90th New York State Legislature

{{Short description|New York state legislative session}}

{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}}

{{Infobox New York Legislature

|number = 90th

|image = Old State Capitol at Albany NY.jpg

|imagename = The Old State Capitol

|imagedate = 1879

|start = January 1

|end = December 31, 1867

|vp = Lt. Gov. Stewart L. Woodford (R)

|pro tem = Charles J. Folger (R), from January 31;
John O'Donnell (R), on April 1;
Henry C. Murphy (D), on April 10

|speaker = Edmund L. Pitts (R)

|senators = 32

|reps = 128

|s-majority = Republican (27-5)

|h-majority = Republican (83-45)

|sessionnumber1 = 1st

|sessionstart1 = January 1

|sessionend1 = April 20, 1867

|previous = 89th

|next = 91st

}}

The 90th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 1 to April 20, 1867, during the third 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,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.

On April 16, 1866, 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.[https://books.google.com/books?id=UHZZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1301 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, 1866, the Legislature re-apportioned the Senate districts.[https://books.google.com/books?id=UHZZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1762 Laws of the State of New York (89th session)] (1866; pg. 1762ff, Chap. 805 "AN ACT to organize the Senate Districts of the State")

At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. During the American Civil War many War Democrats had joined the Republicans, and after the end of the war the parties re-aligned, leaving the Democrats in a minority. To increase their ranks, the Democrats now proposed to form a "Conservative Union" of Democrats and Conservative Republicans, and nominated a state ticket with Democrat John T. Hoffman for Governor, and Republican Robert H. Pruyn for Lieutenant Governor.

Elections

The 1866 New York state election was held on November 6. Gov. Reuben E. Fenton was re-elected. Stewart L. Woodford (R) was elected Lieutenant Governor, and the other two statewide elective offices up for election were carried by the Republicans too. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Republicans 366,000 and Conservative Union 352,000. According to the Constitution of 1846, twenty years after its elaboration the electorate was asked if they wanted a Constitutional Convention to be held, which was answered in the affirmative.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 1, 1867; and adjourned on April 20.

Edmund L. Pitts (R) was elected Speaker with 80 votes against 43 for Jarvis Lord (D).

On January 15, the Legislature elected Roscoe Conkling (R) to succeed Ira Harris as U.S. Senator from New York for a six-year term beginning on March 4, 1867.

On January 25, the State Senate concluded the trial of George W. Smith, Judge of the Oneida County Court, and removed Smith from office.

On January 31, Charles J. Folger was re-elected President pro tempore of the State Senate.

On April 1, John O'Donnell (R) was elected president pro tempore "for the evening."

On April 10, Henry C. Murphy (D) was elected president pro tempore "for the day."

On April 23, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were elected, resulting in a Republican majority.

On June 4, the Constitutional Convention met at Albany. William A. Wheeler was chosen President, and Luther Caldwell Secretary. On the opening day, one of the delegates, Assemblyman L. Harris Hiscock was murdered at Stanwix Hall (a hotel in Albany).

On September 23, the Constitutional Convention adjourned.

On November 5, the 1867 New York state election, was held. All eight statewide elective offices up for election were carried by the Democrats, and a Democratic majority was elected to the Assembly.

On November 12, the Constitutional Convention met again, and adjourned sine die on February 28, 1868. How to put the proposed amendments before the electorate was then debated throughout the 91st and the 92nd Legislatures, and all amendments, except the re-organization of the judicial system, were eventually rejected by the voters at the 1869 New York state election.

State Senate

=Districts=

Note: The Senators in the 90th Legislature had been elected in November 1865 for a two-year term under the apportionment of 1857, as listed below. Although the 89th Legislature (1866) had re-apportioned the Senate districts, the first election under the new apportionment was held in November 1867, to elect the senators who sat in the 91st Legislature.

{{Div col|colwidth=32em}}

{{colend}}

{{refbegin}}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.{{refend}}

=Members=

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature.

class=wikitable

! District

! Senator

! Party

! Notes

1st

|Nicholas B. La Bau*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|Henry R. Pierson*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

3rd

|Henry C. Murphy*

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|on April 10, elected president pro tempore;
also a delegate to the Constitutional Convention

4th

|Benjamin Wood*

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

5th

|Charles G. Cornell*

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

6th

|Abraham Lent*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

7th

|Thomas Murphy*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

8th

|Edmund G. Sutherland*

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

9th

|Henry R. Low*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

10th

|George Chambers*

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

11th

|Edward G. Wilbor*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

12th

|James Gibson*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

13th

|Lorenzo D. Collins*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

14th

|Charles Stanford*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

15th

|Adam W. Kline*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

16th

|Moss K. Platt*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

17th

|Abel Godard*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

18th

|John O'Donnell*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|on April 1, elected president pro tempore

