# 23rd New York State Legislature

The 23rd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 28 to April 8, 1800, during the fifth year of John Jay's governorship, in Albany.

## Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1777, amended by the re-apportionment of March 4, 1796, Senators were elected on general tickets in the senatorial districts for four-year terms. They were divided into four classes, and every year about one fourth of the Senate seats came up for election. Assemblymen were elected countywide on general tickets to a one-year term, the whole assembly being renewed annually.
In 1797, Albany was declared the State capital, and all subsequent Legislatures have been meeting there ever since. In 1799, the Legislature enacted that future Legislatures meet on the last Tuesday of January of each year unless called earlier by the governor.
Congressman Jonathan N. Havens (D.-R.) died on October 25, 1799. Assemblyman John Smith (D.-R.) was elected in a special election in December 1799 to fill the vacancy.
In 1799, Cayuga County was split from Onondaga County, and was apportioned one seat in the Assembly, taken from Onondaga. Essex County was split from Clinton County, but remained in a double-county Assembly district.
At this time the politicians were divided into two opposing political parties: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans.

## Elections

The State election was held from April 30 to May 2, 1799. Senators Richard Hatfield (Southern D.), Zina Hitchcock, Ebenezer Russell, Moses Vail (all three Eastern D.) and Vincent Mathews (Western D.) were re-elected. John B. Coles (Southern D.), Isaac Bloom, John Hathorn, John Suffern (all three Middle D.) and Moss Kent (Western D.) were also elected to the Senate.

## Sessions

The Legislature met on January 28, 1800, at the Old City Hall in Albany; and adjourned on April 8.
Federalist Dirck Ten Broeck was re-elected Speaker without opposition.
The Legislature reduced the salary of the New York State Comptroller from $3,000 to $2,500 whereupon Samuel Jones declined to be re-appointed. On March 12, 1800, the Council of Appointment chose Assemblyman John Vernon Henry to succeed Jones.
On March 12, 1800, a bill was proposed to divide the State into districts to elect presidential electors by popular ballot. This was rejected by the Federalist majority [vote 55 to 47], and the electors continued to be chosen by joint ballot of the State Legislature.
On March 19, 1800, U.S. Senator James Watson (Fed.) resigned after his appointment as Naval Officer of the Port of New York. On April 3, 1800, the Legislature elected Gouverneur Morris (Fed.) to fill the vacancy.

## State Senate
### Districts

* The Southern District (9 seats) consisted of Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk and Westchester counties.
* The Middle District (12 seats) consisted of Dutchess, Orange, Ulster, Columbia, Delaware and Rockland counties.
* The Eastern District (11 seats) consisted of Washington, Clinton, Rensselaer, Albany, Saratoga and Essex counties.
* The Western District (11 seats) consisted of Montgomery, Herkimer, Ontario, Otsego, Tioga, Onondaga, Schoharie, Steuben, Chenango, Oneida and Cayuga counties.

