# 87th New York State Legislature

The 87th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to April 23, 1864, during the second year of Horatio Seymour's second tenure as Governor of New York, in Albany.

## Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1846, 32 Senators and 128 assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts; senators for a two-year term, assemblymen for a one-year term. The senatorial districts were made up of entire counties, except New York County (four districts) and Kings County (two districts). The Assembly districts were made up of entire towns, or city wards, forming a contiguous area, all within the same county.
At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Democrats split over the civil war issue. The "War Democrats" and the Republicans formed a coalition known as the "Republican Union," and supported President Abraham Lincoln and the Union Army's war effort; the rump Democratic Party opposed the war, favoring a compromise with the South, and became known as "Peace Democrats" or "Copperheads."

## Elections

The 1863 New York state election was held on November 3. All eight statewide elective offices up for election were carried by the Republican Union. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Secretary of State, was: Republican Union 314,000 and Democrats 285,000.

## Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 5, 1864; and adjourned on April 23.
Thomas G. Alvord (R) was elected again Speaker with 77 votes against 42 for Jacob L. Smith (D). Joseph B. Cushman (R) was re-elected Clerk of the Assembly with 78 votes against 44 for John C. Jacobs (D).
On February 3, James M. Cook (R) was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate "for this day."
On February 4, James A. Bell (R) was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate "for the present session."

## State Senate
### Districts

* 1st District: Queens, Richmond and Suffolk counties
* 2nd District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 11th, 13th and 19th wards of the City of Brooklyn
* 3rd District: 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th wards of the City of Brooklyn; and all towns in Kings County
* 4th District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 14th wards of New York City
* 5th District: 10th, 11th, 13th and 17th wards of New York City
* 6th District: 9th, 15th, 16th and 18th wards of New York City
* 7th District: 12th, 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd wards of New York City
* 8th District: Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties
* 9th District: Orange and Sullivan counties
* 10th District: Greene and Ulster counties
* 11th District: Columbia and Dutchess counties
* 12th District: Rensselaer and Washington counties
* 13th District: Albany County
* 14th District: Delaware, Schenectady and Schoharie counties
* 15th District: Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery and Saratoga counties
* 16th District: Clinton, Essex and Warren counties
* 17th District: Franklin and St. Lawrence counties
* 18th District: Jefferson and Lewis counties
* 19th District: Oneida County
* 20th District: Herkimer and Otsego counties
* 21st District: Oswego County
* 22nd District: Onondaga County
* 23rd District: Chenango, Cortland and Madison counties
* 24th District: Broome, Tompkins and Tioga counties
* 25th District: Cayuga and Wayne counties
* 26th District: Ontario, Seneca and Yates counties
* 27th District: Chemung, Schuyler and Steuben counties
* 28th District: Monroe County
* 29th District: Genesee, Niagara and Orleans counties
* 30th District: Allegany, Livingston 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. Thomas C. Fields, Saxton Smith, Palmer E. Havens and Ezra Cornell changed from the Assembly to the Senate.
Party affiliations follow the vote for Regents of USNY.
| District | Senator | Party | Notes |
| 1st | Robert Christie Jr. | Democrat | |
| 2nd | Demas Strong | Democrat | |
| 3rd | Henry C. Murphy* | Democrat | re-elected |
| 4th | Christian B. Woodruff* | Democrat | re-elected; from May 5, 1864, also a New York City Tax Commissioner |
| 5th | Luke F. Cozans | Democrat | |
| 6th | William Laimbeer Jr. | Republican | |
| 7th | Thomas C. Fields* | Democrat | also a Central Park Commissioner |
| 8th | Saxton Smith* | Democrat | |
| 9th | Archibald C. Niven | Democrat | contested by Henry R. Low (R), decision postponed |
| 10th | George Beach | Democrat | |
| 11th | John B. Dutcher | Republican | |
| 12th | Frederick H. Hastings | Republican | took his seat on January 21 |
| 13th | Ira Shafer | Democrat | |
| 14th | Orson M. Allaben | Democrat | |
| 15th | James M. Cook | Republican | on February 3, elected president pro tempore |
| 16th | Palmer E. Havens* | Republican | |
| 17th | Albert Hobbs | Republican | |
| 18th | James A. Bell* | Republican | re-elected; on February 4, elected president pro tempore |
| 19th | Alexander H. Bailey* | Republican | re-elected |
| 20th | George H. Andrews | Republican | |
| 21st | Cheney Ames | Republican | |
| 22nd | Andrew D. White | Republican | |
| 23rd | Frederick Juliand | Republican | |
| 24th | Ezra Cornell* | Republican | |
| 25th | Stephen K. Williams | Republican | |
| 26th | Charles J. Folger* | Republican | re-elected |
| 27th | Stephen T. Hayt | Republican | |
| 28th | George G. Munger | Republican | |
| 29th | Dan H. Cole | Republican | |
| 30th | Wilkes Angel* | Republican | re-elected |
| 31st | James M. Humphrey | Democrat | took his seat on January 6; on November 8, 1864, elected to the 39th U.S. Congress |
| 32nd | Norman M. Allen | Republican | |

