# List of members of the United States House of Representatives in the 3rd Congress by seniority

This is a complete list of members of the United States House of Representatives during the 3rd United States Congress listed by seniority. For the most part, representatives are ranked by the beginning of their terms in office.
As an historical article, the districts and party affiliations listed reflect those during the 3rd Congress (March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795). Seats and party affiliations on similar lists for other Congresses will be different for certain members.
This article describes the criteria for seniority in the House of Representatives and sets out the list of members by seniority. It is prepared on the basis of the interpretation of seniority applied to the House of Representatives in the current congress. In the absence of information to the contrary, it is presumed that the twenty-first-century practice is identical to the seniority customs used during the 3rd Congress.

## House seniority

Seniority in the House, for Congressmen with unbroken service, depends on the date on which the members first term began. That date is either the start of the Congress (4 March in odd numbered years, for the era up to and including the 73rd Congress starting in 1933) or the date of a special election during the Congress. Since many members start serving on the same day as others, ranking between them is based on alphabetical order by the last name of the congressman.
Congressmen, in early Congresses, were often elected after the legal start of the Congress. Such representatives are attributed with unbroken seniority, from the legal start of the congressional term, if they were the first person elected to a seat in a Congress. The date of the election is indicated in a note.
The seniority date is normally taken from the members entry in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, except where the date given is the legal start of the Congress and the actual election (for someone who was not the first person elected to the seat in that Congress) was later. The date of election is taken from United States Congressional Elections 1788-1997. In a few instances the latter work provides dates, for the start and end of terms, which correct those in the Biographical Directory.
The Biographical Directory normally uses the date of a special election, as the seniority date. However, mostly in early Congresses, the date of the member taking his seat can be the one given. The date of the special election is mentioned in a note to the list below, when that date is not used as the seniority date by the Biographical Directory.
Representatives who return to the House, after having previously served, are credited with service equal to one less than the total number of terms they served. When a representative has served a prior term of less than two terms (i.e., prior term minus one equals less than one), he is ranked above all others whose service begins on the same day.

## Leadership

In this Congress the only formal leader was the Speaker of the House. A Speakership ballot was held on December 2, 1793 and Frederick Muhlenberg (A-PA) was elected. Speaker Muhlenberg had previously held the same office, in the 1st Congress.

## Standing committees

The House created its first standing committee, on April 13, 1789. There were two standing committees in the 3rd Congress. In addition there was a Ways and Means Committee in the 1st session. Although the Ways and Means Committee was not formally added to the list of standing committees until 1802, the 2011 committee considers the one in 1794 to be a forerunner.
Committees, in this period, were appointed for a session at a time and not necessarily for every one in a Congress. The Speaker appointed the members.
This list refers to the standing committees of the House in the 3rd Congress, the year of establishment as a standing committee, the number of members assigned to the committee and the dates of appointment in each session, the end of the session and its chairman.
| No. | Committee | From | Mbrs | Appointed | Chairman |
| 1 | Claims | 1794 | 7 | November 14, 1794 – March 3, 1795 | Uriah Tracy (P-CT) |
| 2 | Elections | 1789 | 7 | December 2, 1793 – June 9, 1794 | William L. Smith (P-SC) |
| 2 | Elections | 1789 | 7 | November 7, 1794 – March 3, 1795 | Jonathan Dayton (P-NJ) |
| 3 | Ways and Means | [1794] | 15 | March 26, 1794 – June 9, 1794 | William L. Smith (P-SC) |

