# 123rd New York State Legislature

The 123rd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3 to April 6, 1900, during the second year of Theodore Roosevelt's governorship, in Albany.

## Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1894, 50 Senators and 150 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 (twelve districts), Kings County (seven districts), Erie County (three districts) and Monroe County (two districts). The Assembly districts were made up of contiguous area, all within the same county.
At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

## Elections

The New York state election, 1899, was held on November 7. No statewide elective offices were up for election.

## Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 3, 1900, and adjourned on April 6.
S. Frederick Nixon (R) was re-elected Speaker, with 92 votes against 57 for J. Franklin Barnes (D).

## State Senate
### Districts

* 1st District: Richmond and Suffolk counties
* 2nd District: Queens and Nassau counties
* 3rd District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Ward of Brooklyn, as constituted in 1894
* 4th District: 7th, 13th, 19th and 21st Ward of Brooklyn, as constituted in 1894
* 5th District: 8th, 10th, 12th and 30th Ward of Brooklyn, and the annexed former Town of Gravesend, as constituted in 1894
* 6th District: 9th, 11th, 20th and 22nd Ward of Brooklyn, as constituted in 1894
* 7th District: 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th Ward of Brooklyn, as constituted in 1894
* 8th District: 23rd, 24th, 25th and 29th Ward of Brooklyn; and the annexed former Town of Flatlands, as constituted in 1894
* 9th District: 18th, 26th, 27th and 28th Ward of Brooklyn, as constituted in 1894
* 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st District: Parts of the City of New York, defined geographically by their bordering streets, regardless of Wards or Assembly districts
* 22nd District: Westchester County
* 23rd District: Orange and Rockland counties
* 24th District: Columbia, Dutchess and Putnam and counties
* 25th District: Greene and Ulster counties
* 26th District: Chenango, Delaware and Sullivan counties
* 27th District: Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery and Schoharie counties
* 28th District: Saratoga, Schenectady and Washington counties
* 29th District: Albany County
* 30th District: Rensselaer County
* 31st District: Clinton, Essex and Warren counties
* 32nd District: Franklin and St. Lawrence counties
* 33rd District: Otsego and Herkimer counties
* 34th District: Oneida County
* 35th District: Jefferson and Lewis counties
* 36th District: Onondaga County
* 37th District: Oswego and Madison counties
* 38th District: Broome, Cortland and Tioga counties
* 39th District: Cayuga and Seneca counties
* 40th District: Chemung, Schuyler and Tompkins counties
* 41st District: Steuben and Yates counties
* 42nd District: Ontario and Wayne counties
* 43rd District: 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 17th and 18th Ward of Rochester; and the towns of Brighton, Henrietta, Irondequoit, Menden, Penfield, Perinton, Pittsford, Rush and Webster, in Monroe County
* 44th District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 15th, 19th and 20th Ward of Rochester; and the towns of Chili, Clarkson, Gates, Greece, Hamlin, Ogden, Parma, Riga, Sweden and Wheatland, in Monroe County
* 45th District: Genesee, Niagara and Orleans counties
* 46th District: Allegany, Livingston and Wyoming counties
* 47th District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 15th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd and 24th Ward of Buffalo
* 48th District: 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 16th Ward of Buffalo
* 49th District: 17th, 18th and 25th Ward of the City of Buffalo; and all area in Erie County outside Buffalo
* 50th District: Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties
Note: In 1897, New York County (the boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx), Kings County (the borough of Brooklyn), Richmond County (the borough of Staten Island) and the Western part of Queens County (the borough of Queens) were consolidated into the present-day City of New York. The Eastern part of Queens County (the non-consolidated part) was separated in 1899 as Nassau County. Parts of the 1st and 2nd Assembly districts of Westchester County were annexed by New York City in 1895, and became part of the Borough of the Bronx in 1898.

