The 64th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to May 25, 1841, during the third year of William H. Seward'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 eight Senate seats came up for election every year. Assemblymen were elected countywide on general tickets to a one-year term, the whole Assembly being renewed annually.
At this time there were two political parties: the Democratic Party and the Whig Party.
On September 2, the Democratic state convention met at Syracuse, and nominated William C. Bouck for governor, and State Senator Daniel S. Dickinson for lieutenant governor.
The Whig state convention nominated Gov. Seward and Lt. Gov. Bradish for re-election.
Elections The State election was held from November 2 to 4, 1840. Gov. William H. Seward and Lt. Gov. Luther Bradish were re-elected. Also, the Whig electoral ticket won, and New York's 42 electoral votes were cast for William Henry Harrison and John Tyler.
State Senator Samuel Works (8th D.) was re-elected.
+1840 New York State Senate election result District Whig DemocratFirstSamuel StevensSamuel Stevens, of New york City, Anti-Masonic candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New York in 1830 and 1832 24,847 John B. Scott 26,246SecondJohn T. Jansen 26,049 Robert Denniston 30,049ThirdJonas C. Heartt 26,766 Henry W. Strong 28,334Fourth John W. Taylor 29,387Gardner Stow 27,659FifthChester Buck 28,139 Henry A. Foster 29,196Sixth Nehemiah Platt 29,100James Faulkner 27,971Seventh Elijah Rhoades 27,877John Watson 26,068Eighth Samuel Works 31,430John T. Hudson 20,381
Sessions The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 5, 1841; and the Assembly adjourned on May 25, the Senate on May 26.
Peter B. Porter, Jr. (W) was elected Speaker with 65 votes against 60 for Levi S. Chatfield (D).
On January 27, the Legislature elected John A. Collier (W) to succeed Bates Cooke (W) as State Comptroller.
The Legislature re-elected State Treasurer Jacob Haight (W), and Surveyor General Orville L. Holley.
In February, the Governor and Senate removed Robert H. Morris from the office of Recorder of New York City. Three months later Morris was elected Mayor of New York City.
On May 19, Wyoming County was split from Genesee County, and was apportioned two seats in the Assembly. Genesee County remained with the other two seats.see Laws of the State of New York (1841; pg. 169ff)
State Senate Districts The First District (4 seats) consisted of Kings, New York and Richmond counties. The Second District (4 seats) consisted of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester counties. The Third District (4 seats) consisted of Albany, Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Schoharie counties. The Fourth District (4 seats) consisted of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Montgomery, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties. The Fifth District (4 seats) consisted of Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Oswego and Otsego counties. The Sixth District (4 seats) consisted of Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Chemung, Chenango, Livingston, Steuben, Tioga and Tompkins counties. The Seventh District (4 seats) consisted of Cayuga, Cortland, Onondaga, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne and Yates counties. The Eighth District (4 seats) consisted of Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Monroe, Niagara and Orleans counties.
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. Robert Denniston changed from the Assembly to the Senate.
