
"Convictions of sin, of guilt, and misery, became clear and pungent; and some confused idea of redemption through a Saviour, and the possibility of pardon, and the restoration of my depraved nature, engaged my thoughts and prayers, without intermission. For several months, I could do nothing but read and meditate, plead at a throne of grace, and weep over my wretched and lost estate."

[A sixth trip of George Whitefield was made to America from 1763 to 1765.] ...
p.62
"The first alarm, respecting a change in my comfortable frames, was occasioned by a sermon I one morning heard the celebrated Whitefield preach. His test was Ps. xl. 1, 2, 3. -- In the introduction he said, he had intended to preach upon another subject, but thsi passage was impressed with such power upon his mind, that he was constrained to take it; and I believe, said he, there is one now present for whom God designs this to be a word in season. The young convert, rejoicing in hope, and in a lively frame, expects he will always proceed, with swelling sails, before a propitious gale of consolations: but remember, said the great preacher, (and I thought he pointedly and solemnly addressed me) that at some period of your life you will come into a situation and exercises, which you will denominate with David, a horrible pit and miry clay; there you will remain until your patience is severely tried. Yet be of good courage: the Lord will bring you out with triumphant songs of deliverance. He will set your feet upon a rock, and establish your goings. Your restoration will be equal to your first joys. Be of good cheer. Look until Jesus. The victory is sure. From that hour, I considered this word intended for me, and expected its accomplishment. I knew not what it fully comprehended, but I understood it in part, and was persuaded that I should know the whole. And in the progress of my spiritual warfare, I have experienced it, although I still wait for its highest fulfilment.

...
p.108
The English language ought, in reality, to have been introduced into the Dutch church fifty years* sooner than it was; and would have been introduced, if the future prosperity of the church had been properly consulted.

*Dr. Livingston thought it should have been introduced an hundred years before. Mr. P.V.B. Livingston, a respectable relative of his, in a letter dated Feb. 1769, writing on the subject says "Had this been done in this city, thirty years ago, the Dutch congregation would have been much more numerous than it is now. The greatest part of the Episcopal Church consists of accessions they have made from the Dutch Church." He adds, -- that though the Dutch was his mother tongue -- the first language he had been taught, and was still spoken by him with ease -- he could not understand a Dutch sermon half as well as he could an English one, and that as for his children -- "there was not one that understood a sentence in Dutch."

...
Chapter IV.
Circumstances Relating to his Theological Studies, and to the Church of New-York.
p.110
The state of the Dutch Church in America, at the time when Mr. Livingston thought of entering upon the study of Divinity (exhibited in the last chapter), was not such, it must be confessed, as was likely to excite in him the least inclination to become one of her ministers. The great schism that existed, the hatred and turmoil so prevalent in consequence, the difficulty of obtaining ordination, his ignorance of the languae then used in divine service in every part of the Church, excepting only a single congregation -- for, owing to the education he had received, he was not at all familiar with it, -- these were discouragements which, it is natural to imaginine, would have determined him, without hesitation, to join some other denomination of Christians. -- But he did hesitate, notwithstanding: and he decided, eventually, to continue in the Church.

...
p.112
"When the main question respecting my engagement in the ministry was decided, another of no small magnitude arose, upon which it was necessary, with caution and good conscience, to determine. This was, to what denomination of Christians duty prompted an attachment, or in which Church I ought to minister. The Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Dutch, were the only three among which a selection was to be made. In regard to the Episcopalians, I considered them as very respectable, and supposed their doctrines, as expressed in their articles of faith and liturgy, to be sound and excellent; but I was under the impression that those doctrines were not dordially maintained, certainly not generally preached by the ministers of that Church, and that I could not, therefore, hold a cheerful communion with them. Besides, their ceremonies, repetitions, and what I thought to be an unmeaning and improper parade in worship, lessenede my admiration for them: while their popish bigotry in favour of a monarchical government of their Church, with their frivolous affectation of superiority above other denominations, to whom, in many respects, they were vastly inferior, exceedingly disgusted me. To their own master I left them, but I did not wish to join them.

