61st New York State Legislature
| 61st New York State Legislature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
 The Old State Capitol (1879) | |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | New York State Legislature | ||||
| Jurisdiction | New York, United States | ||||
| Term | January 1 – December 31, 1838 | ||||
| Senate | |||||
| Members | 32 | ||||
| President | Lt. Gov. John Tracy (D) | ||||
| Party control | Democratic (22-10) | ||||
| Assembly | |||||
| Members | 128 | ||||
| Speaker | Luther Bradish (W) | ||||
| Party control | Whig (100-28) | ||||
| Sessions | |||||
| |||||
The 61st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to April 18, 1838, during the sixth year of William L. Marcy's governorship, in Albany.
Background[edit]
Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1821, 32 Senators were elected on general tickets in eight senatorial districts for four-year terms. They were divided into four classes, and every year eight Senate seats came up for election. Assemblymen were elected countywide on general tickets to a one-year term, the whole Assembly being renewed annually.
At this time there were two political parties: the Democratic Party and the Whig Party.
In May 1837, the Panic of 1837 broke out, and led to a severe financial crisis. The incumbent Democratic State government was blamed for it by the voters, and the opposing Whig Party won the election in November in a landslide.
Elections[edit]
The State election was held from November 6 to 8, 1837. Gulian C. Verplanck (1st D.), Henry A. Livingston (2nd D.), Edward P. Livingston (3rd D.), Martin Lee (4th D.), Avery Skinner (5th D.), Laurens Hull (6th D.), John Maynard (7th D.) and William A. Moseley (8th D.) were elected to the Senate. Edward P. Livingston and Avery Skinner were Democrats, the other six were Whigs.
Sessions[edit]
The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 2, 1838; and adjourned on April 18.
Luther Bradish (W) was elected Speaker.
On February 5, the Legislature elected Gamaliel H. Barstow (W) to succeed Abraham Keyser (D) as State Treasurer; and Orville L. Holley (W) to succeed William Campbell (D) as Surveyor General.
On September 12, the Whig state convention met at Utica, and nominated William H. Seward for Governor, and Speaker Luther Bradish for Lieutenant Governor. On the same day, the Democratic state convention met at Herkimer, and nominated Gov. Marcy and Lt. Gov. Tracy unanimously for re-election.
On October 3, a state convention of former Democrats (among them U.S. Senator Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, Congressman John C. Clark and Ex-Assemblyman Judah Hammond) met under the name of "Conservatives" at Syracuse, and endorsed the Whig nominees Seward and Bradish.
State Senate[edit]
Districts[edit]
- The First District (4 seats) consisted of Kings, New York and Richmond counties.
- The Second District (4 seats) consisted of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester counties.
- The Third District (4 seats) consisted of Albany, Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Schoharie counties.
- The Fourth District (4 seats) consisted of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Herkimer, Montgomery, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties.
- The Fifth District (4 seats) consisted of Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Oswego and Otsego counties.
- The Sixth District (4 seats) consisted of Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Chemung, Chenango, Livingston, Steuben, Tioga and Tompkins counties.
- The Seventh District (4 seats) consisted of Cayuga, Cortland, Onondaga, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne and Yates counties.
- The Eighth District (4 seats) consisted of Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Monroe, Niagara and Orleans counties.
Members[edit]
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature.
Senators who resided in counties which were transferred to a different district continued to represent the district in which they were elected.