### Members

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature.
Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."
| District | Senator | Party | Notes |
| 1st | John L. Havens* | Democrat | |
| 2nd | James Norton* | Democrat | |
| 3rd | Thomas H. Cullen* | Democrat | |
| 4th | David Floyd Davis* | Republican | Chairman of Military Affairs |
| 5th | Michael J. Coffey* | Democrat | |
| 6th | William J. La Roche* | Democrat | |
| 7th | Patrick H. McCarren* | Democrat | |
| 8th | Henry Marshall* | Republican | Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills |
| 9th | Joseph Wagner* | Democrat | |
| 10th | John F. Ahearn* | Democrat | |
| 11th | Timothy D. Sullivan* | Democrat | |
| 12th | Samuel J. Foley* | Democrat | |
| 13th | Bernard F. Martin* | Democrat | |
| 14th | Thomas F. Grady* | Democrat | Minority Leader |
| 15th | Nathaniel A. Elsberg* | Republican | Chairman of Revision |
| 16th | Louis Munzinger* | Democrat | |
| 17th | George W. Plunkitt* | Democrat | |
| 18th | Maurice Featherson* | Democrat | |
| 19th | John Ford* | Republican | Chairman of Commerce and Navigation |
| 20th | Thomas F. Donnelly* | Democrat | |
| 21st | Richard H. Mitchell* | Democrat | |
| 22nd | William J. Graney* | Democrat | |
| 23rd | Louis F. Goodsell* | Republican | Chairman of Affairs of Villages |
| 24th | Henry S. Ambler* | Republican | Chairman of Agriculture |
| 25th | Jacob Rice* | Democrat | |
| 26th | William L. Thornton* | Republican | Chairman of Privileges and Elections |
| 27th | Hobart Krum* | Republican | Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment |
| 28th | Edgar T. Brackett* | Republican | Chairman of Judiciary |
| 29th | Curtis N. Douglas* | Democrat | |
| 30th | Frank M. Boyce* | Democrat | |
| 31st | George Chahoon* | Republican | Chairman of Trades and Manufactures |
| 32nd | George R. Malby* | Republican | Chairman of Codes |
| 33rd | James D. Feeter* | Republican | Chairman of Internal Affairs of Towns and Counties |
| 34th | Henry J. Coggeshall* | Republican | Chairman of Miscellaneous Corporations |
| 35th | Elon R. Brown* | Republican | Chairman of Forest, Fish, and Game Laws |
| 36th | Horace White* | Republican | Chairman of Public Education |
| 37th | Nevada N. Stranahan* | Republican | Chairman of Affairs of Cities |
| 38th | William Elting Johnson* | Republican | Chairman of Public Health |
| 39th | Benjamin M. Wilcox* | Republican | Chairman of Penal Institutions |
| 40th | Charles T. Willis* | Republican | Chairman of Indian Affairs |
| 41st | Franklin D. Sherwood* | Republican | Chairman of Public Printing |
| 42nd | John Raines* | Republican | Chairman of Railroads |
| 43rd | Cornelius R. Parsons* | Republican | Chairman of Insurance |
| 44th | William W. Armstrong* | Republican | Chairman of Roads and Bridges |
| 45th | Timothy E. Ellsworth* | Republican | President pro tempore; Chairman of Rules |
| 46th | Lester H. Humphrey* | Republican | Chairman of Banks |
| 47th | William F. Mackey* | Democrat | |
| 48th | Samuel J. Ramsperger* | Democrat | |
| 49th | George Allen Davis* | Republican | Chairman of Canals |
| 50th | Frank W. Higgins* | Republican | Chairman of Finance |

### Employees

* Clerk: James S. Whipple
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Henry Jacquilard
* Doorkeeper: John E. Gorss
* Stenographer: A. B. Sackett
* Journal Clerk: Lafayette B. Gleason
* Index Clerk: Ernest A. Fay
* Clerk to the Committee on Finance: Girvease A. Matteson

