18th New York State Legislature explained

Number:18th
Imagename:Clinton House, one of the buildings used by the State government during sessions at Poughkeepsie
Imagedate:2007
Start:July 1, 1794
End:June 30, 1795
Vp:Lt. Gov. Pierre Van Cortlandt
Speaker:William North (Fed.)
Senators:24
Reps:70
S-Majority:Federalist (14-10)
H-Majority:Federalist
Sessionnumber1:1st
Sessionstart1:January 6, 1795
Sessionend1:January 14, 1795
Sessionnumber2:2nd
Sessionstart2:January 20, 1795
Sessionend2:April 9, 1795
Previous:17th
Next:19th

The 18th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6 to April 9, 1795, during the eighteenth year of George Clinton's governorship, first in Poughkeepsie, then in New York City.

Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1777, the state senators were elected on general tickets in the senatorial districts, and were then divided into four classes. Six senators each drew lots for a term of 1, 2, 3 or 4 years and, beginning at the election in April 1778, every year six Senate seats came up for election to a four-year term. Assemblymen were elected countywide on general tickets to a one-year term, the whole assembly being renewed annually.

In March 1786, the legislature enacted that future legislatures meet on the first Tuesday of January of each year unless called earlier by the governor. No general meeting place was determined, leaving it to each Legislature to name the place where to reconvene, and if no place could be agreed upon, the legislature should meet again where it adjourned.

On February 7, 1791, the legislature re-apportioned the Senate and Assembly districts, according to the figures of the 1790 United States Census.

At this time the politicians were divided into two opposing political parties: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans.[1]

Elections

The State election was held from April 29 to May 1, 1794. Senators Matthew Clarkson (Southern D.), John Williams (Eastern D.), John Frey and Stephen Van Rensselaer (both Western D.) were re-elected. Assemblymen Richard Hatfield (Southern D.) and John D. Coe (Middle D.) were also elected to the Senate.

Sessions

The legislature met first in Poughkeepsie on January 6; and adjourned on January 14, 1795. The legislature met again at Federal Hall in New York City on January 20; and adjourned on April 9.

William North was elected Speaker with 33 votes to 28 for James Watson, the Speaker of the previous Assembly, both were Federalists. The average vote for the members of the Council of Appointment was 36 to 29, showing a Federalist majority of 7.[2]

On January 27, the Legislature re-elected Federalist Rufus King to the U.S. 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. Richard Hatfield and John D. Coe changed from the Assembly to the Senate.

DistrictSenatorsTerm leftPartyNotes
SouthernSamuel Jones1 yearFederalistalso Recorder of New York City
Joshua Sands1 yearFederalist
Henry Cruger2 yearsFederalist
John Schenck2 yearsDem.-Rep.
Selah Strong2 yearsFederalist
Ezra L'Hommedieu3 yearsFederalist
Matthew Clarkson4 yearsFederalist
Richard Hatfield4 yearsFederalistelected to the Council of Appointment
MiddleThomas Tillotson1 yearDem.-Rep.
Jacobus Swartwout1 yearDem.-Rep.
Joseph Hasbrouck2 yearsDem.-Rep.elected to the Council of Appointment
John Cantine3 yearsDem.-Rep.
Reuben Hopkins3 yearsDem.-Rep.
John D. Coe4 yearsDem.-Rep.
EasternWilliam Powers1 yearFederalistelected to the Council of Appointment
John Livingston 2 yearsDem.-Rep.
Robert Woodworth2 yearsDem.-Rep.
Zina Hitchcock3 yearsFederalist
John Williams4 yearsDem.-Rep.elected in December 1794 to the 4th United States Congress[4]
WesternPhilip Schuyler1 yearFederalist
Michael Myers3 yearsFederalist
Jacobus Van Schoonhoven3 yearsFederalistelected to the Council of Appointment
John Frey4 yearsFederalist
Stephen Van Rensselaer4 yearsFederalist

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. David Pye changed from the Senate to the Assembly.

