The 40th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from November 5, 1816, to April 15, 1817, during the tenth year of

Daniel D. Tompkins Daniel D. Tompkins (June 21, 1774 – June 11, 1825) was an American politician. He was the fifth governor of New York from 1807 to 1817, and the sixth vice president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. Born in Scarsdale, New York, Tompkins ...

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 ...

, and while

John Tayler John Tayler (July 4, 1742 – March 19, 1829) was a merchant and politician. He served nine years as Lieutenant Governor of New York, four months acting as the sixth Governor of New York, and also in both houses of the New York State Legislatur ...

was Acting Governor, 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 1777, amended by the Constitutional Convention of 1801, 32 Senators were elected on general tickets in the four senatorial districts for four-year terms. They were divided into four classes, and every year eight Senate seats came up for election. Assemblymen were elected countywide on general tickets to a one-year term, the whole Assembly being renewed annually. In 1797, Albany was declared the State capital, and all subsequent Legislatures have been meeting there ever since. In 1799, the Legislature enacted that future Legislatures meet on the last Tuesday of January of each year unless called earlier by the governor. On April 17, 1815, the Legislature had re-apportioned the Senate districts, to take effect in May 1815: Dutchess, Putnam and Rockland Co. (and 1 seat) were transferred from the Middle to the Southern District; Albany Co. from the Eastern, and Chenango, Otsego and Schoharie Co. from the Western (and 3 seats) were transferred to the Middle District; Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Co. (and 3 seats) were transferred from the Western to the Eastern District. However, the State senators already in office, and the senators elected in April 1815 under the previous apportionment, should represent the District in which they resided. When taking their seats at the next session in January 1816, in three districts there was a number of senators differing from the apportionment, which was corrected at the election in 1816. On February 20, 1816, a caucus of Democratic-Republican legislators nominated Gov.

and Lt. Gov.

for re-election. The Federalists nominated U.S. Senator Rufus King for Governor; and State Senator George Tibbits for Lieutenant Governor. At this time the politicians were divided into two opposing political parties: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans.

Elections

The State election was held from April 30 to May 2, 1816. Gov.

and Lt. Gov.

were re-elected. Senator

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

(Middle D.) was re-elected.

Walter Bowne Walter Bowne (26 September 1770 – 31 August 1846) was the 59th Mayor of New York City from 1829 to 1833. Walter Bowne was born in Flushing, Long Island, New York, the son of James Bowne and his wife Caroline Rodman. He was a descendant of Joh ...

, John D. Ditmis (both Southern D.), John Noyes, Peter Swart (both Middle D.), Ephraim Hart, John Knox and William Mallery (all three Western D.) were also elected to the Senate. All eight were Democratic-Republicans.

Sessions

The Legislature met at the Old State Capitol in Albany on November 5, 1816, to elect

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia app ...

s; and adjourned on November 12. David Woods (Dem.-Rep.) 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: ** I ...

with 84 votes against 33 for James Emott (Fed.). On November 8, the Legislature chose 29 electors, all Democratic-Republicans:

Henry Rutgers Henry Rutgers (October 7, 1745 – February 17, 1830) was a United States Revolutionary War hero and philanthropist from New York City. Rutgers University was named after him, and he donated a bond which placed the college on sound financial f ...

, Lemuel Chipman, John W. Seaman, Jacob Drake, James Fairlie, Theodorus W. Van Wyck, Joseph D. Monell, John Blake Jr., Jacob Wertz, Gabriel North, Charles E. Dudley, Benjamin Smith, Samuel Lewis, Alexander McNish, Artemus Aldrich, Augustus Wright, Peter S. Van Orden, Henry Becker, Aaron Haring, Israel W. Clark, Daniel Root, Montgomery Hunt, Nicoll Fosdick, Eliphalet Edmonds,

George Pettit George Frederick Douglas Pettit(born October 2, 1982) is a Canadian musician best known as the lead vocalist of the post-hardcore band Alexisonfire. He is also currently active as the vocalist of Dead Tired. Biography Pettit grew up in Grim ...

, Richard Townley, Samuel Lawrence,

Nathaniel Rochester Nathaniel Rochester (February 21, 1752 – May 17, 1831) was an American Revolutionary War soldier, and land speculator, most noted for founding the settlement which would become Rochester, New York. Early life Nathaniel Rochester was born ...

and Worthy L. Churchill. They cast their votes for

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

and

. The Legislature met for the regular session on January 14, 1817; and adjourned on April 15. On January 28, Gov. Tompkins sent a message to the Legislature, "recommending the entire abolition of slavery in the state of New-York, to take place on the 4th of July, 1827," which was passed into law during this session.see Hammond, pg. 432f On February 12, the Legislature elected

Gerrit L. Dox Gerrit Lansing Dox (December 13, 1784 in Albany, New York – August 2, 1847 in Waterloo, Seneca County, New York) was an American politician. Early life He was born on December 13, 1784 to Pieter Dox and Cathalyntje Lansing. He was baptised on ...

(Dem.-Rep.) to succeed

Charles Z. Platt Charles Zephaniah Platt (July 22, 1773 – April 14, 1822) was an American politician. Life Platt was born on July 22, 1773, in Poughkeepsie, New York. He was one of twelve children born to Mary Van Wyck Platt (1743–1809) and Zephaniah Platt ...