| District | Senators | Term left | Party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | Coe S. Downing* | 1 year | Democrat | |
| Henry Floyd-Jones* | 2 years | Democrat | resided in Queens Co., elected in the old 1st D. | |
| Frederick A. Tallmadge* | 3 years | Whig | ||
| Gulian C. Verplanck | 4 years | Whig | ||
| Second | John P. Jones* | 1 year | Democrat | |
| John Hunter* | 2 years | Democrat | ||
| Henry H. Van Dyck* | 3 years | Democrat | ||
| Henry A. Livingston | 4 years | Whig | ||
| Third | Abraham L. Lawyer* | 1 year | Democrat | |
| James Powers* | 2 years | Democrat | ||
| Noadiah Johnson* | 3 years | Democrat | ||
| Edward P. Livingston | 4 years | Democrat | ||
| Fourth | Jabez Willes* | 1 year | Democrat | |
| David Spraker* | 2 years | Democrat | ||
| Samuel Young* | 3 years | Democrat | also a Canal Commissioner and, until February 13, 1838, First Judge of the Saratoga Co. Court | |
| Martin Lee | 4 years | Whig | ||
| Fifth | Abijah Beckwith* | 1 year | Democrat | resided in Herkimer Co., elected in the old 5th D. |
| Micah Sterling* | 2 years | Democrat | ||
| David Wager* | 3 years | Democrat | ||
| Avery Skinner | 4 years | Democrat | also Postmaster of Union Square | |
| Sixth | Levi Beardsley* | 1 year | Democrat | resided in Otsego Co., elected in the old 6th D. |
| George Huntington* | 2 years | Democrat | ||
| Daniel S. Dickinson* | 3 years | Democrat | ||
| Laurens Hull | 4 years | Whig | ||
| Seventh | Chester Loomis* | 1 year | Democrat | also Postmaster of Rushville |
| John Beardsley* | 2 years | Democrat | ||
| Samuel L. Edwards* | 3 years | Democrat | ||
| John Maynard | 4 years | Whig | ||
| Eighth | Isaac Lacey* | 1 year | Whig | |
| Chauncey J. Fox* | 2 years | Whig | resided in Cattaraugus Co., elected in the old 8th D. | |
| Samuel Works* | 3 years | Whig | ||
| William A. Moseley | 4 years | Whig |
Employees[edit]
- Clerk: John F. Bacon
State Assembly[edit]
Districts[edit]
- Albany County (3 seats)
- Allegany County (2 seats)
- Broome County (1 seat)
- Cattaraugus County (2 seats)
- Cayuga County (3 seats)
- Chautauqua County (3 seats)
- Chemung County (1 seat)
- Chenango County (3 seats)
- Clinton County (1 seat)
- Columbia County (3 seats)
- Cortland County (2 seats)
- Delaware County (2 seats)
- Dutchess County (3 seats)
- Erie County (3 seats)
- Essex County (1 seat)
- Franklin County (1 seat)
- Genesee County (4 seats)
- Greene County (2 seats)
- Hamilton and Montgomery counties (3 seats)
- Herkimer County (2 seats)
- Jefferson County (3 seats)
- Kings County (2 seats)
- Lewis County (1 seat)
- Livingston County (2 seats)
- Madison County (3 seats)
- Monroe County (3 seats)
- The City and County of New York (13 seats)
- Niagara County (2 seats)
- Oneida County (4 seats)
- Onondaga County (4 seats)
- Ontario County (3 seats)
- Orange County (3 seats)
- Orleans County (1 seat)
- Oswego County (2 seats)
- Otsego County (3 seats)
- Putnam County (1 seat)
- Queens County (1 seat)
- Rensselaer County (3 seats)
- Richmond County (1 seat)
- Rockland County (1 seat)
- St. Lawrence County (2 seats)
- Saratoga County (2 seats)
- Schenectady County (1 seat)
- Schoharie County (2 seats)
- Seneca County (1 seat)
- Steuben County (3 seats)
- Suffolk County (2 seats)
- Sullivan County (1 seat)
- Tioga County (1 seat)
- Tompkins County (2 seats)
- Ulster County (2 seats)
- Warren County (1 seat)
- Washington (2 seats)
- Wayne County (2 seats)
- Westchester County (2 seats)
- Yates County (1 seat)
Assemblymen[edit]
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.
Party affiliations follow the vote on State officers on February 5.[1]
Employees[edit]
- Clerk: Jarvis N. Lake
- Sergeant-at-Arms: Harley R. Luddington
- Doorkeeper: William C. Bloss
- Assistant Doorkeeper: Frederick Lamb
Notes[edit]
- ^ see Journal of the Assembly (61st Session) (1838; pg. 307ff)
Sources[edit]
- The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) [pg. 109 and 441 for Senate districts; pg. 131f for senators; pg. 148f for Assembly districts; pg. 220f for assemblymen]
- The History of Political Parties in the State of New-York, from the Ratification of the Federal Constitution to 1840 by Jabez D. Hammond (4th ed., Vol. 2, Phinney & Co., Buffalo, 1850; pg. 479 to 486)
