123rd New York State Legislature

123rd New York State Legislature
New York State Capitol (1900)
Duration: January 1 – December 31, 1900
President of the State Senate:	Lt. Gov. Timothy L. Woodruff (R)
Temporary President of the State Senate:	Timothy E. Ellsworth (R)
Speaker of the State Assembly:	S. Frederick Nixon (R)
Members:	50 Senators 150 Assemblymen
Senate Majority:	Republican (27-23)
Assembly Majority:	Republican (93-57)
Sessions
1st: January 3 – April 6, 1900
<122nd 124th>

The 123rd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3 to April 6, 1900, during the second year of Theodore Roosevelt's governorship, in Albany.

Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1894, 50 Senators and 150 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 (twelve districts), Kings County (seven districts), Erie County (three districts) and Monroe County (two districts). The Assembly districts were made up of contiguous area, all within the same county.

At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

Elections

The New York state election, 1899, was held on November 7. No statewide elective offices were up for election.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 3, 1900, and adjourned on April 6.

S. Frederick Nixon (R) was re-elected Speaker, with 92 votes against 57 for J. Franklin Barnes (D).

State Senate

Districts

• 1st District: Richmond and Suffolk counties
• 2nd District: Queens and Nassau counties
• 3rd District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Ward of Brooklyn, as constituted in 1894
• 4th District: 7th, 13th, 19th and 21st Ward of Brooklyn, as constituted in 1894
• 5th District: 8th, 10th, 12th and 30th Ward of Brooklyn, and the annexed former Town of Gravesend, as constituted in 1894
• 6th District: 9th, 11th, 20th and 22nd Ward of Brooklyn, as constituted in 1894
• 7th District: 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th Ward of Brooklyn, as constituted in 1894
• 8th District: 23rd, 24th, 25th and 29th Ward of Brooklyn; and the annexed former Town of Flatlands, as constituted in 1894
• 9th District: 18th, 26th, 27th and 28th Ward of Brooklyn, as constituted in 1894
• 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st District: Parts of the City of New York, defined geographically by their bordering streets, regardless of Wards or Assembly districts
• 22nd District: Westchester County
• 23rd District: Orange and Rockland counties
• 24th District: Columbia, Dutchess and Putnam and counties
• 25th District: Greene and Ulster counties
• 26th District: Chenango, Delaware and Sullivan counties
• 27th District: Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery and Schoharie counties
• 28th District: Saratoga, Schenectady and Washington counties
• 29th District: Albany County
• 30th District: Rensselaer County
• 31st District: Clinton, Essex and Warren counties
• 32nd District: Franklin and St. Lawrence counties
• 33rd District: Otsego and Herkimer counties
• 34th District: Oneida County
• 35th District: Jefferson and Lewis counties
• 36th District: Onondaga County
• 37th District: Oswego and Madison counties
• 38th District: Broome, Cortland and Tioga counties
• 39th District: Cayuga and Seneca counties
• 40th District: Chemung, Schuyler and Tompkins counties
• 41st District: Steuben and Yates counties
• 42nd District: Ontario and Wayne counties
• 43rd District: 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 17th and 18th Ward of Rochester; and the towns of Brighton, Henrietta, Irondequoit, Menden, Penfield, Perinton, Pittsford, Rush and Webster, in Monroe County
• 44th District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 15th, 19th and 20th Ward of Rochester; and the towns of Chili, Clarkson, Gates, Greece, Hamlin, Ogden, Parma, Riga, Sweden and Wheatland, in Monroe County
• 45th District: Genesee, Niagara and Orleans counties
• 46th District: Allegany, Livingston and Wyoming counties
• 47th District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 15th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd and 24th Ward of Buffalo
• 48th District: 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 16th Ward of Buffalo
• 49th District: 17th, 18th and 25th Ward of the City of Buffalo; and all area in Erie County outside Buffalo
• 50th District: Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties

Note: In 1897, New York County (the boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx), Kings County (the borough of Brooklyn), Richmond County (the borough of Staten Island) and the Western part of Queens County (the borough of Queens) were consolidated into the present-day City of New York. The Eastern part of Queens County (the non-consolidated part) was separated in 1899 as Nassau County. Parts of the 1st and 2nd Assembly districts of Westchester County were annexed by New York City in 1895, and became part of the Borough of the Bronx in 1898.

