65th New York State Legislature

65th New York State Legislature

The Old State Capitol (1879)
Duration: January 1 – December 31, 1842
President of the State Senate: Lt. Gov. Luther Bradish (W)
Temporary President of the State Senate:
Speaker of the State Assembly: Levi S. Chatfield (D)
Members: 32 Senators
128 Assemblymen
Senate Majority: Democratic (17-15)
Assembly Majority: Democratic (95-33)
Sessions
1st: January 4 – April 12, 1842
2nd: August 16 – September 7, 1842
<64th 66th>

The 65th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4 to September 7, 1842, during the fourth year of William H. Seward's governorship, in Albany.

Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1821, 32 Senators were elected on general tickets in eight 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.

State Senator Minthorne Tompkins resigned on March 8, 1841; and State Senator Mark H. Sibley resigned on May 28, 1841; leaving vacancies in the First and Seventh District.

Secretary of State John C. Spencer (W) resigned on October 11, 1841, to take office as U.S. Secretary of War.

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

In New York City, the "friends of civil and religious freedom, in favor of extending the benefits of a common school education to the neglected and indigent children of this city" met on October 26, 1841, at Carroll Hall, and nominated a ticket for the Senate and Assembly elections. The Carroll Hall assembly ticket was made up of 10 of the 13 Tammany Hall (Democratic) nominees and three own candidates. The spoiler effect led to the election of one Whig and one Democrat to the Senate, and of 10 Democrats and 3 Whigs to the Assembly.[1]

Elections

The State election was held from November 1 to 3, 1841.

State Senator Henry A. Livingston (2nd D.) was defeated for re-election.

1841 New York State Senate election result
District Democrat Whig Carroll Hall
First Isaac L. Varian 19,811 Morris Franklin 19,675 Thomas O'Connor 2,581
Elijah F. Purdy 19,523 Daniel Lord Jr. 19,584 John George Gottsberger 2,423
Second Abraham Bockee 23,377 Henry A. Livingston 17,194
Third Erastus Corning 26,268 Killian Miller 22,008
Fourth Edmund Varney 25,721 David Abel Russell 23,306
Fifth William Ruger 25,738 Roswell T. Lee 20,934
Sixth James Faulkner 25,450 Allen Ayrault 23,788
Seventh William Bartlit 25,017 Henry Welles 23,734
Lyman Sherwood 25,010 Barak Niles 23,723
Eighth Lyman Bates 16,861 Gideon Hard 20,907

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 4, 1842; and adjourned on April 12.

Levi S. Chatfield (D) was elected Speaker with 93 votes against 32 for George A. Simmons (W). John O. Cole (D) was elected Clerk of the Assembly with 91 votes against 33 for the incumbent Philander B. Prindle (W).

On January 12, John L. O'Sullivan (D) brought a bill in the Assembly to abolish capital punishment, which was rejected on March 31 by a vote of 45 to 54.

On February 7, the Legislature elected Samuel Young (D) to fill the vacancy in the office of Secretary of State; Azariah C. Flagg (D) to succeed John A. Collier (W) as State Comptroller; Thomas Farrington (D) to succeed Jacob Haight (W) as State Treasurer; George P. Barker (D) to suucceed Willis Hall (W) as Attorney General; and Nathaniel Jones (D) to succeed Orville L. Holley as Surveyor General.

On February 8, the Legislature elected Daniel P. Bissell, Stephen Clark, Jonas Earll, Jr., Benjamin Enos, James Hooker and George W. Little to succeed George H. Boughton, Simon Newton Dexter, Henry Hamilton, David Hudson, Samuel B. Ruggles and Asa Whitney as Canal Commissioners.

On April 5, the Legislature enacted that future state elections be held on a single day, fixing the date on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November.

The Legislature met for a special session on August 16; and adjourned on September 7. This session was called to re-apportion the congressional districts. Earlier this year Congress had passed a law requiring all representatives in all States to be elected in single districts, and in New York there had been for decades several multiple-seat districts.

On September 7, the Democratic state convention met at Syracuse, and nominated again William C. Bouck for Governor, and Daniel S. Dickinson for Lieutenant Governor.

On the same day, the Whig state convention met; Charles H. Carroll was Chairman. They nominated Lt. Gov. Luther Bradish for Governor, and State Senator Gabriel Furman for Lieutenant Governor.

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 Senators Term left Party Notes
First Gabriel Furman* 1 year Whig
Morris Franklin 2 years Whig elected to fill vacancy, in place of Minthorne Tompkins
John B. Scott* 3 years Democrat
Isaac L. Varian 4 years Democrat
Second Daniel Johnson* 1 year Democrat
John Hunter* 2 years Democrat
Robert Denniston* 3 years Democrat
Abraham Bockee 4 years Democrat
Third Alonzo C. Paige* 1 year Democrat
Erastus Root* 2 years Whig
Henry W. Strong* 3 years Democrat also Recorder of Troy
Erastus Corning 4 years Democrat
Fourth Bethuel Peck* 1 year Whig
James G. Hopkins* 2 years Whig
John W. Taylor* 3 years Whig resigned on August 19, 1842
Edmund Varney 4 years Democrat
Fifth Joseph Clark* 1 year Democrat
Sumner Ely* 2 years Democrat
Henry A. Foster* 3 years Democrat
William Ruger 4 years Democrat
Sixth Alvah Hunt* 1 year Whig
Andrew B. Dickinson* 2 years Whig
Nehemiah Platt* 3 years Whig
James Faulkner 4 years Democrat
Seventh Robert C. Nicholas* 1 year Whig
Lyman Sherwood 2 years Democrat elected to fill vacancy, in place of Mark H. Sibley
Elijah Rhoades* 3 years Whig
William Bartlit 4 years Democrat
Eighth Henry Hawkins* 1 year Whig
Abram Dixon* 2 years Whig
Samuel Works* 3 years Whig
Gideon Hard 4 years Whig

Employees

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.

