The 34th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 29 to April 9, 1811, during the fourth year of Daniel D. Tompkins's governorship, in Albany.
| 34th New York State Legislature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 The Old Albany City Hall (undated) | |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | New York State Legislature | ||||
| Jurisdiction | New York, United States | ||||
| Term | July 1, 1810 – June 30, 1811 | ||||
| Senate | |||||
| Members | 32 | ||||
| President | Lt. Gov. John Broome (Dem.-Rep.; died August 8, 1810) | ||||
| Temporary President | John Tayler (Dem.-Rep.; elected January 29, 1811) | ||||
| Party control | Democratic-Republican (25–6) | ||||
| Assembly | |||||
| Members | 112 | ||||
| Speaker | Nathan Sanford (Dem.-Rep.; elected January 29) William Ross (Dem.-Rep.; elected February 12) | ||||
| Party control | Democratic-Republican (65–37) | ||||
| Sessions | |||||
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Background
editUnder the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1777, amended by the Constitutional Convention of 1801, 32 Senators were elected on general tickets in the four 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.
In 1797, Albany was declared the State capital, and all subsequent Legislatures have been meeting there ever since. In 1799, the Legislature enacted that future Legislatures meet on the last Tuesday of January of each year unless called earlier by the governor.
At this time the politicians were divided into two opposing political parties: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans.[1]
Elections
editThe State election was held from April 24 to 26, 1810. Gov. Daniel D. Tompkins and Lt. Gov. John Broome (both Dem.-Rep.) were re-elected.
Senator Nathan Smith (Western D.) was re-elected. Ebenezer White (Southern D.), Ex-Gov. Morgan Lewis, James W. Wilkin (both Middle D.), Henry Yates Jr. (Eastern D.), Reuben Humphrey, Philetus Swift and Henry A. Townsend (all three Western D.) were also elected to the Senate. All eight were Democratic-Republicans.
Sessions
editThe Legislature met at the Old City Hall in Albany on January 29, 1811; and adjourned on April 9.
Nathan Sanford (Dem.-Rep.) was elected Speaker with 64 votes against 33 for Samuel A. Barker (Fed.). Samuel North (Dem.-Rep.) was elected Clerk of the Assembly with 64 votes against 37 for the incumbent James Van Ingen (Fed.). Sanford soon became ill, and could not attend the session anymore, and on February 12,[2] William Ross (Dem.-Rep.) was elected Speaker for the remainder of the session with 65 votes against 24 for Barker (Fed.).
Lt. Gov. Broome died on August 8, 1810, leaving the presidency of the State Senate vacant. The senators elected John Tayler (Dem.-Rep.) as president pro tempore (vote: Tayler 21, Lewis 2, blank 2).
On January 30, the Dem.-Rep. Assembly majority elected a new Council of Appointment which removed almost all Federalist office-holders, most of whom had been appointed during the previous year.
At this session, the Legislature passed a bill incorporating the Mechanics and Farmers Bank of Albany, and Solomon Southwick became its first President.
On April 8, 1811, the Legislature appointed a new Erie Canal Commission to continue the planning and eventually the construction of the Erie Canal. The previous commissioners Gouverneur Morris, Stephen Van Rensselaer, William North, Thomas Eddy, State Senator DeWitt Clinton, Surveyor General Simeon DeWitt and Congressman Peter B. Porter were re-appointed; and Ex-Chancellor Robert R. Livingston and Robert Fulton, who were running a steamboat service between New York City and Albany, were added to the commission.
State Senate
editDistricts
edit- The Southern District (5 seats) consisted of Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk and Westchester counties.
- The Middle District (7 seats) consisted of Dutchess, Orange, Ulster, Columbia, Delaware, Rockland, Greene and Sullivan counties.
- The Eastern District (8 seats) consisted of Washington, Clinton, Rensselaer, Albany, Saratoga, Essex, Montgomery, Franklin and Schenectady counties.
- The Western District (12 seats) consisted of Herkimer, Ontario, Otsego, Tioga, Onondaga, Schoharie, Steuben, Chenango, Oneida, Cayuga, Genesee, Seneca, Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Allegany, Broome, Madison, Niagara and Cortland counties.
Members
editThe asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature.
