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1st West Virginia legislature

The first state legislature of West Virginia convened in Wheeling from June 20, 1863, to December 11, 1863, after the adoption of the West Virginia Constitution which was drafted during the first two years of the Civil War.[1]

1st West Virginia Legislature
←Restored Government of Virginia 2nd→
Overview
Legislative bodyWest Virginia Legislature
TermJune 20, 1863 – December 11, 1863
GovernorArthur I. Boreman
House of Delegates
Members51 delegates
SpeakerSpicer Patrick
Senate
Members20 senators
PresidentJohn M. Phelps

Apportionment

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Legend
  •   District 1
  •   District 2
  •   District 3
  •   District 4
  •   District 5
  •   District 6
  •   District 7
  •   District 8
  •   District 9
  •   District 10
  •   District 11
  •   1 delegate
  •   2 delegates
  •   3 delegates
  • Thick black lines: State and district boundaries
  • Thin gray lines: County boundaries
  • Dashed black lines: Planned district and state boundaries
  • Dashed red lines: Counties with rotating member apportionment

The 1863 West Virginia Constitution established the creation of nine senatorial districts, each sending two senators to the state legislature. Additionally, the constitution called for the creation of two other senatorial districts containing counties in northern Virginia assuming they joined the state. For the House of Delegates, the constitution outlined six delegate districts each sending one or two delegates to the House, with another planned for counties in northern Virginia. Every other county was apportioned one to three delegates. The Senate member count was set to be between eighteen and twenty-two, and between forty-seven and fifty-two for the House of Delegates, depending on how many Virginian counties were absorbed into the state.[2]

  •  
    West Virginia's Senate districts as defined in the 1863 Constitution
  •  
    West Virginia's Delegate districts as defined in the 1863 Constitution
  •  
    House of Delegate apportionment as defined in the 1863 Constitution

Members of the Senate

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President of the West Virginia Senate: John M. Phelps from Mason County

  • District 1 (Hancock, Brooke, and Ohio)
    • John H. Atkinson
    • Chester D. Hubbard
  • District 2 (Marshall, Wetzel, and Marion)
    • James Burley
    • Aaron Hawkins
  • District 3 (Monongalia, Preston, and Taylor)
    • John J. Brown
    • Edward C. Bunker
  • District 4 (Pleasants, Tyler, Ritchie, Doddridge, and Harrison)
    • Daniel Haymond
    • Edwin Maxwell
  • District 5 (Wood, Jackson, Wirt, Roane, Calhoun, and Gilmer)
    • Edward S. Mahon
    • William E. Stevenson
  • District 6 (Barbour, Tucker, Lewis, Braxton, Upshur, and Randolph)
    • D. D. T. Farnsworth
    • William D. Rollyson
  • District 7 (Mason, Putnam, Kanawha, Clay, and Nicholas)
    • Greenbury Slack
  • District 8 (Cabell, Wayne, Boone, Logan, Wyoming, Mercer, and McDowell)
    • John B. Brown
    • William H. Copley
  • District 9 (Webster, Pocahontas, Fayette, Raleigh, Greenbrier, and Monroe)
    • Thomas K. McCann
    • Samuel Young
    • John M. Phelps
  • District 10 (Planned: Pendleton, Hardy, Hampshire, and Morgan)
    • Aaron Bechtol
    • James Carskadon
  • District 11 (Planned: Frederick, Berkeley, and Jefferson)

Members of the House of Delegates

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Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates: Spicer Patrick

Members by delegate districts

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  • District 1 (Pleasants and Wood, 2 members)
    • Horatio N. Crooks (Wood)
    • Peter G. Van Winkle (Wood)
  • District 2 (Calhoun and Gilmer)
    • William T. Wiant (Gilmer)
  • District 3 (Clay and Nicholas)
    • Anthony Rader (Nicholas)
  • District 4 (Webster and Pocahontas)
    • Benton Griffin (Pocahontas)
  • District 5 (Tucker and Randolph)
    • Cyrus Kittle (Randolph)
  • District 6 (McDowell, Wyoming, and Raleigh)
    • W. S. Dunbar (Raleigh)
  • District 7 (Planned: Morgan and Berkeley, 2 members)
    • Joseph S. Wheat (Morgan)
  • Greenbrier and Monroe: (3 members, county delegate count in rotation)
    • John C. Gillilan (Greenbrier)
    • Andrew W. Mann (Greenbrier)
    • Lewis Ballard (Monroe)

Members by county

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  • Barbour: Joseph Teter Jr.
  • Boone: Robert Hagar
  • Braxton: Felix Sutton
  • Brooke: H. W. Crothers
  • Cabell: Edward D. Wright
  • Doddridge: Ephraim Bee
  • Frederick (Planned, 2 members)
  • Hampshire:
    • James I. Barrick
    • George W. Sheetz
  • Hancock: William L. Crawford
  • Hardy: John Michael
  • Harrison:
    • Nathan Goff Sr.
    • Soloman S. Fleming
  • Jackson: David J. Keeney
  • Jefferson (Planned, 2 members)
  • Kanawha:
    • Spicer Patrick
    • Lewis Ruffner
  • Lewis: Perry M. Hale
  • Logan: James H. Hinchman
  • Marion:
    • Isaac Holman
    • John S. Barnes
  • Marshall:
    • Michael Dunn
    • Joseph Turner
  • Mason: Lewis Bumgardner
  • Mercer: Thomas Little
  • Monongalia:
    • Leroy Kramer
    • John B. Lough
  • Ohio:
    • Daniel Lamb
    • Andrew F. Ross
    • W. W. Shriver
  • Pendleton: John Boggs
  • Preston:
    • James C. McGrew
    • William B. Zinn
  • Putnam: George C. Bowyer
  • Ritchie: S. R. Dawson
  • Roane: J. M. McWhorter
  • Taylor: L. E. Davidson
  • Tyler: Daniel Sweeny
  • Upshur: Jacob Teter
  • Wayne: Thomas Couley
  • Wetzel: S. I. Robinson
  • Wirt: Alfred Foster

Accomplishments

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204 bills were passed by the legislature in its first term, including bills to admit Berkeley and Jefferson counties into the state.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Harris, John T. (20 April 1916). West Virginia LEGISLATIVE HAND BOOK and MANUAL AND Official Register 1916 (PDF) (1st ed.). Charleston, WV: West Virginia Legislature. p. 381. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Constitution of West Virginia 1863". Ohio County Public Library. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  3. ^ Jett, Jaelyn. "The First West Virginia Legislature: The Foundation of Today". Wrap Up. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
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