"In the Presbyterian Church, I had been often instructed and edified. Their doctrines were pure, and their preaching was evangelical and practical. Their mode of worship appeared to be consistent with the spirtuality, simplicity, and dignity of the New Testament Dispensation: and their form of government was founded upon that principle of equality which the Lord Jesus established among the ministers of his Church. I could have joined the Presbyterian Church with great freedom, and would have done so, had not motives occured which induced me to prefer the Dutch Church. My parents were members, in full communion, of the Reformed Dutch Church; I was baptized in that Church, and thus a member of it, although not yet in full communion; and, in my estimation, the doctrines, worship, and government of the Church, were pure and evangelical. This decided the inquiry, and convinced me, that as I already belonged to a Church, which was equal in its purity to any in the world, it was my duty to remain in it, and consecrate my future service in that connexion and denomination."

"There was another motive, which impreceptibly yet powerfully inclined me to this determination. An unhappy schism and controversy had, for several years, subsisted in the Dutch Churches in America, which, unless soon suppressed, threatened the annihilation of that whole denomination. The precise grounds of the dispute, or the best means for reconciling the contending parties, I had not then completely surveyed. THe existing facts, however, were notorious and afflictative; and I understood enough to convince me of the inevitable ruin which was impending, and must soon be experienced, if those dissensions were not healed. For the restoration of peace and prosperity in this distinguished portion of the Lord's vineyard, I felt an ardent desire; and it was powerfully impressed upon my mind, that God would render me, however unworthy and unfit for that arduous work, an instrument in his hand to compromise and heal these dissensions, and raise the reputation, and establish the dignity and usefulness of the Dutch Church in America. In what way these great objects were to be effected, or how the Lord would prepare, and afterwards employ me, for that purpose, I did not know, nor did this excite any diffidence or uneasiness. The point was settled in my mind, and I was fully persuaded it would be accomplished. This removed all further hesitation, and fixed my determination to abide in my own Church. The posterior dealings of Divine Providence, and the gracious fulfilment of my expectations, have afforded me abundant evidence that my choice has been crowned with the divine approbation.

...
p. 116
Mr. Livingston having now (in the spring of 1765,) in a good measure, recovered his health, occupied much of his time in reading historical, poetical, and other works, calculated to improve him in general and polite literature. Among the authors that engaged his attention was the celebrated Shakspeare; but he had no relish for dramatic writing, or theatrical performances.

...
"I was early convinced," he says, "that the Theatre, whatever modifications it might promise, and how innocent soever it might prove to some, who, burdened with business, seek a relaxation at the playhouse, was, in fact, in its very scope and natural influence, the nursery of vice, and ruinous to youth: that it produced dangerous temptations; dissipated the mind from serious exercises; and, in its whole apparatus of show, drapery, noise, and insinuating scenes, was inimical to that rigid virtue, that strict industry, and those sober and prudent sentiments and habits, which every youth ought to study and maintain. I was confident that the frequent, and vain, and wicked invocation of the Divine name; the irreligious, indelicate and even obscene insinuations; the avowed provocativesw to unsanctified passions; and, at best, the vulgar and foolish subjects with which the Drama, especially the Comic, abounds, render it unworthy the approbation of a well-informed, and especially of a pious mind, and wholly improper to be honoured with the presence and countenance of a real Christian...."

...
p.120
he had his first interview with the excellent Laidlie, which took place some time in the following summer, and proved the commencement of a cordial, unreserved, and lasting intimacy between them. At this interview, it is presumed, he disclosed his purpose to consecrate himself to the ministry of reconciliation.

...
p.121
In July, he took the degree of master of arts; and the succeeding winter, he spent in the city of New-York. The society of Dr. Laidlie, and other pious friends which he daily enjoyed; the religious meetings he frequented; the accurate and extensive knowledge he acquired of the affairs of the church during this season, rendered it both a pleasant and useful winter to him, and the sojourn was highly necessary in reference to the important object in contemplation.

Finding, in the spring, his health considerably improved, and his father having cheerfully consented to his receiving a foreign education for the ministry, as also to defray all the charges which might attend it,* he resolved to cross the Atlantic, and prepared accordingly.

