81st New York State Legislature

81st New York State Legislature
81st New York State Legislature
	The Old State Capitol (1879)
Overview
Legislative body	New York State Legislature
Jurisdiction	New York, United States
Term	January 1 – December 31, 1858
Senate
Members	32
President	Lt. Gov. Henry R. Selden (R)
Temporary President	John B. Halsted (R), from January 12
Party control	Republican plurality (15-14-2-1)
Assembly
Members	128
Speaker	Thomas G. Alvord (D)
Party control	Republican plurality (61-57-10)
Sessions
1st
1st	January 5 – April 19, 1858

The 81st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to April 19, 1858, during the second year of John A. King's governorship, in Albany.

Background[]

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution 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 (four districts) and Kings County (two districts). The Assembly districts were made up of entire towns, or city wards, forming a contiguous area, all within the same county.

On April 13, the Legislature re-apportioned the Senate districts, and the Assembly seats per county. Cayuga, Dutchess, Genesee, Greene, Montgomery, Onondaga, Orange, Otsego, Schoharie and Tompkins counties lost one seat each; New York, Oswego, Queens, Ulster and Westchester counties gained one seat each; Kings County gained four seats; and the new Schuyler County was apportioned one seat.^[1]

At this time there were two major political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Know Nothing movement ran in the election as the "American Party."

Elections[]

The New York state election, 1857 was held on November 3. All eight statewide elective offices were carried by the Democrats. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Secretary of State was: Democratic 195,000; Republican 177,000; and American 67,000.

Sessions[]

The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 5, 1858; and adjourned on April 19.

On January 12, John B. Halsted (R) was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate..

On January 26, after three weeks of deadlock, Thomas G. Alvord (D) was elected Speaker on the 53rd ballot.^[2]

**1858 Speaker election result**
Ballot	Date	Robert B. Van Valkenburgh Rep.	Thomas G. Alvord Dem.	Amer.	Frost Horton Amer.	also ran
1st	Jan. 5	60	56	9		Adams
2nd	Jan. 5	60	56	9		Russell
3rd	Jan. 5	60	56	9		Bacheller
4th	Jan. 6	60	56	9
5th	Jan. 6	60	56	9
6th	Jan. 6	60	56	9
7th	Jan. 6	60	56	9
8th	Jan. 6	60	56	9
9th	Jan. 7	60	55	8
10th	Jan. 7	60	55	8		Adams
11th	Jan. 7	60	55	8	1
12th	Jan. 7	60	53	8		Boughton
13th	Jan. 7	60	53	8		Reynolds
14th	Jan. 11	58	54	7
15th	Jan. 11	58	54	7		Becker
16th	Jan. 11	58	54	7		Becker
17th	Jan. 11	58	54	7		Becker
18th	Jan. 11	58	54	7		Becker
19th	Jan. 11	58	54	7		Becker
20th	Jan. 11	58	54	7		Becker
21st	Jan. 12	58	54	7		Hodge
22nd	Jan. 12	59	54	7		Hodge
23rd	Jan. 12	58	54	7		Hodge
24th	Jan. 12	58	53	7		Hodge
25th	Jan. 13	60	55	7		D. Miller
26th	Jan. 13	60	55	8		D. Miller
27th	Jan. 13	60	55	8		D. Miller
28th	Jan. 13	60	55	8		D. Miller
29th	Jan. 13	60	55	8		D. Miller
30th	Jan. 14	56	52	7		Bacheller
31st	Jan. 14	56	52	7		Bacheller
32nd	Jan. 14	56	52	7		Bacheller
33rd	Jan. 14	56	52	7		Bacheller
34th	Jan. 14	56	54	7		Bacheller
35th	Jan. 14	55	51	7		Bacheller
36th	Jan. 14	55	51	7		Bacheller
37th	Jan. 14	55	51	7		Bacheller
38th	Jan. 15	54	49	1	6
39th	Jan. 15	54	49	1	7
40th	Jan. 16	45	40	1	7
41st	Jan. 16	45	40	1	7
42nd	Jan. 19	54	48	1	7
43rd	Jan. 19	54	48	1	7
44th	Jan. 21	55	50	1	6
45th	Jan. 21	55	50	1	6
46th	Jan. 21	55	50	1	7
47th	Jan. 21	55	50	1	7
48th	Jan. 21	55	50	1	7
49th	Jan. 21	55	50	1	7
50th	Jan. 22	54	49	1	6
51st	Jan. 22	52	47	1	6
52nd	Jan. 26	54	49	1	7
53rd	Jan. 26	55	57		2

State Senate[]

Districts[]

