44th New York State Legislature
| 44th New York State Legislature | |||
 The Old State Capitol (1879) | |||
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| Duration: July 1, 1820 – June 30, 1821 | |||
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| President of the State Senate: | Lt. Gov. John Tayler (Clint.) | ||
| Temporary President of the State Senate: | |||
| Speaker of the State Assembly: | Peter Sharpe (Buckt.) | ||
| Members: | 32 Senators 126 Assemblymen | ||
| Senate Majority: | Bucktail (19-13) | ||
| Assembly Majority: | Bucktail | ||
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| Sessions | |||
| 1st: November 7 – 20, 1820 2nd: January 9 – April 3, 1821 | |||
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The 44th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from November 7, 1820, to April 3, 1821, during the fourth year of DeWitt Clinton's governorship, in Albany.
Background
Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1777, amended by the Constitutional Convention of 1801, 32 Senators were elected on general tickets in the four 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.
In 1797, Albany was declared the State capital, and all subsequent Legislatures have been meeting there ever since. In 1818, the Legislature enacted that future Legislatures meet on the first Tuesday of January of each year unless called earlier by the governor.
On January 18, 1820, a caucus of 64 Bucktail legislators nominated U.S. Vice President Daniel D. Tompkins for Governor and State Senator Benjamin Mooers for Lieutenant Governor. A meeting of citizens at Albany nominated Gov. DeWitt Clinton and Lt. Gov. John Tayler for re-election. The Federalists did not nominate candidates for Governor or Lieutenant Governor, and the party began to disband: the vast majority of them supported Clinton, a minority—calling themselves the "High-minded Federalists" (among them William A. Duer and John A. King)—supported Tompkins and joined the Bucktails.[1]
At this time the politicians were divided into two opposing political parties: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans.[2] The Democratic-Republican Party was split into two factions: the Clintonians (supporters of Gov. DeWitt Clinton) and the Bucktails (led by Martin Van Buren, and including the Tammany Hall organization in New York City).
Elections
The State election was held from April 25 to 27, 1820. Gov. DeWitt Clinton and Lt. Gov. John Tayler were re-elected.
Senators Walter Bowne (Southern D.) and Ephraim Hart (Western D.) were re-elected. John Lefferts (Southern D.), William C. Bouck, John J. Miller, Tilly Lynde (all three Middle D.), Elijah Miles ( Western D.), and Assemblyman Oliver Forward (Western D.) were also elected to the Senate. Hart, Miles and Forward were Clintonians, the other five Bucktails.
Sessions
The Legislature met at the Old State Capitol in Albany on November 7, 1820, to elect presidential electors; and adjourned on November 20.
Peter Sharpe (Buckt.) was elected Speaker with 69 votes against 52 for John C. Spencer (Clint.), the Speaker of the previous session. Dirck L. Vanderheyden was elected Clerk of the Assembly with 63 votes against 62 for the incumbent Aaron Clark.
On November 8, a Bucktail Council of Appointment was chosen, with a vote of 71 to 54. However this Council did not meet before January 1821, when the previous Council's term expired. Then they removed almost all Clintonian office-holders and appointed Bucktails instead.
On November 9, the Legislature chose 29 electors, all Bucktails: William Floyd, Henry Rutgers, Abel Huntington, Edward Leverich, Isaac Lawrence, John Targee, Jacob Odell, Peter Waring, Edward P. Livingston, David Hammond, Peter Millikin, Mark Spencer, Benjamin Knower, Gilbert Eddy, Howell Gardner, John Baker, John Walworth, Daniel McDougal, Seth Wetmore, Latham A. Burrows, Farrand Stranahan, Henry Wager, Elisha Farnham, Jonathan Collins, Samuel Nelson, William B. Rochester, Charles Thompson, Philetus Swift,[3] James Brisban. Floyd and Wetmore did not attend the meeting of the electoral college, and Martin Van Buren and William I. Dodge were appointed to fill the vacancies. They cast their votes for James Monroe and Daniel D. Tompkins.
