The New York Executive Council (also known as the King's Council or Governor's Council), was the

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

of the supreme

legislative body A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

of the

Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Uni ...

during its period of proprietal colonialship while its was a

crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...

. It was in effect until April 3, 1775, when the government disbanded after the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.

History

The Governor's Council was first convened in 1683 during the governorship of

Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick Thomas Dongan, (pronounced "Dungan") 2nd Earl of Limerick (1634 – 14 December 1715), was a member of the Irish Parliament, Royalist military officer during the English Civil War, and Governor of the Province of New York. He is noted for hav ...

, which passed an act entitled " A Charter of Liberties" that decreed that the supreme legislative power under the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

(later King James II) shall reside in a

governor 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 ...

, council, and the people convened in

general assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

.Driscoll, John T. "Thomas Dongan." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 6 Jun. 2014
/ref> The council, when full, consisted of twelve members, who were appointed by the King, and who enjoyed the same authority as the lords in parliament. Together with the governor, the council had an unqualified veto upon the acts of the general assembly. They acted as a

privy council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

to the governor in matters of civil government, and held their office at the will of the Crown. Privy councils were held at the fort in New-York, at which the governor was always present, but their legislative sessions were held without his presence, at the city hall. The senior member was speaker of their house; their proceedings were not published, and in their formalities they closely imitated the English

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. Messages to the assembly were carried by one of their members, and the house always arose at his entrance and received him standing. Councilors received no salary. The council exercised judicial authority upon writs of error and appeal (which was composed of the Governor and the council). From 1692 forward, the English

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

administered the Province of New York, appointed the royal officials (Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Attorney-General and members of the Governor’s Council) and served as the court of final appeal for the Province. In 1735, the New York Governor ceased to participate in Council meetings and from then on the Province's government took the familiar form of an executive (Governor), upper chamber (the Council) and lower chamber (the Assembly). Towards the close of the colonial period, "their duties had devolved upon a few, and were very great."

Members of the council

* Anthony Brockholls (served as acting governor from 1681 to 1683 while president of the council) *

William "Tangier" Smith William "Tangier" Smith (February 2, 1655 – February 18, 1705) was a governor of Tangier, on the coast of Morocco, and an early settler of New York who owned more than of Atlantic Ocean waterfront property in central Long Island in New York Stat ...

(member of the council from 1691 to 1705; served as acting governor in 1701) *

Pieter Schuyler Pieter Schuyler (17 September 1657 – 19 February 1724) was the first mayor of Albany, New York. A long-serving member of the executive council of the Province of New York, he acted as governor of the Province of New York on three occasions ...

(member of the council from 1692 to 1721; thrice served as acting governor) *

Adolphus Philipse Adolphus Philipse (1665–1750) was a wealthy landowner of Dutch descent in the Province of New York. In 1697 he purchased a large tract of land along the east bank of the Hudson River stretching all the way to the east to the Connecticut bor ...

(removed in 1721) *

Abraham de Peyster Abraham de Peyster (July 8, 1657 – August 3, 1728) was the 20th mayor of New York City from 1691 to 1694, and served as Governor of New York, 1700–1701. Early life De Peyster was born in New Amsterdam on July 8, 1657, to Johannes de Peyste ...

Cadwallader Colden Cadwallader Colden (7 February 1688 – 28 September 1776) was a physician, natural scientist, a lieutenant governor and acting Governor for the Province of New York. Early life Colden was born on 7 February 1688 in Ireland, of Scottish pare ...

(appointed in 1720) * Archibald Kennedy (he became the 11th

Earl of Cassilis Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

in 1792) * James Alexander (member of the council from 1721 to 1732; reappointed in 1737) *

James De Lancey James De Lancey (November 27, 1703 – July 30, 1760) served as chief justice, lieutenant governor, and acting colonial governor of the Province of New York. Early life and education De Lancey was born in New York City on November 27, 170 ...

(appointed in 1730; served as acting governor from 1753 to 1755 and from 1758 to 1760) *

Daniel Horsmanden Daniel Horsmanden (June 4, 1691 – September 28, 1778) was a chief justice of the supreme court in the Province of New York and member of the governor's executive council. Biography Horsmanden was born in Goudhurst, Kent, England to a fam ...

(member of the council from 1733 to 1747 and from 1755 to 1776) * George Clarke Jr. (acting governor from 1736 to 1743) *

Joseph Murray Joseph Edward Murray (April 1, 1919 – November 26, 2012) was an American plastic surgeon who performed the first successful human kidney transplant on identical twins Richard and Ronald Herrick on December 23, 1954. Murray shared the No ...

John Rutherfurd John Rutherfurd (September 20, 1760February 23, 1840) was an American politician and land surveyor. He represented New Jersey in the United States Senate from 1791 to 1798. Early life John Rutherfurd was born on September 20, 1760 in New York C ...

* Edward Holland (appointed in 1748) *

Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet of New York ( – 11 July 1774), was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Ireland. As a young man, Johnson moved to the Province of New York to manage an estate purchased by his uncle, Royal Na ...

(appointed in 1750) * John Chambers * Joseph Reade (member of the council from 1761 to 1771) * William Axtell

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

New York Colony Council Minutes
at the

New York State Archives The New York State Archives is a unit of the Office of Cultural Education within the New York State Education Department, with its main facility located in the Cultural Education Center on Madison Avenue in Albany, New York, United States. The Ne ...

{{authority control Colonial United States (British) Province of New York 1683 establishments in the Province of New York Pre-statehood history of New York (state)

History

Members of the council

See also

References

External links