36th New York State Legislature New York state legislative session
The 36th New York State Legislature , consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly , met from November 3, 1812, to April 13, 1813, during the sixth year of Daniel D. Tompkins 's governorship , in Albany .
Background
Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1777, amended by the Constitutional Convention of 1801, 32 Senators were elected on general tickets in the four senatorial districts for four-year terms. They were divided into four classes, and every year eight Senate seats came up for election. Assemblymen were elected countywide on general tickets to a one-year term, the whole Assembly being renewed annually.
In 1797, Albany was declared the State capital, and all subsequent Legislatures have been meeting there ever since. In 1799, the Legislature enacted that future Legislatures meet on the last Tuesday of January of each year unless called earlier by the governor.
At this time the politicians were divided into two opposing political parties: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans .[ 1]
Elections
The State election was held from April 28 to 30, 1812. Senator Francis A. Bloodgood (Western D.) was re-elected. Elbert H. Jones (Southern D.), Martin Van Buren (Middle D.), Gerrit Wendell ( Eastern D.), Russell Attwater , Archibald S. Clarke (both Western D.); and Assemblymen Peter W. Radcliff (Southern D.) and Henry Hager (Western D.) were also elected to the Senate. Jones, Radcliff and Wendell were Federalists, the other five were Democratic-Republicans.
On May 28, a caucus of Dem.-Rep. legislators nominated DeWitt Clinton for U.S. president. On June 18, the United States declared War against Great Britain . The Federalists opposed the war; the Democratic-Republican Party split into two factions: the Clintonians (supporters of DeWitt Clinton and mostly opposed to the war) and the Madisonians (supporters of President James Madison and the war).
In September 1812, State Treasurer David Thomas was arrested in Chenango County on a warrant issued by Supreme Court Justice Ambrose Spencer , and tried before Justice William W. Van Ness , for an attempt to bribe State Senator Casper M. Rouse to vote for the chartering of the Bank of America during the previous session of the Legislature , but was acquitted by the jury. At the same time, Solomon Southwick was tried in Montgomery County before Chief Justice James Kent , for an attempt to bribe Alexander Sheldon , then Speaker of the Assembly, for the same purpose, but was also found not guilty.[ 2]
Sessions
The Legislature met at the Old State Capitol in Albany on November 3, 1812, to elect presidential electors ; and adjourned on November 11.
Jacob R. Van Rensselaer (Fed.) was elected Speaker with 58 votes against 46 for William Ross (Dem.-Rep.). James Van Ingen (Fed.) was again elected Clerk of the Assembly with 57 votes against 46 for John F. Bacon (Dem.-Rep.).
Although the Democratic-Republicans had a small majority on joint ballot, and should have supported the party's caucus nominee, the Madisonians refused to support Clinton. The Assembly nominated Federalist electors (vote: Fed. 58, Clinton 29, Madison 22). The Senate nominated Clintonian electors (vote: Clinton 19, Fed. 9, Madison 4). On November 9, 1812, the Legislature proceeded to a joint ballot and elected the Clintonian ticket with a vote of 74 to 45, the Madisonians cast 28 blank ballots.[ 3] The 29 electors chosen were: Joseph C. Yates , Simeon De Witt , Archibald McIntyre , John C. Hogeboom , Gurdon S. Mumford , Jacob De La Montagnie , Philip Van Cortlandt , John Chandler , Henry Huntington , John Woodworth , David Boyd , Cornelius Bergen , Joseph Perine , Chauncey Belknap , George Rosecrantz , John Dill , David Van Ness , Robert Jenkins , Michael S. Vandecook , George Palmer Jr. , James Hill , William Kirby , Henry Frey Yates , Thomas H. Hubbard , John Russell , James S. Kipp , Jotham Jayne , Jonathan Stanley Jr. and William Burnet . They cast their votes for DeWitt Clinton and Jared Ingersoll .
The Legislature met for the regular session on January 12, 1813; and the Assembly adjourned on April 12, the Senate on April 13.
On January 12, the Federalist majority of the Assembly elected a new Council of Appointment which removed almost all Democratic-Republican office-holders.
On February 2, the Legislature elected Rufus King (Fed.) to succeed John Smith (Dem.-Rep.) as U.S. Senator from New York for a term beginning on March 4, 1813.