19th

|Samuel Campbell*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

20th

|George H. Andrews*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

21st

|John J. Wolcott*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

22nd

|Andrew D. White*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

23rd

|James Barnett*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

24th

|Ezra Cornell*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

25th

|Stephen K. Williams*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

26th

|Charles J. Folger*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|on January 31, elected president pro tempore;
also a delegate to the Constitutional Convention

27th

|John I. Nicks

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|elected to fill vacancy, in place of Stephen T. Hayt;
until March 1867, also Mayor of Elmira

28th

|Thomas Parsons*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

29th

|Richard Crowley*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

30th

|Wolcott J. Humphrey*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

31st

|David S. Bennett*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

32nd

|Walter L. Sessions*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | 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.

class=wikitable

! colspan="2" | District

! Assemblymen

! Party

! Notes

rowspan="4" | Albany

|1st

|Hugh Conger

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|Henry Smith

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|also D.A. of Albany Co.

3rd

|Alexander Robertson

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

4th

|Oscar F. Potter

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Allegany

|Charles M. Crandall

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|died on October 4, 1867

colspan="2" | Broome

|James Van Valkenburgh

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

rowspan="2" | Cattaraugus

|1st

|Heman G. Button

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|William E. Hunt

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

rowspan="2" | Cayuga

|1st

|Homer N. Lockwood*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|John L. Parker*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

rowspan="2" | Chautauqua

|1st

|Joseph B. Fay*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|Orson Stiles*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Chemung

|George W. Buck

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Chenango

|Frederick Juliand

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Clinton

|Smith M. Weed*

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|also a delegate to the Constitutional Convention

rowspan="2" | Columbia

|1st

|Jacob H. Duntz

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|Stephen H. Wendover

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Cortland

|Horatio Ballard

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|also a delegate to the Constitutional Convention

rowspan="2" | Delaware

|1st

|Joshua Smith

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|George C. Gibbs

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

rowspan="2" | Dutchess

|1st

|Augustus A. Brush

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|Mark D. Wilber*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

rowspan="5" | Erie

|1st

|Charles W. Hinson

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

2nd

|William Williams*

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

3rd

|Roswell L. Burrows

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

4th

|Alpheus Prince

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

5th

|Joseph H. Plumb

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Essex

|Palmer E. Havens

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Franklin

|James W. Kimball*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Fulton and Hamilton

|Joseph Covell*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Genesee

|Henry F. Tarbox

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Greene

|Thomas A. Briggs

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

colspan="2" | Herkimer

|Seth M. Richmond

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

rowspan="2" | Jefferson

|1st

|LaFayette J. Bigelow

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|Albert D. Shaw

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

rowspan="9" | Kings

|1st

|Patrick Burns

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

2nd

|Theodore Hinsdale

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

3rd

|Patrick Keady

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

4th

|Stephen Haynes

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

5th

|Caleb F. Buckley

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

6th

|John Raber

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

7th

|Henry M. Dixon

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|unsuccessfully contested by Ira Buckman Jr.Buckman had been defeated for re-election, and claimed that Dixon was not a United States citizen. Dixon showed his certificate of naturalization to the Committee on Elections, and retained his seat; see [https://books.google.com/books?id=6yMUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA397 A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York] (1871; pg. 397f)

8th

|John Oakey*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

9th

|John C. Jacobs

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

colspan="2" | Lewis

|Henry A. Phillips

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Livingston

|Jacob A. Mead

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

rowspan="2" | Madison

|1st

|Bushrod E. Hoppin

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|Benjamin F. Bruce

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

rowspan="3" | Monroe

|1st

|Jarvis Lord

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

2nd

|Henry Cribben

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

3rd

|Abner I. Wood*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Montgomery

|Abraham Hoffman

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

rowspan="21" | New York

|1st

|Michael C. Murphy

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

2nd

|Constantine Donoho*

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

3rd

|Daniel O'Reilly

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

4th

|John J. Blair

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

5th

|Charles Blauvelt

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

6th

|John Siegerson

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

7th

|Frank A. Ransom

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|unsuccessfully contested by Edward Mitchellsee [https://books.google.com/books?id=6yMUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA399 A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York] (1871; pg. 399ff)

8th

|James Reed

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

9th

|Henry Rogers

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|also a delegate to the Constitutional Convention

