The 93rd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4 to April 26, 1870, during the 2nd year term of John T. Hoffman 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 (five districts) and Kings County (two districts). The Assembly districts were made up of entire towns, or city wards,Except New York City where the wards were apportioned into election districts, and then some whole wards and some election districts of other wards were gerrymandered together into Assembly districts. 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 1869 New York state election was held on November 3. All nine statewide elective offices up for election were carried by the Democrats. All amendments proposed by the Constitutional Convention, except the re-organization of the judicial system, were rejected by the voters. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Secretary of State, was: Democrats 331,000 and Republicans 310,000.
Sessions The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 4, 1870; and adjourned on April 26.
William Hitchman (D) was again elected Speaker with 72 votes against 51 for James W. Husted (R).
On January 17, Henry C. Murphy (D) was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate.
On February 10, the Legislature re-elected Joseph S. Bosworth (D) as a Metropolitan Police Commissioner, for a term of eight years beginning on March 1, 1870.
State Senate Districts
1st District: Queens, Richmond and Suffolk counties 2nd District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 11th, 13th, 15th, 19th and 20th wards of the City of Brooklyn 3rd District: 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 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, 13th and 14th wards of New York City 5th District: 8th, 9th, 15th and 16th wards of New York City 6th District: 10th, 11th and 17th wards of New York City 7th District: 18th, 20th and 21st wards of New York City 8th District: 12th, 19th and 22nd wards of New York City 9th District: Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties 10th District: Orange and Sullivan counties 11th District: Columbia and Dutchess counties 12th District: Rensselaer and Washington counties 13th District: Albany County 14th District: Greene and Ulster counties 15th District: Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, Saratoga and Schenectady 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: Madison and Oswego counties 22nd District: Onondaga and Cortland counties 23rd District: Chenango, Delaware and Schoharie 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.
Party affiliations follow the vote for Senate Clerk and Police Commissioner.
District Senator Party Notes1stSamuel H. Frost Democrat2ndJames F. Pierce* Democratre-elected; took his seat on January 113rdHenry C. Murphy* Democratre-elected; on January 17, elected president pro tempore4thWilliam M. Tweed* Democratre-elected5thMichael Norton* Democratre-elected; also an Alderman of New York City6thThomas J. Creamer* Democratre-elected7thJohn J. Bradley* Democratre-elected8thHenry W. Genet* Democratre-elected9thWilliam Cauldwell* Democratre-elected10thWilliam M. Graham* Democratre-elected11thGeorge Morgan Democratalso Mayor of Poughkeepsie12thFrancis S. Thayer* Republicanre-elected13thA. Bleecker Banks* Democratre-elected14thJacob Hardenbergh Democrattook his seat on January 615thIsaiah Blood Democratdied on November 29, 187016thChristopher F. Norton Democrat17thAbraham X. Parker* Republicanre-elected18thNorris Winslow Republican19thGeorge H. Sanford Democrat20thAugustus R. Elwood Republican21stWilliam H. Brand Republican22ndGeorge N. Kennedy* Republicanre-elected23rdJohn F. Hubbard Jr.* Democratre-elected24thOrlow W. Chapman* Republicanre-elected25thWilliam B. Woodin Republicanalso Surrogate of Cayuga County26thAbraham V. Harpending Republicantook his seat on January 11Harpending had been elected in a special election on December 28, 1869, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator-elect Charles J. Folger who had been appointed as Assistant United States Treasurer in New York.27thTheodore L. Minier Republican28thJarvis Lord Democrat29thGeorge Bowen Republican30thJames Wood Republican31stLoran L. Lewis Republican32ndAllen D. Scott Republican
Employees Clerk: Hiram Calkins Sergeant-at-Arms: George Graham Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Abraham J. Meyers Doorkeeper: Alexander H. Waterman Assistant Doorkeeper: W. W. McKinney Assistant Doorkeeper: John Drew Assistant Doorkeeper: Orson Root Assistant Doorkeeper: Cornelius V. Simpkins Stenographer: Andrew Devine, from February 10
