# 76th New York State Legislature

The 76th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met in Albany from January 4 to July 21, 1853, during the first year of Horatio Seymour's governorship.

## 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, with the whole Senate being renewed biennially. The senatorial districts (except those in New York City) were made up of entire counties. One hundred and twenty-eight Assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts to a one-year term, with 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.
At this time there were two major political parties: the Democratic Party and the Whig Party.

## Elections

The 1852 New York state election was held on November 2. Horatio Seymour (D) was elected governor, defeating the incumbent Washington Hunt (W). Lt. Gov. Sanford E. Church (D) was re-elected. The other two statewide elective offices up for election were also carried by the Democrats.

## Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 4, 1853, and adjourned on April 13.
William H. Ludlow (D) was elected Speaker with 85 votes against 39 for Jeremiah Ellsworth (W). John S. Nafew (D) was elected Clerk of the Assembly with 86 votes against 40 for the incumbent Richard U. Sherman (W).
On January 19, William McMurray (D) was elected President pro tempore of the Senate.
On April 13, Governor Horatio Seymour called a special session of the Legislature, to conclude the unfinished business of the regular session.
On April 14, the Legislature met for a special session; and adjourned on April 15.
On May 24, the Legislature met for another special session; and adjourned on July 21.
On July 1, Russell Smith (D) was elected Speaker pro tempore, to preside over the Assembly during the absence of Speaker Ludlow.
On July 8, the Assembly impeached Canal Commissioner John C. Mather.
On July 21, near the end of the session, Edwin D. Morgan (W) was elected president pro tempore of the Senate.
On July 27, the New York Court for the Trial of Impeachments (consisting of the State Senate and the New York Court of Appeals), met at Albany, for the first time in State history. Assemblymen Marshall B. Champlain, Arphaxed Loomis, John McBurney, Solomon B. Noble (all four Democrats), Orlando Hastings, Walter L. Sessions and Daniel P. Wood (all three Whigs) appeared as the Managers to prosecute the impeachment. Congressman Rufus W. Peckham (D) appeared for the Defense. After organizing, the Court adjourned.
On August 16, the Impeachment Court met for the trial, which lasted until Mather was acquitted on September 16.

## 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.
| District | Senator | Party | Notes |
| 1st | James E. Cooley* | Democrat | |
| 2nd | John Vanderbilt* | Democrat | |
| 3rd | William McMurray* | Democrat | on January 19, elected president pro tempore |
| 4th | Obadiah Newcomb* | Whig | |
| 5th | James W. Beekman* | Whig | |
| 6th | Edwin D. Morgan* | Whig | on July 21, elected president pro tempore |
| 7th | Abraham B. Conger* | Democrat | |
| 8th | John H. Otis* | Democrat | |
| 9th | Nathaniel Jones* | Democrat | |
| 10th | George T. Pierce* | Democrat | |
| 11th | Azor Taber* | Whig | |
| 12th | William H. Van Schoonhoven* | Whig | |
| 13th | Dan S. Wright* | Whig | |
| 14th | Eli W. Rogers* | Democrat | |
| 15th | Henry B. Smith* | Democrat | |
| 16th | Simeon Snow* | Democrat | |
| 17th | Henry E. Bartlett* | Democrat | |
| 18th | Harmon Bennett* | Democrat | |
| 19th | Benjamin N. Huntington* | Whig | |
| 20th | James Platt* | Whig | |
| 21st | Ashley Davenport* | Democrat | |
| 22nd | James Munroe* | Whig | |
| 23rd | Nathan Bristol* | Democrat | |
| 24th | William Beach* | Whig | |
| 25th | Josiah B. Williams* | Whig | |
| 26th | Francis R. E. Cornell* | Democrat | |
| 27th | Micajah W. Kirby* | Democrat | |
| 28th | Alonzo S. Upham* | Whig | |
| 29th | Myron H. Clark* | Whig | |
| 30th | John A. McElwain* | Whig | also Treasurer of Wyoming Co. |
| 31st | George R. Babcock* | Whig | |
| 32nd | Elisha Ward* | Whig | |

### Employees

* Clerk: Ira P. Barnes
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles Lee
* Doorkeeper: A. N. Beardsley
* Assistant Doorkeeper: George Read

