Peter Irving


Peter Irving was an American physician, author, and politician who was the brother of Washington Irving, William Irving and John T. Irving.

Early life

Irving was born in New York City on October 30, 1771. He was one of eleven children born to William Irving Sr., originally of Quholm, Shapinsay, Orkney, Scotland, and Sarah Irving. Among his surviving siblings were four brothers and three sisters, including: U.S. Representative William Irving, Ebenezer Irving, John Treat Irving, diplomat and author Washington Irving, Ann Irving, Catherine Irving, and Sarah Irving.

Career

Irving, a trained physician and "man of science", was editor of the Democratic paper The Morning Herald, and the weekly Corrector, to which his friend William Alexander Duer contributed and which supported Aaron Burr in his contest with Morgan Lewis for New York Governor. He translated Giovanni Sbogarro: A Venetian Tale. Reportedly,
"Peter was atypical of the partisan editors of the period. He was too reserved to print obvious lies, or to pass on ugly rumors and pitch abusive words at Burr's enemies. Cheetham derided him by calling him 'Miss' Irving, a direct allusion to his sexual identity. Civil Peter knew whom he could turn to for help: Washington resented Cheetham's unprovoked assaults on his brother, including the suggestion that he was merely the slavish follower of a known libertine."

From 1802 to 1803, Irving served in the New York State Assembly as a member of the 26th New York State Legislature, representing New York County alongside John Burger, William Few, Speaker Thomas Storm, and Daniel D. Tompkins. He ran for reelection, and lost, as a Burrite. Peter also wrote the first five chapters of his brother Washington's 1809 satirical novel, Knickerbocker's History.
From 1809 until 1836, Irving lived in Europe for nearly 25 years, returning just two years before his eventual death in 1838.

Personal life

Peter, a bachelor like his brother Washington, spent his final days in New York City with Washington, who came to visit from his cottage Sunnyside in Tarrytown. Peter died on June 27, 1838. He is buried at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

Legacy

His papers are held variously at the Sterling Memorial Library, Yale University, The Miriam Lutcher Stark Library, the University of Texas and The New York Public Library. A selection of his writings are published in a slim volume.