# 102nd New York State Legislature

The 102nd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7 to May 22, 1879, during the third year of Lucius Robinson's governorship, 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 (five 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 Prohibition Party and the Greenback Party also nominated tickets.

## Elections

The 1878 New York state election was held on November 5. The only statewide elective office up for election was carried by a Republican. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Judge of the Court of Appeals, was: Republican 391,000; Democratic 356,000; Greenback 75,000; and Prohibition 4,000.

## Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 7, 1879; and adjourned on May 22.
On January 7, senators and assemblymen met at the Old Capitol and then marched together to the New Capitol, taking officially possession of the new accommodations. The New Capitol was then still under construction, being finished only in 1899; and the Senate met for the time being in the Court of Appeals chamber. Due to heavy snowfall, many members had not arrived yet from the Western parts of the State, and the Legislature adjourned.
On January 9, Thomas G. Alvord (R) was again elected Speaker, with 94 votes against 24 for Erastus Brooks (D).
On January 21, the Legislature re-elected U.S. Senator Roscoe Conkling (R) to a third six-year term, beginning on March 4, 1879.
On April 23, the Legislature re-apportioned the Senate districts; and the Assembly seats per county. Columbia, Delaware, Madison, Oneida, Ontario and Oswego counties lost one seat each; Kings and New York counties gained three seats each.

## State Senate
### Districts

* 1st District: Queens, Richmond and Suffolk counties
* 2nd District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 11th, 13th, 15th, 19th and 20th wards of the City of Brooklyn
* 3rd District: 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 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, 13th and 14th wards of New York City
* 5th District: 8th, 9th, 15th and 16th wards of New York City
* 6th District: 10th, 11th and 17th wards of New York City
* 7th District: 18th, 20th and 21st wards of New York City
* 8th District: 12th, 19th and 22nd wards of New York City
* 9th District: Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties
* 10th District: Orange and Sullivan counties
* 11th District: Columbia and Dutchess counties
* 12th District: Rensselaer and Washington counties
* 13th District: Albany County
* 14th District: Greene and Ulster counties
* 15th District: Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, Saratoga and Schenectady 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: Madison and Oswego counties
* 22nd District: Onondaga and Cortland counties
* 23rd District: Chenango, Delaware and Schoharie 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
Note: There are now 62 counties in the State of New York. The counties which are not mentioned in this list had not yet been established, or sufficiently organized, the area being included in one or more of the abovementioned 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 M. Oakley* | Democrat | |
| 2nd | James F. Pierce* | Democrat | |
| 3rd | John C. Jacobs* | Democrat | |
| 4th | Edward Hogan* | Democrat | |
| 5th | Alfred Wagstaff Jr.* | Democrat | |
| 6th | Louis S. Goebel* | Republican | |
| 7th | Thomas Murphy | Republican | elected to fill vacancy, in place of John Morrissey |
| 8th | Thomas C. E. Ecclesine* | Democrat | |
| 9th | William H. Robertson* | Republican | President pro tempore |
| 10th | Daniel B. St. John* | Democrat | |
| 11th | Stephen H. Wendover* | Republican | |
| 12th | Charles Hughes* | Democrat | |
| 13th | Hamilton Harris* | Republican | |
| 14th | Addison P. Jones* | Democrat | |
| 15th | Webster Wagner* | Republican | |
| 16th | William W. Rockwell* | Republican | |
| 17th | Dolphus S. Lynde* | Republican | |
| 18th | Henry E. Turner* | Republican | |
| 19th | Alexander T. Goodwin* | Democrat | |
| 20th | Samuel S. Edick* | Republican | |
| 21st | John W. Lippitt* | Republican | |
| 22nd | Dennis McCarthy* | Republican | |
| 23rd | Nathaniel C. Marvin* | Republican | |
| 24th | Peter W. Hopkins* | Republican | died on February 7, 1879 |
| 24th | Edwin G. Halbert | Republican | elected to fill vacancy, seated on April 2 |
| 25th | Theodore M. Pomeroy* | Republican | |
| 26th | Edwin Hicks* | Republican | |
| 27th | Ira Davenport* | Republican | |
| 28th | George Raines* | Democrat | |
| 29th | Lewis S. Payne* | Democrat | |
| 30th | James H. Loomis* | Republican | |
| 31st | Ray V. Pierce* | Republican | on November 5, 1878, elected to the 46th U.S. Congress |
| 32nd | Loren B. Sessions* | Republican | also Supervisor of the Town of Harmony |

### Employees

* Clerk: John W. Vrooman
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Weidman Dominick
* Doorkeeper: James G. Caw
* Stenographer: Hudson C. Tanner

