The 89th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to April 20, 1866, during the second 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.
Elections The 1865 New York state election was held on November 7. All ten statewide elective offices up for election were carried by the Republicans. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Secretary of State, was: Republicans 301,000 and Democrats 273,000.
Sessions The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 2, 1866; and adjourned on April 20.
Lyman Tremain (R) was elected Speaker with 88 votes against 33 for Smith M. Weed (D).
On January 29, DeWitt C. Littlejohn (R) was elected Speaker pro tempore of the Assembly.
On February 6, Charles J. Folger (R) was re-elected President pro tempore of the State Senate.
On February 16, the Legislature elected Benjamin F. Manierre (R) to succeed William McMurray (D) on March 1 as a Metropolitan Police Commissioner.
On April 16, the Legislature re-apportioned the Assembly seats per county. Allegany, Chenango, Herkimer, Jefferson, Livingston, Steuben and Suffolk counties lost one seat each; Erie County gained one seat, Kings County gained two seats; and New York County gained four seats.Laws of the State of New York (89th session) (1866; pg. 1301f, Chap. 607 "AN ACT for the apportionment of the Members of Assembly of this State")
On April 25, the Legislature re-apportioned the Senate districts.Laws of the State of New York (89th session) (1866; pg. 1762ff, Chap. 805 "AN ACT to organize the Senate Districts of the State")
The State Senate met for a special session on June 12; adjourned on June 15; met again on August 28; and adjourned again on August 31. This session was called to hold the trial of George W. Smith, Judge of the Oneida County Court. The trial continued during the next session, and Smith was removed from office on January 25, 1867.
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. 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. Charles Stanford changed from the Assembly to the Senate.
District Senator Party Notes1stNicholas B. La Bau Republican2ndHenry R. Pierson Republican3rdHenry C. Murphy* Democratre-elected4thBenjamin Wood Democrattook his seat on January 95thCharles G. Cornell Democratuntil November 17, 1866, also New York City Street Commissioner6thAbraham Lent Republican7thThomas Murphy Republican8thEdmund G. Sutherland Democrat9thHenry R. Low* Republicanre-elected10thGeorge Chambers Democrat11thEdward G. Wilbor Republican12thJames Gibson Republican13thLorenzo D. Collins Republican14thCharles Stanford* Republican15thAdam W. Kline Republican16thMoss K. Platt Republican17thAbel Godard Republican18thJohn O'Donnell Republican19thSamuel Campbell Republican20thGeorge H. Andrews* Republicanre-elected21stJohn J. Wolcott Republican22ndAndrew D. White* Republicanre-elected23rdJames Barnett Republican24thEzra Cornell* Republicanre-elected25thStephen K. Williams* Republicanre-elected26thCharles J. Folger* Republicanre-elected27thStephen T. Hayt* Republicanre-elected; on November 6, 1866, elected a Canal Commissioner28thThomas Parsons Republican29thRichard Crowley Republican30thWolcott J. Humphrey Republican31stDavid S. Bennett Republican32ndWalter L. Sessions Republican
Employees Clerk: James Terwilliger Sergeant-at-Arms: Arthur Hotchkiss Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Sanders Wilson Doorkeeper: Herman B. Young First Assistant Doorkeeper: Frank M. Jones Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Nathaniel Saxton Third Assistant Doorkeeper: August Wagner
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 and Police Commissioner.