10th

|Owen Murphy

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

11th

|John V. Gridley

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

12th

|Henry Woltman

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

13th

|Bernard Cregan

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

14th

|Thomas J. Creamer*

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

15th

|Alexander Frear*

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

16th

|James Irving

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

17th

|Wilson Berryman*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

18th

|Leander Buck

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

19th

|John E. Develin

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

20th

|Patrick Russell

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

21st

|Henry W. Genet

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

rowspan="2" | Niagara

|1st

|Elisha Moody

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|William Pool

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

rowspan="4" | Oneida

|1st

|Levi Blakeslee

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|Ellis H. Roberts

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

3rd

|George H. Sanford

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

4th

|Leander W. Fiske

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

rowspan="3" | Onondaga

|1st

|Daniel P. Wood*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|L. Harris Hiscock

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|also a delegate to the Constitutional Convention;
murdered on June 4, 1867

3rd

|Samuel Candee

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

rowspan="2" | Ontario

|1st

|Hiram Schutt*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|Samuel H. Torrey

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

rowspan="2" | Orange

|1st

|Lewis B. Halsey

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|George W. Millspaugh*

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

colspan="2" | Orleans

|Edmund L. Pitts*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|elected Speaker

rowspan="3" | Oswego

|1st

|DeWitt C. Littlejohn*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|William H. Rice*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

3rd

|Charles McKinney

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

rowspan="2" | Otsego

|1st

|Edgar B. Clarke

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|Sheffield Harrington*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" rowspan="2" | Putnam

|Lewis H. Gregory

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|contested; seat vacated on January 16see [https://books.google.com/books?id=6yMUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA401 A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York] (1871; pg. 401–407)

Stephen Baker

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|seated on January 16

rowspan="2" | Queens

|1st

|Francis Skillman

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

2nd

|William B. Wilson

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

rowspan="3" | Rensselaer

|1st

|William Gurley

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|Marshall F. White*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

3rd

|Eleazer Wooster*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Richmond

|Nathaniel J. Wyeth

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

colspan="2" | Rockland

|James Suffern

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

rowspan="3" | St. Lawrence

|1st

|George M. Gleason*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|William R. Chamberlain*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

3rd

|Richmond Bicknell

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

rowspan="2" | Saratoga

|1st

|Truman G. Younglove*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|Austin L. Reynolds*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Schenectady

|Charles G. Ellis

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Schoharie

|William S. Clark

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|Assemblyman-elect Daniel Shaver died;
Clark elected to fill vacancy

colspan="2" | Schuyler

|Samuel M. Barker*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Seneca

|Samuel R. Welles

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

rowspan="2" | Steuben

|1st

|William B. Boyd*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|Christian Minier

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Suffolk

|Alfred Wagstaff Jr.

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Sullivan

|David G. Starr

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|Assemblyman-elect Alfred J. Baldwin died;
Starr elected to fill vacancy on December 18, 1866

colspan="2" | Tioga

|Oliver A. Barstow

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Tompkins

|John H. Selkreg

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

rowspan="3" | Ulster

|1st

|John Maxwell

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|Jacob LeFever

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

3rd

|John G. Baker

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

colspan="2" | Warren

|Columbus Gill

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

rowspan="2" | Washington

|1st

|Thomas Shiland

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|Adolphus F. Hitchcock

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|also a delegate to the Constitutional Convention

rowspan="2" | Wayne

|1st

|John Vandenberg*

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

2nd

|Ornon Archer

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|also a delegate to the Constitutional Convention

rowspan="3" | Westchester

|1st

|Samuel M. Purdy

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

2nd

|George J. Penfield

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democrat

|

3rd

|David W. Travis

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Wyoming

|William Bristol

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

colspan="2" | Yates

|Charles S. Hoyt

|{{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican

|

=Employees=

  • Clerk: Luther Caldwell
  • Sergeant-at-Arms: John H. Kemper
  • Doorkeeper: J. B. Davis
  • First Assistant Doorkeeper: Charles G. Gardiner
  • Second Assistant Doorkeeper: James Tanner

Notes

Sources

  • [https://books.google.com/books?id=GyUOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA444 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. 506f for assemblymen; and pg. 593ff for the Constitutional Convention)
  • [https://books.google.com/books?id=NNxKAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1 Journal of the Senate (90th Session)] (1867)
  • [https://books.google.com/books?id=rTGKpX_5NGIC&pg=PA1 Journal of the Assembly (90th Session)] (1867; Vol. I)
  • [https://books.google.com/books?id=T7AsAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA1 Life Sketches of the State Officers, Senators, and Members of the Assembly of the State of New York in 1867] by S. R. Harlow & H. H. Boone
  • [https://books.google.com/books?id=LqUEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1 Journal of Proceedings of the Senate in the Matter of George W. Smith, Judge of Oneida County, in Relation to Charges Submitted to the Senate by the Governor] (1867)

{{NYLegislatures}}

090

Category:1867 in New York (state)

Category:1867 U.S. legislative sessions