| District | Senators | Term left | Party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern | DeWitt Clinton* | 1 year | Dem.-Rep. | also an Erie Canal Commissioner; from February 1, 1811, also Mayor of New York City |
| Benjamin Coe* | 2 years | Dem.-Rep. | elected to the Council of Appointment | |
| William W. Gilbert* | 2 years | Dem.-Rep. | ||
| Israel Carll* | 3 years | Dem.-Rep. | ||
| Ebenezer White | 4 years | Dem.-Rep. | ||
| Middle | Joshua H. Brett* | 1 year | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Robert Williams* | 1 year | none[3] | ||
| Edward P. Livingston* | 2 years | Dem.-Rep. | ||
| Johannes Bruyn* | 3 years | Dem.-Rep. | ||
| Samuel Haight* | 3 years | Dem.-Rep. | ||
| Morgan Lewis | 4 years | Dem.-Rep. | ||
| James W. Wilkin | 4 years | Dem.-Rep. | elected to the Council of Appointment | |
| Eastern | Isaac Kellogg* | 1 year | Dem.-Rep. | |
| John McLean* | 1 year | Dem.-Rep. | elected to the Council of Appointment | |
| Charles Selden* | 1 year | Dem.-Rep. | ||
| John Tayler* | 1 year | Dem.-Rep. | elected President pro tempore | |
| David Hopkins* | 2 years | Federalist | ||
| Daniel Paris* | 3 years | Federalist | ||
| John Stearns* | 3 years | Federalist | ||
| Henry Yates Jr.[4] | 4 years | Dem.-Rep. | ||
| Western | Alexander Rea* | 1 year | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Francis A. Bloodgood* | 2 years | Dem.-Rep. | ||
| Walter Martin* | 2 years | Dem.-Rep. | ||
| Luther Rich* | 2 years | Dem.-Rep. | ||
| Sylvanus Smalley* | 2 years | Dem.-Rep. | ||
| Amos Hall* | 3 years | Federalist | ||
| Seth Phelps* | 3 years | Federalist | ||
| Jonas Platt* | 3 years | Federalist | ||
| Reuben Humphrey | 4 years | Dem.-Rep. | ||
| Nathan Smith*[5] | 4 years | Dem.-Rep. | ||
| Philetus Swift | 4 years | Dem.-Rep. | elected to the Council of Appointment | |
| Henry A. Townsend | 4 years | Dem.-Rep. |
Employees
edit- Clerk: Sebastian Visscher
State Assembly
editDistricts
edit- Albany County (4 seats)
- Allegany and Steuben counties (1 seat)
- Broome County (1 seat)
- Cayuga County (3 seats)
- Chenango County (3 seats)
- Clinton and Franklin counties (1 seat)
- Columbia County (4 seats)
- Cortland County (1 seat)
- Delaware County (2 seats)
- Dutchess County (6 seats)
- Essex County (1 seat)
- Genesee County (1 seat)
- Greene County (2 seats)
- Herkimer County (3 seats)
- Jefferson County (2 seats)
- Kings County (1 seat)
- Lewis County (1 seat)
- Madison County (3 seats)
- Montgomery County (5 seats)
- The City and County of New York (11 seats)
- Niagara County (1 seat)
- Oneida County (5 seats)
- Onondaga County (2 seats)
- Ontario County (5 seats)
- Orange County (4 seats)
- Otsego County (4 seats)
- Queens County (3 seats)
- Rensselaer County (4 seats)
- Richmond County (1 seat)
- Rockland County (1 seat)
- St. Lawrence County (1 seat)
- Saratoga County (4 seats)
- Schenectady County (2 seats)
- Schoharie County (2 seats)
- Seneca County (1 seat)
- Suffolk County (3 seats)
- Sullivan and Ulster counties (4 seats)
- Tioga County (1 seat)
- Washington County (5 seats)
- Westchester County (3 seats)
Assemblymen
editThe asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.
Employees
edit- Clerk: Samuel North
- Sergeant-at-Arms: Thomas Donnelly
- Doorkeeper: Benjamin Whipple
Notes
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ This date is given by the Civil List, other sources state February 10 (Lampi) or 14 (Hammond)
- ^ Williams had been elected as a Democratic-Republican in 1807, but combined with the Federalists at the previous session: He was elected to the Council of Appointment in 1810 by the Federalist majority, and then joined the other two Federalist councillors to outvote Carll and Gov. Tompkins. Since there were no Federalists from the Southern and the Middle districts, the Federalist Assembly majority had to choose 2 Democratic-Republicans who with Gov. Tompkins would have retained a majority in the Council. With Williams's help the Federalists proceeded to remove most of the Dem.-Rep. office-holders, and Williams's son-in-law Thomas J. Oakley was appointed Surrogate Dutchess Co. to succeed James Tallmadge, Jr. Afterwards Williams was considered a traitor, was ostracized by both parties and disappeared from politics.
- ^ Henry Yates (1770–1854), brother of Gov. Joseph C. Yates, see bio in Schenectady History
- ^ Nathan Smith (c. 1769 – 1836), of Fairfield, First Judge of the Herkimer County Court 1814–1821; see bio in A History of Herkimer County by Nathaniel S. Benton (pages 357ff)
- ^ The 6 Fed. assemblymen were unsuccessfully contested by Joseph C. Field and the other 5 Dem.-Rep. nominees; see A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York (1871; pg. 27ff)
- ^ see A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York (1871; pg. 26f)
- ^ The 13th New York State Legislature had resolved on January 27, 1790, that it was "incompatible with the U.S. Constitution for any person holding an office under the United States government at the same time to have a seat in the Legislature of this State..." At this time, nobody complained, and Sanford held both a federal office and an Assembly seat at the same time.
- ^ see A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York (1871; pg. 29ff)
Sources
edit- The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) [see pg. 108f for Senate districts; pg. 121 for senators; pg. 148f for Assembly districts; pg. 184f for assemblymen]
- The History of Political Parties in the State of New-York, from the Ratification of the Federal Constitution to 1840 by Jabez D. Hammond (4th ed., Vol. 1, H. & E. Phinney, Cooperstown, 1846; pages 285-290)
- Election result Assembly, Albany Co. at project "A New Nation Votes", compiled by Phil Lampi, hosted by Tufts University Digital Library
- Election result Assembly, Allegany and Steuben Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Broome Co. at project "A New Nation Votes" [the result was not filed with the Secretary of State]
- Election result Assembly, Cayuga Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Delaware Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Dutchess Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Genesee Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Greene Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Herkimer Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Jefferson Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Lewis Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Madison Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Onondaga Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Queens Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Richmond Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Schenectady Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Schoharie Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Sullivan and Ulster Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Washington Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Assembly, Westchester Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Senate, Southern D. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Senate, Middle D. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Senate, Eastern D. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result Senate, Western D. at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result, Assembly Speaker January at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result, Assembly Speaker February at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result, Assembly Clerk at project "A New Nation Votes"
- Election result, Senate President pro tem at project "A New Nation Votes"