The 88th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3 to April 28, 1865, during the first year of Reuben E. Fenton's governorship, in Albany.
Background Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1846, 32 Senators and 128 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 (four districts) and Kings County (two districts). The Assembly districts were made up of entire towns, or city wards, forming a contiguous area, all within the same county.
At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Democrats split over the civil war issue. The "War Democrats" and the Republicans formed a coalition known as the "Republican Union," and supported President Abraham Lincoln and the Union Army's war effort; the rump Democratic Party opposed the war, favoring a compromise with the South, and became known as "Peace Democrats" or "Copperheads."
Elections The 1864 New York state election was held on November 8. All four statewide elective offices up for election were carried by the Republican Union. Congressman Reuben E. Fenton and Speaker Thomas G. Alvord defeated the incumbent Gov. Horatio Seymour and Lt. David R. Floyd-Jones. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Republican Union 369,000 and Democrats 361,000.
Sessions The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 3, 1865; and adjourned on April 28.
George G. Hoskins (R) was elected Speaker with 72 votes against 50 for Abram B. Weaver (D).
On March 9, Charles J. Folger (R) was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate.
On April 4, the Legislature re-elected Victor M. Rice (R) as Superintendent of Public Instruction.
State Senate Districts
1st District: Queens, Richmond and Suffolk counties 2nd District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 11th, 13th and 19th wards of the City of Brooklyn 3rd District: 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th wards of the City of Brooklyn; and all towns in Kings County 4th District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 14th wards of New York City 5th District: 10th, 11th, 13th and 17th wards of New York City 6th District: 9th, 15th, 16th and 18th wards of New York City 7th District: 12th, 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd wards of New York City 8th District: Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties 9th District: Orange and Sullivan counties 10th District: Greene and Ulster counties 11th District: Columbia and Dutchess counties 12th District: Rensselaer and Washington counties 13th District: Albany County 14th District: Delaware, Schenectady and Schoharie counties 15th District: Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery and Saratoga counties 16th District: Clinton, Essex and Warren counties 17th District: Franklin and St. Lawrence counties 18th District: Jefferson and Lewis counties 19th District: Oneida County 20th District: Herkimer and Otsego counties 21st District: Oswego County 22nd District: Onondaga County 23rd District: Chenango, Cortland and Madison counties 24th District: Broome, Tompkins and Tioga counties 25th District: Cayuga and Wayne counties 26th District: Ontario, Seneca and Yates counties 27th District: Chemung, Schuyler and Steuben counties 28th District: Monroe County 29th District: Genesee, Niagara and Orleans counties 30th District: Allegany, Livingston and Wyoming counties 31st District: Erie County 32nd District: Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties
Note: There are now 62 counties in the State of New York. What is now Bronx County was then part of Westchester County, while what is now Nassau County was part of Queens County.
Members
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature.
District Senator Party Notes1stRobert Christie Jr.* Democrat2ndDemas Strong* Democrat3rdHenry C. Murphy* Democrat4thChristian B. Woodruff* Democratalso a New York City Tax Commissioner5thLuke F. Cozans* Democrat6thWilliam Laimbeer Jr.* Republican7thThomas C. Fields* Democratalso a Central Park Commissioner 8thSaxton Smith* Democrat 9thArchibald C. Niven* DemocratcontestedHenry R. Low Republicanseated on January 17, 186510thGeorge Beach* Democrat11thJohn B. Dutcher* Republican12thFrederick H. Hastings* Republican13thIra Shafer* Democrat14thOrson M. Allaben* Democrat15thJames M. Cook* Republican16thPalmer E. Havens* Republican17thAlbert Hobbs* Republican18thJames A. Bell* Republican19thAlexander H. Bailey* Republican20thGeorge H. Andrews* Republican21stCheney Ames* Republican22ndAndrew D. White* Republican23rdFrederick Juliand* Republican24thEzra Cornell* Republican25thStephen K. Williams* Republican26thCharles J. Folger* Republicanon March 9, elected president pro tempore27thStephen T. Hayt* Republican28thGeorge G. Munger* Republican29thDan H. Cole* Republican30thWilkes Angel* Republican31stJames M. Humphrey* Democraton November 8, 1864, elected to the 39th U.S. Congress32ndNorman M. Allen* Republican
Employees Clerk: James Terwilliger Sergeant-at-Arms: Azel B. Hull Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Sanders Wilson Doorkeeper: Lawrence Van Duzen First Assistant Doorkeeper: Casper Walter Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Edmund Traver Third Assistant Doorkeeper: Anson W. Johnson
State Assembly Assemblymen The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.
Party affiliations follow the vote for Speaker.