## State Assembly

Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

### Assemblymen

| District | District | Assemblymen | Party | Notes |
| Albany | 1st | William L. Coughtry* | Republican | Chairman of Insurance |
| Albany | 2nd | James B. McEwan* | Republican | Chairman of Banks |
| Albany | 3rd | George T. Kelly* | Democrat | |
| Albany | 4th | Edward McCreary | Republican | |
| Allegany | Allegany | Almanzo W. Litchard* | Republican | Chairman of Agriculture |
| Broome | 1st | James T. Rogers* | Republican | Chairman of Excise |
| Broome | 2nd | John H. Swift | Republican | |
| Cattaraugus | 1st | William E. Wheeler | Republican | Chairman of Public Lands and Forestry |
| Cattaraugus | 2nd | Albert T. Fancher* | Republican | Chairman of Indian Affairs |
| Cayuga | 1st | Ernest G. Treat | Republican | |
| Cayuga | 2nd | George S. Fordyce* | Republican | Chairman of Public Printing |
| Chautauqua | 1st | J. Samuel Fowler* | Republican | Chairman of State Prisons |
| Chautauqua | 2nd | S. Frederick Nixon* | Republican | re-elected Speaker; Chairman of Rules |
| Chemung | Chemung | Charles H. Knipp | Republican | |
| Chenango | Chenango | Jotham P. Allds* | Republican | Majority Leader; Chairman of Ways and Means |
| Clinton | Clinton | Charles E. Johnson | Republican | |
| Columbia | Columbia | Martin M. Kittel | Republican | |
| Cortland | Cortland | George S. Sands* | Republican | |
| Delaware | Delaware | Delos Axtell* | Republican | Chairman of Fisheries and Game |
| Dutchess | 1st | John T. Smith* | Republican | |
| Dutchess | 2nd | William A. Tripp* | Republican | Chairman of Public Institutions |
| Erie | 1st | John H. Bradley | Democrat | |
| Erie | 2nd | Henry W. Hill* | Republican | Chairman of Canals |
| Erie | 3rd | George Geoghan | Democrat | |
| Erie | 4th | William Metzler | Republican | |
| Erie | 5th | Henry Streifler* | Democrat | |
| Erie | 6th | Nicholas J. Miller | Republican | |
| Erie | 7th | John K. Patton* | Republican | Chairman of Federal Relations |
| Erie | 8th | Elijah Cook | Republican | |
| Essex | Essex | Orlando Beede* | Republican | |
| Franklin | Franklin | Halbert D. Stevens | Republican | |
| Fulton and Hamilton | Fulton and Hamilton | William Harris | Republican | |
| Genesee | Genesee | John J. Ellis* | Republican | Chairman of Affairs of Villages |
| Greene | Greene | Sylvester B. Sage | Democrat | |
| Herkimer | Herkimer | Erwin E. Kelley* | Republican | |
| Jefferson | 1st | Morgan Bryan* | Republican | |
| Jefferson | 2nd | Charles O. Roberts* | Republican | |
| Kings | 1st | John Hill Morgan | Republican | |
| Kings | 2nd | John McKeown* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 3rd | James J. McInerney* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 4th | Charles H. Cotton* | Republican | Chairman of Military Affairs |
| Kings | 5th | Abram C. DeGraw* | Republican | Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment |
| Kings | 6th | John Harvey Waite | Republican | |
| Kings | 7th | John D. Holsten | Democrat | |
| Kings | 8th | Thomas J. Farrell* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 9th | John J. Cain* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 10th | Charles E. Fiske | Democrat | |
| Kings | 11th | Joseph A. Guider* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 12th | Frank J. Price | Republican | |
| Kings | 13th | George Siems* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 14th | Thomas P. Hawkins | Democrat | |
| Kings | 15th | Charles Juengst* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 16th | Edward C. Brennan* | Republican | Chairman of Commerce and Navigation |
| Kings | 17th | Harris Wilson* | Republican | |
| Kings | 18th | Jacob D. Remsen | Republican | |
| Kings | 19th | Conrad Hasenflug | Democrat | |
| Kings | 20th | William F. Delaney | Democrat | |
| Kings | 21st | Joseph H. Adams | Republican | |
| Lewis | Lewis | John L. Smith | Republican | |
| Livingston | Livingston | Otto Kelsey* | Republican | Chairman of Affairs of Cities |
| Madison | Madison | Robert J. Fish* | Republican | Chairman of Judiciary |
| Monroe | 1st | Merton E. Lewis* | Republican | Chairman of Public Education |
| Monroe | 2nd | Adolph J. Rodenbeck* | Republican | Chairman of Claims |
| Monroe | 3rd | Richard Gardiner* | Republican | |
| Monroe | 4th | Benjamin F. Gleason* | Republican | |
| Montgomery | Montgomery | Alphonso Walrath | Republican | |
| New York | 1st | Michael Halpin | Democrat | |
| New York | 2nd | James A. Rierdon* | Democrat | |
| New York | 3rd | Michael T. Sharkey* | Democrat | |
| New York | 4th | Patrick H. Roche* | Democrat | |
| New York | 5th | Nelson H. Henry* | Republican | Chairman of Public Health |
| New York | 6th | Timothy P. Sullivan* | Democrat | |
| New York | 7th | John F. Maher* | Democrat | |
| New York | 8th | Isidor Cohn | Democrat | |
| New York | 9th | N. Taylor Phillips* | Democrat | |
| New York | 10th | Julius Harburger* | Democrat | |
