# 71st New York State Legislature

The 71st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4 to April 12, 1848, during the second year of John Young's governorship, in Albany.

## Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1846, 32 Senators were elected in single-seat senatorial districts for a two-year term, the whole Senate being renewed biennially. The senatorial districts (except those in New York City) were made up of entire counties. 128 Assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts to a one-year term, the whole Assembly being renewed annually. The Assembly districts were made up of entire towns, or city wards, forming a contiguous area, all in the same county. The City and County of New York was divided into four senatorial districts, and 16 Assembly districts.
On September 27, the Legislative passed "An Act to provide for the election of a Lieutenant Governor", to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Addison Gardiner.
At this time there were two major political parties: the Democratic Party and the Whig Party. The Democratic Party was split into two factions: the "Barnburners" and the "Hunkers." The radical abolitionists appeared as the Liberty Party. The Anti-Rent Party nominated some candidates, but mostly cross-endorsed Whigs or Democrats, according to their opinion on the rent issue. The Native American Party (later better known as "Know Nothings") also ran.

## Elections

The 1847 New York state election was held on November 3. Hamilton Fish (W) was elected Lieutenant Governor; and all the other eleven statewide elective offices were won by the Whigs.
24 Whigs and 8 Democrats were elected to the State Senate. 93 Whigs and 35 Democrats were elected to the Assembly.

## Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 4, 1848; and adjourned on April 12.
Amos K. Hadley (W) was elected Speaker with 89 votes against 22 for Henry Wager (D).

## State Senate
### Districts

* 1st District: Queens, Richmond and Suffolk counties
* 2nd District: Kings County
* 3rd District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th wards of New York City
* 4th District: 7th, 10th, 13th and 17th wards of New York City
* 5th District: 8th, 9th and 14th wards of New York City
* 6th District: 11th, 12th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd wards of New York City
* 7th District: Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties
* 8th District: Columbia and Dutchess counties
* 9th District: Orange and Sullivan counties
* 10th District: Greene and Ulster counties
* 11th District: Albany and Schenectady counties
* 12th District: Rensselaer County
* 13th District: Saratoga and Washington counties
* 14th District: Clinton, Essex and Warren counties
* 15th District: Franklin and St. Lawrence counties
* 16th District: Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer and Montgomery counties
* 17th District: Delaware and Schoharie counties
* 18th District: Chenango and Otsego counties
* 19th District: Oneida County
* 20th District: Madison and Oswego counties
* 21st District: Jefferson and Lewis counties
* 22nd District: Onondaga County
* 23rd District: Broome, Cortland and Tioga counties
* 24th District: Cayuga and Wayne counties
* 25th District: Seneca, Tompkins and Yates counties
* 26th District: Chemung and Steuben counties
* 27th District: Monroe County
* 28th District: Genesee, Niagara and Orleans counties
* 29th District: Livingston and Ontario counties
* 30th District: Allegany and Wyoming counties
* 31st District: Erie County
* 32nd District: Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties

### Members

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Valentine Treadwell and William J. Cornwell changed from the Assembly to the Senate.
Party affiliations follow the vote on Clerk and Sergeant-at-Arms.
| District | Senator | Party | Notes |
| 1st | John G. Floyd | Democrat | |
| 2nd | David A. Bokee | Whig | on November 7, 1848, elected to the 31st U.S. Congress |
| 3rd | William Hall | Whig | |
| 4th | John L. Lawrence | Whig | |
| 5th | Samuel Frost | Whig | |
| 6th | William Samuel Johnson | Whig | |
| 7th | Saxton Smith* | Democrat | |
| 8th | Alexander J. Coffin | Whig | |
| 9th | Samuel J. Wilkin | Whig | |
| 10th | Platt Adams | Democrat | |
| 11th | Valentine Treadwell* | Whig | |
| 12th | Albert R. Fox | Whig | |
| 13th | James M. Cook | Whig | |
| 14th | James S. Whallon | Democrat | |
| 15th | John Fine | Democrat | |
| 16th | Thomas Burch | Whig | |
| 17th | John M. Betts | Democrat | |
| 18th | David H. Little | Whig | |
| 19th | Thomas E. Clark | Whig | |
| 20th | Thomas H. Bond | Whig | |
| 21st | John W. Tamblin | Democrat | |
| 22nd | George Geddes | Whig | |
| 23rd | Samuel H. P. Hall* | Whig | |
| 24th | William J. Cornwell* | Whig | |
| 25th | Timothy S. Williams | Whig | |
| 26th | William M. Hawley | Democrat | |
| 27th | Jerome Fuller | Whig | |
| 28th | A. Hyde Cole | Whig | |
| 29th | Allen Ayrault | Whig | resigned his seat on June 2, 1848 |
| 30th | John W. Brownson | Whig | |
| 31st | John T. Bush | Whig | |
| 32nd | Frederick S. Martin | Whig | |