On November 18, the Legislature passed a bill calling for a convention with unlimited powers to amend the State Constitution. Two days later, the Council of Revision rejected the bill: Chancellor James Kent and Chief Justice Ambrose Spencer voted against it; Judges Joseph C. Yates and John Woodworth for it; and Gov. DeWitt Clinton broke the tie voting against it.
The Legislature met for the regular session on January 9, 1821, and adjourned on April 3.
At the beginning of this session, the Legislature passed a bill to submit the question, whether a Constitutional Convention should be called, to the people at the next annual State election, to be held in April 1821. The people answered in the affirmative, delegates to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1821 were elected in June, and the Convention met from August to November 1821. The new Constitution was adopted by popular vote in January 1822.
On January 29, the Legislature appointed Benjamin Knower (Buckt.) to succeed Gerrit L. Dox as New York State Treasurer.
On February 6, the Legislature elected Martin Van Buren (Buckt.) to succeed Nathan Sanford (Clint.) as U.S. Senator from New York for a term beginning on March 4, 1821.
On March 21, the Legislature added State Senator William C. Bouck (Buckt.) to the Erie Canal Commission.
State Senate
Districts
- The Southern District (6 seats) consisted of Dutchess, Kings, New York, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester counties.
- The Middle District (9 seats) consisted of Albany, Chenango, Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Orange, Otsego, Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster counties.
- The Eastern District (8 seats) consisted of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Montgomery, Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren and Washington counties.
- The Western District (9 seats) consisted of Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Cortland, Genesee, Madison, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Oswego, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga and Tompkins counties.
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.
Members
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Oliver Forward changed from the Assembly to the Senate.
| District | Senators | Term left | Party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern | Stephen Barnum* | 1 year | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | |
| Jonathan Dayton* | 1 year | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| John Townsend* | 2 years | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Peter R. Livingston* | 3 years | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Walter Bowne* | 4 years | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | elected to the Council of Appointment | |
| John Lefferts | 4 years | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Middle | Jabez D. Hammond* | 1 year | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | |
| John Lounsbery* | 1 year | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | ||
| Moses Austin* | 2 years | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| William Ross* | 2 years | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | ||
| Charles E. Dudley* | 3 years | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | also Mayor of Albany | |
| John T. More* | 3 years | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | elected to the Council of Appointment | |
| William C. Bouck | 4 years | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | from March 21, 1821, also an Erie Canal Commissioner | |
| Tilly Lynde | 4 years | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| John J. Miller | 4 years | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Eastern | Roger Skinner* | 1 year | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | also Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York; elected to the Council of Appointment |
| Henry Yates Jr.* | 1 year | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Samuel Young* | 1 year | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | also an Erie Canal Commissioner | |
| Levi Adams* | 2 years | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | ||
| George Rosecrantz* | 2 years | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | ||
| Thomas Frothingham* | 3 years | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | ||
| Duncan McMartin Jr.* | 3 years | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | ||
| Benjamin Mooers* | 3 years | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Western | Isaac Wilson* | 1 year | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | |
| Gamaliel H. Barstow* | 2 years | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | also First Judge of the Tioga County Court | |
| Perry G. Childs* | 2 years | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| David E. Evans* | 2 years | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | elected to the Council of Appointment | |
| Gideon Granger* | 3 years | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | resigned February/March 1821, due to ill health[4] | |
| Lyman Paine* | 3 years | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | ||
| Ephraim Hart* | 4 years | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | ||
| Oliver Forward* | 4 years | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | ||
| Elijah Miles | 4 years | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | ||
Employees
- Clerk: John F. Bacon
State Assembly
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.