Members

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

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

District	Senator	Party	Notes
1st	John L. Havens*	Democrat
2nd	James Norton*	Democrat
3rd	Thomas H. Cullen*	Democrat
4th	David Floyd Davis*	Republican	Chairman of Military Affairs
5th	Michael J. Coffey*	Democrat
6th	William J. La Roche*	Democrat
7th	Patrick H. McCarren*	Democrat
8th	Henry Marshall*	Republican	Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills
9th	Joseph Wagner*	Democrat
10th	John F. Ahearn*	Democrat
11th	Timothy D. Sullivan*	Democrat
12th	Samuel J. Foley*	Democrat
13th	Bernard F. Martin*	Democrat
14th	Thomas F. Grady*	Democrat	Minority Leader
15th	Nathaniel A. Elsberg*	Republican	Chairman of Revision
16th	Louis Munzinger*	Democrat
17th	George W. Plunkitt*	Democrat
18th	Maurice Featherson*	Democrat
19th	John Ford*	Republican	Chairman of Commerce and Navigation
20th	Thomas F. Donnelly*	Democrat
21st	Richard H. Mitchell*	Democrat
22nd	William J. Graney*	Democrat
23rd	Louis F. Goodsell*	Republican	Chairman of Affairs of Villages
24th	Henry S. Ambler*	Republican	Chairman of Agriculture
25th	Jacob Rice*	Democrat
26th	William L. Thornton*	Republican	Chairman of Privileges and Elections
27th	Hobart Krum*	Republican	Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
28th	Edgar T. Brackett*	Republican	Chairman of Judiciary
29th	Curtis N. Douglas*	Democrat
30th	Frank M. Boyce*	Democrat
31st	George Chahoon*	Republican	Chairman of Trades and Manufactures
32nd	George R. Malby*	Republican	Chairman of Codes
33rd	James D. Feeter*	Republican	Chairman of Internal Affairs of Towns and Counties
34th	Henry J. Coggeshall*	Republican	Chairman of Miscellaneous Corporations
35th	Elon R. Brown*	Republican	Chairman of Forest, Fish, and Game Laws
36th	Horace White*	Republican	Chairman of Public Education
37th	Nevada N. Stranahan*	Republican	Chairman of Affairs of Cities
38th	William Elting Johnson*	Republican	Chairman of Public Health
39th	Benjamin M. Wilcox*	Republican	Chairman of Penal Institutions
40th	Charles T. Willis*	Republican	Chairman of Indian Affairs
41st	Franklin D. Sherwood*	Republican	Chairman of Public Printing
42nd	John Raines*	Republican	Chairman of Railroads
43rd	Cornelius R. Parsons*	Republican	Chairman of Insurance
44th	William W. Armstrong*	Republican	Chairman of Roads and Bridges
45th	Timothy E. Ellsworth*	Republican	President pro tempore; Chairman of Rules
46th	Lester H. Humphrey*	Republican	Chairman of Banks
47th	William F. Mackey*	Democrat
48th	Samuel J. Ramsperger*	Democrat
49th	George Allen Davis*	Republican	Chairman of Canals
50th	Frank W. Higgins*	Republican	Chairman of Finance

Employees

• Clerk: James S. Whipple
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Henry Jacquilard
• Doorkeeper: John E. Gorss
• Stenographer: A. B. Sackett
• Journal Clerk: Lafayette B. Gleason
• Index Clerk: Ernest A. Fay
• Clerk to the Committee on Finance: Girvease A. Matteson