## List of representatives by seniority

A numerical rank is assigned to each of the 105 members initially elected to the 3rd Congress. Other members, who were not the first person elected to a seat but who joined the House during the Congress, are not assigned a number.
Three Representatives-elect was not sworn in, as one resigned to become a United States Senator and two declined to serve. The list below includes the Representative-elect (with names in italics), with the seniority they would have held if they had been sworn in.
Party designations used in this article are A for Anti-Administration members and P for Pro-Administration representatives.
| Rank | Representative | Party | District | Seniority date | Notes |
| Three consecutive terms ||||||
| 1 | Fisher Ames | P | MA-1a | March 4, 1789 | |
| 2 | Abraham Baldwin | A | GA-al | March 4, 1789 | |
| 3 | Elias Boudinot | P | NJ-al | March 4, 1789 | Last term. |
| 4 | Thomas Fitzsimons | P | PA-al | March 4, 1789 | Last term. |
| 5 | Nicholas Gilman | P | NH-al | March 4, 1789 | |
| 6 | Benjamin Goodhue | P | MA-1c | March 4, 1789 | |
| 7 | Samuel Griffin | P | VA-13 | March 4, 1789 | Anti-Administration 1791–93. Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793. Last term. |
| 8 | Thomas Hartley | P | PA-al | March 4, 1789 | |
| 9 | Daniel Hiester | A | PA-al | March 4, 1789 | |
| 10 | Richard B. Lee | P | VA-17 | March 4, 1789 | Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793. Last term. |
| 11 | James Madison | A | VA-15 | March 4, 1789 | Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793 |
| 12 | Andrew Moore | A | VA-2 | March 4, 1789 | Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793 |
| 13 | Frederick Muhlenberg | A | PA-al | March 4, 1789 | Pro-Administration 1789–91. Speaker of the House. |
| 14 | John Page | A | VA-12 | March 4, 1789 | Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793 |
| 15 | Josiah Parker | P | VA-11 | March 4, 1789 | Anti-Administration 1789–93. Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793. |
| 16 | Theodore Sedgwick | P | MA-2c | March 4, 1789 | |
| 17 | William L. Smith | P | SC-1 | March 4, 1789 | Chairman: Elections (1793). Chairman: Ways and Means (1794). |
| 18 | Jonathan Sturges | P | CT-al | March 4, 1789 | Declined to serve, as Representative-elect, before the start of the Congress. |
| 19 | George Thatcher | P | MA-4b | March 4, 1789 | |
| 20 | Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. | P | CT-al | March 4, 1789 | Last term (elected to 4th Congress but did not serve) |
| 21 | Jeremiah Wadsworth | P | CT-al | March 4, 1789 | Last term. |
| 22 | William B. Giles | A | VA-9 | December 7, 1790 | Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793 |
| 23 | Benjamin Bourne | P | RI-al | December 17, 1790 | |
| Two consecutive terms ||||||
| 24 | Shearjashub Bourne | P | MA-3a | March 4, 1791 | Last term. |
| 25 | Abraham Clark | P | NJ-al | March 4, 1791 | Died on September 15, 1794. |
| 26 | Jonathan Dayton | P | NJ-al | March 4, 1791 | Chairman: Elections (1794) |
| 27 | William Findley | A | PA-al | March 4, 1791 | |
| 28 | James Gordon | P | NY-9 | March 4, 1791 | Last term. |
| 29 | Andrew Gregg | A | PA-al | March 4, 1791 | |
| 30 | William B. Grove | P | NC-7 | March 4, 1791 | |
| 31 | James Hillhouse | P | CT-al | March 4, 1791 | |
| 32 | John W. Kittera | P | PA-al | March 4, 1791 | |
| 33 | Nathaniel Macon | A | NC-5 | March 4, 1791 | |
| 34 | William V. Murray | P | MD-8 | March 4, 1791 | |
| 35 | Jeremiah Smith | P | NH-al | March 4, 1791 | |
| 36 | Abraham B. Venable | A | VA-7 | March 4, 1791 | Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793 |
| 37 | Artemas Ward | P | MA-2d | March 4, 1791 | Last term. |
| 38 | Amasa Learned | P | CT-al | September 19, 1791 | Last term. |
| 39 | Nathaniel Niles | A | VT-2 | October 17, 1791 | Last term. |
| 40 | Israel Smith | A | VT-1 | October 17, 1791 | Elected to this Congress: March 20, 1793 |
| 41 | Thomas Tredwell | A | NY-1 | October 24, 1791 | Last term. |
| 42 | John F. Mercer | A | MD-2 | February 5, 1792 | Resigned on April 13, 1794. |
| 43 | Alexander D. Orr | A | KY-2 | November 8, 1792 | Elected to this Congress: September 6, 1793 |
| 44 | Christopher Greenup | A | KY-1 | November 9, 1792 | Elected to this Congress: September 6, 1793 |
| 45 | William Hindman | P | MD-7 | January 30, 1793 | |
| Two non-consecutive terms ||||||
| 46 | Lambert Cadwalader | P | NJ-al | March 4, 1793 | Previously served 1789–91. Last term. |
| 47 | Isaac Coles | A | VA-6 | March 4, 1793 | Previously served 1789–91. Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793. |
| 48 | Benjamin Huntington | P | CT-al | March 4, 1793 | Previously served 1789–91. Declined to serve, as Representative-elect, before Congress convened. |
| 49 | Peter Muhlenberg | A | PA-al | March 4, 1793 | Previously served 1789–91. Last term until 6th Congress. |
| 50 | Thomas Scott | P | PA-al | March 4, 1793 | Previously served 1789–91. Last term. |
| One term ||||||