## 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 | William P. Malburn | Democrat | |
| Albany | 2nd | John Reid | Whig | |
| Albany | 3rd | William W. Forsyth | Democrat | |
| Albany | 4th | Thomas Kearney | Democrat | |
| Allegany | 1st | Emulous Townsend | Whig | |
| Allegany | 2nd | Marshall B. Champlain | Democrat | also a Manager at the impeachment trial |
| Broome | Broome | Joseph E. Ely | Democrat | |
| Cattaraugus | 1st | Daniel Hickox | Democrat | |
| Cattaraugus | 2nd | Michael H. Barker | Democrat | |
| Cayuga | 1st | William Hayden* | Whig | |
| Cayuga | 2nd | Terance J. Kennedy | Whig | |
| Cayuga | 3rd | Mathias Hutchinson | Whig | |
| Chautauqua | 1st | Walter L. Sessions | Whig | also a Manager at the impeachment trial |
| Chautauqua | 2nd | Jeremiah Ellsworth* | Whig | |
| Chemung | Chemung | Hiram W. Jackson | Democrat | |
| Chenango | 1st | William H. Amsbry | Democrat | |
| Chenango | 2nd | Luther Osgood Jr. | Democrat | |
| Clinton | Clinton | George V. Hoyle | Whig | |
| Columbia | 1st | Henry A. Dubois | Whig | |
| Columbia | 2nd | Alonzo Chamberlain | Democrat | |
| Cortland | Cortland | Ashbel Patterson | Democrat | |
| Delaware | 1st | Charles S. Rogers | Democrat | |
| Delaware | 2nd | Daniel Stewart | Whig | |
| Dutchess | 1st | John S. Emans* | Democrat | |
| Dutchess | 2nd | James H. Weeks | Democrat | |
| Dutchess | 3rd | Augustus Martin* | Democrat | |
| Erie | 1st | Almon M. Clapp | Whig | |
| Erie | 2nd | William T. Bush | Whig | |
| Erie | 3rd | Israel N. Ely | Whig | |
| Erie | 4th | Nelson Welch | Whig | |
| Essex | Essex | Jonathan Burnet | Whig | |
| Franklin | Franklin | Darius W. Lawrence* | Democrat | |
| Fulton and Hamilton | Fulton and Hamilton | William A. Smith | Democrat | |
| Genesee | 1st | Theodore C. Peters | Whig | |
| Genesee | 2nd | Joseph Cook | Whig | |
| Greene | 1st | Darius Winans | Democrat | |
| Greene | 2nd | Elijah P. Bushnell | Democrat | |
| Herkimer | 1st | Arphaxed Loomis | Democrat | also a Manager at the impeachment trial |
| Herkimer | 2nd | John W. Beckwith | Democrat | |
| Jefferson | 1st | James Gifford | Democrat | |
| Jefferson | 2nd | DeWitt C. West | Democrat | |
| Jefferson | 3rd | Charles Smith | Democrat | |
| Kings | 1st | Nicholson P. O'Brien | Democrat | |
| Kings | 2nd | George A. Searing | Democrat | |
| Kings | 3rd | James H. Hutchins | Democrat | |
| Lewis | Lewis | Seymour Green | Democrat | |
| Livingston | 1st | Amos A. Hendee | Whig | |
| Livingston | 2nd | Abram Lozier | Whig | |
| Madison | 1st | Dennis Hardin | Whig | |
| Madison | 2nd | Marsena Temple | Democrat | |
| Monroe | 1st | Lyman Payne | Whig | |
| Monroe | 2nd | Orlando Hastings | Whig | also a Manager at the impeachment trial |
| Monroe | 3rd | James O. Pettingill | Whig | |
| Montgomery | 1st | William McClary | Democrat | |
| Montgomery | 2nd | Abram N. Van Alstine | Democrat | |
| New York | 1st | Frederick W. C. Wedekind | Democrat | |
| New York | 2nd | Henry H. Howard | Democrat | |
| New York | 3rd | Joseph Rose Jr.* | Democrat | |
| New York | 4th | Robert D. Livingston | Democrat | |
| New York | 5th | George F. Alden | Democrat | |
| New York | 6th | Bartholomew T. Gilmore | Democrat | |
| New York | 7th | Jacob S. Miller | Democrat | |
| New York | 8th | Moses D. Gale* | Democrat | |
| New York | 9th | Erastus W. Glover | Democrat | |
| New York | 10th | Henry Shaw | Democrat | |
| New York | 11th | David O'Keefe Jr.* | Democrat | |
