LIVESAY, Gabriel (?1635-?1663), of Eastchurch, Sheppey, Kent.

Gabriel Livesay left little impression in contemporary records but it is almost certain that he was the son of Sir Michael Livesay* named for his paternal grandfather and baptised at Eastchurch in 1635, and the only one of several sons to survive childhood. No evidence has come to light of his early life, education, or marital status. It is possible that he played an as yet undetected role in the army, but he was apparently only just reaching his majority when he was added to the Kent commission of the peace in the spring of 1656.

It is possible that Livesay’s emergence into public life in the mid-1650s was related to Sir Michael’s partial retirement from it after the dissolution of the Rump in 1653. An opponent of the protectorate, the latter was nominated to fewer local commissions during the period, and his nomination as sheriff in both 1655 and 1656 may have been aimed at preventing him from sitting in Parliament. Thus, Gabriel’s election at Queenborough in 1656 may have been intended to reassert the family interest in the region.6Mercurius Politicus no. 325 (28 Aug.-4 Sept. 1656), 7221 (E.497.14). Unfortunately, the precise circumstances are unclear, since the election of 1656 is unrecorded in the borough records.7Cent. Kent. Studs. Qb/JMS4; Qb/C1; S. Robertson, ‘The church of All Saints, Eastchurch in Sheppey’, Arch. Cant. xiv. 379. If returned on Sir Michael’s interest, Livesay was clearly perceived to pose no threat to the Cromwellian regime, and was not excluded by the council. He made no recorded impression on the proceedings of the session, and was recorded as absent on 31 December.8Burton’s Diary, i. 285.

Livesay’s absence from local commissions after the Restoration probably reflected his limited social standing, his father’s infamy, and the confiscation of the family’s estates, rather than his own political views. There is no evidence as to his life thereafter. He may have been the man of the name buried in the churchyard of Temple Church, London, in April 1663.9Reg. of Burials at the Temple Church ed. Woods, 16 It is plausible that he predeceased his parents. Sir Michael died in continental exile in late 1665 or early 1666, and the administration of his widow’s estate was granted to a daughter, Deborah, in February 1666.10PROB 6/41, f. 43v.