******************
* This is particularly mentioned, because it has been said that he was aided in the prosecution of his theological studies by the Church of New-York. Alluding to the gratuitous assertion, he remarks, -- "Whether the Dutch Church of New-York refunded what I had paid for my passage in the packet from England to America, when I came over upon their call, as is usual in such cases, I do not now distinctly recollect. If they did, it is, certainly, all that they or any others ever paid, for any expenses while I was abroad." As his father was abundantly able, and perfectly willing to discharge all expenses, there was no need of any assistance.
******************

On the twelfth of May, 1766, every suitable preparation being made, he bid adieu to relatives and friends, and set sail for Amsterdam. He was now within a few weeks of the twentieth year of his age; and his youth, his delicate health, the object which he had in view in venturing upon the voyage, and other circumstances, imparted to the event, in the eyes of many, a peculiar and touching interest. Some of the New-York congregation already cherished the hope that he would, at a proper time, return to labour among them in holy things. The intercourse of a few mohnths had given them a favourable opinion of his piety and talents, and he departed with their fervent prayers to Heaven in his behalf.

...
arrived back in NY 3 Sep 1770, the morning of the Sabbath, having defended his thesis in Latin and earned his doctorate. The following Sabbath he preached in the Middle Church, in Nassau-street.

...
June 11, 1771 letter to Dr. Laidlie while visiting at Poughkeepsie
p.220
"A kind providence to my whole family gives me fresh opportunity to rejoice in the goodness of the Lord. Last Sunday, A.M. I preached here, and was much assisted to speak of Jesus and salvation through his merits. I thought much of our Church in New-York the whole day, (as indeed every day that is much on my heart,) and especially sympathized with my dear Laidlie; my prayers were for you, that God would support and bless you. The country air, the new amusements, and caresses of near relations, have refreshed both soul and body. I feel cheerful and hearty, and am convinced that it is necessary sedantary persons should now and then take tours of this kind. When I was walking among the trees, and ascend a hill, or gain from any little eminence a fine extended prospect, I draw in the wholesome air, and am apt to say -- 'Man was made to live in the country, to trace the footsteps of his Maker's power and wisdom in the vegetable world.' Nothing certainly but the pleasures and superior advantages of society, can compensate for the loss of those pleasures which the country affords superior to the town. The more I am refreshed in my present situation, the more I wish to have you with me, a partaker in these rural delights. This, however, I know to be impossible; but shall insist, on my return, that you take the same tour, as soon as your family and circumstances will permit your leaving home, whilst your health and cheerfulness add to my own."

...
p.249
[marriage to Sarah Livingston, dau of Philip] This event proved to the Doctor one of the happiest in his life. Indeed, he could scarcely have formed, in all respects, a more felicitous connexion, for she was a lady of good sense, of a mild and affectionate disposition, of great prudence, of sincere and ardent piety; and he thus became allied to other families among the most respectable in the colony.

...
p.252
While the Docor was staying at Kingston, he preached once every Sabbath, if in the place, in the Dutch language; but, as the congreggation there was furnished with a pastor (the Rev. Mr. Doll,) when he found that he would be probably for some time, excluded from New-York, he became anxious for another situation, where his ministrations might be more needed, or would promise more usefulness; and about the time that his intercourse with the city ceased, it pleased the Lord to provide him just such an one as he had desired.

In the autumn of 1776, the Consistory of the Dutch Church in Albany, invited him to spend the period of his exile, or as much of it as suited his convenience, in labours among them. This invitation he promptly accepted, and with Mrs. Livingston and his infant son (Col. H.A. Livingston, of Poughkeepsie), went there in the month of November.

Whether anterior to this removal, public worship in that Church had been regularly, or at all performed, in English, is not known, but it was understood that during his residence in the place, he would be expected to preach in this language, whilst the esteemed pastor would take the Dutch service, and for nearly three years he laboured zealously, in conjunction with the pious and excellent Westerlo, to build up the Church in faith and godliness.

After he had been here about a year, he made a visit with his little family to his father at Poughkeepsie, which, for a short season, was attended with imminent danger, and led to the loss of his journal, containing a number of anecdotes, and relating his religious experience from the day of his embarkation for Holland. It was in the month of October, 1777, when Gen. Vaughan, with a small fleet, sailed up the Hudson, and burnt Kingston. The enemy, as they passed the residence of his father, which stood upon the margin of the river, fired into it, and in the perturbation and alarm of the moment, produced by this wanton attack, while making some hasty preparations to leave the house, he burnt that manuscript, which he happened to have with him, under the apprehension that, if it were not destroyed, might fall into improper hands. The loss was a serious one: it was to him an invaluable treasure; and had it been preserved, much interesting and important matter could, no doubt, have been derived from it to enrich these pages. The whole family, upon the above threatening occurrence, fled to Sharon, Conn. and remained there some weeks.