### Members

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature.
| District | Senators | Term left | Party | Notes |
| Southern | Samuel Haight* | 1 year | Federalist | elected to the Council of Appointment |
| Southern | William Denning* | 1 year | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Southern | Selah Strong* | 1 year | Federalist | |
| Southern | Ezra L'Hommedieu* | 2 years | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Southern | DeWitt Clinton* | 3 years | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Southern | David Gelston* | 3 years | Dem.-Rep. | also Surrogate of New York County |
| Southern | John Schenck* | 3 year | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Southern | John B. Coles | 4 years | Federalist | |
| Southern | Richard Hatfield* | 4 years | Federalist | |
| Middle | Robert Sands* | 1 year | Federalist | elected to the Council of Appointment |
| Middle | James Savage* | 1 year | Federalist | |
| Middle | Peter Silvester* | 1 year | Federalist | |
| Middle | William Thompson* | 1 year | Federalist | |
| Middle | John Addison* | 2 years | Dem.-Rep. | died in 1800 |
| Middle | Peter Cantine Jr.* | 2 years | Federalist | |
| Middle | James G. Graham* | 2 years | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Middle | Ebenezer Foote* | 3 years | Federalist | also Delaware County Clerk |
| Middle | Ambrose Spencer* | 3 years | Dem.-Rep. | also Assistant Attorney General (3rd D.) |
| Middle | Isaac Bloom | 4 years | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Middle | John Hathorn | 4 years | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Middle | John Suffern | 4 years | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Eastern | Leonard Bronck* | 1 year | Federalist | |
| Eastern | James Gordon* | 1 year | Federalist | elected to the Council of Appointment |
| Eastern | Ebenezer Clark* | 2 years | Federalist | |
| Eastern | Anthony Ten Eyck* | 2 years | Federalist | |
| Eastern | Jacobus Van Schoonhoven* | 2 years | Federalist | |
| Eastern | Abraham Van Vechten* | 2 years | Federalist | also Recorder of the City of Albany |
| Eastern | Leonard Gansevoort* | 3 years | Federalist | |
| Eastern | John Sanders* | 3 years | Federalist | |
| Eastern | Zina Hitchcock* | 4 years | Federalist | |
| Eastern | Ebenezer Russell* | 4 years | Federalist | |
| Eastern | Moses Vail* | 4 years | Federalist | |
| Western | Jacob Morris* | 1 year | Federalist | |
| Western | Jedediah Sanger* | 1 year | Federalist | also First Judge of the Oneida County Court |
| Western | Thomas Morris* | 2 years | Federalist | elected in April 1800 to the 7th United States Congress |
| Western | Michael Myers* | 2 years | Federalist | |
| Western | Seth Phelps* | 2 years | Federalist | |
| Western | William Beekman* | 3 years | Federalist | |
| Western | John Frey* | 3 years | Federalist | |
| Western | Frederick Gettman* | 3 years | Federalist | |
| Western | Thomas R. Gold* | 3 years | Federalist | also Assistant Attorney General (7th D.); elected to the Council of Appointment |
| Western | Vincent Mathews* | 4 years | Federalist | |
| Western | Moss Kent | 4 years | Federalist | |

### Employees

* Clerk: Abraham B. Bancker

## State Assembly
### Districts

* Albany County (9 seats)
* Cayuga County (1 seat)
* Chenango County (2 seats)
* Clinton and Essex counties (1 seat)
* Columbia County (6 seats)
* Delaware County (2 seats)
* Dutchess County (10 seats)
* Herkimer County (3 seats)
* Kings County (1 seat)
* Montgomery County) (6 seats)
* The City and County of New York (13 seats)
* Oneida County (3 seats)
* Onondaga County (1 seat)
* Ontario and Steuben counties (2 seats)
* Orange County (5 seats)
* Otsego County (4 seats)
* Queens County (4 seats)
* Rensselaer County (6 seats)
* Richmond County (1 seat)
* Rockland County (1 seat)
* Saratoga County (5 seats)
* Schoharie County (1 seat)
* Suffolk County (4 seats)
* Tioga County (1 seat)
* Ulster County (5 seats)
* Washington County (6 seats)
* Westchester County (5 seats)