1st District: Queens, Richmond and Suffolk counties
2nd District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 11th, 13th and 19th wards of the City of Brooklyn
3rd District: 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th wards of the City of Brookland; and all towns in Kings County
4th District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 14th wards of New York City
5th District: 10th, 11th, 13th and 17th wards of New York City
6th District: 9th, 15th, 16th and 18th wards of New York City
7th District: 12th, 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd wards of New York City
8th District: Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties
9th District: Orange and Sullivan counties
10th District: Greene and Ulster counties
11th District: Columbia and Dutchess counties
12th District: Rensselaer and Washington counties
13th District: Albany County
14th District: Delaware, Schenectady and Schoharie counties
15th District: Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery and Saratoga counties
16th District: Clinton, Essex and Warren counties
17th District: Franklin and St. Lawrence counties
18th District: Jefferson and Lewis counties
19th District: Oneida County
20th District: Herkimer and Otsego counties
21st District: Oswego County
22nd District: Onondaga County
23rd District: Chenango, Cortland and Madison counties
24th District: Broome, Tompkins and Tioga counties
25th District: Cayuga and Wayne counties
26th District: Ontario, Seneca and Yates counties
27th District: Chemung, Schuyler and Steuben counties
28th District: Monroe County
29th District: Genesee, Niagara and Orleans counties
30th District: Allegany, Livingston and Wyoming counties
31st District: Erie County
32nd District: Cattaraugus and Chautauqua 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. James Noxon, John E. Paterson, John B. Halsted, James Wadsworth and John P. Darling were re-elected. George G. Scott and Ralph A. Loveland changed from the Assembly to the Senate.

Party affiliations follow the vote for Senate officers.

District	Senator	Party	Notes
1st	Joshua B. Smith	Democrat
2nd	Samuel Sloan	Democrat
3rd	Francis B. Spinola	Democrat
4th	John C. Mather	Democrat
5th	Smith Ely, Jr.	Democrat
6th	Richard Schell	Democrat
7th	John Doherty	Democrat
8th	Benjamin Brandreth	Democrat
9th	Osmer B. Wheeler	American
10th	George W. Pratt	Democrat
11th	William G. Mandeville	Democrat
12th	John D. Willard	Democrat
13th	George Y. Johnson	American
14th	Edward I. Burhans	Democrat
15th	George G. Scott*	Democrat
16th	Ralph A. Loveland*	Republican
17th	William A. Wheeler	Republican
18th	Joseph A. Willard	Republican
19th	Alrick Hubbell	Republican
20th	Addison H. Laflin	Republican
21st	Cheney Ames	Republican
22nd	James Noxon*	Republican
23rd	John J. Foote	Republican
24th	Lyman Truman	Republican
25th	Alexander B. Williams	Republican
26th	Truman Boardman	Republican
27th	Alexander S. Diven	Republican
28th	John E. Paterson*	Republican
29th	Horatio J. Stow	Independent^[3]
30th	John B. Halsted*	Republican	on January 12, elected president pro tempore
31st	James Wadsworth*	Democrat	resigned on August 18, 1858
32nd	John P. Darling*	Republican	also Supervisor of New Albion

Employees[]

Clerk:
Deputy Clerk: Henry J. Sickles
Sergeant-at-Arms: Henry W. Dwight
Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Simeon Dillingham
Doorkeeper: Richard U. Owens
First Assistant Doorkeeper: Henry W. Shipman
Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Samuel Ten Eyck
Third Assistant Doorkeeper: James P. Clark
Journal Clerk: James Terwilliger
Engrossing Clerks: A. N. Cole, Charles G. Fairman

State Assembly[]

Assemblymen[]

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

Party affiliations follow the original vote for Speaker.

