99th New York State Legislature

99th New York State Legislature
←98th 100th→
The Old State Capitol (1879)
Overview
Legislative bodyNew York State Legislature
JurisdictionNew York, United States
TermJanuary 1 – December 31, 1876
Senate
Members32
PresidentLt. Gov. William Dorsheimer (D)
Temporary PresidentWilliam H. Robertson (R)
Party controlRepublican (20-12)
Assembly
Members128
SpeakerJames W. Husted (R)
Party controlRepublican (72-56)
Sessions
1stJanuary 4 – May 3, 1876

The 99th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4 to May 3, 1876, during the second year of Samuel J. Tilden's governorship, in Albany.

Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1846, 32 Senators and 128 assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts; senators for a two-year term, assemblymen for a one-year term. The senatorial districts were made up of entire counties, except New York County (five districts) and Kings County (two districts). The Assembly districts were made up of entire towns, or city wards,[1] forming a contiguous area, all within the same county.

At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Prohibition Party also nominated a ticket.

Elections

The 1875 New York state election was held on November 2. All seven statewide elective offices up for election were carried by the Democrats. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Secretary of State, was: Democratic 390,000; Republican 375,000; and Prohibition 11,000.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 4, 1876; and adjourned on May 3.

James W. Husted (R) was elected Speaker against Richard U. Sherman (D).

William H. Robertson (R) was re-elected President pro tempore of the State Senate.

State Senate

Districts

Note: There are now 62 counties in the State of New York. The counties which are not mentioned in this list had not yet been established, or sufficiently organized, the area being included in one or more of the abovementioned counties.

Senators

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. L. Bradford Prince, John R. Kennaday, Stephen H. Hammond and Commodore P. Vedder changed from the Assembly to the Senate.

Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

District Senator Party Notes
1st L. Bradford Prince* Republican Chairman of Privileges and Elections
2nd John R. Kennaday* Democrat
3rd John C. Jacobs* Democrat unsuccessfully contested by James Cavanagh (R)
4th John Morrissey Anti-Tam. Dem.
5th James W. Booth* Republican Chairman of Literature; died on September 14, 1876
6th Caspar A. Baaden Republican Chairman of Public Expenditures
7th James W. Gerard Democrat unsuccessfully contested by William Laimbeer Jr. (R)[2]
8th Francis M. Bixby Anti-Tam. Dem.
9th William H. Robertson* Republican re-elected President pro tempore; Chairman of Judiciary
10th Daniel B. St. John Democrat
11th B. Platt Carpenter Republican Chairman of Retrenchment; and of Villages
12th Thomas Coleman Republican Chairman of Banks; of Public Buildings; and of Grievances
13th Hamilton Harris Republican Chairman of Finance; and of Joint Library
14th Augustus Schoonmaker Jr. Democrat
15th Webster Wagner* Republican Chairman of Public Printing
16th Franklin W. Tobey* Republican Chairman of Insurance
17th Darius A. Moore Republican Chairman of Claims; and of Agriculture
18th James F. Starbuck Democrat
19th Theodore S. Sayre Republican Chairman of Roads and Bridges; and of Salt
20th David P. Loomis Democrat
21st Benjamin Doolittle Republican Chairman of Manufactures
22nd Dennis McCarthy Republican Chairman of Charitable and Religious Societies
23rd William C. Lamont Democrat
24th John H. Selkreg* Republican Chairman of Railroads; and of Poor Laws
25th William B. Woodin* Republican Chairman of Cities; of Engrossed Bills; and of Rules
26th Stephen H. Hammond* Democrat
27th George B. Bradley* Democrat
28th William N. Emerson Republican Chairman of Erection and Division of Towns and Counties; and of Public Health
29th Dan H. Cole* Republican Chairman of Canals
30th Abijah J. Wellman* Republican Chairman of Militia; and of State Prisons
31st Sherman S. Rogers Republican took his seat on January 11; Chairman of Commerce and Navigation;
resigned to run for Lieutenant Governor of New York
32nd Commodore P. Vedder* Republican unsuccessfully contested by Judson W. Breed;
Chairman of Indian Affairs; and of Internal Affairs of Towns and Counties

Employees

  • Clerk: Henry A. Glidden
  • Sergeant-at-Arms: John W. Corning
  • Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: James L. Hart
  • Doorkeeper: Frederick M. Burton
  • First Assistant Doorkeeper: Webster Howard
  • Stenographer: Hudson C. Tanner
  • Janitor and Keeper of the Senate Chamber: George A. Johnson
  • Assistant Janitor and Keeper of the Senate Chamber: Robert McIntyre
  • Assistant Postmaster: Henry L. Griswold, from January 6
  • Chaplain: Ebenezer Halley

State Assembly

Assemblymen

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.