CountyAssemblymenPartyNotes
AlbanyJohannes DietzFederalist
Leonard Gansevoort Jr.
Jacob Hochstrasser
Thomas Hun
William NorthFederalistelected Speaker
Stephen Platt
Andries Van Patten
ColumbiaMatthew AdgateDem.-Rep.
John BayDem.-Rep.
James Brebner
Philip L. Hoffman
Elisha JenkinsDem.-Rep.
Matthew Scott
DutchessSamuel A. BarkerFederalist
Jacob Bockée
  • ?
David BrooksFederalist
Jesse Oakley
Jacob Radclift
Jacob Smith
Isaac Van Wyck
Herkimer and
Onondaga		Jedediah Sanger
KingsPeter VandervoortFederalist
Douw Fonda
Frederick Gettman
David McMasters
Simon Veeder
New YorkNicholas Cruger
John DeLancey
Richard FurmanFederalist
Josiah Ogden HoffmanFederalist
James M. Hughes
Jotham Post Jr.Federalist
James WatsonFederalist
OntarioThomas MorrisFederalist
William Allison
John HathornDem.-Rep.
David PyeDem.-Rep.
OtsegoJacob MorrisFederalist
QueensStephen Carman
Samuel Clowes
Nathaniel LawrenceDem.-Rep.also New York Attorney General
RensselaerJonathan BrownDem.-Rep.
Daniel GrayFederalist
Benjamin HicksFederalist
Hosea MoffittFederalist
Jacob C. Schermerhorn
RichmondLewis Ryerss
SaratogaAdam ComstockDem.-Rep.
Jabez Davis
Beriah PalmerDem.-Rep.
John B. Schuyler
SuffolkJohn Gelston
Jonathan N. HavensDem.-Rep.elected in April 1794 to the 4th United States Congress[6]
Joshua Smith Jr.
Isaac Thompson
TiogaVincent MathewsFederalist
Ulster(Severyn T. Bruyn)Dem.-Rep.died September 1794, before the Legislature met
John C. DeWittDem.-Rep.
Andrew McCordDem.-Rep.
Cornelius C. SchoonmakerDem.-Rep.
(Jacob W. Tremper)Dem.-Rep.died October 8, 1794, before the Legislature met
Washington
and Clinton		Samuel Beman Jr.
Benjamin Colvin
David HopkinsDem.-Rep.
Edward SavageDem.-Rep.
WestchesterThomas Bowne
Ebenezer Purdy
Abel Smith
Pierre Van Cortlandt Jr.Dem.-Rep.
Ebenezer White

Employees

Notes

  1. 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.
  2. https://books.google.com/books?id=bu8SPTyhrF8C&pg=PA87 The History of Political Parties in the State of New-York, from the Ratification of the Federal Constitution to December, 1840
  3. John Livingston, fifth son of Robert Livingston (1708–1790), 3rd Lord of the Manor
  4. John Williams was re-elected in April 1794 to the State Senate for a four-year term beginning on July 1, 1794; and elected to the 4th United States Congress in December 1794 for a two-year term beginning on March 4, 1795. Although the Legislature had pronounced the incompatibility of holding both seats concurrently, Williams could remain in the Senate until the end of this session of the State Legislature because it ended about eight months before Congress actually met on December 7, 1795. A special election was held in April 1795 to fill the remainder of Williams's term in the State Senate, and was won by Ambrose Spencer.
  5. It is unclear why this person is named "Radcliff", the Civil List of 1858 lists "Radclift" and he signed himself as such, see signature at his article on Wikipedia.
  6. Jonathan N. Havens was re-elected in April 1794 to the State Assembly for a one-year term beginning on July 1, 1794; and elected to the 4th United States Congress in December 1794 for a two-year term beginning on March 4, 1795. Although the Legislature had pronounced the incompatibility of holding both seats concurrently, Havens could remain in the Assembly until the end of this session of the State Legislature because it ended about eight months before Congress actually met on December 7, 1795.

Sources

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "18th New York State Legislature".

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