The 54th New York State Legislature, consisting of the
New York State Senate and the
New York State Assembly, met from January 4 to April 26, 1831, during the third year of
Enos T. Throop's governorship, 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 1821, 32 senators were elected on general tickets in eight 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.
State Senator
Moses Hayden died on February 13, 1830, leaving a vacancy in the Eighth District.
At this time, there were three political parties: the
Jacksonians (supporting President
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
; led by U.S. Secretary of State
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 ...
), the
Anti-Masons, and the
National Republicans
The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States that evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John Q ...
(supporting
Henry Clay for the presidency).
The Anti-Masonic state convention met in August 1830 at
Utica, and nominated Assemblyman
Francis Granger for governor, and Samuel Stevens, of New York City, for lieutenant governor. The National Republicans did not call a convention, and supported the Anti-Masonic ticket.
The Jacksonian state convention met on September 8, 1830, at
Herkimer and nominated Gov. Throop for re-election, and
Edward P. Livingston for lieutenant governor.
Elections
The State election was held from November 1 to 3, 1830. Gov. Enos T. Throop was re-elected, and Edward P. Livingston was elected lieutenant governor.
State Senator
Jonathan S. Conklin (1st D.) was re-elected.
David M. Westcott (2nd D.),
William I. Dodge (4th D.),
Henry A. Foster (5th D.),
Charles W. Lynde (6th D.),
William H. Seward
William Henry Seward (May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as governor of New York and as a United States Senator. A determined oppon ...
(7th D.),
Trumbull Cary (8th D.); and Assemblymen
Herman I. Quackenboss (3rd D.) and
Philo C. Fuller (8th D.) were also elected to the Senate. Lynde, Seward, Cary and Fuller were Anti-Masons, the other five were Jacksonians.
Sessions
The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in
Albany on January 4, 1831; and adjourned on April 26.
George R. Davis (J) was elected
Speaker with 91 votes against 30 for
John C. Spencer (A-M).
On January 6, Cary and Fuller drew lots to decide which one of the two senators elected in the 8th District would serve the short term, and which one the full term. Fuller drew the short term, and Cary the full term.
On February 1,
the Legislature elected Supreme Court Justice
William L. Marcy (J) to succeed
Nathan Sanford as U.S. Senator for a six-year term beginning on March 4, 1831.
On February 1, the Legislature re-elected State Treasurer
Abraham Keyser, Jr.
On June 3, a National Republican state convention met at Albany,
Peter R. Livingston was Chairman. The convention chose delegates to the National Republican national convention which would nominate
Henry Clay for U.S. president, among them
Stephen Van Rensselaer and
Ambrose Spencer.
State Senate
Districts
* The First District (4 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 and
Suffolk counties.
* The Second District (4 seats) consisted of
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 ...
,
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
* ...
,
Putnam,
Rockland,
Sullivan,
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 ...
and
Westchester counties.
* The Third District (4 seats) consisted of
Albany,
Columbia,
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 ...
,
Rensselaer,
Schenectady and
Schoharie counties.
* The Fourth District (4 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,
Hamilton,
Montgomery,
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,
Warren and
Washington counties.
* The Fifth District (4 seats) consisted of
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 ...
,
Madison,
Oneida and
Oswego counties.
* The Sixth District (4 seats) consisted of
Broome,
Chenango,
Cortland,
Otsego,
Steuben,
Tioga and
Tompkins counties.
* The Seventh District (4 seats) consisted of
Cayuga,
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 ...
,
Wayne and
Yates counties.
* The Eighth District (4 seats) consisted of
Allegany,
Cattaraugus,
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 ...
,
Erie
Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...
,
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 ...
,
Livingston,
Monroe,
Niagara and
Orleans 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. Herman I. Quackenboss and Philo C. Fuller changed from the Assembly to the Senate.
Employees
* Clerk:
John F. Bacon
State Assembly
Districts
*
Albany County (3 seats)
*
Allegany County (1 seat)
*
Broome County (1 seat)
*
Cattaraugus County (1 seat)
*
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)
*
Chautauqua County (2 seats)
*
Chenango County (3 seats)
*
Clinton County (1 seat)
*
Columbia County (3 seats)
*
Cortland County (2 seats)
*
Delaware County (2 seats)
*
Dutchess County (4 seats)
*
Erie County (2 seats)
*
Essex County (1 seat)
*
Franklin County (1 seat)
*
Genesee County (3 seats)
*
Greene County (2 seats)
*
Hamilton and
Montgomery counties (3 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 (3 seats)
*
Kings County (1 seat)
*
Lewis County (1 seat)
*
Livingston County (2 seats)
*
Madison County (3 seats)
*
Monroe County (3 seats)
* The City and County of
New York (11 seats)
*
Niagara County
Niagara County is in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 212,666. The county seat is Lockport. The county name is from the Iroquois word ''Onguiaahra''; meaning ''the strait'' or ''thunder of waters''.
Niaga ...
(1 seat)
*
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 (3 seats)
*
Orange County (3 seats)
*
Orleans County (1 seat)
*
Oswego County
Oswego County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 117,525. The county seat is Oswego. The county name is from a Mohawk-language word meaning "the pouring out place", referring to the point at ...
(1 seat)
*
Otsego County (4 seats)
*
Putnam County (1 seat)
*
Queens County (1 seat)
*
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 ...
(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
...
(1 seat)
*
Rockland County (1 seat)
*
St. Lawrence County (2 seats)
*
Saratoga County (3 seats)
*
Schenectady County (1 seat)
*
Schoharie County (2 seats)
*
Seneca County (2 seats)
*
Steuben County (2 seats)
*
Suffolk County (2 seats)
*
Sullivan County (1 seat)
*
Tioga County (2 seats)
*
Tompkins County (3 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
...
(2 seats)
*
Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War:
* Warren County, Georgia
* Warren County, Illinois
* Warren County ...
(1 seat)
*
Washington (3 seats)
*
Wayne County (2 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)
*
Yates County (1 seat)
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.
The party affiliations follow the vote for U.S. Senator and state treasurer.
''Journal of the Assembly, 54th Session''
(pg. 178ff)
Employees
* Clerk: Francis Seger
Francis Seger (March 12, 1796 in Berne, Albany County, New York – April or May 1872 in Lyons Falls, Lewis County, New York) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.
Life
He was the son of Garrett Seger and Catherine Seger. Seger was ...
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Pomeroy Jones
* Doorkeeper: Alonzo Crosby
* Assistant Doorkeeper: Oliver Scovil
Notes
Sources
''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) g. 109 and 441 for Senate districts; pg. 128f for senators; pg. 148f for Assembly districts; pg. 210f for assemblymen
''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. 2, Phinney & Co., Buffalo, 1850; pg. 336 to 368)
{{NYLegislatures
054
1831 in New York (state)
1831 U.S. legislative sessions