### Employees

* Clerk: Andrew H. Calhoun
* Deputy Clerks: John P. Lott, J. N. T. Tucker
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Senter M. Giddings
* Doorkeeper: Ransom Van Valkenburgh
* Assistant Doorkeeper: George A. Loomis
* Reporter (Albany Argus): William G. Bishop
* Reporter (Evening Journal): Frans. S. Rew
* Messengers: John Manning, Richard E. Nagle
* Janitor: David Emery

## State Assembly
### Assemblymen

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.
Party affiliations follow the vote on Speaker.
| District | District | Assemblymen | Party | Notes |
| Albany | 1st | Edward S. Willett | Whig | |
| Albany | 2nd | Frederick Mathias | Whig | |
| Albany | 3rd | Robert H. Pruyn | Whig | |
| Albany | 4th | Henry A. Brigham | Whig | |
| Allegany | 1st | John Wheeler | Whig | |
| Allegany | 2nd | William Cobb | Democrat | |
| Broome | Broome | Jeremiah Hull | Whig | |
| Cattaraugus | 1st | James G. Johnson | Whig | |
| Cattaraugus | 2nd | Marcus H. Johnson | | |
| Cayuga | 1st | Ebenezer Curtis | Whig | |
| Cayuga | 2nd | John I. Brinckerhoff | Whig | |
| Cayuga | 3rd | Hector C. Tuthill | Whig | |
| Chautauqua | 1st | John H. Pray | Whig | |
| Chautauqua | 2nd | David H. Treadway | Whig | |
| Chemung | Chemung | George W. Buck | Whig | |
| Chenango | 1st | Levi H. Case | Democrat | |
| Chenango | 2nd | Ezra P. Church | Whig | |
| Clinton | Clinton | Rufus Heaton* | Democrat | |
| Columbia | 1st | Jonas H. Miller | Whig | |
| Columbia | 2nd | Charles B. Osborn | Whig | |
| Cortland | Cortland | James Comstock | Whig | |
| Delaware | 1st | Platt Townsend | | |
| Delaware | 2nd | John Calhoun | Whig | |
| Dutchess | 1st | Edgar Vincent | Whig | |
| Dutchess | 2nd | David Collins Jr. | Whig | |
| Dutchess | 3rd | James Hammond | Whig | |
| Erie | 1st | Elbridge G. Spaulding | Whig | on November 7, 1848, elected to the 31st U.S. Congress |
| Erie | 2nd | Harry Slade | Whig | |
| Erie | 3rd | Ira E. Irish | Whig | |
| Erie | 4th | Charles C. Severance | Whig | |
| Essex | Essex | William H. Butrick* | Whig | |
| Franklin | Franklin | Elos L. Winslow | Democrat | |
| Fulton and Hamilton | Fulton and Hamilton | Isaac Benedict | Democrat | |
| Genesee | 1st | Tracy Pardee | Whig | |
| Genesee | 2nd | Alonzo S. Upham* | Whig | |
| Greene | 1st | Alexander H. Palmer | Whig | |
| Greene | 2nd | Frederick A. Fenn | Democrat | |
| Herkimer | 1st | James Feeter | Whig | |
| Herkimer | 2nd | Lawrence L. Merry | Whig | |
| Jefferson | 1st | Benjamin Maxson | Democrat | |
| Jefferson | 2nd | Harvey D. Parker | Democrat | |
| Jefferson | 3rd | Fleury Keith | Democrat | |
| Kings | 1st | Ebenezer W. Peck* | Whig | |
| Kings | 2nd | Edwards W. Fiske | Whig | |
| Kings | 3rd | John A. Cross | Whig | |
| Lewis | Lewis | David D. Reamer | Whig | |
| Livingston | 1st | Gurdon Nowlen | Whig | Nowlan |
| Livingston | 2nd | Nathaniel Coe | Whig | |
| Madison | 1st | John T. G. Bailey | Whig | |
| Madison | 2nd | George Grant | Democrat | |
| Monroe | 1st | Ezra Sheldon | Whig | |
| Monroe | 2nd | Abraham M. Schermerhorn | Whig | on November 7, 1848, elected to the 31st U.S. Congress |
| Monroe | 3rd | Isaac Chase Jr. | Whig | |
| Montgomery | 1st | Asa Bowman | Whig | |
| Montgomery | 2nd | William A. Haslet | Democrat | |
| New York | 1st | J. Phillips Phoenix | Whig | on November 7, 1848, elected to the 31st U.S. Congress |
| New York | 2nd | James Bowen | Whig | |
| New York | 3rd | John H. Bowie* | Democrat | |
| New York | 4th | John F. Rodman | Whig | |
| New York | 5th | Peter H. Titus | Whig | |
| New York | 6th | Samuel G. Raymond | Whig | |
| New York | 7th | William B. Meech | Whig | |
| New York | 8th | Thomas Charlock | Democrat | |
| New York | 9th | Dennis Garrison* | Democrat | |
| New York | 10th | Martin H. Truesdell | Whig | |
| New York | 11th | Alexander Stewart* | Democrat | |