...
p.256
The Church in which the Doctor now regularly preached, was in the village of Lithgow, where he lived, and near the Manor-house... During his stay with this people, which lasted about eighteen months, he preached two sermonts every Sabbath, one in English and the other in Dutch, -- and he had reason to hope that his strength had not been spent for nought.

The following two years were passed at Poughkeepsie. The Church in this town, which now was without a settled minister, desired his services; and he being rather inconveniently situated in some respects, at the Manor, consented to take the pastoral oversight of it; -- and, accordingly, removed for the purpose in 1781, to his father's mansion, where he remained until the close of the war.

...
p.257
The following extract of a letter to the Rev. Dr. Westerlo, dated 22d October, 1783, will show the interest and mature deliberation with which he revolved the important subject, and also the origin of a plan which was ultimately adopted, but not till towards the close of his life.

"The revolution in our political interests has made a change in the general face of our American world, and as it has removed some difficulties which were taken into consideration in our former plan, so it has introduced others which deserve a very weighty and impartial discussion. The common enemy to our religious liberties is now removed; and we have nothing to fear from the pride and domination of the Episcopal Hierarchy."

...
p.412
to his friend, Mr. Kip
"New-Brunswick, Dec. 30, 1814.

"My dear Friend,

"It is done. The conflict is over. She has obtained the victory, and is entered into rest. ON Sunday morning, Mrs. Livingston was seized with a pain in her head, which increased, and soon became very violent. She laid down, and was much indisposed, but no symptoms that produced any alarm, appeared before Tuesday, when her strength appeared to be wholly prostrated, and she sunk into a deep sleep, with intermediate agitations and struggles, without however being aroused from her lethargy. In the evening of Wednesday, it was evident her departure was at hand, and, without another struggle or groan, she gradually and gently fell asleep in the arms of her Redeemer. She left us a little after twelve that night. -- Before she was taken ill, she frequently expressed an ardent desire to be with Christ, and almost envied those who were called home, of which there were three instances in this place, in the course of this very week. Her Lord has given her the desire of her soul, and has received her spirit."

"This day her dear remains are to be deposited in the silent grave. -- I do not love my blessed Jesus any thing less for afflicting me. He is now very precious to me. All my springs are in Him. He stands by me, and strengthens me. It is the Lord. He hath taken away, blessed be his name, notwithstanding. -- It is the heaviest stroke I have ever received; but it is well. -- In the Lord I have righteousness and strength."

"I can only drop a hasty line. I know your loving heart will sympathize with me, and my afflicted children: pray for me and them. Her sickness being only four days, prevented my sending in time for my dear son."

"It will be proper, for the information of distant friends and relations, to insert the event in the papers. -- You will please to let them announce that --

Died on Thursday the 29th inst. at New-Brunswick, N.J., Mrs. Sarah Livingston, wife of Rev. Dr. Livingston, in the 63d year of her age. Them which sleep in Jesus will bring God with him. -- I can now only bless you and yours, and am
"Your afflicted and faithful friend,
"J.H. LIVINGSTON."

...p.416
The following is a copy of the inscription which the Doctor wrote, and had put upon the tomb-stone that covers his wife's grave: --

To commerorate
Departed Excellence,
This Stone is erected
in Memory of
SARAH LIVINGSTONH,
by her Husband,
John H. Livingston, D.D.
She was
Born in New-York, Dec. 7, 1752,
and
Fell asleep in New-Brunswick, Dec. 29, 1814.

A perservering life of Faith,
of Meekness, and Piety,
rendered her
A blessing to her Family,
and endeared her
to all who could estimate
what is valuable
in the Christian,
the Wife, the Mother,
and the Friend.

To die is gain.

Second Side-- Them which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.

Third Side--

Farewell, blest Saint, a short farewell,
Until we meet in realms above,
Where joys immortal ever dwell,
And faith and hope are lost in love.