126th New York State Legislature

The 126th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7 to April 23, 1903, during the third year of Benjamin B. Odell Jr.'s governorship, in Albany.

126th New York State Legislature
125th 127th
Overview
Legislative bodyNew York State Legislature
JurisdictionNew York, United States
TermJanuary 1 – December 31, 1903
Senate
Members50
PresidentLt. Gov. Frank W. Higgins (R)
Temporary PresidentJohn Raines (R)
Party controlRepublican (28-22)
Assembly
Members150
SpeakerS. Frederick Nixon (R)
Party controlRepublican (89-61)
Sessions
1stJanuary 7 – April 23, 1903

Background

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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. The Social Democratic Party, the Prohibition Party, the Socialist Labor Party, and a "Liberal Democratic" faction also nominated tickets.

Elections

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The New York state election, 1902, was held on November 4. Gov. Benjamin B. Odell Jr. was re-elected; and State Senator Frank W. Higgins was elected Lieutenant Governor; both Republicans. Of the other six statewide elective offices up for election, four were carried by the Republicans and two by the Democrats. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Republicans 665,000; Democrats 656,000; Social Democrats 23,000; Prohibition 20,000; Socialist Labor 16,000; and Liberal Democrats 2,000.

Sessions

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The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 7, 1903; and adjourned on April 23.

S. Frederick Nixon (R) was re-elected Speaker.

John Raines (R) was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate with 25 votes for and 24 against him. Republican senators Edgar T. Brackett, Walter L. Brown and Nathaniel A. Elsberg voted against Raines.[1]

On January 20, the Legislature re-elected Thomas C. Platt (R) to a second term as U.S. Senator from New York, for a six-year term beginning on March 4, 1903.[2]

State Senate

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Districts

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  • 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

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The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Luke A. Keenan, Jotham P. Allds and Albert T. Fancher changed from the Assembly to the Senate.

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

District Senator Party Notes
1st Edwin Bailey Jr. Democrat
2nd Luke A. Keenan* Democrat
3rd Thomas H. Cullen* Democrat
4th Thomas C. Whitlock Democrat
5th James H. McCabe* Democrat
6th Walter C. Burton Democrat
7th Patrick H. McCarren* Democrat
8th Henry Marshall* Republican Chairman of Insurance
9th Joseph Wagner* Democrat
10th Daniel J. Riordan Democrat
11th John C. Fitzgerald 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 Codes
16th vacant Senator-elect Patrick F. Trainor (D) died on December 25, 1902
Peter J. Dooling Democrat elected on January 27, 1903, to fill vacancy[3]
17th George W. Plunkitt* Democrat
18th Victor J. Dowling* Democrat
19th John W. Russell Democrat
20th James J. Frawley Democrat
21st John A. Hawkins Democrat
22nd Charles P. McClelland Democrat seat vacated on August 21, upon
appointment to the Board of General Appraisers
23rd Louis F. Goodsell* Republican Chairman of Miscellaneous Corporations
24th Henry S. Ambler* Republican Chairman of Agriculture
25th Frank J. Lefevre Republican Chairman of Revision
26th Jotham P. Allds* Republican
27th Spencer K. Warnick Republican Chairman of Privileges and Elections
28th Edgar T. Brackett* Republican Chairman of Judiciary
29th James B. McEwan* Republican Chairman of Affairs of Villages
30th William D. Barnes* Republican Chairman of Penal Institutions
31st Spencer G. Prime* Republican Chairman of Banks
32nd George R. Malby* Republican Chairman of Finance
33rd Walter L. Brown Republican Chairman of Engrossed Bills
34th William Townsend Democrat
35th Elon R. Brown* Republican Chairman of Forest, Fish and Game
36th Horace White* Republican Chairman of Affairs of Cities
37th Francis H. Gates Republican Chairman of Military Affairs
38th George E. Green* Republican Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
39th Benjamin M. Wilcox* Republican Chairman of Railroads
40th Edwin C. Stewart* Republican Chairman of Public Health
41st Franklin D. Sherwood* Republican Chairman of Public Printing
42nd John Raines* Republican elected President pro tempore; Chairman of Rules
43rd Merton E. Lewis* Republican Chairman of Public Education
44th William W. Armstrong* Republican Chairman of Internal Affairs
45th Irving L'Hommedieu Republican Chairman of Trades and Manufactures
46th Frederick C. Stevens Republican Chairman of Roads and Bridges
47th Henry W. Hill* Republican Chairman of Commerce and Navigation
48th Samuel J. Ramsperger* Democrat
49th George Allen Davis* Republican Chairman of Canals
50th Albert T. Fancher* Republican Chairman of Indian Affairs

