The 88th 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 com ...

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 Assem ...

, met from January 3 to April 28, 1865, during the first 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 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 Part ...

and 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 *Demo ...

. The Democrats split over the civil war issue. The " War Democrats" and the Republicans formed a coalition known as the "Republican Union," and supported President Abraham Lincoln and the Union Army's war effort; the rump Democratic Party opposed the war, favoring a compromise with the South, and became known as "Peace Democrats" or " Copperheads."

Elections

The New York state election, 1864 was held on November 8. All four statewide elective offices up for election were carried by the Republican Union. Congressman Reuben E. Fenton and Speaker

Thomas G. Alvord Thomas Gold Alvord (December 20, 1810 – October 26, 1897) was an American lawyer, merchant and politician. Throughout his political career he was known as Old Salt. Life He was born on December 20, 1810, in Onondaga, New York, to Elisha Alv ...

defeated the incumbent Gov. Horatio Seymour and Lt. David R. Floyd-Jones. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Republican Union 369,000 and Democrats 361,000.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 3, 1865; and adjourned on April 28.

George G. Hoskins George Gilbert Hoskins (December 24, 1824 – June 12, 1893) was an American politician who served as the Lieutenant Governor of New York and United States Representative for the state of New York. Early life Hoskins was born in Bennington, ...

(R) was elected Speaker with 72 votes against 50 for Abram B. Weaver (D). On March 9,

Charles J. Folger Charles James Folger (April 16, 1818 – September 4, 1884) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was a State Senator in New York from 1862 to 1869 and served as the 34th U. ...

(R) was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate. On April 4, the Legislature re-elected

Victor M. Rice Victor Moreau Rice (April 5, 1818 Mayville, New York, Mayville, Chautauqua County, New York – October 18, 1869 Oneida, New York, Oneida, Madison County, New York) was an American educator and politician from New York (state), New York. Life R ...

(R) as Superintendent of Public Instruction.

State Senate

Districts

* 1st District: Queens, Richmond and

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

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 Rockland may refer to: People *Per Bergsland, nicknamed Peter Rockland, one of three successful escapees from Stalag Luft III (the "Great Escape") Places ;In Canada *Rockland, Greater Victoria *Rockland, Nova Scotia *Rockland, Ontario ;In the Uni ...

and

Westchester Westchester most commonly refers to Westchester County, New York, immediately north of New York City. __NOTOC__ It may also refer to: Geography Canada *Westchester Station, Nova Scotia, Canada United States *Town of Westchester, the original seat ...

counties * 9th District: Orange and

Sullivan Sullivan may refer to: People Characters * Chloe Sullivan, from the television series ''Smallville'' * Colin Sullivan, a character in the film ''The Departed'', played by Matt Damon * Harry Sullivan (''Doctor Who''), from the British science f ...

counties * 10th District: Greene and Ulster counties * 11th District:

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

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 Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

, Essex and Warren counties * 17th District: Franklin and

St. Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...

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 Tioga may refer to: United States communities *Tioga, California, former name of Bennettville, California *Tioga, Colorado *Tioga, Florida * Tioga, Iowa *Tioga, Louisiana *Tioga, New York, a town in Tioga County *Tioga County, New York, a county at ...

counties * 25th District:

Cayuga Cayuga often refers to: * Cayuga people, a native tribe to North America, part of the Iroquois Confederacy * Cayuga language, the language of the Cayuga Cayuga may also refer to: Places Canada * Cayuga, Ontario United States * Cayuga, Illinois ...

and Wayne counties * 26th District: Ontario, Seneca and

Yates Yates may refer to: Places United States *Fort Yates, North Dakota *Yates Spring, a spring in Georgia, United States *Yates City, Illinois * Yates Township, Illinois *Yates Center, Kansas * Yates, Michigan * Yates Township, Michigan * Yates, Misso ...

counties * 27th District: Chemung, Schuyler and

Steuben Steuben or Von Steuben most commonly refers to Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (1730–1794), Prussian-American military officer, or to a number of things named for him in the United States. It may also refer to: Places *Steuben Township, Marshall C ...

counties * 28th District: Monroe County * 29th District:

Genesee Genesee, derived from the Seneca word for "pleasant valley", may refer to: Geographic features Canada * Genesee, Alberta, an unincorporated community United States * Genesee, California *Genesee, Colorado *Genesee County, Michigan *Genesee C ...

Niagara Niagara may refer to: Geography Niagara Falls and nearby places In both the United States and Canada *Niagara Falls, the famous waterfalls in the Niagara River *Niagara River, part of the U.S.–Canada border *Niagara Escarpment, the cliff ov ...

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 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 * '' ...

. What is now Bronx County was then part of Westchester County, while what is now Nassau County was part of Queens County.

Members

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

Employees

* Clerk:

James Terwilliger James Terwilliger (October 3, 1809September 1, 1892) was an Oregon pioneer and one of the first residents of Portland, Oregon. He is the namesake of Portland's Terwilliger Boulevard and Terwilliger School. Early life Terwilliger was born in 1809 ...

* Sergeant-at-Arms: Azel B. Hull * Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Sanders Wilson * Doorkeeper: Lawrence Van Duzen * First Assistant Doorkeeper: Casper Walter * Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Edmund Traver * Third Assistant Doorkeeper: Anson W. Johnson

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.

Employees

* Clerk: Joseph B. Cushman * Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles E. Young * Doorkeeper: Henry A. Rogers * First Assistant Doorkeeper: Richard S. Stout * Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Alexander Frier

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. 443 for senators; pg. 450–463 for Assembly districts; and pg. 501ff for assemblymen)
''Journal of the Assembly'' (88th Session)
(1865)
''Documents of the Senate'' (87th Session)
(1864; No. 104: "Report of the Committee on Privileges and Elections in the Matter of the Contested Election in the Ninth Senatorial District") {{NYLegislatures 088 1865 in New York (state) 1865 U.S. legislative sessions