On February 10, the Legislature elected Charles Z. Platt (Fed.) to succeed David Thomas (Dem.-Rep.) as New York State Treasurer .
State Senate
Districts
The Southern District (5 seats) consisted of Kings , New York , Queens , Richmond , Suffolk and Westchester counties.
The Middle District (7 seats) consisted of Dutchess , Orange , Ulster , Columbia , Delaware , Rockland , Greene and Sullivan counties.
The Eastern District (8 seats) consisted of Washington , Clinton , Rensselaer , Albany , Saratoga , Essex , Montgomery , Franklin and Schenectady counties.
The Western District (12 seats) consisted of Herkimer , Ontario , Otsego , Tioga , Onondaga , Schoharie , Steuben , Chenango , Oneida , Cayuga , Genesee , Seneca , Jefferson , Lewis , St. Lawrence , Allegany , Broome , Madison , Niagara , Cortland , 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. Peter W. Radcliff and Henry Hager changed from the Assembly to the Senate.
Employees
State Assembly
Districts
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.
District
Assemblymen
Party
Notes
Albany
David Bogardus
Federalist
John Gibbons
Federalist
Elishama Janes
Federalist
Abraham Van Vechten *
Federalist
from February 13, 1813, also New York Attorney General
Allegany and Steuben
Jacob Teeple *
Broome
Chauncey Hyde *
Dem.-Rep.
Cattaraugus , Chautauqua and Niagara
Jonas Williams
Dem.-Rep.
Cayuga
William C. Bennet
Dem.-Rep.
Thomas Ludlow *
Dem.-Rep.
William Satterlee
Dem.-Rep.
Chenango
Nathaniel Medbury
Ebenezer Wakley
Dem.-Rep.
Thornton Wasson
Clinton and Franklin
Allen R. Moore
Federalist
Columbia
Aaron Olmsted
Federalist
death announced on January 27, 1813
Alan Sheldon
Federalist
Jacob R. Van Rensselaer *
Federalist
elected Speaker ; from February 23, 1813, also Secretary of State of New York
Elisha Williams
Federalist
Cortland
Billy Trowbridge *
Delaware
Robert Clark
Dem.-Rep.
Andrew Craig Jr.
Dutchess
Joseph Arnold *
John Beadle
Federalist
Cyrus Benjamin *
Isaac Bryan *
Henry Dodge *
Federalist
John Warren *
Essex
Manoah Miller
Genesee
James Ganson
Dem.-Rep.
Greene
John Adams
Federalist
Perez Steele
Federalist
Herkimer
John Graves
Dem.-Rep.
Hosea Nelson
Dem.-Rep.
Rudolph I. Shoemaker *
Dem.-Rep.
Jefferson
Clark Allen
Federalist
Egbert Ten Eyck
Federalist
Kings
John C. Vanderveer *
Dem.-Rep.
Lewis
Levi Collins
Madison
Walter Beecher
Dem.-Rep.
John D. Henry
Federalist
Jonathan Olmsted
Dem.-Rep.
Montgomery
Josiah Bartlett
death announced January 29, 1813
Daniel Cady
Federalist
from February 28 to April 6, 1813, also District Attorney of the 5th D.
Daniel McVean
Simon Maybie
Richard Van Horne [ 6]
Federalist
New York
Thomas Carpenter *
Federalist
Jameson Cox
Isaac S. Douglass *
Federalist
Richard Hatfield Jr.
William Henderson
Josiah Ogden Hoffman
Federalist
from February 8, 1813, also Recorder of New York City
Samuel Jones Jr. *
Federalist
Jacob Lorillard *
Federalist
Abraham Russell *
Federalist
Isaac Sebring *
Federalist
James Smith *
Federalist
Oneida
Josiah Bacon
Erastus Clark *
Federalist
George Huntington *
Federalist
John Lay
Nathan Townsend
Onondaga
Moses Nash
Dem.-Rep.
Isaac Smith
Dem.-Rep.
Ontario
Abraham Dox
Gilbert Howell
Dem.-Rep.
Hugh McNair
David Sutherland *
Asahel Warner
Dem.-Rep.
