1st West Virginia legislature

1st West Virginia Legislature
1st West Virginia Legislature
Overview
Legislative body	West Virginia Legislature
Term	June 20, 1863 – December 11, 1863
Governor	Arthur I. Boreman
House of Delegates
Members	51 delegates
Speaker	Spicer Patrick
Senate
Members	20 senators
President	John M. Phelps

The first state legislature of West Virginia convened in Wheeling from June 20, 1863, to December 11, 1863, after the adoption of the West Virginia Constitution which was drafted during the first two years of the Civil War.^[1]

Apportionment

Legend
District 1 District 2 District 3 District 4 District 5 District 6 District 7 District 8 District 9 District 10 District 11 1 delegate 2 delegates 3 delegates Thick black lines: State and district boundaries Thin gray lines: County boundaries Dashed black lines: Planned district and state boundaries Dashed red lines: Counties with rotating member apportionment

The 1863 West Virginia Constitution established the creation of nine senatorial districts, each sending two senators to the state legislature. Additionally, the constitution called for the creation of two other senatorial districts containing counties in northern Virginia assuming they joined the state. For the House of Delegates, the constitution outlined six delegate districts each sending one or two delegates to the House, with another planned for counties in northern Virginia. Every other county was apportioned one to three delegates. The Senate member count was set to be between eighteen and twenty-two, and between forty-seven and fifty-two for the House of Delegates, depending on how many Virginian counties were absorbed into the state.^[2]

West Virginia's Senate districts as defined in the 1863 Constitution
West Virginia's Delegate districts as defined in the 1863 Constitution
House of Delegate apportionment as defined in the 1863 Constitution

Members of the Senate

President of the West Virginia Senate: John M. Phelps from Mason County

District 1 (Hancock, Brooke, and Ohio)
- John H. Atkinson
- Chester D. Hubbard
District 2 (Marshall, Wetzel, and Marion)
- James Burley
- Aaron Hawkins
District 3 (Monongalia, Preston, and Taylor)
- John J. Brown
- Edward C. Bunker
District 4 (Pleasants, Tyler, Ritchie, Doddridge, and Harrison)
- Daniel Haymond
- Edwin Maxwell
District 5 (Wood, Jackson, Wirt, Roane, Calhoun, and Gilmer)
- Edward S. Mahon
- William E. Stevenson
District 6 (Barbour, Tucker, Lewis, Braxton, Upshur, and Randolph)
- D. D. T. Farnsworth
- William D. Rollyson
District 7 (Mason, Putnam, Kanawha, Clay, and Nicholas)
- Greenbury Slack
District 8 (Cabell, Wayne, Boone, Logan, Wyoming, Mercer, and McDowell)
- John B. Brown
- William H. Copley
District 9 (Webster, Pocahontas, Fayette, Raleigh, Greenbrier, and Monroe)
- Thomas K. McCann
- Samuel Young
- John M. Phelps
District 10 (Planned: Pendleton, Hardy, Hampshire, and Morgan)
- Aaron Bechtol
- James Carskadon
District 11 (Planned: Frederick, Berkeley, and Jefferson)

Members of the House of Delegates

Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates: Spicer Patrick

Members by delegate districts

District 1 (Pleasants and Wood, 2 members)
- Horatio N. Crooks (Wood)
- Peter G. Van Winkle (Wood)
District 2 (Calhoun and Gilmer)
- William T. Wiant (Gilmer)
District 3 (Clay and Nicholas)
- Anthony Rader (Nicholas)
District 4 (Webster and Pocahontas)
- Benton Griffin (Pocahontas)
District 5 (Tucker and Randolph)
- Cyrus Kittle (Randolph)
District 6 (McDowell, Wyoming, and Raleigh)
- W. S. Dunbar (Raleigh)
District 7 (Planned: Morgan and Berkeley, 2 members)
- Joseph S. Wheat (Morgan)
Greenbrier and Monroe: (3 members, county delegate count in rotation)
- John C. Gillilan (Greenbrier)
- Andrew W. Mann (Greenbrier)
- Lewis Ballard (Monroe)

Members by county

Barbour: Joseph Teter Jr.
Boone: Robert Hagar
Braxton: Felix Sutton
Brooke: H. W. Crothers
Cabell: Edward D. Wright
Doddridge: Ephraim Bee
Frederick (Planned, 2 members)
Hampshire:
- James I. Barrick
- George W. Sheetz
Hancock: William L. Crawford
Hardy: John Michael
Harrison:
- Nathan Goff Sr.
- Soloman S. Fleming
Jackson: David J. Keeney
Jefferson (Planned, 2 members)
Kanawha:
- Spicer Patrick
- Lewis Ruffner
Lewis: Perry M. Hale
Logan: James H. Hinchman
Marion:
- Isaac Holman
- John S. Barnes
Marshall:
- Michael Dunn
- Joseph Turner
Mason: Lewis Bumgardner
Mercer: Thomas Little
Monongalia:
- Leroy Kramer
- John B. Lough
Ohio:
- Daniel Lamb
- Andrew F. Ross
- W. W. Shriver
Pendleton: John Boggs
Preston:
- James C. McGrew
- William B. Zinn
Putnam: George C. Bowyer
Ritchie: S. R. Dawson
Roane: J. M. McWhorter
Taylor: L. E. Davidson
Tyler: Daniel Sweeny
Upshur: Jacob Teter
Wayne: Thomas Couley
Wetzel: S. I. Robinson
Wirt: Alfred Foster

Accomplishments

204 bills were passed by the legislature in its first term, including bills to admit Berkeley and Jefferson counties into the state.^[3]

References

^ Harris, John T. (20 April 1916). West Virginia LEGISLATIVE HAND BOOK and MANUAL AND Official Register 1916 (PDF) (1st ed.). Charleston, WV: West Virginia Legislature. p. 381. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
^ "Constitution of West Virginia 1863". Ohio County Public Library. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
^ Jett, Jaelyn. "The First West Virginia Legislature: The Foundation of Today". Wrap Up. Retrieved 29 August 2024.

[1] Harris, John T. (20 April 1916). West Virginia LEGISLATIVE HAND BOOK and MANUAL AND Official Register 1916 (PDF) (1st ed.). Charleston, WV: West Virginia Legislature. p. 381. Retrieved 29 August 2024.

[2] "Constitution of West Virginia 1863". Ohio County Public Library. Retrieved 29 August 2024.

[3] Jett, Jaelyn. "The First West Virginia Legislature: The Foundation of Today". Wrap Up. Retrieved 29 August 2024.

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