The 1885 New York state election was held on November 3, 1885, to elect the

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

, the

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, the secretary state, the state comptroller, the

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

, the

state treasurer In the state and territorial governments of the United States, 54 of the 56 states and territories have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the office of New York State Treasurer in 1926, in which the duties were transfer ...

and the state engineer, as well as all members of 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 ...

and the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

History

The

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

state convention met on September 9 at

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

. William J. Groo presided. Henry Clay Bascom, of

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

, was nominated for governor by acclamation. W Jennings Demorest, of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, for lieutenant governor, Edward Evans, of Tonawanda, for Secretary of State, Hiram Vandenburgh, of Fulton County, for treasurer, Frederick Sheldon, of Hornellsville, for attorney general, and George A. Dudley for state engineer, were nominated unanimously. The Greenback State Committee met on September 9 at Clarendon Hall in

. Ralph Beaumont was chosen to preside over the convention. The Anti-Monopoly delegates met in an adjoining room, Dr. Seeger presided. The remnants of

Benjamin F. Butler Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler was a ...

's "People's Party" merged with the Anti-Monopolists. When the Greenback/Anti-Monopoly convention opened there was much debate among the several factions, and the Anti-Monopolists walked out. The remaining Greenbackers were split in two opposing factions: the friends and the adversaries of Edward O. Jones, the latter faction led by Louis F. Post, a New York City banker. Post's faction then walked out too, and the remaining delegates nominated George O. Jones, of Albany, for governor; Lyman W. Gage, of Rochester, for lieutenant governor; George W. Pimm, of Coldenham, for Secretary of State; Nelson S. Shaler, of Catskill, for comptroller; Allen Wood for treasurer; William B. Guernsey, of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, for attorney general; and Edwin A. Stillman for state engineer. The Republican state convention met on September 23 at the Skating Rink in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the ...

. James W. Husted was president. Ex-Comptroller Ira Davenport (in office 1880–1881) was nominated for governor after the second ballot. Many candidates were proposed and on the first ballot the votes were scattered among many names, the second ballot stood as follows: Davenport 214, Joseph B. Carr 194, James D. Warren 113, C. N. Bliss 66, Frederick W. Seward 54, Swinburne 29, Drexel 12,

Levi P. Morton Levi Parsons Morton (May 16, 1824 – May 16, 1920) was the 22nd vice president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He also served as List of ambassadors of the United States to France, United States ambassador to France, as a United States H ...

8, Alonzo B. Cornell 2, William M. Evarts 1. Then many delegates changed their votes and Davenport was nominated. Secretary of State Joseph B. Carr (in office since 1880) was nominated for lieutenant governor; Deputy Secretary of State Anson S. Wood was nominated to succeed Carr; and Ex-Comptroller James W. Wadsworth (in office 1880–1881) was nominated again, all three by acclamation. For Treasurer, a first ballot was taken and the votes were scattered among many different names (vote: D. Ogden Bradley 173, William T. O'Neil 157, Waldo Wallace Rockwell 149,

Nathan D. Wendell Nathan D. Wendell (1835, Fort Plain, Montgomery County, New York – January 5, 1886, Albany, Albany County, New York) was an American banker and politician. Life He first learned the printer's trade, but in 1854 went to Albany and began to ...

88, Robert N. Marvin 76, Stephen C. Medbury 49). Then it was proposed to give the nomination to a German-American, and Charles F. Ulrich was nominated unanimously. Edward B. Thomas was nominated for attorney general on the second ballot (first ballot: Thomas 318, E. H. Hobbs 257, Edward Mitchell 93, Sheldon 8; second ballot: Thomas 353, Hobbs 321, Mitchell 5). William V. Van Rensselaer was nominated for state engineer by acclamation. The Democratic state convention met on September 24. George Raines was president. The incumbent Governor David B. Hill was re-nominated on the first ballot (vote: Hill 338, Abram S. Hewitt 33, Henry W. Slocum 8, Roswell P. Flower 1). Contrary to tradition, the nomination was not "made unanimous."

Results

The whole Democratic ticket was elected. The incumbents Hill, Chapin, O'Brien and Sweet were re-elected. 21 Republicans and 11 Democrats were elected to a two-year term (1886–1887) in the State Senate; and 77 Republicans and 51 Democrats were elected to the State Assembly.se
''THE NEXT LEGISLATURE''
in NYT on November 5, 1885

Notes

Sources

*Result for Suffolk, Ulster and Herkimer Counties
''CANVASSING THE RETURNS''
in NYT on November 14, 1885 *Result in New York City
''THE CITY'S VOTE DECLARED''
in NYT on November 21, 1885 *Results
''The Tribune Almanac 1886''
{{New York state elections

1885 Events January * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 17 – Mahdist ...

1885 New York (state) elections New York (state) gubernatorial elections

History

Results

See also

Notes

Sources