| New York | 12th | Daniel B. Taylor | Democrat | |
| New York | 13th | William Taylor* | Whig | |
| New York | 14th | Solomon B. Noble | Democrat | also a Manager at the impeachment trial |
| New York | 15th | Thomas P. St. John* | Democrat | |
| New York | 16th | Russell Smith | Democrat | on July 1, elected Speaker pro tempore |
| Niagara | 1st | George W. Holley | Whig | |
| Niagara | 2nd | Reuben F. Wilson | Democrat | |
| Oneida | 1st | Dexter Gilmore | Democrat | |
| Oneida | 2nd | Amos O. Osborn | Whig | |
| Oneida | 3rd | Julius C. Thorne | Democrat | |
| Oneida | 4th | Amos C. Hall | Democrat | |
| Onondaga | 1st | Alonzo Case | Democrat | |
| Onondaga | 2nd | Samuel S. Kneeland | Whig | |
| Onondaga | 3rd | Daniel P. Wood | Whig | also a Manager at the impeachment trial |
| Onondaga | 4th | Isaac V. V. Hibbard | Democrat | |
| Ontario | 1st | Marcus Persons | Whig | |
| Ontario | 2nd | Hiram Ashley | Whig | |
| Orange | 1st | Thomas Fulton | Democrat | |
| Orange | 2nd | Hudson Webb | Democrat | |
| Orange | 3rd | Ethan B. Carpenter | Democrat | |
| Orleans | Orleans | Silas M. Burroughs | Independent | |
| Oswego | 1st | DeWitt C. Littlejohn | Whig | |
| Oswego | 2nd | Charles A. Perkins | Whig | |
| Otsego | 1st | Charles McLean | Democrat | |
| Otsego | 2nd | Jenks S. Sprague | Democrat | |
| Otsego | 3rd | John C. Spafard | Democrat | |
| Putnam | Putnam | Nathan A. Howes* | Democrat | |
| Queens | Queens | Sylvanus S. Smith* | Democrat | |
| Rensselaer | 1st | Jason C. Osgood | Democrat | |
| Rensselaer | 2nd | Charles B. Stratton | Whig | |
| Rensselaer | 3rd | Peter G. Ten Eyck | Democrat | |
| Richmond | Richmond | Henry Dehart | Democrat | |
| Rockland | Rockland | Nicholas C. Blauvelt | Democrat | |
| St. Lawrence | 1st | Barnabas Hall | Democrat | |
| St. Lawrence | 2nd | Benjamin Smith* | Democrat | |
| St. Lawrence | 3rd | Parker W. Rose* | Democrat | |
| Saratoga | 1st | Willam Cary | Whig | |
| Saratoga | 2nd | Henry Holmes | Whig | |
| Schenectady | Schenectady | William Van Vranken | Democrat | |
| Schoharie | 1st | Luman Reed | Whig | |
| Schoharie | 2nd | John Westover | Democrat | |
| Seneca | Seneca | Sterling G. Hadley | Democrat | |
| Steuben | 1st | Dryden Henderson | Democrat | |
| Steuben | 2nd | John McBurney | Democrat | also a Manager at the impeachment trial |
| Steuben | 3rd | Henry H. Bouton | Democrat | |
| Suffolk | 1st | Abraham H. Gardiner | Democrat | |
| Suffolk | 2nd | William H. Ludlow | Democrat | elected Speaker |
| Sullivan | Sullivan | James K. Gardner | Democrat | |
| Tioga | Tioga | Thomas I. Chatfield | Whig | |
| Tompkins | 1st | David Crocker Jr. | Democrat | |
| Tompkins | 2nd | Ebenezer S. Marsh | Democrat | |
| Ulster | 1st | John Lounsbury | Democrat | |
| Ulster | 2nd | L. Harrison Smith | Democrat | |
| Warren | Warren | Richard P. Smith | Democrat | |
| Washington | 1st | Charles R. Ingalls | Democrat | |
| Washington | 2nd | Samuel S. Beman | Whig | |
| Wayne | 1st | Benjamin H. Streeter | Democrat | |
| Wayne | 2nd | Loammi Whitcomb | Whig | |
| Westchester | 1st | George C. Finch | Democrat | |
| Westchester | 2nd | Jacob Odell | Democrat | |
| Wyoming | Wyoming | Alonzo B. Rose | Whig | |
| Yates | Yates | DeWitt C. Stanford | Whig | |

### Employees

* Clerk: John S. Nafew
* Sergeant-at-Arms: John P. Phelps
* Doorkeeper: George D. Wooldridge
* First Assistant Doorkeeper: Hugh Clary
* Second Assistant Doorkeeper: S. A. Brown