Assemblymen
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.
| District | Assemblymen | Party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albany | Gerrit Hogan | Federalist | |
| James McKown* | Federalist | ||
| Moses Smith | Federalist | ||
| Stephen Willes* | Federalist | ||
| Allegany and Steuben |
Clark Crandall* | Federalist | |
| John Dow* | Federalist | ||
| Broome | Chester Patterson* | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | |
| Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Niagara |
William Hotchkiss | ||
| Jediah Prendergast | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Cayuga | John Haring* | ||
| Charles Kellogg | Dem.-Rep. | ||
| Henry Polhemus | |||
| Chenango | William Mason | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | from November 10, 1820, to February 13, 1821, also Chenango County Clerk |
| Edmond G. Per Lee | |||
| John Tracy | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | from March 7, 1821, also Surrogate of Chenango Co. | |
| Clinton and Franklin |
Platt Newcomb* | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | |
| Columbia | John Bryan | ||
| James Vanderpoel | Federalist | ||
| Elisha Williams* | Federalist | ||
| Isaac B. Williams | |||
| Cortland | John Osborn | ||
| Delaware | John H. Gregory | ||
| Erastus Root* | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Dutchess | Albro Akin | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Benjamin H. Conklin | |||
| Koert Dubois | Federalist | ||
| Israel Harris | |||
| Joseph J. Jackson | |||
| Essex | Ebenezer Douglass | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | |
| Genesee | Fitch Chipman* | ||
| Jesse Hawley | |||
| Samuel M. Hopkins | Federalist | ||
| Greene | Platt Adams | Federalist | |
| Aaron Reed | Federalist | ||
| Hamilton and Montgomery |
David W. Candee | ||
| Henry Failing | |||
| Howland Fish | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | ||
| Lawrence Gros* | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Archibald McIntyre | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | until February 12, 1821, also New York State Comptroller | |
| Herkimer | Simeon Ford | Federalist | also D.A. of Herkimer Co. |
| Thomas Manly | Federalist | ||
| David Van Horne | Federalist | ||
| Jefferson | Richard Goodell | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | |
| Amos Stebbins | |||
| Kings | Jeremiah Lott | Federalist | |
| Lewis | Stephen Hart | ||
| Madison | William Berry Jr. | ||
| Justin Dwinell | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Herman Van Vleck | |||
| New York | Clarkson Crolius* | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | |
| William A. Davis | |||
| Richard Hatfield* | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Cornelius Heeney* | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Robert R. Hunter* | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Reuben Munson* | |||
| Samuel B. Romaine* | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Peter Sharpe* | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | elected Speaker | |
| John Swartwout | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Michael Ulshoeffer* | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Gulian C. Verplanck | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Oneida and Oswego |
Josiah Bacon | ||
| Allen Fraser | |||
| George Huntington* | Federalist | ||
| Joseph Kirkland | Federalist | in April 1821 elected to the 17th United States Congress | |
| William Root | Federalist | ||
| Onondaga | Jonathan Denning | ||
| Jonas Earll, Jr.* | |||
| George Pettit | Dem.-Rep. | ||
| Lewis Smith* | |||
| Ontario | Claudius V. Boughton | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | |
| William Cornwell | |||
| Oliver Culver | |||
| Truman Hart | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | ||
| Myron Holley | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | also an Erie Canal Commissioner | |
| John C. Spencer | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | ||
| William H. Spencer | |||
| Orange | Charles Borland, Jr. | ||
| James Burt | Fed.? Clint.? | ||
| John Hallock, Jr. | |||
| Benjamin Woodward | |||
| Otsego | Joshua Babcock | ||
| John Blakeley | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Caleb Eldred | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Stukely Ellsworth | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| David Tripp | |||
| Putnam | Elisha Brown | ||
| Queens | John D. Hicks | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | |
| John A. King* | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Benjamin T. Kissam | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Rensselaer | William C. Barber | ||
| Richard P. Hart | |||
| William B. Slocum | |||
| Calvin Thompson | |||
| John Van Alstyne | |||
| Richmond | Samuel Barton | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | |
| Rockland | Abraham Gurnee | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | |
| St. Lawrence | Joseph York* | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | |
| Saratoga | Herman Gansevoort | ||
| John House | |||
| Zebulon Mott | |||
| John Rogers | |||
| Schenectady | Richard McMichael | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | |
