The 108th 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 comp ...

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 Ass ...

, met from January 6 to May 22, 1885, during the first year of

David B. Hill David Bennett Hill (August 29, 1843October 20, 1910) was an American politician from New York who was the 29th Governor of New York from 1885 to 1891 and represented New York in the United States Senate from 1892 to 1897. In 1892, he made an u ...

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 ...

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

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 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 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 ...

the Democrats were split into three factions:

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

, "Irving Hall" and the "County Democrats". The

Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement. It is the oldest existing third party ...

; and a fusion of 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 ...

, the

Anti-Monopoly Party The Anti-Monopoly Party was a short-lived American political party. The party nominated Benjamin F. Butler for President of the United States in 1884, as did the Greenback Party, which ultimately supplanted the organization. Organizational h ...

and the "People's Party", also nominated tickets.

Elections

The New York state election, 1884 was held on November 4. Governor

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

was elected U.S. President. The only two statewide elective offices up for election were two judgeships on the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by ...

, which were carried by the two cross-endorsed incumbents, one Democrats and one Republican.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 6, 1885; and adjourned on May 15. On January 6, Gov.

resigned, and Lt. Gov.

succeeded to the office.

George Z. Erwin George Zalmon Erwin (January 15, 1840 – January 16, 1894) was an American politician. Life He was born on January 15, 1840, in Madrid, St. Lawrence County, New York. He was educated at Saint Lawrence Academy at Potsdam, New York. He gradua ...

(R) 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 72 votes against 51 for

William Caryl Ely William Caryl Ely (February 25, 1856 – December 14, 1921) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Early life and education W. Caryl Ely was born on February 25, 1856, in Middlefield, Otsego County, New York, the son of Assemblym ...

(D). On January 20, the Legislature elected

William M. Evarts William Maxwell Evarts (February 6, 1818February 28, 1901) was an American lawyer and statesman from New York who served as U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator from New York. He was renowned for his skills as a litig ...

(R) to succeed

Elbridge G. Lapham Elbridge Gerry Lapham (October 18, 1814January 8, 1890) was a U.S. Senator from New York from 1881–1885. Life Lapham attended the public schools and the Canandaigua Academy. He studied civil engineering and law and was admitted to the ba ...

(R) as

U.S. Senator from New York Below is a list of U.S. senators who have represented the State of New York in the United States Senate since 1789. The date of the start of the tenure is either the first day of the legislative term (Senators who were elected regularly before th ...

, for a six-year term beginning on March 4, 1885. On May 15, the Legislature adjourned. While the members were exchanging farewells, copies of Gov. Hill's proclamation for a special session, to convene on the same day at 4 p.m., were delivered to the clerks of the Senate and the Assembly. The special session was called to consider again — Hill had vetoed a census bill during the regular session — action to be taken concerning the decennial enumeration which, under the Constitution, was due in 1885. In his message to the Legislature, Hill stated that the Constitution required an "enumeration", but not a "census".''AN EXTRA SESSION CALLED''
in NYT on May 16, 1885 No enumeration or census bill was passed until 1891.

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: George A. Goss * Doorkeeper: David W. Bogert * Stenographer: Hudson C. Tanner * Postmaster: A. E. Darrow * Janitor: A. L. Neidick * Chaplain: S. V. Leech

State Assembly

Assemblymen

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

Employees

* Clerk: Charles A. Chickering * Sergeant-at-Arms: Edward H. Talbott * Doorkeeper: Michael Maher * Assistant Doorkeeper: Herman K. Fox *Assistant Doorkeeper: John Christie * Stenographer: Emory P. Close

Notes

Sources

''The New York Red Book''
compiled by Edgar L. Murlin (published by James B. Lyon, Albany NY, 1897; see pg. 384f for senate districts; pg. 403 for senators; pg. 410–417 for Assembly districts; and pg. 504 for assemblymen)
Biographical sketches of the Members of the Legislature
in ''The Evening Journal Almanac'' (1885) -book
''ERWIN DEFEATS HUBBELL''
in NYT on January 6, 1885 {{NYLegislatures 108 1885 in New York (state) 1885 U.S. legislative sessions