The 76th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met in Albany from January 4 to July 21, 1853, during the first year of

Horatio Seymour Horatio Seymour (May 31, 1810February 12, 1886) was an American politician. He served as Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president in the 1868 United States presidential elec ...

's governorship.

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 were elected in single-seat senatorial districts for a two-year term, with the whole Senate being renewed biennially. The senatorial districts (except those in New York City) were made up of entire counties. One hundred and twenty-eight Assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts to a one-year term, with the whole Assembly being renewed annually. The Assembly districts were made up of entire towns, or city wards, forming a contiguous area, all in the same county. The City and County of New York was divided into four senatorial districts, and 16 Assembly districts. At this time there were two major political parties: the Democratic Party and the Whig Party.

Elections

The New York state election of 1852 was held on November 2.

(D) was elected governor, defeating the incumbent Washington Hunt (W). Lt. Gov. Sanford E. Church (D) was re-elected. The other two statewide elective offices up for election were also carried by the Democrats.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 4, 1853, and adjourned on April 13.

William H. Ludlow William Handy Ludlow (April 2, 1821 Yonkers, Westchester County, New York – September 26, 1890 Oakdale, Suffolk County, New York) was an American politician. He was also an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Early life L ...

(D) 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 85 votes against 39 for Jeremiah Ellsworth (W). John S. Nafew (D) was elected Clerk of the Assembly with 86 votes against 40 for the incumbent Richard U. Sherman (W). On January 19, William McMurray (D) was elected President pro tempore of the Senate. On April 13, Governor

called a special session of the Legislature, to conclude the unfinished business of the regular session. On April 14, the Legislature met for a special session; and adjourned on April 15. On May 24, the Legislature met for another special session; and adjourned on July 21. On July 1, Russell Smith (D) was elected Speaker pro tempore, to preside over the Assembly during the absence of Speaker Ludlow. On July 8, the Assembly impeached Canal Commissioner John C. Mather. On July 21, near the end of the session, Edwin D. Morgan (W) was elected president pro tempore of the Senate. On July 27, the

New York Court for the Trial of Impeachments The Court for the Trial of Impeachments, and the Correction of Errors was established by the New York State Constitution of 1777. It consisted then of the Lieutenant Governor of New York (who is ''ex officio'' President of the State Senate), the Cha ...

(consisting of the State Senate and the New York Court of Appeals), met at Albany, for the first time in State history. Assemblymen Marshall B. Champlain, Arphaxed Loomis, John McBurney,

Solomon B. Noble Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah ( Hebrew: , Modern: , Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yah"), was a monarch of ancient Israel and the son and succes ...

(all four Democrats),

Orlando Hastings Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

, Walter L. Sessions and Daniel P. Wood (all three Whigs) appeared as the Managers to prosecute the impeachment. Congressman

Rufus W. Peckham Rufus W. Peckham (November 8, 1838 – October 24, 1909) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1895 to 1909, and is the most recent Democratic nominee approved by a Republican-majori ...

(D) appeared for the Defense. After organizing, the Court adjourned.''COURT OF IMPEACHMENT, Trial of John C. Mather, Canal Commissioner, for High Crimes and Misdemeanors''
in NYT on July 28, 1853 On August 16, the Impeachment Court met for the trial, which lasted until Mather was acquitted on September 16.

State Senate

Districts

* 1st District:

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 * 2nd District: Kings County * 3rd District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th wards of New York City * 4th District: 7th, 10th, 13th and 17th wards of New York City * 5th District: 8th, 9th and 14th wards of New York City * 6th District: 11th, 12th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd wards of New York City * 7th District: Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties * 8th District: Columbia and Dutchess counties * 9th District:

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 Sullivan counties * 10th District:

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 ...

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 * 11th District: Albany and

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 ...

counties * 12th District:

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 ...

* 13th District: Saratoga 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 * 14th District: 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 ...

and

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 ...

counties * 15th District: Franklin and

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 ...

counties * 16th District:

Fulton Fulton may refer to: People * Robert Fulton (1765–1815), American engineer and inventor who developed the first commercially successful steam-powered ship * Fulton (surname) Given name * Fulton Allem (born 1957), South African golfer * Fult ...

, Hamilton, Herkimer and Montgomery counties * 17th District:

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 ...

and Schoharie counties * 18th District: Chenango and Otsego counties * 19th District: Oneida County * 20th District: Madison and Oswego counties * 21st District: Jefferson and

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 ...

counties * 22nd District:

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 ...

* 23rd District: Broome, Cortland and Tioga counties * 24th District: Cayuga and Wayne counties * 25th District:

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 ...

, Tompkins and Yates counties * 26th District: Chemung and Steuben counties * 27th District: Monroe County * 28th District:

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 ...

, Niagara and Orleans counties * 29th District: Livingston and

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 ...

counties * 30th District: Allegany and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

counties * 31st District: Erie County * 32nd District: Cattaraugus and

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 ...

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: Ira P. Barnes * Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles Lee * Doorkeeper: A. N. Beardsley * Assistant Doorkeeper: George Read

State Assembly

Assemblymen

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature. Party affiliations follow the vote on Speaker.

Employees

* Clerk: John S. Nafew * Sergeant-at-Arms: John P. Phelps * Doorkeeper: George D. Wooldridge * First Assistant Doorkeeper: Hugh Clary * Second Assistant Doorkeeper: S. A. Brown

Notes

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) g. 109 for Senate districts; pg. 137 for senators; pg. 148–157 for Assembly districts; pg. 244ff for assemblymen
''Journal of the Senate'' (76th Session)
(1853)
''Journal of the Assembly'' (76th Session)
(1853; Vol. I)
''Journal of the Assembly'' (76th Session)
(1853; Vol. II)
''The State Government for 1853''
in NYT on January 5, 1853 {{NYLegislatures 076 1853 in New York (state) 1853 U.S. legislative sessions