State Assembly

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

Assemblymen

District		Assemblymen	Party	Notes
Albany	1st	William L. Coughtry*	Republican	Chairman of Insurance
	2nd	James B. McEwan*	Republican	Chairman of Banks
	3rd	George T. Kelly*	Democrat
	4th	Edward McCreary	Republican
Allegany		Almanzo W. Litchard*	Republican	Chairman of Agriculture
Broome	1st	James T. Rogers*	Republican	Chairman of Excise
	2nd	John H. Swift	Republican
Cattaraugus	1st	William E. Wheeler	Republican	Chairman of Public Lands and Forestry
	2nd	Albert T. Fancher*	Republican	Chairman of Indian Affairs
Cayuga	1st	Ernest G. Treat	Republican
	2nd	George S. Fordyce*	Republican	Chairman of Public Printing
Chautauqua	1st	J. Samuel Fowler*	Republican	Chairman of State Prisons
	2nd	S. Frederick Nixon*	Republican	re-elected Speaker; Chairman of Rules
Chemung		Charles H. Knipp	Republican
Chenango		Jotham P. Allds*	Republican	Majority Leader; Chairman of Ways and Means
Clinton		Charles E. Johnson	Republican
Columbia		Martin M. Kittel	Republican
Cortland		George S. Sands*	Republican
Delaware		Delos Axtell*	Republican	Chairman of Fisheries and Game
Dutchess	1st	John T. Smith*	Republican
	2nd	William A. Tripp*	Republican	Chairman of Public Institutions
Erie	1st	John H. Bradley	Democrat
	2nd	Henry W. Hill*	Republican	Chairman of Canals
	3rd	George Geoghan	Democrat
	4th	William Metzler	Republican
	5th	Henry Streifler*	Democrat
	6th	Nicholas J. Miller	Republican
	7th	John K. Patton*	Republican	Chairman of Federal Relations
	8th	Elijah Cook	Republican
Essex		Orlando Beede*	Republican
Franklin		Halbert D. Stevens	Republican
Fulton and Hamilton		William Harris	Republican
Genesee		John J. Ellis*	Republican	Chairman of Affairs of Villages
Greene		Sylvester B. Sage	Democrat
Herkimer		Erwin E. Kelley*	Republican
Jefferson	1st	Morgan Bryan*	Republican
	2nd	Charles O. Roberts*	Republican
Kings	1st	John Hill Morgan	Republican
	2nd	John McKeown*	Democrat
	3rd	James J. McInerney*	Democrat
	4th	Charles H. Cotton*	Republican	Chairman of Military Affairs
	5th	Abram C. DeGraw*	Republican	Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
	6th	John Harvey Waite	Republican
	7th	John D. Holsten	Democrat
	8th	Thomas J. Farrell*	Democrat
	9th	John J. Cain*	Democrat
	10th	Charles E. Fiske	Democrat
	11th	Joseph A. Guider*	Democrat
	12th	Frank J. Price	Republican
	13th	George Siems*	Democrat
	14th	Thomas P. Hawkins	Democrat
	15th	Charles Juengst*	Democrat
	16th	Edward C. Brennan*	Republican	Chairman of Commerce and Navigation
	17th	Harris Wilson*	Republican
	18th	Jacob D. Remsen	Republican
	19th	Conrad Hasenflug	Democrat
	20th	William F. Delaney	Democrat
	21st	Joseph H. Adams	Republican
Lewis		John L. Smith	Republican
Livingston		Otto Kelsey*	Republican	Chairman of Affairs of Cities
Madison		Robert J. Fish*	Republican	Chairman of Judiciary
Monroe	1st	Merton E. Lewis*	Republican	Chairman of Public Education
	2nd	Adolph J. Rodenbeck*	Republican	Chairman of Claims
	3rd	Richard Gardiner*	Republican
	4th	Benjamin F. Gleason*	Republican
Montgomery		Alphonso Walrath	Republican
New York	1st	Michael Halpin	Democrat
	2nd	James A. Rierdon*	Democrat
	3rd	Michael T. Sharkey*	Democrat
	4th	Patrick H. Roche*	Democrat
	5th	Nelson H. Henry*	Republican	Chairman of Public Health
	6th	Timothy P. Sullivan*	Democrat
	7th	John F. Maher*	Democrat
	8th	Isidor Cohn	Democrat
	9th	N. Taylor Phillips*	Democrat
	10th	Julius Harburger*	Democrat
	11th	John J. O'Connor*	Democrat
	12th	Leon Sanders*	Democrat
	13th	Patrick F. Trainor*	Democrat
	14th	Louis Meister*	Democrat
	15th	James E. Smith*	Democrat
	16th	Samuel Prince	Democrat
	17th	James J. Fitzgerald	Democrat
	18th	Charles P. Dillon*	Democrat
	19th	Perez M. Stewart	Ind. Dem.
	20th	Henry C. Honeck	Democrat
	21st	Edward H. Fallows*	Republican	Chairman of Privileges and Elections
