The 1887 New York state election was held on November 8, 1887, to elect the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, the

State Treasurer In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...

and the State Engineer, as well as all members of 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 ...

and 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 ...

History

The United Labor state convention met on August 17 at

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

. Louis F. Post, the Greenback candidate for Attorney General in 1883, was elected Temporary Chairman by the Henry George faction with 91 votes over Frank J. Ferrall, a "colored delegate from New York City", who was nominated by William Penn Rogers and received 69 votes. The convention lasted another two days, and nominated Henry George for Secretary of State, Victor A. Wilder for Comptroller, Patrick H. Cummins for Treasurer, Dennis C. Feely for Attorney General, and Sylvanus H. Sweet for State Engineer. Ex-State Engineer Sweet (in office 1874-1875 as a Democrat) declined to run. The

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

state convention met on August 25 at

. Rev. I. K. Funk was Temporary Chairman until the choice of Henry Clay Bascom as President. The

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

state convention met on September 14 at the Skating Rink in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

Seth Low Seth Low (January 18, 1850 – September 17, 1916) was an American educator and political figure who served as the mayor of Brooklyn from 1881 to 1885, the president of Columbia University from 1890 to 1901, a diplomatic representative of t ...

was Temporary Chairman until the choice of

Warner Miller Warner Miller (August 12, 1838March 21, 1918) was an American businessman and politician from Herkimer, New York. A Republican, he was most notable for his service as a U.S. Representative (1879-1881) and United States Senator (1881-1887). A nat ...

as President. Frederick D. Grant was nominated for Secretary of State by acclamation. Jesse S. L'Amoreaux was nominated for Comptroller during the first ballot. James H. Carmicheal, of Buffalo, was nominated for Treasurer. Maj. James A. Dennison, of

Fulton County Fulton County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. Most are named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the first practical steamboat: *Fulton County, Arkansas, named after Governor William Savin Fulton *Fulton County, Georgia *F ...

, was nominated for Attorney General during the first ballot. Oliver H. P. Cornell was nominated for State Engineer on the first ballot (vote: Cornell 353,

Verplanck Colvin Verplanck Colvin (January 4, 1847 – May 28, 1920) was a lawyer, author, illustrator and topographical Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features t ...

326). The Democratic state convention met at Saratoga Springs. The Progressive Labor state convention met on September 28 at Webster Hall in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. William Penn Rogers, called the meeting to order, and made a speech repudiating Henry George and his United Labor Party. H. A. Barker was Temporary Chairman and Chairman of the day session; George Block was Chairman of the evening session. John Swinton was nominated for Secretary of State. H. A. Barker, a cigarmaker of Albany, was nominated for Comptroller. Henry Emrich, General Secretary of the Furniture Workers Union, was nominated for Treasurer. Thaddeus B. Wakeman was nominated for Attorney General. Swinton declined to run, and the convention nominated

J. Edward Hall James Edward Hall (August 22, 1851 – May 3, 1889) was a socialist trade union organizer and politician. He is best remembered as one of the organizers of the New York Central Labor Union and one of the first American socialists nominated for high ...

for Secretary of State. The Greenback-Labor state convention met on October 4 at

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, and nominated

Thomas K. Beecher Thomas Kinnicut Beecher (February 10, 1824 - March 14, 1900) was a Congregationalist preacher and the principal of several schools. As a Congregational minister, his father took the family from Beecher's birthplace of Litchfield, Connecticut, to ...

for Secretary of State.''MR. BEECHER'S POSITION''
in NYT on October 6, 1887

Results

The whole Democratic ticket was elected. The incumbents Cook and Fitzgerald were re-elected.

Notes

Sources

*The tickets
''A LIST OF THE CANDIDATES ON THE VARIOUS TICKETS''
in NYT on November 7, 1887 *Result in Queens County
''THE QUEENS COUNTY VOTE''
in NYT on November 15, 1887 *Result in New York County
''COMPLETING THE CANVASS''
in NYT on November 22, 1887 *Vote totals

in NYT on December 6, 1887 (subscription required) *Results
''The Tribune Almanac 1888''

History

Results

Notes

Sources

See also