he took up the study of German and spoke it fluently. "The patriarch of Clermont was in many ways the spoiled younger son of the self-made man. A failure in the law, in business, and in the eyes of his own parents, he nonetheless entered his final years with the satisfaction that he had not only maintained the estate passed on to him by his father, but had increased it 40-fold through his speculation in Catskill Mountain lands." References See also Livingston family 1688 births 1775 deaths American people of Dutch descent American people of Scottish descent Robert (1688-1775) Members of the New York Provincial Assembly Speakers of the New York General Assembly Members of the New York General Assembly People of the Province of New York Schuyler family