| New York | 11th | John J. O'Connor* | Democrat | |
| New York | 12th | Leon Sanders* | Democrat | |
| New York | 13th | Patrick F. Trainor* | Democrat | |
| New York | 14th | Louis Meister* | Democrat | |
| New York | 15th | James E. Smith* | Democrat | |
| New York | 16th | Samuel Prince | Democrat | |
| New York | 17th | James J. Fitzgerald | Democrat | |
| New York | 18th | Charles P. Dillon* | Democrat | |
| New York | 19th | Perez M. Stewart | Ind. Dem. | |
| New York | 20th | Henry C. Honeck | Democrat | |
| New York | 21st | Edward H. Fallows* | Republican | Chairman of Privileges and Elections |
| New York | 22nd | Joseph Baum* | Democrat | |
| New York | 23rd | Maurice M. Minton | Democrat | |
| New York | 24th | John B. Fitzgerald* | Democrat | |
| New York | 25th | John A. Weekes Jr. | Republican | Chairman of Codes |
| New York | 26th | John J. O'Connell* | Democrat | |
| New York | 27th | Gherardi Davis* | Republican | |
| New York | 28th | Joseph I. Green* | Democrat | |
| New York | 29th | Moses R. Ryttenberg | Democrat | |
| New York | 30th | Samuel F. Hyman | Democrat | |
| New York | 31st | vacant | | Assemblyman-elect Edward C. Stone (D) died on December 8, 1899 |
| New York | 31st | Samuel S. Slater | Republican | elected on January 23 to fill vacancy |
| New York | 32nd | John Poth Jr.* | Democrat | |
| New York | 33rd | John J. Egan* | Democrat | |
| New York | 34th | John J. Scanlon | Democrat | |
| New York | 35th | William E. Morris | Democrat | |
| Niagara | 1st | John T. Darrison* | Republican | Chairman of Unfinished Business |
| Niagara | 2nd | Jay S. Rowe* | Republican | |
| Oneida | 1st | William J. Sullivan* | Democrat | |
| Oneida | 2nd | Louis M. Martin* | Republican | Chairman of Internal Affairs |
| Oneida | 3rd | Edward M. Marson | Republican | |
| Onondaga | 1st | Edward V. Baker | Republican | |
| Onondaga | 2nd | William Herrick | Democrat | |
| Onondaga | 3rd | Abraham Z. Hyman | Democrat | |
| Onondaga | 4th | John T. Delaney* | Republican | |
| Ontario | Ontario | Jean L. Burnett* | Republican | Chairman of General Laws |
| Orange | 1st | James G. Graham* | Republican | |
| Orange | 2nd | Louis Bedell* | Republican | Chairman of Railroads |
| Orleans | Orleans | William W. Phipps | Republican | |
| Oswego | 1st | Thomas D. Lewis* | Republican | Chairman of Trades and Manufactures |
| Oswego | 2nd | Thomas M. Costello* | Republican | Chairman of Labor and Industries |
| Otsego | Otsego | Andrew R. Smith | Republican | |
| Putnam | Putnam | William W. Everett | Republican | |
| Queens | 1st | Charles C. Wissel* | Democrat | |
| Queens | 2nd | Cyrus B. Gale* | Democrat | |
| Queens and Nassau | Queens and Nassau | George W. Doughty* | Republican | |
| Rensselaer | 1st | Hugh Galbraith | Republican | |
| Rensselaer | 2nd | John F. Ahearn | Republican | |
| Rensselaer | 3rd | Michael Russell* | Republican | Chairman of Charitable and Religious Societies |
| Richmond | Richmond | George Metcalfe | Democrat | |
| Rockland | Rockland | Frank P. Demarest | Democrat | |
| St. Lawrence | 1st | Charles S. Plank | Republican | |
| St. Lawrence | 2nd | Benjamin A. Babcock* | Republican | |
| Saratoga | Saratoga | George H. West* | Republican | |
| Schenectady | Schenectady | Andrew J. McMillan* | Republican | |
| Schoharie | Schoharie | Daniel D. Frisbie | Democrat | |
| Schuyler | Schuyler | J. Franklin Barnes | Democrat | Minority Leader |
| Seneca | Seneca | Israel Y. Larzelere | Republican | |
| Steuben | 1st | Frank C. Platt | Republican | Chairman of Soldiers' Home |
| Steuben | 2nd | Hyatt C. Hatch* | Republican | Chairman of Revision |
| Suffolk | 1st | Joseph N. Hallock* | Republican | |
| Suffolk | 2nd | Regis H. Post* | Republican | |
| Sullivan | Sullivan | Edwin R. Dusinbery | Republican | |
| Tioga | Tioga | Daniel P. Witter* | Republican | Chairman of Electricity, Gas and Water Supply |
| Tompkins | Tompkins | Benn Conger | Republican | |
| Ulster | 1st | Robert A. Snyder* | Republican | Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills |
| Ulster | 2nd | Thomas Snyder | Republican | |
| Warren | Warren | Charles H. Hitchcock* | Republican | |
| Washington | Washington | Samuel B. Irwin | Republican | |
| Wayne | Wayne | Frederick W. Griffith | Republican | |
| Westchester | 1st | John J. Sloane* | Democrat | |
| Westchester | 2nd | Alford W. Cooley | Republican | |
| Westchester | 3rd | James K. Apgar* | Republican | |
| Wyoming | Wyoming | Charles J. Gardner | Republican | |
| Yates | Yates | Edward M. Sawyer* | Republican | |

### Employees

* Clerk: Archie E. Baxter
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Frank W. Johnston
* Doorkeeper: Thomas F. Murphy
* First Assistant Doorkeeper: Charles R. Hotaling
* Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Roswell P. Warren
* Stenographer: Henry C. Lammert
* Assistant Clerk: Ray B. Smith
* Librarian: John R. Yale
* Assistant Doorkeeper: Eugene L. Demers