District		Assemblymen	Party	Notes
Albany	1st		American
	2nd		Republican
	3rd	Cornelius W. Armstrong	Democrat
	4th	Charles H. Adams	American
Allegany	1st		Republican
Allegany	2nd		Republican
Broome			Republican
Cattaraugus	1st	Henry Van Aernam	Republican
Cattaraugus	2nd	William Buffington Jr.	Republican
Cayuga	1st		Republican
Cayuga	2nd	Chauncey M. Abbott	Republican
Chautauqua	1st		Republican
Chautauqua	2nd		Republican
Chemung			Democrat
Chenango	1st		Republican
Chenango	2nd		Republican
Clinton			Democrat
Columbia	1st		American
Columbia	2nd		Republican
Cortland			Republican
Delaware	1st		Republican
Delaware	2nd		American
Dutchess	1st		Democrat
Dutchess	2nd		Democrat
Erie	1st	Albert P. Laning	Democrat
	2nd		Democrat
	3rd		Democrat
	4th		Republican
Essex			Republican
Franklin			American
Fulton and Hamilton			Democrat
Genesee			Republican
Greene			Democrat
Herkimer	1st		Republican
Herkimer	2nd	*	Republican
Jefferson	1st		Republican
	2nd		Republican
	3rd		Republican
Kings	1st		Democrat
	2nd	Moses S. Beach	Democrat
	3rd	Harmanus B. Duryea	Republican
	4th		Democrat
	5th		Democrat
	6th	John Hanford*	Democrat
	7th	George W. Bleecker	Democrat
Lewis			Republican
Livingston	1st		Democrat
Livingston	2nd	Alfred Bell (politician)*	Republican
Madison	1st		Republican
Madison	2nd		Republican
Monroe	1st	Jarvis Lord	Democrat
	2nd	Thomas Parsons	Democrat
	3rd	*	Republican
Montgomery		*	Republican
New York	1st		Democrat
	2nd		Democrat
	3rd		Democrat
	4th		Democrat	unsuccessfully contested by (Am.)^[4]
	5th		Democrat
	6th		Democrat
	7th		Democrat
	8th		Democrat
	9th		Democrat
	10th	John W. Chanler	Democrat
	11th		Democrat
	12th		Democrat
	13th		Democrat
	14th	Dunham J. Crain	Democrat
	15th		Democrat
	16th		Democrat
	17th		Democrat
Niagara	1st	Burt Van Horn	Republican
Niagara	2nd		Republican
Oneida	1st		Democrat
	2nd		Republican
	3rd		Republican
	4th		Republican
Onondaga	1st		Republican	unsuccessfully contested by Sidney H. Cook^[5]
	2nd	Thomas G. Alvord	Democrat	elected Speaker
	3rd		Republican
Ontario	1st		Republican
Ontario	2nd		Republican
Orange	1st		Republican
Orange	2nd		Democrat
Orleans		Almanzor Hutchinson*	Republican
Oswego	1st		Democrat
	2nd	John J. Wolcott	Republican
	3rd	Chauncey S. Sage	Republican
Otsego	1st		Democrat
Otsego	2nd		Republican
Putnam			Democrat
Queens	1st	Edward A. Lawrence	Democrat
Queens	2nd		Democrat
Rensselaer	1st		Democrat
	2nd		Republican
	3rd		Democrat
Richmond			Democrat
Rockland			Democrat
St. Lawrence	1st		Republican
	2nd		Republican
	3rd		Republican
Saratoga	1st	Chauncey Boughton	American
Saratoga	2nd	Tabor B. Reynolds	American
Schenectady			Republican
Schoharie			Democrat
Schuyler			Democrat
Seneca			Democrat
Steuben	1st	Robert B. Van Valkenburgh*	Republican
	2nd		Republican
	3rd		Republican
Suffolk	1st		Democrat
Suffolk	2nd		Democrat
Sullivan			American
Tioga			Republican
Tompkins		Edward S. Esty	Republican
Ulster	1st	Fordyce L. Laflin	Democrat
	2nd		American
	3rd		Democrat
Warren			Republican
Washington	1st		Republican
Washington	2nd	Ralph Richards	Republican
Wayne	1st		Republican
Wayne	2nd		Republican
Westchester	1st	Abraham B. Tappen	Democrat
	2nd	Edmund G. Sutherland*	Democrat
	3rd	Frost Horton	American
Wyoming		*	Republican
Yates			Republican

Employees[]

Clerk: David Wilson
Assistant Clerk: Edwin O. Perrin
Sergeant-at-Arms: Philip H. Lasher
Doorkeeper: Peter J. Cook
First Assistant Doorkeeper: John Davis
Second Assistant Doorkeeper: James Swarthout
Journal Clerk:

Notes[]

^ see The Revised Statutes of the State of New York (1859; Senate pg. 149f, Assembly pg. 452f)
^ Under ordinary circumstances, the result of the last ballot would have been "no choice", the vote being a tie of 57 for Alvord and 57 for all other candidates together but, between the 52nd and the 53rd ballot, a resolution was adopted that the person receiving the largest number of votes on the next ballot would be elected.
^ Stow was elected in opposition to his predecessor, Republican Alonzo S. Upham, but voted with the Republicans for Clerk of the Senate.
^ Dolan claimed that Seeley was not a resident of this district, and that votes given for him (a plurality over Dolan) should be disqualified, but the Committee on Elections, and the Attorney General, held that an assemblyman was not required by law to reside in the district in which he was elected; see A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York (1871; pg. 295–300)
^ see A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York (1871; pg. 300–313)

Sources[]

The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough, Stephen C. Hutchins and Edgar Albert Werner (1867; see pg. 439 for Senate districts; pg. 442 for senators; pg. 450–462 for Assembly districts; and pg. 485ff for assemblymen)
Journal of the Senate (81st Session) (1858)
Journal of the Assembly (81st Session) (1858)
Biographical Sketches of the State Officers and Members of the Legislature of the State of New York in 1858 by William D. Murphy
The Evening Journal Almanac (Senate and Assembly members with party affiliations and election endorsements, pg. 21–35)

[1] see The Revised Statutes of the State of New York (1859; Senate pg. 149f, Assembly pg. 452f)

[2] Under ordinary circumstances, the result of the last ballot would have been "no choice", the vote being a tie of 57 for Alvord and 57 for all other candidates together but, between the 52nd and the 53rd ballot, a resolution was adopted that the person receiving the largest number of votes on the next ballot would be elected.

[3] Stow was elected in opposition to his predecessor, Republican Alonzo S. Upham, but voted with the Republicans for Clerk of the Senate.

[4] Dolan claimed that Seeley was not a resident of this district, and that votes given for him (a plurality over Dolan) should be disqualified, but the Committee on Elections, and the Attorney General, held that an assemblyman was not required by law to reside in the district in which he was elected; see A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York (1871; pg. 295–300)

[5] see A Compilation of Cases of Contested Elections to Seats in the Assembly of the State of New York (1871; pg. 300–313)

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