District Assemblymen Party Notes Albany1stHarman H. Vanderzee Democrat 2ndOliver M. Hungerford Democratcontested; seat vacated on April 12see A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York (1871; pg. 335–368)Joseph Shook Republicanseated on April 133rdAlexander Robertson Democrat4thMichael A. Nolan Democrat Allegany1stCharles M. Crandall* Republican2ndAlbon A. Lewis Republican BroomeEdward C. Mersereau Republican Cattaraugus1stWilliam P. Angel Republican2ndE. Curtis Topliff Republican Cayuga1stBenjamin M. Close* Republican2ndJohn L. Parker Republican Chautauqua1stSextus H. Hungerford Republican2ndMartin Crowell Republican ChemungWilliam T. Post* Republican Chenango1stGeorge W. Sumner* Republican2ndSamuel S. Stafford Republican ClintonSmith M. Weed Democrat Columbia1stWalter Shults Democrat2ndSamuel W. Carpenter Republican CortlandDan C. Squires Republican Delaware1stIra E. Sherman Republicantook his seat on February 32ndJames Oliver Republican Dutchess1stJames Howard* Republican2ndMark D. Wilber Republican Erie1stWalter W. Stanard* Democrat2ndHarmon S. Cutting Democrat3rdJohn G. Langner Democrat4thEdwin W. Godfrey Republican EssexWilliam H. Richardson* Republican FranklinJames W. Kimball Republican Fulton and HamiltonWalter N. Clark Democrat GeneseeJohn W. Brown Republican GreenePrentiss W. Hallenbeck Democrat Herkimer1stHenry Tillinghast Republican2ndE. Bradley Lee Republican Jefferson1stJames G. Kellogg Republican2ndLewis Palmer* Republican3rdRussell B. Biddlecom Republican Kings1stJarvis Whitman Democrat2ndWilliam D. Veeder Democrat3rdStephen Haynes Democrat4thPatrick Burns Democrat5thJohn C. Perry* Republican6thHenry C. Boswell Democrat7thJacob Worth* Republican LewisNathan Clark Republican Livingston1stHugh D. McCall Republican2ndJonathan B. Morey* Republican Madison1stAlfred A. Brown Republican2ndAlvin Strong Republican Monroe1stFairchild Andrus* Republican2ndJohn McConvill* Democrat3rdWilliam Rankin* Republican MontgomerySimeon Sammons Democrat New York1stJacob L. Smith* Democrat2ndBryan Gaughan Democrat3rdGeorge L. Loutrel Democrat4thJames B. Murray* Democrat5thCharles Blauvelt Democrat6thEdward S. Maloy Democrat7thThomas E. Stewart Republican8thJacob Seebacher Democrat9thSamuel C. Reed* Republican10thThomas J. Creamer Democrat11thJohn McDonald Democrat12thJoseph A. Lyons* Democrat13thAlexander Ward Democrat14thMichael N. Salmon* Democrat15thThomas B. Van Buren Republican16thJohn Keegan Democrat17thSidney P. Ingraham Jr.* Democrat Niagara1stAlbert H. Pickard Republicantook his seat on January 42ndGuy C. Humphrey Republican Oneida1stAbram B. Weaver* Democrat2ndLorenzo Rouse Republican3rdThomas D. Penfield Democrat4thGeorge W. Cole Republican Onondaga1stAlbert L. Green* Republican2ndDaniel P. Wood Republican3rdHarvey P. Tolman Republican Ontario1stVolney Edgerton Republican2ndEdward Brunson Republican Orange1stAnanias B. Hulse Republican2ndTheodore H. Cooper Democrat OrleansEdmund L. Pitts* Republican Oswego1stElias Root Republican2ndRichard K. Sanford Republican3rdAvery W. Severance Republicanalso Supervisor of New Haven Otsego1stLuther I. Burditt Democrat2ndGeorge M. Hollis* Republican PutnamJeremiah Sherwood* Democrat Queens1stWilliam Turner Democrat2ndCharles McNeill* Democrat Rensselaer1stGeorge C. Burdett Democrattook his seat on April 152ndRobert M. Hasbrouck Republican3rdMatthew V. A. Fonda Democrat RichmondJames Ridgway Democrat RocklandPrince W. Nickerson Democrat St. Lawrence1stGeorge Parker* Republican2ndJames Redington* Republican3rdDaniel Shaw Republican Saratoga1stGeorge W. Chapman Democrat2ndEdward Edwards* Republican SchenectadyCharles Stanford* Republican SchoharieEdward Eldredge Democrat SchuylerLorenzo Webber* Republican SenecaGeorge B. Daniels Democrat Steuben1stWilliam E. Bonham* Republican2ndAlexander Olcott* Republican3rdHorace Bemis Republican Suffolk1stWilliam H. Gleason* Republican2ndHenry C. Platt* Democrat SullivanJames Matthews* Democrat TiogaWilliam W. Shepard Republican TompkinsHenry B. Lord* Republican Ulster1stJesse F. Bookstaver* Democrat2ndJacob LeFever* Republican3rdAndrew S. Weller Democrat WarrenJerome Lapham Republican Washington1stAlexander Barkley Republican2ndSylvester E. Spoor Republican Wayne1stThaddeus W. Collins* Republican2ndWilliam H. Rogers Republican Westchester1stPierre C. Talman Democrat2ndAlsop H. Lockwood* Democrat3rdGeorge A. Brandreth* Republican WyomingGeorge G. Hoskins Republicanelected Speaker; also Postmaster of Bennington YatesEben S. Smith Republican
Employees Clerk: Joseph B. Cushman Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles E. Young Doorkeeper: Henry A. Rogers First Assistant Doorkeeper: Richard S. Stout Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Alexander Frier
Notes
Sources The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough, Stephen C. Hutchins and Edgar Albert Werner (1870; see pg. 439 for Senate districts; pg. 443 for senators; pg. 450–463 for Assembly districts; and pg. 501ff for assemblymen) Journal of the Assembly (88th Session) (1865) Documents of the Senate (87th Session) (1864; No. 104: "Report of the Committee on Privileges and Elections in the Matter of the Contested Election in the Ninth Senatorial District")