82nd New York State Legislature

82nd New York State Legislature

The Old State Capitol (1879)
Duration: January 1 – December 31, 1859
President of the State Senate: Lt. Gov. Robert Campbell (R)
Temporary President of the State Senate: William A. Wheeler (R), from January 18
Speaker of the State Assembly: DeWitt C. Littlejohn (R)
Members: 32 Senators
128 Assemblymen
Senate Majority: Republican (17-13-2)
Assembly Majority: Republican (91-29-8)
Sessions
1st: January 4 – April 19, 1859
<81st 83rd>

The 82nd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4 to April 19, 1859, during the first year of Edwin D. Morgan'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 (four districts) and Kings County (two districts). The Assembly districts were made up of entire towns, or city wards, forming a contiguous area, all within the same county.

At this time there were two major political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Know Nothing movement ran in the election as the "American Party."

Elections

The New York state election, 1858 was held on November 2. Republicans Edwin D. Morgan and Robert Campbell were elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor. The other two statewide elective offices were also carried by the Republicans. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor was: Republican 248,000; Democratic 230,000; and American 61,000.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 4, 1859; and adjourned on April 19.

DeWitt C. Littlejohn (R) was again elected Speaker with 90 votes against 28 for John W. Chanler (D) and 6 for Chauncey Boughton (A).

On January 18, William A. Wheeler (R) was 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.

Members

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

District Senator Party Notes
1st Joshua B. Smith* Democrat
2nd Samuel Sloan* Democrat
3rd Francis B. Spinola* Democrat
4th John C. Mather* Democrat
5th Smith Ely, Jr.* Democrat
6th Richard Schell* Democrat
7th John Doherty* Democrat died on April 20, 1859
8th Benjamin Brandreth* Democrat
9th Osmer B. Wheeler* American
10th George W. Pratt* Democrat
11th William G. Mandeville* Democrat contested; seat declared vacant on March 16[1]
Henry C. Wetmore American seated on April 5[2]
12th John D. Willard* Democrat
13th George Y. Johnson* American
14th Edward I. Burhans* Democrat
15th George G. Scott* Democrat
16th Ralph A. Loveland* Republican
17th William A. Wheeler* Republican on January 18, elected President pro tempore
18th Joseph A. Willard* Republican
19th Alrick Hubbell* Republican
20th Addison H. Laflin* Republican
21st Cheney Ames* Republican
22nd James Noxon* Republican
23rd John J. Foote* Republican
24th Lyman Truman* Republican
25th Alexander B. Williams* Republican
26th Truman Boardman* Republican
27th Alexander S. Diven* Republican
28th John E. Paterson* Republican
29th Horatio J. Stow* Independent did not take his seat during this session;
died on February 19, 1859
George D. Lamont Republican elected to fill vacancy; seated on March 21
30th John B. Halsted* Republican
31st Erastus S. Prosser Republican elected to fill vacancy, in place of James Wadsworth
32nd John P. Darling* Republican

Employees

State Assembly

Assemblymen

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

Party affiliations follow the vote for Speaker.