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 Albany1stWilliam D. Murphy Democratunsuccessfully contested by Stephen Springstedsee A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York (1871; pg. 465–468)2ndThomas J. Lanahan Democrat3rdEdward D. Ronan Democrat4thJohn Tighe* Democrat AlleganyCharles N. Flenagin Republican BroomeWilliam M. Ely* Republican Cattaraugus1stGeorge N. West Republican2ndStephen C. Green Republican Cayuga1stWilliam H. Eaker Republican2ndStephen S. Hewitt Republican Chautauqua1stMatthew P. Bemus* Republican2ndOrange S. Winans Republican ChemungEdward L. Patrick* Democrat ChenangoSamuel L. Brown Democrat ClintonDaniel G. Dodge Democrat Columbia1stEdward Sturges* Democrat2ndDaniel D. Barnes Democrat CortlandCharles Foster Republican Delaware1stAlpheus Bolt Republican2ndOrson M. Allaben Democrat Dutchess1stJames A. Seward Republican2ndDavid H. Mulford Republican Erie1stGeorge J. Bamler* Democrat2ndJames Franklin Republican3rdAlbert H. Blossom Republican4thHarry B. Ransom Democrat5thLyman Oatman Republican EssexClayton H. DeLano Republican FranklinJames H. Pierce Republican Fulton and HamiltonJohn F. Empie Democrat GeneseeEdward C. Walker* Republican GreeneHiram Van Steenburgh Democrat HerkimerDaniel A. Northup Republican Jefferson1stJay Dimick* Republican2ndWilliam W. Butterfield* Republican Kings1stHugh M. Clark* Democrat2ndHenry J. Cullen Jr.* Democrat3rdDennis O'Keeffe* Democrat4thWilliam W. Moseley* Democrat5thWilliam C. Jones Democratunsuccessfully contested by William W. Goodrich (R)see A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York (1871; pg. 456–462)6thBernard Haver Democrat7thSamuel T. Maddox Republican8thJoseph Droll Democrat9thJohn C. Jacobs* Democrat LewisJay A. Pease Democrat LivingstonRichard Johnson Republican Madison1stJoseph W. Merchant Republican2ndLeonard C. Kilham* Republican Monroe1stCharles S. Wright* Republican2ndJames S. Graham Republican3rdVolney P. Brown Republican MontgomeryJames Shanahan Democrat New York1stMichael C. Murphy* Democrat2ndDennis Burns* Democrat3rdOwen Cavanagh* Democrat4thJohn J. Blair Democrat5thPeter Mitchell* Democrat6thTimothy J. Campbell* Democrat7thJohn Carey Democrat8thMartin Nachtmann* Democrat9thWilliam G. Bergen* Democrat10thOwen Murphy Democrat11thJohn H. WhiteJohn Henry White (born 1821), served previously in the Assembly of 1850, brother of Assemblyman Marshall F. White (1866 and 1867, from Rensselaer Co.) Republican12thWilliam W. Cook Democrat13thRichard Flanagan Democrat14thJohn R. Hennessey Democrat15thAlexander Frear* Democrat16thJames Irving* Democrat17thGeorge W. Plunkitt* Democrat18thLawrence D. Kiernan* Democrat19thThomas C. Fields Democrat20thJohn BrownJohn Brown (born 1816), served previously in the Assembly of 1852, Naturalization Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas from 1853 Democrat21stWilliam Hitchman* Democratelected Speaker Niagara1stLewis S. Payne Democrat2ndLee R. Sanborn Republican Oneida1stSamuel S. Lowery Republican2ndDavid Morse Miner Republican3rdSt. Pierre Jerred Democrat4thJames Roberts Republican Onondaga1stThomas G. Alvord Republican2ndNathan R. Tefft Republican3rdGustavus Sniper Republican Ontario1stHenry Ray* Republican2ndDavid E. Wilson Republican Orange1stOdell S. Hathaway Democrat2ndThomas J. Lyon* Democrat OrleansJohn Berry Republican Oswego1stDeWitt C. Littlejohn Republican2ndAbraham Howe Democrat3rdJohn Parker Republican Otsego1stJames Young Democrat2ndWilliam W. Snow Democrat PutnamMorgan Horton* Democrat Queens1stJames B. Pearsall* Democrat2ndFrancis B. Baldwin Democrat Rensselaer1stJohn L. Flagg* Democrat2ndEugene Hyatt Republican3rdJ. Thomas Davis Republicanunsuccessfully contested by F. S. Fairchildsee A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York (1871; pg. 470) RichmondJohn Decker Democrat RocklandJames M. Nelson Democrat St. Lawrence1stGeorge M. Gleason* Republican2ndJulius M. Palmer* Republican3rdWilliam Bradford Republican Saratoga1stIsaiah Fuller Democrat2ndSeymour Ainsworth Democrat SchenectadyGershom Banker Democrat SchoharieSilas Sweet Democrat SchuylerWilliam C. Coon Democrat SenecaRobert R. Steele Democrat Steuben1stJames G. Bennett Democrat2ndJohn Davis Democrat SuffolkBrinley D. Sleight Democrat SullivanJames L. La Moree* Democrat TiogaJohn H. Deming Republican TompkinsJohn H. Selkreg* Republican Ulster1stPatrick J. Flynn* Democrat2ndAbraham E. Hasbrouck* Democrat3rdCharles H. Krack Democrat WarrenGodfrey R. Martine Democrat Washington1stThomas Stevenson Republican2ndIsaac V. Baker Jr.* Republican Wayne1stAnson S. Wood Republicanunsuccessfully contested by Eran N. Thomassee A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York (1871; pg. 462ff)2ndAmasa Hall Republican Westchester1stJames J. Mooney Democrat2ndEdward D. Lawrence* Democratunsuccessfully contested by Howard C. Cadysee A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York (1871; pg. 468f)3rdJames W. Husted* Republican WyomingMarcus A. Hull* Republican YatesWilliam T. Remer Republican
Employees Clerk: Cornelius W. Armstrong Sergeant-at-Arms: Jeriah G. Rhoads Doorkeeper: James C. Pierce First Assistant Doorkeeper: M. W. Wall Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Hugh Ryan Stenographer: George Wakeman
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; pg. 512f for assemblymen) Journal of the Senate (93rd Session) (1870) Journal of the Assembly (93rd Session) (1870; Vol. I)