The 106th New York State Legislature, consisting of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan compo ...

and the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assemb ...

, met from January 2 to May 4, 1883, during the first year of Grover Cleveland's

governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

, in Albany.

Background

Under the provisions of the

New York Constitution The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most State constitution (United States), state constitutions in the U ...

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 (seven districts) and Kings County (three 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

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa * Botswana Democratic Party * Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *De ...

and the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

. In New York City the Democrats were split into three factions: Tammany Hall, "Irving Hall" and the "County Democrats". The Prohibition Party and the

Greenback Party The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology which was active between 1874 and 1889. The party ran ...

also nominated tickets.

Elections

The

1882 New York state election The 1882 New York state election was held on November 7, 1882, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, the chief judge and a U.S. Representative-at-large, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly. Besides, two constitutiona ...

was held on November 7. Democrats Grover Cleveland and

David B. Hill David Bennett Hill (August 29, 1843October 20, 1910) was an American politician from New York (state), New York who was the List of Governors of New York, 29th Governor of New York from 1885 to 1891 and represented New York in the United States ...

were elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor. The other two statewide elective offices up for election were also carried by the Democrats. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Democratic 535,000; Republican 342,000; Prohibition 26,000; and Greenback 12,000.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 2, 1883; and adjourned on May 4. Alfred C. Chapin (D) was elected

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

with 84 votes against 41 for Theodore Roosevelt (R). On January 11, John C. Jacobs (D) was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate. On March 14, the Legislature elected William B. Ruggles (Dem.) as Superintendent of Public Instructions, with 94 votes against 52 for Neil Gilmour (Rep.), to succeed Gilmour for a term of three years.''SOME DEMOCRATIC METHODS''
in '' The New York Times'' on March 15, 1883

State Senate

Districts

Note: There are now 62 counties in the State of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...

. 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.

Employees

* Clerk: John W. Vrooman * Sergeant-at-Arms: John W. Corning * Doorkeeper: Charles F. Brady * Stenographer: Hudson C. Tanner

State Assembly

Assemblymen

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

Employees

* Clerk: Walter H. Bunn * Sergeant-at-Arms: James H. Delaney * Doorkeeper: Jabez C. Pierce * First Assistant Doorkeeper: Edward Hinch * Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Edward Brodie * Stenographer: Spencer C. Rogers

Notes

Sources

''Civil List and Constitutional History of the Colony and State of New York''
compiled by Edgar Albert Werner (1884; see pg. 276 for Senate districts; pg. 291 for senators; pg. 298–304 for Assembly districts; and pg. 381f for assemblymen)
Sketches of the Members of the Legislatures
in ''The Evening Journal Almanac'' (1883)
''THE NEXT ASSEMBLY''
in NYT on November 9, 1882
''CHAPIN FOR SPEAKER''
in NYT on January 2, 1883 {{NYLegislatures 106 1883 in New York (state) 1883 U.S. legislative sessions