## State Assembly
### Assemblymen

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.
| District | District | Assemblymen | Party | Notes |
| Albany | 1st | Hiram Griggs* | Republican | |
| Albany | 2nd | Charles R. Knowles | Republican | |
| Albany | 3rd | Thomas H. Greer | Republican | |
| Albany | 4th | Waters W. Braman | Republican | |
| Allegany | Allegany | Hiram H. Wakely* | Republican | |
| Broome | Broome | Henry Marean | Republican | |
| Cattaraugus | 1st | William F. Wheeler | Republican | |
| Cattaraugus | 2nd | Simeon V. Pool* | Republican | |
| Cayuga | 1st | William A. Halsey | Republican | |
| Cayuga | 2nd | William Leslie Noyes* | Republican | |
| Chautauqua | 1st | Charles P. Ingersoll | Republican | |
| Chautauqua | 2nd | James Prendergast | Republican | |
| Chemung | Chemung | John Bandfield | Greenback | |
| Chenango | Chenango | Oscar H. Curtis | Republican | |
| Clinton | Clinton | William P. Mooers* | Republican | |
| Columbia | 1st | Jacob W. Hoysradt | Republican | |
| Columbia | 2nd | Perkins F. Cady | Republican | |
| Cortland | Cortland | George H. Arnold | Greenback | |
| Delaware | 1st | Albert E. Sullard | Republican | |
| Delaware | 2nd | John S. McNaught | Republican | |
| Dutchess | 1st | Obed Wheeler* | Republican | |
| Dutchess | 2nd | Cornelius Pitcher | Republican | |
| Erie | 1st | Bernard F. Gentsch | Republican | |
| Erie | 2nd | Simon P. Swift | Republican | |
| Erie | 3rd | James A. Roberts | Republican | |
| Erie | 4th | Harvey J. Hurd* | Republican | |
| Erie | 5th | William Alfred Johnson | Republican | |
| Essex | Essex | Warren French Weston | Republican | |
| Franklin | Franklin | William D. Brennan | Republican | |
| Fulton and Hamilton | Fulton and Hamilton | John W. Peek* | Republican | |
| Genesee | Genesee | John Sanders | Republican | |
| Greene | Greene | George S. Stevens | Democrat | |
| Herkimer | Herkimer | Titus Sheard* | Republican | |
| Jefferson | 1st | Charles R. Skinner* | Republican | |
| Jefferson | 2nd | George D. McAllaster | Republican | |
| Kings | 1st | John M. Clancy* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 2nd | Jonathan Ogden | Republican | |
| Kings | 3rd | Thomas J. Sheridan | Democrat | |
| Kings | 4th | Charles T. Trowbridge | Republican | unsuccessfully contested by James G. Tighe (D) |
| Kings | 5th | William W. Stephenson | Republican | |
| Kings | 6th | Lewis R. Stegman | Republican | |
| Kings | 7th | Maurice B. Flynn* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 8th | John H. Douglass* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 9th | Daniel W. Tallmadge | Republican | |
| Lewis | Lewis | Charles A. Chickering | Republican | |
| Livingston | Livingston | James W. Wadsworth* | Republican | on November 4, 1879, elected New York State Comptroller |
| Madison | 1st | Augustus L. Saunders | Republican | |
| Madison | 2nd | George Berry | Democrat | |
| Monroe | 1st | Samuel Beckwith | Republican | |
| Monroe | 2nd | Charles S. Baker | Republican | |
| Monroe | 3rd | Henry W. Davis | Democrat | |
| Montgomery | Montgomery | John Warner | Republican | |
| New York | 1st | James H. Madigan | Democrat | |
| New York | 2nd | Thomas F. Grady* | Democrat | |
| New York | 3rd | William H. McIntyre | Democrat | |
| New York | 4th | John Galvin* | Democrat | |
| New York | 5th | Thomas Bogan | Democrat | |
| New York | 6th | Jacob Seebacher* | Democrat | |
| New York | 7th | Isaac Israel Hayes* | Republican | |
| New York | 8th | Daniel Patterson* | Democrat | unsuccessfully contested by John E. Brodsky (R) |
| New York | 9th | George B. Deane, Sr. | Republican | |
| New York | 10th | Ferdinand Eidman | Republican | |
| New York | 11th | James M. Varnum | Republican | |
| New York | 12th | Maurice F. Holahan* | Democrat | |
| New York | 13th | Robert H. Strahan | Republican | |