| Gerrit S. Veeder | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Schoharie | Barnabas Eldredge | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | |
| Abraham Keyser, Jr. | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Freegift Patchin | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Seneca | Robert S. Rose* | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | |
| William Thompson | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Suffolk | Isaac Conklin | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | |
| John B. Osborn | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| John M. Williamson | |||
| Sullivan and Ulster |
Coenrad Bevier | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | |
| William G. Gillespie | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Wells Lake | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Jacob Snyder* | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Tioga | Samuel Lawrence | Dem.-Rep. | previously a member from New York Co. |
| Tompkins | Samuel Crittenden | ||
| Peter Hager 2d | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| Warren and Washington |
Wadsworth Bull | ||
| James Mallory | |||
| John Moss | |||
| William Richards | |||
| James L. Thurman | |||
| Westchester | James Guyon* | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | |
| Abraham Miller* | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
| William Nelson* | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | ||
Employees
- Clerk: Dirck L. Vanderheyden[5]
- Sergeant-at-Arms: Henry Fryer
- Doorkeeper: Henry Bates
- Assistant Doorkeeper: Willard Smith
Notes
- ↑ see Hammond, pg. 530
- ↑ The Anti-Federalists called themselves "Republicans." However, at the same time, the Federalists called them "Democrats" which was meant to be pejorative. After some time both terms got more and more confused, and sometimes used together as "Democratic Republicans" which later historians have adopted (with a hyphen) to describe the party from the beginning, to avoid confusion with both the later established and still existing Democratic and Republican parties.
- ↑ The Civil List gives erroneously "Philetus Smith", but The Plough Boy (issue of November 11, 1820; pg. 191) says "Philetus Swift"
- ↑ The Plough Boy published by Solomon Southwick, (issue of March 3, 1821; pg. 319; notices resignation during the previous week without giving the exact date)
- ↑ Derick (or Dirck) Livingston Van der Heyden (or Vanderheyden) (1789 Albany - February 8, 1826 Albany), lawyer; see death notice in The Annals of Albany compiled by Joel Munsell (Vol. 8; 1857; pg. 142)
Sources
- The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) [see pg. 108f for Senate districts; pg. 124 for senators; pg. 148f for Assembly districts; pg. 196f for assemblymen; pg. 321 and 326 for presidential election]
- 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. 1, H. & E. Phinney, Cooperstown, 1846; pages 531-570)
- Election result Assembly, Albany Co. at project "A New Nation Votes", compiled by Phil Lampi, hosted by Tufts University Digital Library
- Partial election result Assembly, Allegany and Steuben Co. at project "A New Nation Votes" [gives only votes of Allegany Co.]
- Partial election result Assembly, Allegany and Steuben Co. at project "A New Nation Votes" [gives only votes of Steuben Co.]
- Election result Assembly, Broome Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Partial election result Assembly, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Niagara Co. at project "A New Nation Votes" [gives only votes from Cattaraugus Co.]
- Partial election result Assembly, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Niagara Co. at project "A New Nation Votes" [gives only votes from Chautauqua Co.]
- Partial election result Assembly, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Niagara Co. at project "A New Nation Votes" [gives only votes from Niagara Co.]
- Election result Assembly, Greene Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Kings Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Putnam Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Queens Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Richmond Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, St. Lawrence Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Schenectady Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Schoharie Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Sullivan and Ulster Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Partial election result Senate, Southern D. at project "A New Nation Votes" [gives only votes from Kings, Putnam, Queens and Richmond Co.]
- Partial election result Senate, Middle D. at project "A New Nation Votes" [gives only votes of Greene, Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster Co.]
- Partial election result Senate, Western D. at project "A New Nation Votes" [gives only votes of Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus and Steuben Co.]
- Election result Speaker at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly Clerk at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Council of Appointment at project "A New Nation Votes"
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