Employees

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State Assembly

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Assemblymen

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

District Assemblymen Party Notes
Albany 1st Charles W. Mead Republican
2nd Abram S. Coon* Republican Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills
3rd William V. Cooke Democrat
4th William J. Grattan Republican
Allegany Jesse S. Phillips* Republican Chairman of Codes
Broome 1st James T. Rogers* Republican Majority Leader; Chairman of Ways and Means
2nd Fred E. Allen* Republican
Cattaraugus 1st Theodore Hayden Republican
2nd James C. Sheldon Republican
Cayuga 1st Ernest G. Treat* Republican Chairman of State Prisons
2nd Charles J. Hewitt* Republican
Chautauqua 1st J. Samuel Fowler* Republican Chairman of General Laws
2nd S. Frederick Nixon* Republican re-elected Speaker; Chairman of Rules
Chemung Sherman Moreland Republican
Chenango Edgar A. Pearsall Republican
Clinton H. Wallace Knapp Republican
Columbia Edward W. Scovill Republican
Cortland Henry A. Dickinson* Republican Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
Delaware James R. Cowan* Republican
Dutchess 1st John T. Smith* Republican Chairman of Banks
2nd Francis G. Landon* Republican Chairman of Public Education
Erie 1st John H. Bradley* Democrat
2nd Robert L. Cox Republican
3rd Anthony F. Burke* Democrat
4th Charles V. Lynch Democrat
5th Charles W. Hinson Democrat
6th George Ruehl* Republican
7th John K. Patton* Republican Chairman of Canals
8th Elijah Cook* Republican Chairman of Privileges and Elections
Essex James M. Graeff* Republican Chairman of Agriculture
Franklin Halbert D. Stevens* Republican Chairman of Affairs of Villages
Fulton and Hamilton Clarence W. Smith* Republican
Genesee S. Percy Hooker* Republican Chairman of Indian Affairs
Greene Charles E. Nichols Republican
Herkimer Samuel M. Allston* Republican Chairman of Fisheries and Game
Jefferson 1st William A. Denison Republican
2nd James A. Outterson* Republican
Kings 1st John Hill Morgan* Republican Chairman of Judiciary
2nd John McKeown* Democrat
3rd James J. McInerney* Democrat
4th John E. Bullwinkel Democrat
5th Fortescue C. Metcalfe Democrat
6th Frank J. Ulrich Democrat
7th William Keegan Democrat
8th John C. L. Daly* Democrat
9th James J. Kehoe Democrat
10th Francis J. Byrne Democrat
11th William S. Shanahan Democrat
12th John F. Kearney Democrat
13th Thomas F. Mathews Democrat
14th John B. Ferre* Democrat
15th Harry H. Dale* Democrat
16th Gustavus C. Weber* Republican
17th Edward C. Dowling Republican
18th Jacob D. Remsen* Republican Chairman of Commerce and Navigation
19th John Wolf* Democrat
20th Louis J. Zettler Democrat
21st Edward A. Miller Democrat
Lewis Lewis H. Stiles* Republican
Livingston William Y. Robinson Republican
Madison Avery M. Hoadley* Republican Chairman of Public Institutions
Monroe 1st Martin Davis* Republican Chairman of Federal Relations
2nd George H. Smith* Republican
3rd Eugene J. Dwyer Republican
4th John Pallace Jr. Democrat
Montgomery John W. Candee* Republican
New York 1st Andrew J. Doyle Democrat
2nd Joseph P. Bourke* Democrat
3rd Dominick F. Mullaney Democrat
4th William H. Burns* Democrat
5th Edward R. Finch* Republican
6th Harry E. Oxford* Democrat
7th Peter P. Sherry Democrat
8th Isidor Cohn Democrat
9th Richard J. Butler Democrat
10th John F. McCullough* Democrat
11th Hugh Dolan Democrat
12th Edward Rosenstein Democrat
13th John C. Hackett Democrat
14th Henry W. Doll* Democrat
15th Thomas J. McManus Democrat
16th Samuel Prince* Democrat
17th John F. Curry Democrat
18th George P. Richter* Democrat
19th Charles F. Bostwick Republican
20th John H. Fitzpatrick* Democrat
21st Frederick E. Wood Republican
22nd William H. Hornidge Democrat
23rd Eugene J. McCarthy Democrat