District Assemblymen Party Notes Albany1stWilliam Aley Democrat2ndLyman Tremain Republicanelected Speaker3rdClark B. Cochrane Republicanpreviously a member from Montgomery Co.4thJames F. Crawford Democratunsuccessfully contested by Joseph M. Murphy (R)see A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York (1871; pg. 380–395) Allegany1stWilliam Wilson Republican2ndAlbon A. Lewis* Republican BroomeMilo B. Eldredge Republican Cattaraugus1stWilliam McVey Republican2ndE. Curtis Topliff* Republican Cayuga1stHomer N. Lockwood Republican2ndJohn L. Parker* Republican Chautauqua1stJoseph B. Fay Republican2ndOrson Stiles Republican ChemungHenry C. Hoffman Democrat Chenango1stGeorge C. Rice Republican2ndRomeo Warren Republican ClintonSmith M. Weed* Democratunsuccessfully contested by Andrew Williams (R)see A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York (1871; pg. 395ff) Columbia1stJosiah Kniskern Democrat2ndJohn W. Van Valkenburgh Democrat CortlandStephen Patrick Republican Delaware1stIra E. Sherman* Republican2ndJohn Ferris Republican Dutchess1stAbiah W. Palmer Republican2ndMark D. Wilber* Republican Erie1stWilliam Williams Democratunsuccessfully contested by James S. Lyon (R)see A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York (1871; pg. 369–380)2ndJohn J. L. C. Jewett Republican3rdJohn G. Langner* Democrat4thLevi Potter Republican EssexWilliam H. Richardson* Republican FranklinJames W. Kimball* Republican Fulton and HamiltonJoseph Covell Republican GeneseeJohn W. Brown* Republican GreeneEzekiel P. More Democrat Herkimer1stStephen Turtelot Republican2ndArchibald C. McGowan Republican Jefferson1stTheodore Canfield Republican2ndNelson D. Ferguson Republican3rdRussell B. Biddlecom* Republican Kings1stJohn Oakey Republican2ndWilliam D. Veeder* Democrat3rdMorris Reynolds Republican4thAndrew Walsh Democrat5thWilliam W. Goodrich Republican6thIra Buckman Jr. Republican7thJacob Worth* Republican LewisAlexander Y. Stewart Republican Livingston1stHugh D. McColl* Republican2ndSamuel D. Faulkner Democrat Madison1stGardner Morse Republican2ndCaleb Calkins Republican Monroe1stFairchild Andrus* Republican2ndHenry R. Selden Republican3rdAbner I. Wood Republican MontgomeryIsaac S. Frost Democrat New York1stWilliam Minor Democrat2ndConstantine Donoho Democrattook his seat on January 93rdGeorge M. Curtis Democrat4thHenry McCloskey Democrat5thWilliam Hepburn Republican6thWilliam H. Tracy Democrat7thThomas E. Stewart* Republicanon November 6, 1866, elected to the 40th U.S. Congress8thJacob Seebacher* Democrat9thGeorge Stevenson Democrat10thThomas J. Creamer* Democrat11thAlexander Frear Democrat12thJoseph A. Lyons* Democrat13thWilson Berryman Republican14thGideon J. Tucker Democratalso Surrogate of New York Co.15thEdward H. Anderson Democrat16thAdolph Levinger Republican17thCharles E. Jenkins Republican Niagara1stSolon S. Pomroy Democrat2ndGuy C. Humphrey* Republican Oneida1stGeorge Graham Democrat2ndAlva Penny Republican3rdBenjamin N. Huntington Republican4thSilas L. Snyder Republican Onondaga1stLuke Ranney Republican2ndDaniel P. Wood* Republican3rdL. Harris Hiscock Republican Ontario1stHiram Schutt Republican2ndEdward Brunson* Republican Orange1stFrederick Bodine Republican2ndGeorge W. Millspaugh Democrat OrleansEdmund L. Pitts* Republican Oswego1stDeWitt C. Littlejohn Republicanon January 29, elected Speaker pro tempore2ndWilliam H. Rice Republican3rdJohn Parker Republican Otsego1stLuther I. Burditt* Democrat2ndSheffield Harrington Republican PutnamStephen Baker Republican Queens1stObadiah J. Downing Republican2ndJames Maurice Democrat Rensselaer1stJames S. Thorn Republican2ndMarshall F. White Republican3rdEleazer Wooster Republican RichmondThomas Child Republican RocklandPrince W. Nickerson* Democrat St. Lawrence1stGeorge M. Gleason Republican2ndWilliam R. Chamberlain Republicantook his seat on January 43rdDaniel Shaw* Republican Saratoga1stTruman G. Younglove Republican2ndAustin L. Reynolds Republican SchenectadyJohn C. Ellis Republican SchoharieBenjamin E. Smith Democrat SchuylerSamuel M. Barker Republican SenecaLewis Post Democrat Steuben1stWilliam B. Boyd Republican2ndAmaziah S. McKay Republican3rdFrederick M. Kreidler Republican Suffolk1stJames H. Tuthill Republican2ndRichard A. Udall Republican SullivanAlfred J. Baldwin Democrat TiogaJohn H. Deming Republican TompkinsLyman Congdon Republican Ulster1stFrederick Stephan Republican2ndJames G. Graham Republican3rdAndrew S. Weller* Democrat WarrenDavid Aldrich Republican Washington1stAlexander Barkley* Republican2ndJames C. Rogers Republican Wayne1stJohn Vandenberg Republican2ndWilliam H. Rogers* Republican Westchester1stOrrin A. Bills Democrat2ndLawrence D. Huntington Democrat3rdGeorge A. Brandreth* Republican WyomingGeorge G. Hoskins* Republicanalso Postmaster of Bennington YatesEben S. Smith* Republican
Employees Clerk: Joseph B. Cushman Sergeant-at-Arms: Frederick T. Hempstead Doorkeeper: S. P. Remington First Assistant Doorkeeper: Alexander Frier Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Oscar K. Dean
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. 444 for senators; pg. 450–463 for Assembly districts; and pg. 504f for assemblymen) Journal of the Senate (89th Session) (1866) Journal of the Assembly (89th Session) (1866; Vol. I)