1854 United States House of Representatives elections in New York

The 1854 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held on November 7, 1854, to elect 33 U.S. Representatives to represent the State of New York in the United States House of Representatives of the 34th United States Congress, and two representatives to fill vacancies in the 33rd United States Congress.

Background

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33 U.S. Representatives had been elected in November 1852 to a term in the 33rd United States Congress, beginning on March 4, 1853. Gilbert Dean was appointed to the New York Supreme Court and resigned his seat on July 3, 1854; Gerrit Smith resigned his seat on August 7, 1854; leaving vacancies in the 12th and the 22nd District. The other representatives' term would end on March 3, 1855. The elections were held with the annual State election on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, about four months before the congressional term began, and a little more than a year before Congress actually met on December 3, 1855.

Congressional districts

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The geographical area of the congressional districts remained the same as at the previous elections in 1852, which were apportioned by the New York State Legislature on July 10, 1851. In 1854, the City of Williamsburgh was annexed by the City of Brooklyn, and became the 13th through 16th Ward of Brooklyn. It is unclear if the annexation happened before or after this election.

Note: There are now 62 counties in the State of New York. Bronx and Nassau counties had not yet been established. The area of the Bronx was at this time in Westchester County; and the area of Nassau in Queens County.

Result

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25 Whigs, 4 Softs, 3 Know Nothings and 1 Hard were elected to the 34th Congress; and 2 Whigs were elected to fill the vacancies in the 33rd Congress. The incumbents Wheeler, Sage, Simmons, Matteson, Bennett, Morgan, Oliver, Pringle, Flagler and Haven were re-elected; the incumbents Walsh, Hughes, Hastings, Carpenter and Fenton were defeated.

1854 United States House election result
District Whig Dem./Soft Dem./Hard American also ran
1st Harvey W. Vail[1] 2,676 Frederick William Lord 2,227 Daniel B. Allen 2,778 William W. Valk 3,753 Gabriel P. Disosway (Temp.) 1,902
2nd James S. T. Stranahan 7,927 Jack 20 George Taylor 7,623
3rd Guy R. Pelton 4,084 William M. Miner 1,123 George De Witt Clinton[2] 2,569 Guy R. Pelton Guy R. Pelton (Practical Dem.)
William Grandin (Ind.)
4th Sanford L. Macomber[3] 821 John Kelly 3,068 Michael Walsh 3,047 John W. Bryce 1,594 Sanford L. Macomber (Practical Dem.)
5th George H. Andrews 2,765 Abraham J. Berry 1,964 Ph. Hamilton 2,718 Thomas R. Whitney 3,321 Thomas R. Whitney (Whig secession)
R. A. Bailey (Practical Dem.)
6th Charles H. Marshall 2,256 John McLeod Murphy 2,533 John Wheeler 5,101 John Wheeler John Wheeler (Practical Dem.)
Charles D. Mead (Ind. Hard)
----
1,128
7th Thomas Child, Jr. 6,557 William D. Kennedy 5,094 William D. Kennedy Thomas Child, Jr. William H. Wallace (Practical Dem.)
8th Abram Wakeman 4,895 Edward B. Fellows 1,699 James L. Curtis 2,969 Abram Wakeman Joseph W. Savage (Practical Dem.)
John M. Reed (Ind.)
9th Bayard Clarke 7,764 Benjamin Brandreth 2,540 Whiting 367 Bayard Clarke Bailey (Ind. Hard)
Peck
2,038
???
10th Ambrose S. Murray 5,209 Stratton 2,053 Woodward 4,574 Woodward
11th Rufus H. King 8,576 Strong 5,042
12th Killian Miller 8,376 McClellan 5,540 William H. Wilson 2,486 McClellan
12th Special Isaac Teller Morse Charles Robinson
13th Russell Sage 6,954 Clum 2,075 Alanson Cook 1,971 Russell Sage
14th Samuel Dickson 4,638 John V. L. Pruyn 3,244 Harcourt 4,270 Hamilton 2,258
15th Edward Dodd 6,760 Charles Hughes 2,428 Orville Clarke 6,358 Andrews (Temp.) 2,399
16th George A. Simmons 5,533 Thomas 1,752 Flanders 1,025 Bailey 3,062
17th Henry P. Alexander 5,357 Francis E. Spinner 7,618 Nathaniel S. Benton ? 3,414
18th Thomas R. Horton 9,431 Jackson 8,945
19th Jonas A. Hughston 6,744 Lewis R. Palmer 6,444 Sturges 1,066 Hawes (Free Soil) 1,339
20th Orsamus B. Matteson 6,492 Johnson 5,172 Naaman W. Moore 588 Huntington (Whig) 4,759
21st Henry Bennett 9,757 Crocker 2,077 Tompkins 5,579
22nd Andrew Z. McCarty 5,535 Leander Babcock 4,728 Lewis 3,281 Charles G. Case (Free Soil) 3,652
22nd Special Henry C. Goodwin
23rd William A. Gilbert 6,251 Ives 5,645 Brown 1,513 Goodale 77
24th Amos P. Granger 4,803 Thomas G. Alvord 4,109 Parker 487 B. Davis Noxon[4] 3,409 Mason
25th Edwin B. Morgan 7,684 Middleton 6,910 Aldrich 1,296 Middleton
26th James L. Seeley 5,304 Andrew Oliver 6,880 Howell 2,163 Andrew Oliver
27th John M. Parker 7,918 McDowell 3,467 Stephen B. Cushing 1,964
28th William H. Kelsey 11,061 George Hastings 4,450 Gibbs 119 William H. Kelsey
29th Davis Carpenter 4,227 John Williams 5,609 Sibley 1,865 John Williams
30th Benjamin Pringle 9,510 Laning 3,829 Belden 2,483 Benjamin Pringle Hull (Free Soil) 692
31st Thomas T. Flagler 7,190 Baker 1,231 Thomas T. Flagler Edward I. Chase[5] (Free Soil) 962
32nd Solomon G. Haven 9,075 Israel T. Hatch 5,388 Solomon G. Haven
33rd Francis S. Edwards Reuben E. Fenton 6,442 Lester 241 Francis S. Edwards 8,359 Reuben E. Fenton (Anti-Nebraska)

Note: For candidates running on more than one ticket, the number of votes is the total polled on all tickets.

Aftermath

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Isaac Teller and Henry C. Goodwin took their seats in the 33rd United States Congress at the beginning of the second session on December 4, 1854.

The House of Representatives of the 34th United States Congress met for the first time at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., on December 3, 1855. Thomas Child, Jr., never took his seat, due to a prolonged illness.

Orsamus B. Matteson resigned his seat on February 27, 1857; and Francis S. Edwards and William A. Gilbert resigned on February 28. The three seats remained vacant for the remaining days of this Congress.

Notes

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  1. ^ Harvey Wentworth Vail (1804-1863), Supervisor of Suffolk Co. 1838-1839, Treasurer of Suffolk Co. 1848-1852
  2. ^ George DeWitt Clinton, assemblyman 1854
  3. ^ Sanford L. Macomber, assemblyman 1851
  4. ^ B. Davis Noxon (1788-1869), lawyer, presidential elector 1840, see The Bench and Bar of New-York by Lucien Brock Proctor (1870; pages 672ff)
  5. ^ Edward Ithamar Chase (1810-1862), of Lockport, US Marshall for the Northern District of NY 1861-1862, brother of Salmon P. Chase

Sources

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See also

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