24th Leo P. Ulmann* Democrat
25th Howard Conkling Republican previously a member from Warren Co.
26th Myron Sulzberger* Democrat
27th George B. Agnew Republican
28th John T. Dooling* Democrat
29th George B. Clark Republican
30th Gotthardt A. Litthauer* Democrat
31st Lewis A. Abrams Democrat
32nd Matthew F. Neville* Democrat
33rd James O. Farrell Democrat
34th William J. Ellis Democrat
35th Peter J. Everett Democrat
Niagara 1st Joseph M. Hoffman Democrat
2nd John H. Leggett* Republican Chairman of Claims
Oneida 1st Thomas A. Mortimer Democrat
2nd Fred J. Brill* Republican
3rd John C. Evans Republican
Onondaga 1st James F. Williams* Republican
2nd Frederick D. Traub* Republican Chairman of Public Printing
3rd Martin L. Cadin* Republican
4th Fred W. Hammond* Republican Chairman of Revision
Ontario Jean L. Burnett* Republican Chairman of Affairs of Cities
Orange 1st John Orr* Republican Chairman of Unfinished Business
2nd Louis Bedell* Republican Chairman of Railroads
Orleans Charles S. Bridgeman Republican
Oswego 1st Thomas D. Lewis* Republican Chairman of Insurance
2nd Thomas M. Costello* Republican Chairman of labor and Industries
Otsego John B. Conkling* Republican
Putnam John R. Yale* Republican
Queens 1st Joseph Sullivan Democrat
2nd Francis X. Duer* Democrat
Queens and Nassau George W. Doughty* Republican Chairman of Internal Affairs
Rensselaer 1st John M. Chambers* Republican Chairman of Charitable and Religious Societies
2nd John J. McCarthy Democrat
3rd Charles W. Reynolds* Republican Chairman of Trades and Manufactures
Richmond Charles J. McCormack Democrat
Rockland Thomas Finegan Democrat
St. Lawrence 1st Charles S. Plank* Republican Chairman of Excise
2nd Edwin A. Merritt Jr.* Republican
Saratoga George H. Whitney Republican
Schenectady William W. Wemple Republican
Schoharie George M. Palmer* Democrat Minority Leader
Schuyler Olin T. Nye* Republican Chairman of Public Health
Seneca Daniel W. Moran* Republican
Steuben 1st Frank C. Platt* Republican Chairman of Soldiers' Home
2nd Gordon M. Patchin* Republican
Suffolk 1st Willis A. Reeve* Republican
2nd Orlando Hubbs Republican
Sullivan John F. Simpson Republican
Tioga Edwin S. Hanford* Republican Chairman of Public Lands and Forestry
Tompkins George E. Monroe* Republican
Ulster 1st Charles T. Coutant Republican
2nd Solomon P. Thorn Republican
Warren Loyal L. Davis Republican
Washington William H. Hughes* Republican Chairman of Military Affairs
Wayne Addison P. Smith Republican
Westchester 1st John J. Sloane* Democrat
2nd J. Mayhew Wainwright* Republican
3rd James K. Apgar* Republican Chairman of Electricity, Gas and Water Supply
Wyoming Henry J. McNair* Republican
Yates Cyrus C. Harvey Republican

Employees

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  • Clerk: Archie E. Baxter
  • Sergeant-at-Arms: Frank W. Johnston
  • Doorkeeper: Benjamin J. Sanger
  • First Assistant Doorkeeper: Andrew Kehn
  • Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Daniel Cameron Easton
  • Stenographer: Henry C. Lammert
  • Assistant Clerk: Ray B. Smith

Notes

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  1. ^ The president pro tempore was elected by resolution. When the Democrats offered a substitute resolution in favor of Minority Leader Thomas F. Grady, Brackett, Brown and Elsberg voted against Grady; when the original resolution was up, they voted with the Democrats against Raines. Raines was elected only because one seat was vacant due to the death of Democrat Patrick F. Trainor. In a full Senate, there would have been a tied vote of 25 to 25, and Raines could not have been elected.
  2. ^ MR. PLATT ELECTED AFTER DENUNCIATION in NYT on January 21, 1903
  3. ^ see DOOLING ELECTED SENATOR in NYT on January 28, 1903

Sources

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