Orange
John Blake Jr.
David Dill
Dem.-Rep.
William Ross *
Dem.-Rep.
John Wheeler
Otsego
Erastus Crafts
Abel DeForest
Samuel Griffin
James Hyde
Federalist
Queens
Stephen Carman *
Federalist
John Fleet *
Federalist
David Kissam
Federalist
or Daniel*?
Rensselaer
David Allen
Federalist
James H. Ball
John Carpenter Jr.
John Stevens
Federalist
Richmond
James Guyon, Jr. *
Dem.-Rep.
Rockland
Peter S. Van Orden *
Dem.-Rep.
St. Lawrence
Roswell Hopkins *
Federalist
Saratoga
Caleb Holmes
John Prior
John W. Taylor *
Dem.-Rep.
in December 1812, elected to the 13th United States Congress
Calvin Wheeler
Schenectady
Alexander Combs
Dem.-Rep.
Joseph Shurtleff
Federalist
Schoharie
Heman Hickock
Dem.-Rep.
Peter A. Hilton
Seneca
James McCall
Suffolk
Henry Rhodes
Caleb Smith
Benjamin F. Thompson
Sullivan and Ulster
Jacob Coddington *
Dem.-Rep.
Abraham I. Hardenbergh *
Dem.-Rep.
Henry Jansen *
Dem.-Rep.
Elnathan Sears *
Dem.-Rep.
Tioga
Jabez Beers
Washington
John Beebee
Federalist
Jason Kellogg
Dem.-Rep.
Francis McLean
Dem.-Rep.
Ebenezer Russell
Federalist
Melancton Wheeler
Federalist
Westchester
William Barker
Federalist
Abraham Miller *
Dem.-Rep.
vacant
Employees
Notes
^ The Anti-Federalists called themselves "Republicans." However, at the same time, the Federalists called them "Democrats" which was meant to be pejorative. After some time both terms got more and more confused, and sometimes used together as "Democratic Republicans" which later historians have adopted (with a hyphen) to describe the party from the beginning, to avoid confusion with both the later established and still existing Democratic and Republican parties.
^ see Hammond, pg. 317f
^ This result has more votes (147) than there were seats in the Legislature (144), it is unclear where the mistake is.
^ Henry Yates (1770–1854), brother of Gov. Joseph C. Yates , see bio in Schenectady History
^ Nathan Smith (c. 1769 – 1836), of Fairfield , First Judge of the Herkimer County Court 1814–21; see bio in A History of Herkimer County by Nathaniel S. Benton (pages 357ff)
^ Richard Van Horne (c. 1770 – March 12, 1823, Danube )
Sources
The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) [see pg. 108f for Senate districts; pg. 121 for senators; pg. 148f for Assembly districts; pg. 186f for assemblymen; pg. 325 for presidential election]
The History of Political Parties in the State of New-York, from the Ratification of the Federal Constitution to 1840 by Jabez D. Hammond (4th ed., Vol. 1, H. & E. Phinney, Cooperstown , 1846; pages 311-322)
Election result Assembly, Albany Co. at project "A New Nation Votes", compiled by Phil Lampi , hosted by Tufts University Digital Library
Election result Assembly, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Niagara Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result Assembly, Cayuga Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
Partial election result Assembly, Clinton and Franklin Co. at project "A New Nation Votes" [gives only votes from Clinton Co.]
Election result Assembly, Columbia Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result Assembly, Greene Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result Assembly, Herkimer Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result Assembly, Jefferson Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result Assembly, Kings Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result Assembly, Madison Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result Assembly, Onondaga Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result Assembly, Orange Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result Assembly, Queens Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result Assembly, Richmond Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result Assembly, Schenectady Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
Partial election result Assembly, Sullivan and Ulster Co. at project "A New Nation Votes" [gives votes from Sullivan Co.]
Partial election result Assembly, Sullivan and Ulster Co. at project "A New Nation Votes" [gives votes from Ulster Co.]
Election result Assembly, Washington Co. at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result Senate, Southern D. at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result Senate, Middle D. at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result Senate, Eastern D. at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result Senate, Western D. at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result, Speaker at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result, Assembly Clerk at project "A New Nation Votes"
Election result, Council of Appointment at project "A New Nation Votes"