James Livingston

James Livingston (November 29, 1838 – April 15, 1920) was a Canadian businessman and politician. He represented Waterloo South in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1879 to 1882 and in the House of Commons of Canada from 1882 to 1900 as a Liberal member.

Life and career He was born in East Kilbride, Scotland in 1838, He is buried at Fairmount Cemetery in Baden.

Livingston's former residence, Castle Kilbride, has been designated a Canadian National Historic Site.

Livingston married Louise Liersch in 1861, with whom he had 12 children: eight daughters and four sons. John Peter (J.P.), one of James' sons, succeeded his father as head of the Livingston empire; he acquired the famed home, "Castle Kilbride", upon James' death in 1920. J.P. and wife, Laura, had one child, Laura Louise Livingston. Laura Louise married Harris Veitch, who together had three children. By the fifth decade of the twentieth century, the flax industry had begun a decline, and so too did the Livingston empire. Laura Louise and Harris were forced to sell the home by 1986, and auctioned off the home's furnishings in 1988. Unfortunately "Castle Kilbride" sat vacant for number of years until the Township of Wilmot purchased it and restored it to its original Victorian Era beauty. The Livingston home remains 'the jewel of Wilmot Township'.

Electoral record