| 51 | James Armstrong | P | PA-al | March 4, 1793 | Only term. |
| 52 | Theodorus Bailey | A | NY-5 | March 4, 1793 | |
| 53 | John Beatty | P | NJ-al | March 4, 1793 | Only term. |
| 54 | Lemuel Benton | A | SC-3 | March 4, 1793 | |
| 55 | Thomas Blount | A | NC-9 | March 4, 1793 | |
| 56 | Thomas P. Carnes | A | GA-al | March 4, 1793 | Only term. |
| 57 | Gabriel Christie | A | MD-6 | March 4, 1793 | |
| 58 | Thomas Claiborne | A | VA-8 | March 4, 1793 | Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793 |
| 59 | David Cobb | P | MA-al | March 4, 1793 | Only term. |
| 60 | Peleg Coffin, Jr. | P | MA-3b | March 4, 1793 | Only term. |
| 61 | William J. Dawson | A | NC-8 | March 4, 1793 | Only term. |
| 62 | Henry Dearborn | A | MA-4a | March 4, 1793 | |
| 63 | George Dent | P | MD-1 | March 4, 1793 | |
| 64 | Samuel Dexter | P | MA-1b | March 4, 1793 | Only term. |
| 65 | Uriah Forrest | P | MD-3 | March 4, 1793 | Resigned on November 8, 1794. |
| 66 | Dwight Foster | P | MA-2a | March 4, 1793 | Elected to this Congress: April 1, 1793 |
| 67 | Ezekiel Gilbert | P | NY-6 | March 4, 1793 | |
| 68 | James Gillespie | A | NC-6 | March 4, 1793 | |
| 69 | Alexander Gillon | A | SC-5 | March 4, 1793 | Died on October 6, 1794. |
| 70 | Henry Glen | P | NY-8 | March 4, 1793 | |
| 71 | George Hancock | P | VA-5 | March 4, 1793 | Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793 |
| 72 | Carter B. Harrison | A | VA-10 | March 4, 1793 | Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793 |
| 73 | John Heath | A | VA-19 | March 4, 1793 | Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793 |
| 74 | Samuel Holten | A | MA-1d | March 4, 1793 | Elected to this Congress April 1, 1793. Only term. |
| 75 | John Hunter | A | SC-2 | March 4, 1793 | Only term. |
| 76 | William Irvine | A | PA-al | March 4, 1793 | Only term. |
| 77 | Matthew Locke | A | NC-2 | March 4, 1793 | |
| 78 | William Lyman | A | MA-2b | March 4, 1793 | Elected to this Congress: April 1, 1793 |
| 79 | Francis Malbone | P | RI-al | March 4, 1793 | |
| 80 | Joseph McDowell | A | NC-1 | March 4, 1793 | Only term. |
| 81 | Alexander Mebane | A | NC-4 | March 4, 1793 | Only term. |
| 82 | Stephen M. Mitchell | P | CT-al | March 4, 1793 | Resigned, as Representative-elect, to become US Senator: October, 1793. |
| 83 | William Montgomery | A | PA-al | March 4, 1793 | Only term. |
| 84 | Joseph Neville | A | VA-3 | March 4, 1793 | Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793. Only term. |
| 85 | Anthony New | A | VA-16 | March 4, 1793 | Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793 |
| 86 | John Nicholas | A | VA-18 | March 4, 1793 | Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793 |
| 87 | John Patten | A | DE-al | March 4, 1793 | Unseated after election contest: February 14, 1794. Only term until 4th Congress. |
| 88 | Andrew Pickens | A | SC-6 | March 4, 1793 | Only term. |
| 89 | Francis Preston | A | VA-4 | March 4, 1793 | Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793 |
| 90 | Robert Rutherford | A | VA-1 | March 4, 1793 | Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793 |
| 91 | John S. Sherburne | A | NH-al | March 4, 1793 | |
| 92 | John Smilie | A | PA-al | March 4, 1793 | Only term until 6th Congress. |
| 93 | Samuel Smith | A | MD-5 | March 4, 1793 | |
| 94 | Thomas Sprigg | A | MD-4 | March 4, 1793 | |
| 95 | Silas Talbot | P | NY-10 | March 4, 1793 | Resigned in June 1795. Only term. |
| 96 | John E. Van Alen | P | NY-7 | March 4, 1793 | |
| 97 | Philip Van Cortlandt | A | NY-3 | March 4, 1793 | |
| 98 | Peter Van Gaasbeck | P | NY-4 | March 4, 1793 | Only term. |
| 99 | Peleg Wadsworth | P | MA-4c | March 4, 1793 | Elected to this Congress April 1, 1793 |
| 100 | Francis Walker | A | VA-14 | March 4, 1793 | Elected to this Congress: March 18, 1793. Only term. |
| 101 | John Watts | P | NY-2 | March 4, 1793 | Only term. |
| 102 | Benjamin Williams | A | NC-10 | March 4, 1793 | Only term. |
| 103 | Paine Wingate | P | NH-al | March 4, 1793 | Only term. |
| 104 | Richard Winn | A | SC-4 | March 4, 1793 | |
| 105 | Joseph Winston | A | NC-3 | March 4, 1793 | Only term until 8th Congress. |
| Members elected after the start of the Congress ||||||
| – | Uriah Tracy | P | CT-al | April 8, 1793 | Special election. Chairman: Claims (1794). |
| – | Joshua Coit | P | CT-al | November 11, 1793 | Special election |
| – | Zephaniah Swift | P | CT-al | November 11, 1793 | Special election |
| – | Henry Latimer | P | DE-al | February 14, 1794 | Seated after election contest. Resigned to become US Senator: February 7, 1795. |
| – | Gabriel Duvall | A | MD-2 | May 5, 1794 | Special election |
| – | Benjamin Edwards | P | MD-3 | January 2, 1795 | Special election. Only term. |
| – | Aaron Kitchell | P | NJ-al | January 29, 1795 | Previously served 1791–93. Special election. |
| – | Robert G. Harper | P | SC-5 | February 9, 1795 | Special election: October 13–14, 1794 |
| Non voting Member ||||||
| a | James White | — | TN-al | September 4, 1794 | Delegate from the Southwest Territory (later TN) |