District Assemblymen Party Notes
Albany 1st Peter Slingerland* Republican
2nd Thomas D. Coleman Democrat
3rd William J. Maher Democrat
4th Alfred LeRoy Republican
Allegany Sumner Baldwin Republican
Broome Rodney A. Ford Democrat
Cattaraugus 1st Harrison Cheney Republican
2nd Edgar Shannon Republican
Cayuga 1st George I. Post Republican
2nd John S. Brown Republican
Chautauqua 1st William H. Whitney Democrat
2nd Theodore A. Case Republican
Chemung Edmund Miller Democrat
Chenango Isaac Plumb Republican
Clinton Shepard P. Bowen* Republican
Columbia 1st George H. Power Republican
2nd John T. Hogeboom Republican
Cortland Judson C. Nelson Democrat
Delaware 1st George D. Wheeler Republican
2nd Isaac H. Maynard Democrat
Dutchess 1st Thomas Hammond Republican
2nd DeWitt Webb Republican
Erie 1st Daniel Cruice Republican
2nd William W. Lawson* Republican
3rd Edward Gallagher* Republican
4th Charles F. Tabor Democrat
5th Bertrand Chaffee Democrat
Essex William E. Calkins* Republican
Franklin John I. Gilbert Republican
Fulton and Hamilton John J. Hanson Democrat
Genesee Newton H. Green*[3] Republican
Greene Burton G. Morss Democrat
Herkimer Myron A. McKee Republican
Jefferson 1st Lotus Ingalls Republican
2nd Lansing Becker Democrat
Kings 1st Daniel Bradley* Democrat
2nd Jonathan Ogden Republican
3rd Michael J. Coffey* Democrat
4th Tunis V. P. Talmage*[4] Democrat
5th Albion P. Higgins Republican
6th Jacob Worth* Republican
7th Charles L. Lyon Democrat
8th Adrian M. Suydam Republican
9th John McGroarty* Democrat
Lewis Alexander H. Crosby Democrat
Livingston James Faulkner Jr.* Democrat
Madison 1st Morris N. Campbell Republican
2nd Fred C. Fiske Republican
Monroe 1st Willard Hodges Republican
2nd James S. Graham Republican
3rd Heman Glass Republican
Montgomery George M. Voorhees Democrat
New York 1st Nicholas Muller* Democrat on November 7, 1876, elected to the 45th U.S. Congress
2nd Felix Murphy Anti-Tam. Dem.
3rd James J. Slevin Democrat
4th John Galvin Democrat
5th George W. Betts Republican
6th Matthew Patten Democrat
7th Isaac Israel Hayes Republican
8th Frederick Gugel Jr. Republican
9th Andrew J. Campbell Republican
10th Joseph Hoffman Jr. Republican
11th Charles A. Peabody Jr. Republican
12th Archibald Watts Republican
13th Robert H. Strahan Republican previously a member from Orange Co.
14th P. J. Carty Anti-Tam. Dem.
15th M. P. Killian[5] Democrat
16th George Y. Whitson Anti-Tam. Dem.
17th William T. Graff Republican
18th Stephen J. O'Hare Democrat
19th James T. King Democrat
20th I. A. Englehart Republican
21st Joseph P. Fallon Democrat
Niagara 1st Amos A. Bissell Democrat
2nd Jonas W. Brown Republican
Oneida 1st Richard U. Sherman* Democrat
2nd Sylvester Gridley Republican
3rd James H. Flanagan Democrat
4th Walter Ballou Democrat
Onondaga 1st Allen Munroe Republican
2nd Carroll E. Smith Republican
3rd C. Fred Herbst Republican
Ontario 1st Seth Stanley Democrat
2nd Hiram Maxfield Democrat
Orange 1st Thomas W. Bradley Republican
2nd John H. Reeve Democrat
Orleans Joseph Drake Billings Republican
Oswego 1st George B. Sloan Republican elected Speaker pro tempore
2nd Thomas W. Green Republican
3rd John Preston Republican
Otsego 1st James S. Davenport Democrat
2nd George Scramling Democrat
Putnam Hamilton Fish II Republican
Queens 1st Townsend D. Cock Democrat
2nd Alvan T. Payne Democrat
Rensselaer 1st William V. Cleary* Democrat
2nd William F. Taylor* Republican
3rd Thomas B. Simmons Republican
Richmond Kneeland S. Townsend Republican
Rockland George W. Weiant Democrat
St. Lawrence 1st David McFalls Republican
2nd A. Barton Hepburn* Republican
3rd Lewis C. Lang Republican
Saratoga 1st George West* Republican
2nd Isaac Noyes Jr. Republican
Schenectady Emmett O'Neill Republican
Schoharie John M. Roscoe* Democrat
Schuyler William Gulick Republican
Seneca Lewis Post Democrat
Steuben 1st William B. Ruggles Democrat
2nd Jerry E. B. Santee Republican
Suffolk Samuel B. Gardiner Democrat
Sullivan Adolphus E. Wenzel* Democrat
Tioga Eugene B. Gere Republican
Tompkins Samuel D. Halliday Democrat
Ulster 1st Thomas Hamilton Democrat
2nd Jacob D. Wurts* Democrat
3rd Davis Winne Democrat
Warren Robert Waddell Republican
Washington 1st Townsend J. Potter Republican
2nd Henry G. Burleigh Republican
Wayne 1st Emory W. Gurnee Democrat
2nd Allen S. Russell* Republican
Westchester 1st George H. Forster Republican
2nd Charles M. Schieffelin* Democrat
3rd James W. Husted* Republican elected Speaker
Wyoming Arthur Clark Republican
Yates John Southerland Democrat

Employees

Notes

  1. ^ Except New York City where the wards were apportioned into election districts, and then some whole wards and some election districts of other wards were gerrymandered together into Assembly districts.
  2. ^ see A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York (1899; pg. 605)
  3. ^ Newton H. Green, son of Andrew H. Green who was assemblyman in 1838 and 1839; and brother of Loren Green who was assemblyman in 1863 and 1864
  4. ^ Tunis Van Pelt Talmage, son of Mayor of Brooklyn Thomas G. Talmage
  5. ^ M. P. Killian, see AN EX-LEGISLATOR'S FALL in NYT on June 19, 1891

Sources