Perhaps the excitement of a political campaign, in which my mother took the deepest interest, may have had an influence on my prenatal life and given me the strong desire that I have always felt to participate in the rights and duties of government.
My father was a man of firm character and unimpeachable integrity, and yet sensitive and modest to a painful degree.

There were but two places in which he felt at ease--in the courthouse and at his own fireside.
Though gentle and tender, he had such a dignified repose and reserve of manner that, as children, we regarded him with fear rather than affection.
My mother, Margaret Livingston, a tall, queenly looking woman, was courageous, self-reliant, and at her ease under all circumstances and in all places.

She was the daughter of Colonel James Livingston, who took an active part in the War of the Revolution.
Colonel Livingston was stationed at West Point when Arnold made the attempt to betray that stronghold into the hands of the enemy.

In the absence of General Washington and his superior officer, he took the responsibility of firing into the _Vulture_, a suspicious looking British vessel that lay at anchor near the opposite bank of the Hudson River.

It was a fatal shot for Andre, the British spy, with whom Arnold was then consummating his treason.