(Fed.) as New York State Treasurer. On February 24, Gov. Tompkins resigned, to take office as U.S. Vice President on March 4. Lt. Gov.

became Acting Governor for the remainder of the legislative year, until June 30; and Philetus Swift (Dem.-Rep.) was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate. On March 25, the first ever State Convention met to nominate a candidate for Governor of New York. The Democratic-Republican party members from counties which were represented in the Assembly by Federalists had complained that these counties were not taking any part in the nomination under the previous system, under which candidates were nominated by legislative caucus. This time, a Democratic-Republican convention composed of the State legislators, and delegates elected in the Federalist counties, nominated Canal Commissioner DeWitt Clinton for Governor, and Acting Gov.

for Lieutenant Governor. Clinton received 85 votes against 41 for Peter B. Porter.

State Senate

Districts

*The Southern District (6 seats) consisted of Dutchess, Kings, New York, Putnam,

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, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester counties. *The Middle District (9 seats) consisted of Albany, Chenango, Columbia,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

Greene Greene may refer to: Places United States *Greene, Indiana, an unincorporated community *Greene, Iowa, a city *Greene, Maine, a town ** Greene (CDP), Maine, in the town of Greene *Greene (town), New York ** Greene (village), New York, in the town ...

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 * ...

, Otsego, Schoharie, Sullivan 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 (8 seats) consisted of Clinton,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, Franklin, Herkimer, Jefferson,

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

, Montgomery, Rensselaer,

St. Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roma ...

, Saratoga,

Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

and

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 ...

counties. *The Western District (9 seats) consisted of Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga,

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) was an adult education and social movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua br ...

, Cortland,

Genesee Genesee, derived from the Seneca word for "pleasant valley", may refer to: Geographic features Canada *Genesee, Alberta, an unincorporated community United States *Genesee, California *Genesee, Colorado *Genesee County, Michigan *Genesee Co ...

, Madison, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

, Steuben and Tioga 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.

Members

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

Employees

*Clerk: John F. Bacon

State Assembly

Districts

* Albany County (4 seats) * Allegany and Steuben counties (2 seats) * Broome County (1 seat) * Cattaraugus,

and Niagara counties (2 seats) *

Cayuga County Cayuga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 76,248. Its county seat and largest city is Auburn. The county was named for the Cayuga people, one of the Indian tribes in the Iroquois Confed ...

(4 seats) *

Chenango County Chenango County is a county located in the south-central section U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,220. Its county seat is Norwich. The county's name originates from an Oneida word meaning 'large bull-thist ...

(3 seats) * Clinton and Franklin counties (1 seat) * Columbia County (4 seats) *

Cortland County Cortland County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population of Cortland County was 46,809. The county seat is Cortland. The county is named after Pierre Van Cortlandt, president of the convention ...

(1 seat) * Delaware County (2 seats) * Dutchess County (5 seats) * Essex County (1 seat) * Genesee County (3 seats) * Greene County (2 seats) *

Herkimer County Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. It is named af ...

(3 seats) * Jefferson County (2 seats) * Kings County (1 seat) * Lewis County (1 seat) * Madison County (3 seats) * Montgomery County (5 seats) *The City and County of New York (11 seats) * Oneida County (5 seats) *

Onondaga County Onondaga County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 476,516. The county seat is Syracuse. Onondaga County is the core of the Syracuse, NY MSA. History The name ''Onondaga'' derives from ...

(4 seats) * Ontario County (7 seats) * Orange County (4 seats) * Otsego County (5 seats) * Putnam County (1 seat) * Queens County (3 seats) *

Rensselaer County Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 161,130. Its county seat is Troy. The county is named in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the ...

(5 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 ...

(1 seat) *

Rockland County Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...

(1 seat) * St. Lawrence County (1 seat) * Saratoga County (4 seats) * Schenectady County (2 seats) *

Schoharie County Schoharie County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 29,714, making it the state's fifth-least populous county. The county ...

(3 seats) * Seneca County (3 seats) * Suffolk County (3 seats) * Sullivan and

counties (4 seats) * Tioga County (1 seat) *

and

counties (5 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 ...

(3 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: Aaron Clark *Sergeant-at-Arms: Thomas Donnelly *Doorkeeper: Benjamin Whipple

Notes

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) ee pg. 108f for Senate districts; pg. 123 for senators; pg. 148f for Assembly districts; pg. 191f for assemblymen; pg. 321 and 325 for presidential electionbr>''The History of Political Parties in the State of New-York, from the Ratification of the Federal Constitution to 1840''
by Jabez D. Hammond (4th ed., Vol. 1, H. & E. Phinney, Cooperstown, 1846; pages 425-442)
Election result Assembly, Broome Co.
at project "A New Nation Votes", compiled by Phil Lampi, hosted by

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

040 The Motorola 68040 ("''sixty-eight-oh-forty''") is a 32-bit microprocessor in the Motorola 68000 series, released in 1990. It is the successor to the 68030 and is followed by the 68060, skipping the 68050. In keeping with general Motorola n ...

1816 in New York (state) 1817 in New York (state) 1816 U.S. legislative sessions