67th New York State Legislature explained

Number:67th
Imagename:The Old State Capitol
Imagedate:1879
Start:January 1
End:December 31, 1844
Vp:Lt. Gov. Daniel S. Dickinson (D)
Pro Tem:Henry A. Foster (D), from February 8
Speaker:Elisha Litchfield (D)
Senators:32
Reps:128
S-Majority:Democratic (26-6)
H-Majority:Democratic (92-36)
Sessionnumber1:1st
Sessionstart1:January 2
Sessionend1:May 7, 1844
Previous:66th
Next:68th

The 67th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to May 7, 1844, during the second year of William C. Bouck'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 William Ruger died on May 21, 1843, leaving a vacancy in the Fifth District.

At this time there were two major political parties: the Democratic Party and the Whig Party. About this time began the split of the Democratic Party into Barnburners and Hunkers. The radical abolitionists appeared as the Liberty Party. In New York City the American Republican Party nominated a full ticket

Elections

The state election was held on November 7, 1843.

State Senator Morris Franklin (1st D.) was defeated for re-election.

1843 New York State Senate election result
DistrictDemocratWhigLibertyAmerican
Republican
FirstDavid R. Floyd-Jones18,422Morris Franklin18,052Fan.119Mangle M. Quackenbos8,712
SecondJoshua B. Smith22,296Wells17,44365
ThirdStephen C. Johnson24,479More21,608710
FourthOrville Clark25,242George A. Simmons20,345Campbell2,093
FifthThomas Barlow23,701Clark17,405Delong5,042
George C. Sherman
SixthClark Burnham23,609Henry S. Walbridge20,6111,824
SeventhAlbert Lester21,733Maynard19,271Bradley3,055
EighthMurphy18,928Frederick F. Backus22,143Plumb2,661

Sessions

On January 1, the Democratic assemblymen met in caucus and nominated Elisha Litchfield (Hunker) for Speaker with 56 votes against 35 for Michael Hoffman (Barnburner).

The legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 2, 1844; and adjourned on May 7.

Elisha Litchfield (D) was elected Speaker with 90 votes against 28 for Samuel Stevens (W). James R. Rose (D) was elected Clerk of the Assembly with 89 votes against 33 for George W. Weed (W).

On February 5, the legislature re-elected State Treasurer Thomas Farrington (D).

On February 8, Henry A. Foster was elected president pro tempore of the Senate.

On May 6, the legislature enacted to reduce the number of canal commissioners from 6 to 4, and that the canal commissioners be elected statewide by popular ballot. This was the first time, since Independence, that any other office than governor and lieutenant governor was to be filled by a statewide popular election.[1]

On June 17, U.S. Senator Nathaniel P. Tallmadge (W) resigned his seat, and was appointed as Governor of the Wisconsin Territory.

The Democratic state convention met on September 4 at Syracuse, Heman J. Redfield (Hunker) was chairman. They nominated U.S. Senator Silas Wright, Jr. for governor, Addison Gardiner for lieutenant governor; and an electoral ticket pledged to James K. Polk.

The Whig state convention met on September 11 at Syracuse, Francis Granger was chairman. They nominated Millard Fillmore for governor; Samuel J. Wilkin for lieutenant governor; and an electoral ticket pledged to Henry Clay.

U.S. Senator Silas Wright, Jr. (D) was elected Governor of New York, and resigned his seat in November 1844. On November 30, Gov. Bouck appointed Lt. Gov. Daniel S. Dickinson (D) and State Senator Henry A. Foster (D) to fill the two vacancies temporarily.

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. David R. Floyd-Jones and Joshua B. Smith changed from the Assembly to the Senate.

DistrictSenatorsTerm leftPartyNotes
FirstJohn B. Scott1 yearDemocrat/Barnburner
Isaac L. Varian2 yearsDemocrat
John A. Lott3 yearsDemocrat/Hunker
David R. Floyd-Jones4 yearsDemocrat/Hunker
SecondRobert Denniston1 yearDemocrat
Abraham Bockee2 yearsDemocrat/Hunker
Abraham A. Deyo3 yearsDemocrat
Joshua B. Smith4 yearsDemocrat
ThirdHenry W. Strong1 yearDemocratresigned on December 3, 1844
Erastus Corning2 yearsDemocrat/Hunker
John C. Wright3 yearsDemocrat
Stephen C. Johnson4 yearsDemocrat
FourthSidney Lawrence1 yearDemocrat
Edmund Varney2 yearsDemocrat
Thomas B. Mitchell3 yearsDemocrat/Hunker
Orville Clark4 yearsDemocrat/Hunker
FifthHenry A. Foster1 yearDemocrat/Hunker
George C. Sherman2 yearsDemocrat/Barnburnerelected to fill vacancy, in place of William Ruger
Carlos P. Scovil3 yearsDemocrat
Thomas Barlow4 yearsDemocrat/Barnburneralso First Judge of the Madison County Court
SixthNehemiah Platt1 yearWhig
James Faulkner2 yearsDemocrat
Calvin T. Chamberlain3 yearsDemocrat
Clark Burnham4 yearsDemocrat
SeventhElijah Rhoades1 yearWhig
William Bartlit2 yearsDemocrat/Hunker
John Porter3 yearsDemocrat
Albert Lester4 yearsDemocrat
EighthSamuel Works1 yearWhig
Gideon Hard2 yearsWhig
Harvey Putnam3 yearsWhig
Frederick F. Backus4 yearsWhig

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.