District Assemblymen Party Notes
Albany 1st Henry Creble Democrat
2nd Morgan L. Filkins American
3rd William A. Young Democrat
4th Lorenzo D. Collins Republican
Allegany 1st Alfred Lockhart Republican
2nd Wiliam Cobb Republican
Broome Osborne E. Bump Republican
Cattaraugus 1st Marsena Baker Republican died on March 4
2nd William Buffington Jr.* Republican
Cayuga 1st William W. Payne Republican
2nd Chauncey M. Abbott* Republican
Chautauqua 1st Henry Bliss* Republican
2nd Sidney E. Palmer Republican
Chemung Peter Wintermute Republican
Chenango 1st Grant B. Palmer Democrat
2nd Judson L. Grant Republican
Clinton Lewis W. Pierce Republican
Columbia 1st Henry P. Heermance Democrat
2nd James G. Van Volkenburgh Republican
Cortland Arthur Holmes Republican
Delaware 1st Barna R. Johnson Republican
2nd Samuel A. Law* American
Dutchess 1st James Mackin Republican
2nd Samuel J. Farnum Republican
Erie 1st Daniel Bowen Republican
2nd Henry B. Miller Republican
3rd John S. King American
4th Wilson Rogers Republican
Essex Monroe Hall* Republican
Franklin Martin L. Parlin Republican
Fulton and Hamilton Henry W. Spencer American
Genesee Elbridge G. Moulton Republican
Greene Augustus R. Macomber Democrat
Herkimer 1st Solomon Graves Republican
2nd Lester Green Republican
Jefferson 1st Russell Weaver Republican
2nd Patrick S. Stewart Republican
3rd Furman Fish Republican
Kings 1st Joseph Wilson Democrat
2nd Marcus D. Moore Republican
3rd Harmanus B. Duryea* Republican
4th Thomas A. Gardiner Democrat
5th Lucius C. Andrus Republican
6th Abraham Meserole Jr. Republican
7th Franklin Tuthill Republican previously a member from Suffolk Co.
Lewis Lyman R. Lyon Republican
Livingston 1st Samuel L. Fuller Republican
2nd John Wiley Republican
Madison 1st Simeon Rider Republican
2nd Noah M. Coburn Republican
Monroe 1st Harrison A. Lyon Republican
2nd Elias Pond Republican
3rd Alphonso Perry Republican
Montgomery Jeremiah Snell American
New York 1st Jacob L. Smith* Democrat
2nd Michael Fitzgerald* Democrat
3rd Christian B. Woodruff Democrat
4th William Gover Democrat
5th John J. Shaw Republican
6th George A. Jeremiah* Democrat
7th Frederick A. Conkling Republican
8th James J. Reilly Democrat
9th Charles S. Spencer Republican
10th John W. Chanler* Democrat
11th Noah D. Childs* Democrat
12th Theodore E. Tomlinson Democrat
13th Peter Masterson Democrat
14th George Opdyke Republican
15th Stephen S. Childs Republican
16th James C. Rutherford Democrat
17th James McLeod Democrat
Niagara 1st James Sweeney Republican
2nd Burt Van Horn* Republican
Oneida 1st Charles M. Scholefield Republican
2nd Edward Loomis Republican
3rd Patrick C. Costello Republican
4th Didymus Thomas Republican
Onondaga 1st Luke Ranney Republican
2nd Henry W. Slocum Republican
3rd Orin Aylworth Republican
Ontario 1st Ulysses Warner Democrat
2nd Shotwell Powell Republican
Orange 1st James H. Mallery Democrat
2nd Joseph Davis Republican
Orleans Almanzor Hutchinson* Republican
Oswego 1st DeWitt C. Littlejohn Republican elected Speaker
2nd James J. Coit Republican
3rd Beman Brockway Republican
Otsego 1st George F. Longenhelt Republican
2nd David B. St. John Republican
Putnam Edwin A. Pelton Republican
Queens 1st Edward A. Lawrence* Democrat
2nd Robert L. Meeks Republican
Rensselaer 1st Thomas Coleman American
2nd Henry B. Clark Republican
3rd Anson Bingham Republican
Richmond Robert Christie Jr. Democrat
Rockland Wesley J. Weiant* Democrat
St. Lawrence 1st Harlow Godard* Republican
2nd William Briggs* Republican
3rd Oscar F. Shepard* Republican
Saratoga 1st Chauncey Boughton* American
2nd George S. Batcheller Republican
Schenectady Charles Thomas Republican
Schoharie William C. Lamont Democrat
Schuyler Isaac D. Mekeel Republican
Seneca Jacob P. Chamberlain Republican
Steuben 1st Abel Eveland Republican
2nd Wickham R. Crocker Republican
3rd John T. Plato Republican
Suffolk 1st Benjamin F. Wiggins Republican
2nd Richard J. Cornelius Democrat
Sullivan Gideon E. Bushnell Democrat
Tioga David Earll Republican
Tompkins William Woodbury Republican
Ulster 1st Edmund Suydam Democrat
2nd Albert Carpenter American
3rd Abraham D. Ladew Republican
Warren Elisha Pendell Republican
Washington 1st Andrew Thompson Republican
2nd James M. Northup Republican
Wayne 1st Henry K. Graves Republican
2nd John A. Laing Republican
Westchester 1st Augustus Van Cortlandt Democrat
2nd James S. See Republican
3rd Gaylord B. Hubbell Republican
Wyoming Elias C. Holt Republican
Yates Daniel Morris Republican

Employees

Notes

  1. ↑ Mandeville had been appointed as Postmaster of Stuyvesant Falls in June 1858, had executed his oath and bond, had sent them to the U.S. Postal Department but, before his commission could have been issued, had declined to take the office. He then appeared at the beginning of the session of 1859, and took his seat. After much debate the Republican majority declared the seat vacant, holding that the mere one-time acceptance of the office forfeited the seat.
  2. ↑ Wetmore had been elected at the State election in November 1858, although a vacancy was claimed only unilaterally, no notice of such a special election had been given by the Secretary of State, and no candidates were nominated by the other parties. After much controversy, Wetmore was finally seated by the Republican majority, under protest by the Democrats. For the arguments for and against seating Wetmore, see Documents of the Senate (82nd Session) (1859; Vol. 2, No. 104 and 105)
  3. ↑ William Richardson (1822–1893), later an alderman in Brooklyn, and owner of the Atlantic Avenue Railroad; see Biography

Sources