# 8th Minnesota Legislature

The eighth Minnesota Legislature first convened on January 2, 1866. The half of the 21 members of the Minnesota Senate who represented even-numbered districts were elected during the general election of November 8, 1864, while the 42 members of the Minnesota House of Representatives and the other half of the members of the Minnesota Senate were elected during the general election of November 7, 1865.

## Sessions

The legislature met in a regular session from January 2, 1866, to March 2, 1866. There were no special sessions of the 8th Minnesota Legislature.

## Party summary
### Senate

| | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | Vacant |
| | Democratic | Republican | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous Legislature | 4 | 17 | 21 | 0 |
| Begin | 6 | 15 | 21 | 0 |
| Latest voting share | 29% | 71% | | |
| Beginning of the next Legislature | 5 | 17 | 22 | 0 |

### House of Representatives

| | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | Vacant |
| | Democratic | Republican | Unknown | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous Legislature | 10 | 32 | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| Begin | 13 | 29 | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| Latest voting share | 31% | 69% | 0% | | |
| Beginning of the next Legislature | 7 | 39 | 1 | 47 | 0 |

## Leadership
### Senate
#### Lieutenant Governor

    Thomas Henry Armstrong (R-High Forest)

### House of Representatives
#### Speaker of the House

    James Beach Wakefield (R-Blue Earth City)

## Members
### Senate

| Name | District | City | Party |
| Baxter, Luther Loren | 18 | Shakopee | Democratic |
| Brown, Charles T. | 19 | Saint Peter | Republican |
| Buell, David L. | 13 | Caledonia | Democratic |
| Butters, Reuben | 17 | Kasota | Democratic |
| Cole, Gordon E. | 08 | Faribault | Republican |
| Daniels, John V. | 12 | Rochester | Republican |
| George, G. D. | 06 | Rockford | Republican |
| Langley, Dudley F. | 07 | Hastings | Republican |
| Lord, Samuel | 15 | Mantorville | Republican |
| Lowell, Benjamin A. | 16 | Wilton | Republican |
| McKusick, John | 02 | Stillwater | Republican |
| Miller, Luke | 14 | Chatfield | Republican |
| Murray, William Pitt | 01 | Saint Paul | Democratic |
| Otis, George Lamartine | 02 | Saint Paul | Democratic |
| Pettit, Curtis Hussey | 05 | Minneapolis | Republican |
| Pillsbury, John Sargent | 04 | Saint Anthony | Republican |
| Randolph, N. F. | 10 | Lake City | Republican |
| Richardson, Reuben M. | 03 | Torah | Democratic |
| Shillock, Daniel G. | 20 | New Ulm | Republican |
| Simpson, Thomas | 11 | Winona | Republican |
| Thacher, Joseph A. | 09 | Zumbrota | Republican |

### House of Representatives

| Name | District | City | Party |
| Archibald, J. S. | 08 | Dundas | Unknown |
| Armstrong, Augustus L. | 16 | Albert Lea | Republican |
| Barnes, Nathan F. | 03 | Saint Cloud | Unknown |
| Branch, William | 01 | Saint Paul | Republican |
| Bristol, Warren Henry | 09 | Red Wing | Republican |
| Brown, William | 10 | Elgin | Unknown |
| Buck, Daniel | 17 | Mankato | Democratic |
| Buck, W. W. | 11 | Sherwood | Republican |
| Chalfant, William | 14 | Carimona | Republican |
| Crooker, Josiah B. | 16 | Owatonna | Republican |
| Cutter, E. W. | 04 | Saint Anthony | Unknown |
| Dickey, Sylvester | 09 | Pine Island | Unknown |
| Ellison, Smith | 02 | Sunrise | Unknown |
| Farmer, John Quincy | 14 | Spring Valley | Republican |
| Felch, Charles J. | 15 | Hamilton | Republican |
| Gould, Aaron | 05 | Eden Prairie | Republican |
| Griggs, Chauncey Wright | 06 | Chaska | Democratic |
| Harrington, Lewis | 06 | Hutchinson | Republican |
| Hathaway, Roderic D. | 12 | Pleasant Grove | Republican |
| Hayden, A. R. | 04 | Elk River | Unknown |
| Hobart, John | 14 | Lenora | Republican |
| Honner, J. S.G. | 19 | Redwood Falls | Republican |
| Howe, Jonas H. | 05 | South Plymouth | Republican |
| Jay, Stephen H. | 18 | Saint Lawrence | Republican |
| Johnson, Jr., D. B. | 15 | Austin | Republican |
| King, Dana E. | 06 | Greenleaf | Republican |
| Masters, Robert C. | 07 | Waterford | Democratic |
| Maynard, Arba K. | 17 | Elysian | Democratic |
| Mitchell, John B. H. | 02 | Stillwater | Republican |
| Moore, William S. | 03 | Saint Cloud | Democratic |
| Overbeck, Bernard | 03 | Saint Cloud | Unknown |
| Paine, Parker | 01 | Saint Paul | Unknown |
| Perry, B. F. | 12 | Rochester | Republican |
| Pope, Isaac | 08 | Morristown | Republican |
| Russell, Thomas | 19 | Henderson | Unknown |
| Schaller, J. P. | 13 | Brownsville | Republican |
| Smith, J. D. | 07 | West Saint Paul | Unknown |
| Thompson, James G. | 17 | Garden City | Unknown |
| Trott, Herman | 21 | Saint Paul | Unknown |
| Wakefield, James Beach | 20 | Blue Earth City | Republican |
| Watson, Robert | 02 | Cottage Grove | Republican |
| Youmans, Earl S. | 11 | Winona | Republican |