Party affiliations follow the vote on State officers on February 1, 7 and 8.[2]

District Assemblymen Party Notes
Albany John A. Dix Democrat
Cornelius G. Palmer Democrat
Jonas Shear Democrat
Allegany Lorenzo Dana* Whig
Horace Hunt* Whig
Broome Robert Harpur Whig
Cattaraugus Samuel Barrows Democrat
Lewis T. Thorp Democrat
Cayuga John L. Cuyler Democrat
Vincent Kenyon Democrat
Alvarez Tupper Democrat
Chautauqua Rossiter P. Johnson Whig
Austin Pierce Whig
Emory F. Warren Whig
Chemung Samuel G. Hathaway Jr. Democrat
Chenango Clark Burnham Democrat
Richard W. Juliand Democrat
Adam Storing Democrat
Clinton Lemuel Stetson Democrat also D.A. of Clinton Co.;
on November 8, 1842, elected to the 28th U>S> Congress
Columbia James Knickerbacker Democrat
Abraham I. Van Alstyne Democrat
Jared Winslow Democrat
Cortland Jesse Ives Whig
Oren Stimson Whig
Delaware Samuel Eells Democrat
Orrin Griffin Democrat
Dutchess Peter K. Dubois Democrat
John M. Ketcham Democrat
Richard C. Van Wyck Democrat
Erie William A. Bird Whig
Bela H. Colegrove Whig
Squire S. Case Whig
Essex George A. Simmons* Whig
Franklin Thomas R. Powell Whig
Fulton and Hamilton John Patterson Democrat
Genesee Robinson Smiley Whig
Albert Smith Whig on November 8, 1842, elected to the 28th U.S. Congress
Greene John Laraway Democrat
Andrew T. Van Slyke Democrat
Herkimer Michael Hoffman* Democrat
Arphaxed Loomis* Democrat
Jefferson Elihu C. Church Democrat
Elihu M. McNeil Democrat
John W. Tamblin Democrat
Kings John A. Lott Democrat
William M. Udall Democrat
Lewis Carlos P. Scovil Democrat
Livingston Gardner Arnold Whig
Chester Bradley Whig
Madison Simon C. Hitchcock Democrat
Calvin Morse Democrat
Job Wells Democrat
Monroe Henry K. Higgins Whig
Frederick Starr Whig
George S. Stone Whig
Montgomery James Diefendorf Whig
Lawrence Marcellus Democrat
New York Elbridge G. Baldwin Whig
Auguste Davezac Democrat
David R. Floyd-Jones* Democrat
Paul Grout* Democrat
William Jones Whig
William B. Maclay* Democrat on November 8, 1842, elected to the 28th U.S. Congress
William McMurray* Democrat
John L. O'Sullivan* Democrat
Daniel C. Pentz Democrat
Conrad Swackhamer* Democrat
Solomon Townsend* Democrat
Joseph Tucker Whig
George Weir* Democrat
Niagara Thomas T. Flagler Whig
Francis O. Pratt* Whig
Oneida Ichabod C. Baker Democrat
Ebenezer Robbins Democrat
Horatio Seymour Democrat
DeWitt C. Stephens Democrat
Onondaga William Fuller* Democrat
David Munro* Democrat
John Spencer Democrat
William Taylor* Democrat
Ontario Peter M. Dox Whig
Staats Green Whig
Joseph C. Shelton Whig
Orange Stacey Beakes Democrat
Robert Lawson Democrat
Roswell Mead Democrat
Orleans Sanford E. Church Democrat
Oswego Peter Devendorf Democrat
Robert C. Kenyon Democrat
Otsego Leonard Caryl Democrat
Levi S. Chatfield* Democrat elected Speaker
Festus Hyde Democrat
Putnam Ebenezer Foster Democrat
Queens John W. Lawrence* Democrat
Rensselaer George R. Davis Democrat also First Judge of the Rensselaer County Court
Martinus Lansing Democrat
Silas W. Waite Democrat
Richmond Henry Cole Democrat
Rockland Edward De Noyelles* Democrat
St. Lawrence Calvin T. Hulburd Democrat
George Redington Democrat
Saratoga John Cramer Democrat
Halsey Rogers Democrat
Schenectady Jonathan C. Burnham Democrat
Schoharie William Fink Democrat
George Wright Democrat
Seneca William C. Kelly Democrat
Steuben Aaron C. Beach Democrat
Francis E. Erwin Democrat
Ziba A. Leland Democrat
Suffolk Richard A. Udall Democrat
Benjamin F. Wells Democrat
Sullivan Matthew Brown Democrat
Tioga John McQuigg Democrat
Tompkins Charles Humphrey Democrat
Bernardus Swartwout Democrat
Ulster Abraham Jansen Democrat
Jeremiah Russell Democrat on November 8, 1842, elected to the 28th U.S. Congress
Warren Benjamin P. Burhans Democrat
Washington James McKie Jr. Whig
Dan S. Wright Whig
Wayne Theron R. Strong Democrat
James M. Wilson Democrat
Westchester Joseph T. Carpenter* Democrat
Horatio Lockwood* Democrat
Wyoming Eleazer Baldwin Whig
John W. Brownson* Whig previously a member from Genesee Co.
Yates Henry Spence Democrat

Employees

Notes

  1. ↑ see: History of the Public School Society of the City of New York by William Oland Bourne (New York City, 1870; pg. 479f)
  2. ↑ see: Journal of the Assembly (65th Session) (1842; pg. 207f, 263ff and 276ff)

Sources

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