District Senators Term left Party Notes FirstGulian C. Verplanck*1 year WhigGabriel Furman*2 years WhigMinthorne Tompkins*3 years Democratresigned on March 8, 1841John B. Scott4 years Democrat SecondHenry A. Livingston*1 year WhigDaniel Johnson*2 years DemocratJohn Hunter*3 years DemocratRobert Denniston*4 years Democrat ThirdFriend Humphrey*1 year WhigAlonzo C. Paige*2 years DemocratErastus Root*3 years WhigHenry W. Strong4 years Democratalso Recorder of Troy FourthMartin Lee*1 year WhigBethuel Peck*2 years WhigJames G. Hopkins*3 years WhigJohn W. Taylor4 years Whig FifthAvery Skinner*1 year Democratalso Postmaster of Union SquareJoseph Clark*2 years DemocratSumner Ely*3 years DemocratHenry A. Foster4 years Democrat SixthLaurens Hull*1 year WhigAlvah Hunt*2 years WhigAndrew B. Dickinson*3 years WhigNehemiah Platt4 years Whig SeventhJohn Maynard*1 year Whigin November 1840 elected to the 27th U.S. Congress; resigned on March 4, 1841Robert C. Nicholas*2 years Whig Mark H. Sibley*3 years Whigresigned on May 28, 1841Elijah Rhoades4 years Whig EighthWilliam A. Moseley*1 year WhigHenry Hawkins*2 years WhigAbram Dixon*3 years WhigSamuel Works*4 years Whig
Employees Clerk: Samuel G. Andrews Deputy Clerks: Friend W. Humphrey, William H. Rice Sergeant-at-Arms: Richard M. Meigs Doorkeeper: Philip M. De Zeng Assistant Doorkeeper: Chauncey Dexter
State Assembly Districts
Albany County (3 seats) Allegany County (2 seats) Broome County (1 seat) Cattaraugus County (2 seats) Cayuga County (3 seats) Chautauqua County (3 seats) Chemung County (1 seat) Chenango County (3 seats) Clinton County (1 seat) Columbia County (3 seats) Cortland County (2 seats) Delaware County (2 seats) Dutchess County (3 seats) Erie County (3 seats) Essex County (1 seat) Franklin County (1 seat) Fulton and Hamilton counties (1 seat) Genesee County (4 seats) Greene County (2 seats) Herkimer County (2 seats) Jefferson County (3 seats) Kings County (2 seats) Lewis County (1 seat) Livingston County (2 seats) Madison County (3 seats) Monroe County (3 seats) Montgomery County (2 seats) The City and County of New York (13 seats) Niagara County (2 seats) Oneida County (4 seats) Onondaga County (4 seats) Ontario County (3 seats) Orange County (3 seats) Orleans County (1 seat) Oswego County (2 seats) Otsego County (3 seats) Putnam County (1 seat) Queens County (1 seat) Rensselaer County (3 seats) Richmond County (1 seat) Rockland County (1 seat) St. Lawrence County (2 seats) Saratoga County (2 seats) Schenectady County (1 seat) Schoharie County (2 seats) Seneca County (1 seat) Steuben County (3 seats) Suffolk County (2 seats) Sullivan County (1 seat) Tioga County (1 seat) Tompkins County (2 seats) Ulster County (2 seats) Warren County (1 seat) Washington (2 seats) Wayne County (2 seats) Westchester County (2 seats) Yates County (1 seat)
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.
Party affiliations follow the result given in The New Yorker.see The New Yorker (issue of November 14, 1840; pg. 139)
District Assemblymen Party Notes AlbanyAaron Houghtailing Whig Francis Lansing DemocratHenry G. Wheaton* Whig AlleganyLorenzo Dana* WhigHorace Hunt WhigBroomeGideon M. Hotchkiss Whig CattaraugusAlonzo Hawley WhigChester Howe Whig CayugaDarius Adams WhigJohn W. McFadden* WhigOsman Rhoades Whig ChautauquaBenjamin Douglass WhigGeorge A. French* WhigRobertson Whiteside WhigChemungJefferson B. Clark Whig ChenangoCalvin Cole WhigEber Dimmick WhigBenson H. Wheeler WhigClintonGeorge M. Beckwith Whig ColumbiaWaterman Lippitt DemocratWilliam G. Mandeville DemocratJohn Milham Democrat CortlandNathan Heaton WhigLovel G. Mickels Whig