### Employees

* Clerk: James Terwilliger
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Azel B. Hull
* Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Sanders Wilson
* Doorkeeper: Lawrence Van Duzen
* First Assistant Doorkeeper: Casper Walter
* Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Edmund Traver
* Third Assistant Doorkeeper: Anson W. Johnson

## State Assembly
### Assemblymen

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.
Party affiliations follow the vote for Speaker, and Regents of USNY.
| District | District | Assemblymen | Party | Notes |
| Albany | 1st | Harris Parr | Democrat | |
| Albany | 2nd | Morgan L. Filkins | Republican | |
| Albany | 3rd | Thomas McCarty | Democrat | |
| Albany | 4th | William L. Oswald* | Democrat | |
| Allegany | 1st | Charles M. Crandall | Republican | |
| Allegany | 2nd | Morris S. Chase | Republican | |
| Broome | Broome | Mulford Northrup | Republican | |
| Cattaraugus | 1st | Smith Parish | Republican | |
| Cattaraugus | 2nd | Albert G. Dow* | Republican | |
| Cayuga | 1st | Benjamin M. Close | Republican | |
| Cayuga | 2nd | William P. Robinson* | Republican | |
| Chautauqua | 1st | John Steward* | Republican | |
| Chautauqua | 2nd | Julien T. Williams | Republican | |
| Chemung | Chemung | William T. Post | Republican | |
| Chenango | 1st | George W. Sumner | Republican | |
| Chenango | 2nd | Dyer D. Bullock | Republican | |
| Clinton | Clinton | George Hallock | Republican | |
| Columbia | 1st | Amos Miller | Democrat | |
| Columbia | 2nd | Wright H. Barnes | Republican | |
| Cortland | Cortland | Benjamin F. Tillinghast | Republican | |
| Delaware | 1st | Jerome B. Landfield | Republican | |
| Delaware | 2nd | Francis R. Gilbert* | Democrat | |
| Dutchess | 1st | James Howard | Republican | |
| Dutchess | 2nd | John N. Cramer | Republican | |
| Erie | 1st | Walter W. Stanard | Democrat | |
| Erie | 2nd | Frederick P. Stevens | Republican | |
| Erie | 3rd | Timothy A. Hopkins* | Democrat | |
| Erie | 4th | Seth Fenner | Republican | |
| Essex | Essex | William H. Richardson | Republican | |
| Franklin | Franklin | Albert Andrus* | Republican | |
| Fulton and Hamilton | Fulton and Hamilton | William A. Smith | Republican | |
| Genesee | Genesee | Loren Green* | Republican | |
| Greene | Greene | William W. Pettit | Democrat | |
| Herkimer | 1st | John H. Wooster | Republican | |
| Herkimer | 2nd | Ezra D. Beckwith | Republican | |
| Jefferson | 1st | George M. Hopkinson | Republican | |
| Jefferson | 2nd | Lewis Palmer | Republican | |
| Jefferson | 3rd | William Dewey* | Republican | took his seat on January 19 |
| Kings | 1st | Philip S. Crooke | Republican | |
| Kings | 2nd | John O'Connor | Democrat | |
| Kings | 3rd | Edward D. White | Republican | |
| Kings | 4th | Andrew Walsh | Democrat | |
| Kings | 5th | John C. Perry | Republican | |
| Kings | 6th | Angelo Newton | Republican | |
| Kings | 7th | Jacob Worth | Republican | |
| Lewis | Lewis | John O'Donnell | Republican | |
| Livingston | 1st | Hamilton E. Smith* | Republican | |
| Livingston | 2nd | Jonathan B. Morey | Republican | took his seat on January 12 |
| Madison | 1st | John W. Lippitt | Republican | |
| Madison | 2nd | Daniel F. Kellogg | Republican | left the Assembly on February 5, due to ill health, and died on April 11, 1864 |
| Monroe | 1st | Fairchild Andrus | Republican | |
| Monroe | 2nd | John McConvill | Democrat | |
| Monroe | 3rd | William Rankin | Republican | |
| Montgomery | Montgomery | John Kellogg | Republican | |
| New York | 1st | Jacob L. Smith | Democrat | |
| New York | 2nd | William P. Kirk | Democrat | |
| New York | 3rd | George M. Curtis | Democrat | |
| New York | 4th | James B. Murray | Democrat | |
| New York | 5th | Henry Rogers* | Democrat | |
| New York | 6th | Walter J. Burke | Democrat | |
| New York | 7th | Erastus C. Benedict | Republican | |
| New York | 8th | William G. Olvany | Democrat | |
