The 92nd 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 5 to May 11, 1869, during the first year of
John T. Hoffman
John Thompson Hoffman (January 10, 1828March 24, 1888) was the 23rd governor of New York (1869–72). He was also recorder of New York City (1861–65) and the 78th mayor of New York City (1866–68). Connections to the Tweed Ring r ...
'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 ...
, 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 (five districts) and Kings County (two districts). The Assembly districts were made up of entire towns, or city wards,
[Except New York City where the wards were apportioned into election districts, and then some whole wards and some election districts of other wards were gerrymandered together into Assembly districts.] forming a contiguous area, all within the same county.
According to the Constitution of 1846, twenty years after its elaboration the electorate was asked if they wanted a Constitutional Convention to be held, which was answered at the
1866 New York state election, in the affirmative. On April 23, 1867, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were elected, resulting in a Republican majority. On June 4, the
Constitutional Convention met at Albany; adjourned on September 23; and met again on November 12. On February 28, 1868, the Constitutional Convention adjourned ''sine die''. How to put the proposed amendments before the electorate was then debated throughout the 91st and the 92nd Legislature, and all amendments, except the re-organization of the judicial system, were eventually rejected by the voters at the
New York state election, 1869
The 1869 New York state election was held on November 2, 1869, to elect the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, the State Engineer, two Judges of the New York Court of Appeals, a Canal Commissio ...
.
At this time there were two major political parties: 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 ...
and the
Democratic Party.
Elections
The
1868 New York state election was held on November 3. Mayor of New York City
John T. Hoffman
John Thompson Hoffman (January 10, 1828March 24, 1888) was the 23rd governor of New York (1869–72). He was also recorder of New York City (1861–65) and the 78th mayor of New York City (1866–68). Connections to the Tweed Ring r ...
and
Allen C. Beach (both Democrats) were elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor. The other three statewide elective offices up for election were also carried by the Democrats. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Democrats 439,000 and Republicans 411,000.
Sessions
The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in
Albany on January 5, 1869; and adjourned on May 11.
Truman G. Younglove (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 71 votes against 52 for
(D).
On January 19,
the Legislature elected Ex-Governor
Reuben E. Fenton (R) to succeed
Edwin D. Morgan as
U.S. Senator from New York for a six-year term beginning on March 4, 1869.
On February 4,
Charles J. Folger
Charles James Folger (April 16, 1818 – September 4, 1884) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was a State Senator in New York from 1862 to 1869 and served as the 34th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from ...
(R) was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate "for this session."
On February 24,
Richard Crowley
Richard Crowley (December 14, 1836 – July 22, 1908) was a United States representative from New York. He was born in Pendleton, New York. He attended the public schools and Lockport Union School. Later, he studied law, was admitted to the bar ...
(R) was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate "for this day."
On April 29, the Legislature elected
Henry Smith (R) as a Metropolitan Police Commissioner, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
Thomas C. Acton.
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
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, Californi ...
and
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...
counties
* 2nd District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 11th, 13th, 15th, 19th and 20th wards of the City of
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
* 3rd District: 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 17th and 18th wards of the City of Brooklyn; and
all towns in Kings County
* 4th District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 13th and 14th wards of New York City
* 5th District: 8th, 9th, 15th and 16th wards of New York City
* 6th District: 10th, 11th and 17th wards of New York City
* 7th District: 18th, 20th and 21st wards of New York City
* 8th District: 12th, 19th and 22nd wards of New York City
* 9th District:
Putnam,
Rockland and
Westchester counties
* 10th District:
Orange and
Sullivan counties
* 11th District:
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...
and
Dutchess counties
* 12th District:
Rensselaer 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
* 13th District:
Albany County
* 14th 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
* 15th District:
Fulton,
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilto ...
,
Montgomery,
Saratoga 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
* 16th District:
Clinton,
Essex
Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, 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 Riv ...
and
Warren counties
* 17th District:
Franklin and
St. Lawrence counties
* 18th 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
* 19th District:
Oneida County
* 20th District:
Herkimer and
Otsego counties
* 21st District:
Madison Madison may refer to:
People
* Madison (name), a given name and a surname
* James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States
Place names
* Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
and
Oswego counties
* 22nd District:
Onondaga and
Cortland counties
* 23rd District:
Chenango,
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 ...
and
Schoharie counties
* 24th District:
Broome,
Tompkins and
Tioga counties
* 25th District:
Cayuga Cayuga often refers to:
* Cayuga people, a native tribe to North America, part of the Iroquois Confederacy
* Cayuga language, the language of the Cayuga
Cayuga may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Cayuga, Ontario
United States
* Cayuga, Illinoi ...
and
Wayne counties
* 26th District:
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 Ca ...
,
Seneca and
Yates Yates may refer to:
Places United States
* Fort Yates, North Dakota
*Yates Spring, a spring in Georgia, United States
*Yates City, Illinois
* Yates Township, Illinois
*Yates Center, Kansas
* Yates, Michigan
* Yates Township, Michigan
*Yates, Misso ...
counties
* 27th District:
Chemung,
Schuyler and
Steuben counties
* 28th District:
Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe:
*Monroe County, Alabama
* Monroe County, Arkansas
* Monroe County, Florida
*Monroe County, Georgia
* Monroe County, Illinois
* Monroe County, Indi ...
* 29th 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
* 30th District:
Allegany,
Livingston
Livingston may refer to:
Businesses
* Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010)
* Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline
* Livingston International, a North American customs ...
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 t ...
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
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:
James Terwilliger
James Terwilliger (October 3, 1809September 1, 1892) was an Oregon pioneer and one of the first residents of Portland, Oregon. He is the namesake of Portland's Terwilliger Boulevard and Terwilliger School.
Early life
Terwilliger was born in 1809 ...
* Sergeant-at-Arms: John H. Kemper
* Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: George H. Knapp
* Doorkeeper: Charles V. Schram
* Assistant Doorkeeper: Nathaniel Saxton
* Assistant Doorkeeper: David L. Shields
* Assistant Doorkeeper: Elisha T. Burdick
State Assembly
Assemblymen
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.
Party affiliations follow the vote for Speaker.
Employees
* Clerk:
Edward F. Underhill
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Samuel C. Pierce
* Doorkeeper: John Hancock
* First Assistant Doorkeeper: Franklin Hutchinson
* Second Assistant Doorkeeper: James Tanner
* Stenographer: Hudson C. Tanner
Notes
Sources
''The New York Civil List''compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough, Stephen C. Hutchins and Edgar Albert Werner (1870; see pg. 439 for Senate districts; pg. 444 for senators; pg. 450–463 for Assembly districts; pg. 510f for assemblymen)
''Journal of the Senate'' (92nd Session)(1869)
''Journal of the Assembly'' (92nd Session)(1869; Vol. I)
''Journal of the Assembly'' (92nd Session)(1869; Vol. II)
{{NYLegislatures
092
1869 in New York (state)
1869 U.S. legislative sessions