The 2nd New York State Legislature, consisting of the
New York State Senate and the
New York State Assembly, met from October 13, 1778, to March 17, 1779, during the second 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
Poughkeepsie
Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...
.
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.
On May 8, 1777, the Constitutional Convention had appointed the senators from the Southern District, and the assemblymen from Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond and Suffolk counties—the area which was under British control—and determined that these appointees serve in the Legislature until elections could be held in those areas, presumably after the end of the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. Vacancies among the appointed members in the Senate should be filled by the Assembly, and vacancies in the Assembly by the Senate.
Elections
The State elections were held from April 28 to 30, 1778. Under the determination by the Constitutional Convention, the senators
Isaac Roosevelt and
John Morin Scott, whose seats were up for election, continued in office, as well as the assemblymen from Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond and Suffolk counties. Two vacancies in the Senate—caused by the death of
Philip Livingston
Philip Livingston (January 15, 1716 – June 12, 1778) was an American merchant and statesman from New York City. He represented New York at the October 1774 First Continental Congress, where he favored imposing economic sanctions upon Great B ...
and the election of
Pierre Van Cortlandt as
Lieutenant Governor—were filled by the State Assembly.
Henry Wisner
Henry Wisner (c. 1720 – March 4, 1790) was a miller from Goshen, New York. He was a Patriot leader during the American Revolution who voted for Independence on July 4, 1776, at the creation of the Declaration of Independence, and represented Ne ...
(Middle D.) and
Abraham Yates Jr. (Western D.) were re-elected. Assemblymen
Ebenezer Russell (Eastern D.) and
Jacob G. Klock (Western D.) were elected to the Senate.
The State Legislature met in Poughkeepsie, the seat of Dutchess County, on October 13, 1778, and adjourned on November 6. The Senate reconvened from January 27 to March 17, the Assembly from January 28 to March 16, 1779. Due to the difficult situation during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, four senators and several assemblymen could not attend the meeting.
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
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
,
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.
[All three senators from the Eastern District in this Legislature came from Charlotte County; see note for Assembly.]
*The Western District (6 seats) consisted of
Albany and
Tryon 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. In 1784, Charlotte Co. was renamed
Washington Co., and Tryon Co. was renamed
Montgomery Co.
Senators
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Ebenezer Russell and Jacob G. Klock changed from the Assembly to the Senate.
Employees
*Clerk:
Robert Benson
State Assembly
Districts
*The
City
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
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)
*
Charlotte County (4 seats)
*
Cumberland County (3 seats)
*
Dutchess County (7 seats)
*
Gloucester County (2 seats)
*
Kings County (2 seats)
*The City and County of
New York (9 seats)
*
Orange County (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)
*
Tryon County (6 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)
*
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. In 1784, Charlotte Co. was renamed
Washington Co., and Tryon Co. was renamed
Montgomery Co.
Assemblymen
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.
Employees
*Clerk:
John McKesson
*Sergeant-at-Arms: Stephen Hendrickson
*Doorkeeper: Richard Ten Eyck
Notes
Sources
''The New York Civil List''compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
ee pg. 108 for Senate districts; pg. 110 for senators; pg. 148f for Assembly districts; pg. 157f for assemblymen
{{NYLegislatures
1778 in New York (state)
1779 in New York (state)
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