| New York | 12th | Michael Walsh* | Democrat | |
| New York | 13th | Erastus C. Benedict | Whig | |
| New York | 14th | Robert G. Campbell | Whig | |
| New York | 15th | Merwin R. Brewer | Whig | |
| New York | 16th | James Brooks | Whig | on November 7, 1848, elected to the 31st U.S. Congress |
| Niagara | 1st | Elias Ransom | Whig | |
| Niagara | 2nd | Solomon Moss | Democrat | contested by Morgan Johnson (W) who was seated on April 1 |
| Oneida | 1st | Luke Smith | Whig | |
| Oneida | 2nd | Warren Converse | Whig | |
| Oneida | 3rd | Bloomfield J. Beach | Whig | |
| Oneida | 4th | Henry Wager | Democrat | |
| Onondaga | 1st | James Little | Democrat | |
| Onondaga | 2nd | Horace Hazen | Whig | |
| Onondaga | 3rd | Thomas Spencer | Whig | |
| Onondaga | 4th | Curtis J. Hurd | Whig | |
| Ontario | 1st | Charles S. Brother | Whig | |
| Ontario | 2nd | Hiram Ashley | Whig | |
| Orange | 1st | Stephen Rapelje | Whig | |
| Orange | 2nd | George Houston | Whig | |
| Orange | 3rd | Augustus P. Thompson | Whig | |
| Orleans | Orleans | Arba Chubb | Whig | |
| Oswego | 1st | M. Lindley Lee* | Whig | |
| Oswego | 2nd | Andrew Z. McCarty | Whig | |
| Otsego | 1st | Benjamin Davis | Whig | |
| Otsego | 2nd | Olcott C. Chamberlin | | |
| Otsego | 3rd | Elisha S. Sanders | Democrat | |
| Putnam | Putnam | Chauncey R. Weeks | Whig | |
| Queens | Queens | Wessell S. Smith* | Whig | |
| Rensselaer | 1st | Amos K. Hadley* | Whig | elected Speaker |
| Rensselaer | 2nd | George T. Denison | Whig | |
| Rensselaer | 3rd | George W. Glass | Whig | |
| Richmond | Richmond | Ephraim J. Totten | Whig | |
| Rockland | Rockland | Lawrence J. Sneden | Whig | |
| St. Lawrence | 1st | Charles G. Myers | Democrat | also D.A. of St. Lawrence County |
| St. Lawrence | 2nd | John S. Chipman | Whig | |
| St. Lawrence | 3rd | Benjamin Holmes | Whig | |
| Saratoga | 1st | Cady Hollister | Democrat | |
| Saratoga | 2nd | George Payn | Whig | |
| Schenectady | Schenectady | Abraham W. Toll | Democrat | |
| Schoharie | 1st | Adam Mattice | Democrat | |
| Schoharie | 2nd | James Parsons | Democrat | |
| Seneca | Seneca | John Kennedy | Democrat | |
| Steuben | 1st | Abel Kendall | Democrat | |
| Steuben | 2nd | John G. Mersereau | Whig | |
| Steuben | 3rd | Alexander H. Stephens | | |
| Suffolk | 1st | Edwin Rose | Whig | |
| Suffolk | 2nd | William Sidney Smith | Democrat | |
| Sullivan | Sullivan | James F. Bush | Whig | |
| Tioga | Tioga | Erastus Goodrich | Democrat | |
| Tompkins | 1st | John Jessup | Whig | |
| Tompkins | 2nd | Alpheus West | Whig | |
| Ulster | 1st | George A. Gay | Whig | |
| Ulster | 2nd | Job G. Elmore | Whig | |
| Warren | Warren | Albert Cheney | Whig | |
| Washington | 1st | Benjamin Crocker | Whig | |
| Washington | 2nd | Elisha A. Martin | Whig | |
| Wayne | 1st | Eliada Pettit | Whig | |
| Wayne | 2nd | John Lapham | Whig | |
| Westchester | 1st | Richard M. Underhill | Whig | |
| Westchester | 2nd | Jared V. Peck | Democrat | |
| Wyoming | Wyoming | Paul Richards | Whig | |
| Yates | Yates | Hatley N. Dox | Whig | |

### Employees

* Clerk: Philander B. Prindle
* Deputy Clerks: Edgar A. Barber, William E. Mills, Friend W. Humphrey
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Samuel H. Marks
* Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: William Van Olinda
* Doorkeeper: John Davies
* First Assistant Doorkeeper: Samuel Merclean
* Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Erasmus D. S. Strong
* Doorkeeper for the Gentlemen's Gallery: Isaac Betticker
* Dorrkeeper for the Ladies' Gallery: Alexander Hamilton Stoutenburgh
* Porter: George Fonda
* Librarians: Ira Dubois, John T. Diossey
* Messengers: William Freeman, George W. Weed, Peter Craff, Edward Martin, James Whelpley, Seymour Daley, Harris Fellows, Peter Drum, Andrew Ryan, Penfield Strong, Webster Gardiner, Eugene Rearden, A. W. Baker