DistrictAssemblymenPartyNotes
AlbanyLevi Shaw
Samuel Stevens[2] Whigpreviously a member from Washington Co.
Simon Veeder
AlleganyNathaniel CoeWhig
Horatio R. Riddle
BroomeJohn B. Rogers
CattaraugusJames Burt
Marcus H. Johnson
CayugaAshbel Avery
Benjamin F. HallWhig
Robert Hume
ChautauquaForbes Johnson
Marcius Simons
Elijah Waters
ChemungSylvester Hazen
ChenangoRensselaer W. ClarkDemocrat
Erastus Dickinson
Daniel NoyesDemocrat
ClintonJulius C. HubbellDemocrat
ColumbiaWilliam A. Carpenter
Uriah Edwards
Peter P. Rossman
CortlandPlatt F. Grow
John Kingman Jr.
DelawareEdward I. BurhansDemocrat
Jesse Palmer
DutchessAlexander H. Coffin
John K. Mead
Ambrose L. PinneyDemocrat
ErieDaniel Lee
Elisha Smith
Amos Wright
EssexGideon HammondWhig
FranklinFrancis D. FlandersDemocrat
Fulton and HamiltonJames Harris
GeneseeCharles P. Brown
Chester HannumWhig
GreeneRobert C. FieldDemocrat
Lemuel C. StimsonDemocrat
HerkimerMichael HoffmanDemocrat/Barnburner
Peter H. Warren
JeffersonSamuel Bond
William Carlisle
Eli West
KingsWilliam Burbank
Jacob Rapelje
LewisAlburn Foster
LivingstonGardner Arnold
Daniel D. SpencerWhig
Ralph I. Gates
Thomas Keith
Alfred Medbery
MonroeAshley SampsonDemocrat
Moses Sperry
Edward Wadhams
Clark B. CochraneDemocrat
Morgan L. Harris
New YorkJoseph S. BosworthDemocrat
Michael Burke
Thomas N. Carr
Auguste DavezacDemocrat
Joshua Fleet
George G. GlasierDemocrat
William H. JansenDemocrat
Thomas Jeremiah
George S. Mann
John E. Ross
Edward SanfordDemocrat
James H. Suydam
Richard S. Williams
NiagaraJohn SweeneyWhig
Luther Wilson
OneidaJustus Childs
James Douglass
Richard Empey
Horatio SeymourDemocrat/Hunker
Warner Abbott
Thomas G. AlvordDemocrat
Seth Hutchinson
Elisha LitchfieldDemocrat/Hunkerelected Speaker
Lorenzo Clark
Israel HuntingtonWhig
Henry Pardee
Leonard LeeDemocrat/Barnburner
David H. SmithDemocrat
George W. TuthillDemocrat
OrleansSands Cole
OswegoWilliam F. AllenDemocrat
Alban StrongDemocrat
OtsegoGeorge S. GorhamDemocrat
William W. SnowDemocrat
Nahum Thompson
PutnamSaxton SmithDemocrat
QueensSamuel YoungsDemocrat
RensselaerJohn L. Cole
George B. Warren
Jonathan E. Whipple
RichmondWilliam Nickles
RocklandJohn Haring Jr.
St. LawrenceCalvin T. HulburdDemocrat/Barnburner
George RedingtonDemocrat
SaratogaJames Groom
Ezra Wilson
SchenectadyArchibald L. LinnWhig
SchoharieSeth Eldredge
John Spickerman
SenecaHelim Sutton
SteubenJohn Jamison
Asa McConnell
Jeffery Smith
SuffolkSilas Horton
Richard W. Smith
SullivanAmos Y. Grant
TiogaNathaniel W. Davis
TompkinsPeter Lounsbury
Charles M. Turner
UlsterAbraham D. Bevier
Samuel Reynolds
WarrenJohn F. Sherrill
WashingtonJohn Barker
John W. Proudfit
WayneAustin Roe
Isaac R. Sanford
WestchesterAndrew FindlayDemocrat
Charles Wright
WyomingTruman BenedictWhig
Leverett SpringWhig
YatesThomas Seamans

Employees

Notes

  1. This mode was adopted a few years later by the New York Constitution of 1846, and subsequent amendments, so that in the early 1870s a total of 20 offices were so filled (governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state comptroller, attorney general, state treasurer, state engineer, 3 canal commissioners, 3 inspectors of state prisons and 7 Court of Appeals judges). Now only the governor, lieutenant governor, state comptroller, attorney general and 2 U.S. Senators are elected by statewide popular ballot in New York.
  2. Gen. Samuel Stevens (1794–1854), lawyer, see The Gravestone of Samuel Stevens

Sources