DelawareStephen H. Keeler DemocratCharles Knapp Democrat DutchessJonathan Akin DemocratEdmund Elmendorf DemocratJohn Thompson Democrat ErieCarlos Emmons WhigSeth C. Hawley* WhigStephen Osborn* WhigEssexGeorge A. Simmons* WhigFranklinJohn S. Eldridge* WhigFulton and HamiltonJenison G. Ward Whig GeneseeJohn W. Brownson* WhigSamuel Richmond WhigDavid Scott WhigIsaac N. Stoddard Whig GreeneTurhand K. Cooke DemocratDaniel G. Quackenboss Democrat HerkimerMichael Hoffman DemocratArphaxed Loomis Democrat JeffersonWilliam McAllister WhigWilliam C. Pierrepoint WhigJoseph Webb Whig KingsWilliam Conselyea WhigJeremiah Johnson* WhigLewisEliphalet Sears Democrat LivingstonAugustus Gibbs WhigReuben P. Wisner Whig Madison Seneca B. Burchard WhigOliver Pool WhigDaniel Van Vleck Whig MonroeAlexander Kelsey WhigLucius Lilley WhigEnoch Strong* Whig Montgomery Reuben Howe DemocratDaniel F. Nellis Democrat New YorkCornelius H. Bryson* DemocratAbraham B. Davis DemocratDavid R. Floyd-Jones DemocratPaul Grout* DemocratNorman Hickok* DemocratWilliam B. Maclay* DemocratWilliam McMurray DemocratAbsalom E. MillerDue to misprinted ballots, the election inspectors certified Absalom "A." Miller as elected, but the Assembly admitted Absalom "E." Miller to the seat; see A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York (1871; pg. 143–146) DemocratJohn L. O'Sullivan DemocratEdmund J. Porter* DemocratConrad Swackhamer DemocratSolomon Townsend* DemocratGeorge Weir* Democrat NiagaraPeter B. Porter, Jr.* Whigelected SpeakerFrancis O. Pratt* Whig OneidaCalvin Dawley DemocratJoseph Halleck DemocratLuke Hitchcock DemocratNathaniel Odell Democrat Onondaga Moses D. Burnet DemocratWilliam Fuller DemocratDavid Munro DemocratWilliam Taylor Democrat Ontario Isaac Mills WhigDaniel A. Robinson WhigAlvah Worden Whig Orange Gideon W. Cock DemocratLewis Cuddeback DemocratRobert Sly DemocratOrleansRichard W. Gates Whig OswegoWilliam Duer* WhigEdward B. Judson Whig OtsegoOlcott C. Chamberlin DemocratLevi S. Chatfield* DemocratJoel Gillett Democratalso Postmaster of WestvillePutnamJames H. Cornwall DemocratQueensJohn W. Lawrence Democrat RensselaerClaudius Moffit Whigalso Postmaster of South StephentownJohn Tilley WhigWilliam H. Van Schoonhoven* WhigRichmondIsrael Oakley WhigRocklandEdward De Noyelles Democrat St. LawrenceZenas Clark* DemocratSolomon Pratt Democrat SaratogaJesse H. Mead WhigAbijah Peck Jr. WhigSchenectadyAbraham Pearse Whig SchoharieNicholas Beekman DemocratJacob C. Skillman DemocratSenecaDaniel Holman Democrat SteubenAndrew G. Chatfield* DemocratWilliam S. Hubbell DemocratSamuel A. Johnson Democrat SuffolkJosiah C. Dayton DemocratAlanson Seaman DemocratSullivanWilliam F. Brodhead DemocratTiogaWashington Smith Democrat TompkinsLevi Hubbell WhigAlpha H. Shaw Whig UlsterConrad Brodhead WhigGeorge G. Graham WhigWarrenGeorge Sanford Democrat WashingtonErastus D. Culver WhigReuben Skinner Whig WayneEsbon Blackmar WhigJohn M. Holley Whig WestchesterJoseph T. Carpenter DemocratHoratio Lockwood DemocratYatesHeman Chapman Democrat
Employees Clerk: Philander B. Prindle Sergeant-at-Arms: Daniel H. Bromley Doorkeeper: Joseph S. Lockwood Assistant Doorkeeper: Abiel W. Howard
Notes
Sources The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) [pg. 109 and 441 for Senate districts; pg. 133 for senators; pg. 148f for Assembly districts; pg. 224f for assemblymen] Political History of the State of New York from January 1, 1841, to January 1, 1847, Vol III, including the Life of Silas Wright (Hall & Dickson, Syracuse NY, 1848; pg. 182 to 247) The Politician's Register published by Horace Greeley (1841; pg. 11f)