The 8th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from October 12, 1784, to April 27, 1785, during the eighth year of George Clinton'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 ...

, at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

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 constitutions in the United States, New York's constitut ...

of 1777, the State Senators were elected on general tickets in the senatorial districts, and were then divided into four classes. Six senators each drew lots for a term of 1, 2, 3 or 4 years and, beginning at the election in April 1778, every year six Senate seats came up for election to a four-year term. Assemblymen were elected countywide on general tickets to a one-year term, the whole assembly being renewed annually.

Elections

The State election was held from April 27 to 29, 1784. Senators

William Floyd William Floyd (December 17, 1734 – August 4, 1821) was an American Founding Father, wealthy farmer, and political leader from New York. Floyd served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and was a signer of the Continental Association and ...

, Ezra L'Hommedieu,

Alexander McDougall Alexander McDougall (1732 9 June 1786) was a Scottish-born American seaman, merchant, a Sons of Liberty leader from New York City before and during the American Revolution, and a military leader during the Revolutionary War. He served as a m ...

(all Southern D.), and Arthur Parks (Middle D.) were re-elected; and Assemblyman Peter Van Ness (Western D.) was elected to the Senate.

Sessions

The State Legislature first met at the Old City Hall in

, the Assembly on October 12, the Senate on October 18, 1784; and both Houses adjourned on November 29. In January 1785, the Congress of the Confederation met at the Old City Hall, New York City thus becoming the federal capital of the United States. When the Legislature met again, it moved to the Exchange''Annual Report of the Regents''
( USNY, 1870; page 712) on the corner of

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and

Water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

streets in New York City; the Senate met on January 24, the Assembly on January 27, 1785; and both Houses adjourned on April 27.

State Senate

Districts

*The Southern District (9 seats) consisted of Kings, New York,

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, Richmond, Suffolk and Westchester counties. *The Middle District (6 seats) consisted of Dutchess,

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

and

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

counties. *The Eastern District (3 seats) consisted of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, Cumberland and

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

counties. *The Western District (6 seats) consisted of Albany and Montgomery 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.

Senators

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Ebenezer Russell and Peter Van Ness changed from the Assembly to the Senate.

Employees

*Clerk: Abraham B. Bancker

State Assembly

Districts

*The

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and

County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of Albany (10 seats) *

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Cumberland, historic county *Cumberla ...

(3 seats) * Dutchess County (7 seats) * Gloucester County (2 seats) * Kings County (2 seats) * Montgomery County) (6 seats) *The City and County of New York (9 seats) *

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

(4 seats) * Queens County (4 seats) *

Richmond County Richmond County may refer to places: Australia *Richmond County, New South Wales, a cadastral division Canada *Richmond County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Richmondshire, the original Richmond County in Yorkshire, England United States ...

(2 seats) * Suffolk County (5 seats) *

Ulster County Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. History ...

(6 seats) * Washington County (4 seats) *

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

(6 seats) 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.

Employees

*Clerk: John McKesson

Notes

Some confusion still exists as to Speaker; New York Packet of 10/25/1784 printed a letter to Clinton from the Assembly in response to his address, and Hathorn is shown as the author and title is Speaker.

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) ee pg. 108 for Senate districts; pg. 112f for senators; pg. 148f for Assembly districts; pg. 162 for assemblymen {{NYLegislatures 1784 in New York (state) 1785 in New York (state)

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