| New York | 9th | Samuel C. Reed | Republican | |
| New York | 10th | Anthony Eickhoff | Democrat | until August 1, 1864, also Commissary-General of the State Militia |
| New York | 11th | Carolan O'Brien Bryant | Democrat | |
| New York | 12th | Joseph A. Lyons | Democrat | |
| New York | 13th | Thomas Ryan | Democrat | |
| New York | 14th | Michael N. Salmon | Democrat | |
| New York | 15th | Stephen R. Pinckney | Democrat | |
| New York | 16th | Michael McCann* | Democrat | |
| New York | 17th | Sidney P. Ingraham Jr. | Democrat | |
| Niagara | 1st | James Jackson Jr. | Democrat | |
| Niagara | 2nd | William Morgan* | Republican | |
| Oneida | 1st | Abram B. Weaver* | Democrat | |
| Oneida | 2nd | Levi Blakeslee | Republican | |
| Oneida | 3rd | Chauncey Brodock | Democrat | |
| Oneida | 4th | John W. Douglas | Republican | |
| Onondaga | 1st | Albert L. Green | Republican | |
| Onondaga | 2nd | Thomas G. Alvord | Republican | elected Speaker; on November 8, 1864, elected Lieutenant Governor |
| Onondaga | 3rd | Conrad Shoemaker | Republican | |
| Ontario | 1st | Perez H. Field* | Republican | |
| Ontario | 2nd | Lanson Dewey* | Republican | |
| Orange | 1st | Nathaniel W. Howell | Republican | |
| Orange | 2nd | Charles S. Woodward* | Democrat | |
| Orleans | Orleans | Edmund L. Pitts | Republican | |
| Oswego | 1st | Abner C. Mattoon* | Republican | |
| Oswego | 2nd | Hiram W. Loomis* | Republican | |
| Oswego | 3rd | Harvey Palmer* | Republican | |
| Otsego | 1st | James Young | Democrat | |
| Otsego | 2nd | George M. Hollis | Republican | |
| Putnam | Putnam | Jeremiah Sherwood | Democrat | |
| Queens | 1st | Charles T. Duryea* | Democrat | |
| Queens | 2nd | Charles McNeill | Democrat | |
| Rensselaer | 1st | James McKeon* | Democrat | |
| Rensselaer | 2nd | George W. Banker | Republican | took his seat on February 2 |
| Rensselaer | 3rd | James Dearstyne | Republican | |
| Richmond | Richmond | William H. Rutan | Democrat | |
| Rockland | Rockland | James S. Haring* | Democrat | |
| St. Lawrence | 1st | George Parker | Republican | |
| St. Lawrence | 2nd | James Redington* | Republican | |
| St. Lawrence | 3rd | Abraham X. Parker* | Republican | |
| Saratoga | 1st | Ira Brockett* | Democrat | |
| Saratoga | 2nd | Edward Edwards | Republican | |
| Schenectady | Schenectady | Charles Stanford | Republican | |
| Schoharie | Schoharie | Peter P. Schoolcraft | Democrat | |
| Schuyler | Schuyler | Lorenzo Webber | Republican | |
| Seneca | Seneca | William T. Johnson | Democrat | |
| Steuben | 1st | William E. Bonham | Republican | |
| Steuben | 2nd | Alexander Olcott | Republican | |
| Steuben | 3rd | James Harvey Stephens | Republican | |
| Suffolk | 1st | William H. Gleason | Republican | took his seat on January 12 |
| Suffolk | 2nd | Henry C. Platt | Democrat | |
| Sullivan | Sullivan | James Matthews | Democrat | |
| Tioga | Tioga | Jerome Thompson | Republican | |
| Tompkins | Tompkins | Henry B. Lord | Republican | |
| Ulster | 1st | Jesse F. Bookstaver* | Democrat | |
| Ulster | 2nd | Jacob LeFever* | Republican | |
| Ulster | 3rd | Thomas Hill | Democrat | |
| Warren | Warren | Robert Waddle | Republican | |
| Washington | 1st | R. King Crocker | Republican | |
| Washington | 2nd | Andrew G. Meiklejohn | Republican | |
| Wayne | 1st | Thaddeus W. Collins* | Republican | |
| Wayne | 2nd | Lemuel Durfee* | Republican | |
| Westchester | 1st | Franklin W. Gilley | Democrat | |
| Westchester | 2nd | Alsop H. Lockwood | Democrat | |
| Westchester | 3rd | George A. Brandreth | Republican | |
| Wyoming | Wyoming | Byron Healy* | Republican | |
| Yates | Yates | Oren G. Loomis | Republican | |

### Employees

* Clerk: Joseph B. Cushman
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles E. Young
* Doorkeeper: Henry A. Rogers
* First Assistant Doorkeeper: Alexander Frier
* Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Daniel F. Payne