	22nd	Joseph Baum*	Democrat
	23rd	Maurice M. Minton	Democrat
	24th	John B. Fitzgerald*	Democrat
	25th	John A. Weekes, Jr.	Republican	Chairman of Codes
	26th	John J. O'Connell*	Democrat
	27th	Gherardi Davis*	Republican
	28th	Joseph I. Green*	Democrat
	29th	Moses R. Ryttenberg	Democrat
	30th	Samuel F. Hyman	Democrat
	31st	vacant		Assemblyman-elect Edward C. Stone (D) died on December 8, 1899[1]
		Samuel S. Slater	Republican	elected on January 23 to fill vacancy
	32nd	John Poth, Jr.*	Democrat
	33rd	John J. Egan*	Democrat
	34th	John J. Scanlon	Democrat
	35th	William E. Morris	Democrat
Niagara	1st	John T. Darrison*	Republican	Chairman of Unfinished Business
	2nd	Jay S. Rowe*	Republican
Oneida	1st	William J. Sullivan*	Democrat
	2nd	Louis M. Martin*	Republican	Chairman of Internal Affairs
	3rd	Edward M. Marson	Republican
Onondaga	1st	Edward V. Baker	Republican
	2nd	William Herrick	Democrat
	3rd	Abraham Z. Hyman	Democrat
	4th	John T. Delaney*	Republican
Ontario		Jean L. Burnett*	Republican	Chairman of General Laws
Orange	1st	James G. Graham*	Republican
	2nd	Louis Bedell*	Republican	Chairman of Railroads
Orleans		William W. Phipps	Republican
Oswego	1st	Thomas D. Lewis*	Republican	Chairman of Trades and Manufactures
	2nd	Thomas M. Costello*	Republican	Chairman of Labor and Industries
Otsego		Andrew R. Smith	Republican
Putnam		William W. Everett	Republican
Queens	1st	Charles C. Wissel*	Democrat
	2nd	Cyrus B. Gale*	Democrat
Queens and Nassau		George W. Doughty*	Republican
Rensselaer	1st	Hugh Galbraith	Republican
	2nd	John F. Ahearn	Republican
	3rd	Michael Russell*	Republican	Chairman of Charitable and Religious Societies
Richmond		George Metcalfe	Democrat
Rockland		Frank P. Demarest	Democrat
St. Lawrence	1st	Charles S. Plank	Republican
	2nd	Benjamin A. Babcock*	Republican
Saratoga		George H. West*	Republican
Schenectady		Andrew J. McMillan*	Republican
Schoharie		Daniel D. Frisbie	Democrat
Schuyler		J. Franklin Barnes	Democrat	Minority Leader
Seneca		Israel Y. Larzelere	Republican
Steuben	1st	Frank C. Platt	Republican	Chairman of Soldiers' Home
	2nd	Hyatt C. Hatch*	Republican	Chairman of Revision
Suffolk	1st	Joseph N. Hallock*	Republican
	2nd	Regis H. Post*	Republican
Sullivan		Edwin R. Dusinbery	Republican
Tioga		Daniel P. Witter*	Republican	Chairman of Electricity, Gas and Water Supply
Tompkins		Benn Conger	Republican
Ulster	1st	Robert A. Snyder*	Republican	Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills
	2nd	Thomas Snyder	Republican
Warren		Charles H. Hitchcock*	Republican
Washington		Samuel B. Irwin	Republican
Wayne		Frederick W. Griffith	Republican
Westchester	1st	John J. Sloane*	Democrat
	2nd	Alford W. Cooley	Republican
	3rd	James K. Apgar*	Republican
Wyoming		Charles J. Gardner	Republican
Yates		Edward M. Sawyer*	Republican

Employees

• Clerk: Archie E. Baxter
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Frank W. Johnston
• Doorkeeper: Thomas F. Murphy
• First Assistant Doorkeeper: Charles R. Hotaling
• Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Roswell P. Warren
• Stenographer: Henry C. Lammert
• Assistant Clerk: Ray B. Smith
• Librarian: John R. Yale
• Assistant Doorkeeper: Eugene L. Demers

Notes

1. DEATH OF EDWARD C. STONE in NYT on December 9, 1899

Sources

• The New York Red Book by Edgar L. Murlin (James B. Lyon, Albany, 1900; see: senators bios, pg. 59–95; assemblymen's bios, pg. 96–186; senators' portraits, after pg. 64; assemblymen's portraits, after pg. 96)
• Official New York from Cleveland to Hughes by Charles Elliott Fitch (Hurd Publishing Co., New York and Buffalo, 1911, Vol. IV; see pg. 341ff for assemblymen; and 364 for senators)
• The World Almanac and Encyclopedia (1900; pg. 447)
• The World Almanac and Encyclopedia (1900; pg. 448)
• NEW YORK LEGISLATURE in NYT on January 3, 1900
• THE LEGISLATURE MEETS in NYT on January 4, 1900