| New York | 14th | P. Henry Dugro | Democrat | |
| New York | 15th | Michael J. Dougherty | Democrat | |
| New York | 16th | Edward P. Hagan | Democrat | |
| New York | 17th | Stephen N. Simonson | Republican | |
| New York | 18th | Joseph P. McDonough* | Democrat | |
| New York | 19th | Anthony Feehan | Democrat | |
| New York | 20th | Walter H. Ackerman | Republican | |
| New York | 21st | J. C. Julius Langbein | Republican | |
| Niagara | 1st | Thomas N. Van Valkenburgh | Republican | |
| Niagara | 2nd | James Low | Republican | |
| Oneida | 1st | Benjamin Allen | Republican | |
| Oneida | 2nd | Frank Sang | Republican | |
| Oneida | 3rd | Thomas D. Penfield | Democrat | |
| Oneida | 4th | H. Dwight Grant | Republican | |
| Onondaga | 1st | Thomas G. Alvord* | Republican | elected Speaker |
| Onondaga | 2nd | Samuel Willis* | Republican | |
| Onondaga | 3rd | Henry L. Duguid | Republican | |
| Ontario | 1st | John Robson | Republican | |
| Ontario | 2nd | Charles R. Case | Republican | |
| Orange | 1st | Morgan Shuit | Republican | |
| Orange | 2nd | Franklin R. Brodhead | Democrat | |
| Orleans | Orleans | Henry A. Glidden | Republican | |
| Oswego | 1st | George B. Sloan | Republican | |
| Oswego | 2nd | George E. Williams | Greenback | |
| Oswego | 3rd | William H. Steele | Republican | |
| Otsego | 1st | Azro Chase* | Republican | |
| Otsego | 2nd | Nathan Bridges | Republican | |
| Putnam | Putnam | Hamilton Fish II* | Republican | |
| Queens | 1st | William J. Youngs | Republican | |
| Queens | 2nd | William E. Pearse | Democrat | |
| Rensselaer | 1st | Francis N. Mann Jr. | Republican | |
| Rensselaer | 2nd | Eli Perry | Republican | |
| Rensselaer | 3rd | Thomas B. Simmons | Republican | |
| Richmond | Richmond | Erastus Brooks* | Democrat | |
| Rockland | Rockland | James W. Husted* | Republican | previously a member from Westchester County |
| St. Lawrence | 1st | Daniel Peck | Republican | |
| St. Lawrence | 2nd | A. Barton Hepburn* | Republican | |
| St. Lawrence | 3rd | Rufus S. Palmer* | Republican | |
| Saratoga | 1st | Edward Stewart | Republican | |
| Saratoga | 2nd | Daniel H. Deyoe* | Republican | |
| Schenectady | Schenectady | Daniel P. McQueen | Republican | |
| Schoharie | Schoharie | Duryea Beekman | Democrat | |
| Schuyler | Schuyler | Abram V. Mekeel* | Republican | |
| Seneca | Seneca | David H. Evans | Republican | |
| Steuben | 1st | Azariah C. Brundage* | Republican | |
| Steuben | 2nd | George R. Sutherland* | Republican | |
| Suffolk | Suffolk | Charles T. Duryea | Democrat | contested; seat vacated |
| Suffolk | Suffolk | George F. Carman | Republican | seated on February 6 |
| Sullivan | Sullivan | Roderick Morison | Democrat | |
| Tioga | Tioga | John Theodore Sawyer* | Republican | |
| Tompkins | Tompkins | Charles M. Titus | Republican | |
| Ulster | 1st | George H. Sharpe | Republican | |
| Ulster | 2nd | Theodore Millspaugh | Republican | |
| Ulster | 3rd | Leonard Davis | Democrat | |
| Warren | Warren | Barclay Thomas | Republican | |
| Washington | 1st | Abram Reynolds* | Republican | |
| Washington | 2nd | George L. Terry* | Republican | |
| Wayne | 1st | John A. Munson | Republican | |
| Wayne | 2nd | Jefferson Sherman | Republican | |
| Westchester | 1st | James L. Wells | Republican | |
| Westchester | 2nd | David Ogden Bradley | Republican | |
| Westchester | 3rd | David W. Travis | Republican | |
| Wyoming | Wyoming | Orange L. Tozier | Republican | |
| Yates | Yates | Joel M. Clark* | Republican | |

### Employees

* Clerk: Edward M. Johnson
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles A. Orr
* Doorkeeper: Henry Wheeler
* First Assistant Doorkeeper: Harrison Clark
* Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Michael Maher
* Assistant Doorkeeper: John Christie
* Stenographer: Worden E. Payne