### Assemblymen

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.
| County | Assemblymen | Party | Notes |
| Albany | James Bill* | | |
| Albany | Philip Conine Jr. | | |
| Albany | Johann Jost Dietz* | Federalist | |
| Albany | Prince Doty* | Federalist | |
| Albany | John Vernon Henry | Federalist | from March 12, 1800, also New York State Comptroller |
| Albany | Francis Nicoll | Federalist | |
| Albany | Joseph Shurtleff* | Federalist | |
| Albany | Dirck Ten Broeck* | Federalist | re-elected Speaker |
| Albany | Jacob Winne | | |
| Cayuga | Silas Halsey | Dem.-Rep. | previously a member from Onondaga Co. |
| Chenango | Peter B. Garnsey | | |
| Chenango | Nathaniel King* | | |
| Clinton and Essex | William Gilliland | | |
| Columbia | Ezekiel Gilbert | Federalist | |
| Columbia | Robert T. Livingston | Federalist | |
| Columbia | Charles McKinstry* | Federalist | |
| Columbia | John Noyes | Federalist | |
| Columbia | Anson Pratt | Federalist | |
| Columbia | Jacob R. Van Rensselaer | Federalist | |
| Delaware | Patrick Lamb | | |
| Delaware | Sluman Wattles | | |
| Dutchess | Abraham Adriance* | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Dutchess | William Barker | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Dutchess | William Emott | Dem.-Rep./Fed. | |
| Dutchess | Joseph C. Field | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Dutchess | Robert Johnston* | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Dutchess | Ebenezer Mott* | Dem.-Rep./Fed. | |
| Dutchess | Isaac Sherwood | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Dutchess | William Taber* | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Dutchess | Samuel Towner | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Dutchess | John Van Benthuysen* | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Herkimer | Thomas Manly | Federalist | |
| Herkimer | John Mills | Federalist | |
| Herkimer | John Meyer | Federalist | |
| Kings | Jacob Sharpe Jr. | | |
| Montgomery | John Herkimer | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Montgomery | Cornelius Humfrey | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Montgomery | Archibald McIntyre* | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Montgomery | Frederick Sammons | | |
| Montgomery | Jacob Snell* | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Montgomery | Simon Veeder* | Dem.-Rep. | |
| New York | John Bogert | Federalist | |
| New York | Nicholas Evertson | Federalist | |
| New York | John Oothout | Federalist | |
| New York | Anthony Post | Federalist | |
| New York | Caleb S. Riggs | Federalist | |
| New York | Robert Rutgers | Federalist | |
| New York | Jacob Sherred | Federalist | |
| New York | Anthony Steenback | Federalist | |
| New York | Ebenezer Stevens | Federalist | |
| New York | Samuel Stillwell | Federalist | |
| New York | Bernardus Swartwout Jr. | Federalist | |
| New York | William B. Woolsey | Federalist | |
| New York | vacant | | |
| Oneida | John Hall | | |
| Oneida | David Ostrom* | Federalist | |
| Oneida | Nathan Smith | | |
| Onondaga | Ebenezer Butler Jr. | | |
| Ontario and Steuben | Nathaniel Norton | | |
| Ontario and Steuben | Charles Williamson* | | |
| Orange | John Blake Jr.* | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Orange | Robert R. Burnet | | |
| Orange | James Burt* | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Orange | Andrew McCord | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Orange | Seth Marvin | | |
| Otsego | Jedediah Peck* | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Otsego | Robert Roseboom | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Otsego | Jacob Ten Broeck | | |
| Otsego | Rensselaer Williams | | |
| Queens | Isaac Denton | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Queens | Jonah Hallett | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Queens | Abraham Monfoort | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Queens | John I. Skidmore* | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Rensselaer | Jacob A. Fort* | Federalist | |
| Rensselaer | Daniel Gray* | Federalist | |
| Rensselaer | James McKown | Federalist | |
| Rensselaer | Josiah Masters | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Rensselaer | John W. Schermerhorn* | | |
| Rensselaer | George Tibbits | Federalist | |
| Richmond | John P. Ryerss | | |
| Rockland | Samuel G. Verbryck | | |
| Saratoga | Daniel Bull | | |
| Saratoga | Samuel Clark* | | |
| Saratoga | Adam Comstock* | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Saratoga | James Warren* | | |
| Saratoga | Edward A. Watrous | | |
| Schoharie | Storm A. Becker | Federalist | |
| Suffolk | Nicoll Floyd* | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Suffolk | Jared Landon* | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Suffolk | John Smith* | Dem.-Rep. | elected in December 1799 to the 6th United States Congress and took his seat on February 27, 1800, vacating his seat in the Assembly |
| Suffolk | Silas Wood | Federalist | |
| Tioga | Samuel Tinkham | Federalist | |
| Ulster | Charles W. Broadhead | | |
| Ulster | Johannes Bruyn | | |
| Ulster | Moses Cantine | | |
| Ulster | John C. DeWitt | | |
| Ulster | Martin G. Schuneman* | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Washington | Benjamin Colvin | | |
| Washington | Micajah Pettit | | |
| Washington | Isaac Sargent | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Washington | Edward Savage* | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Washington | David Thomas | Dem.-Rep. | elected in April 1800 to the 7th United States Congress |
| Washington | John Thurman | Federalist | |
| Westchester | George Comb | | |
| Westchester | Abijah Gilbert | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Westchester | Nathan Rockwell | Federalist | |
| Westchester | Abel Smith* | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Westchester | Charles Teed* | Federalist | |

### Employees

* Clerk: James Van Ingen
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Ephraim Hunt
* Doorkeeper: Peter Hansen