# 98th New York State Legislature

The 98th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to May 22, 1875, during the first year of Samuel J. Tilden'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 appeared at this time, nominating Ex-Governor Myron H. Clark — who had urged the Legislature to enact Prohibition in New York in 1853, but the law was declared unconstitutional by the New York Court of Appeals — for Governor.

## Elections

The 1874 New York state election was held on November 3. Democrats Samuel J. Tilden and William Dorsheimer were elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor, defeating the incumbent Republicans John A. Dix and John C. Robinson. The other three statewide elective offices up for election were also carried by the Democrats. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Democratic 416,000; Republican 366,000; and Prohibition 12,000.

## Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 5, 1875; and adjourned on May 22.
Jeremiah McGuire (D) was elected Speaker.
On January 20, the Legislature elected Francis Kernan (D) to succeed U.S. Senator Reuben E. Fenton (R) for a six-year term, beginning on March 4, 1875.

## 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

### Members

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature.
| District | Senator | Party | Notes |
| 1st | John A. King* | Republican | |
| 2nd | John W. Coe* | Lib. Rep./Dem. | |
| 3rd | John C. Jacobs* | Democrat | |
| 4th | John Fox* | Democrat | |
| 5th | James W. Booth* | Republican | |
| 6th | Jacob A. Gross* | Democrat | |
| 7th | Thomas A. Ledwith* | Democrat | |
| 8th | Hugh H. Moore* | Democrat | unsuccessfully contested by Walter S. Pinckney (R) |
| 9th | William H. Robertson* | Republican | President pro tempore |
| 10th | Edward M. Madden* | Republican | |
| 11th | Benjamin Ray* | Democrat | |
| 12th | Roswell A. Parmenter* | Democrat | |
| 13th | Jesse C. Dayton* | Democrat | |
| 14th | Henry C. Connelly* | Republican | |
| 15th | Webster Wagner* | Republican | |
| 16th | Franklin W. Tobey* | Republican | |
| 17th | Wells S. Dickinson* | Republican | |
| 18th | Andrew C. Middleton | Ind./Lib. Rep./Dem. | |
| 19th | Samuel S. Lowery* | Republican | |
| 20th | Archibald C. McGowan* | Republican | |
| 21st | Charles Kellogg* | Republican | |
| 22nd | Daniel P. Wood* | Republican | |
| 23rd | James G. Thompson* | Republican | |
| 24th | John H. Selkreg* | Republican | |
| 25th | William B. Woodin* | Republican | |
| 26th | William Johnson* | Democrat | died on October 10, 1875 |
| 27th | George B. Bradley* | Democrat | |
| 28th | Jarvis Lord* | Democrat | |
| 29th | Dan H. Cole* | Republican | |
| 30th | Abijah J. Wellman* | Republican | |
| 31st | Albert P. Laning | Democrat | elected to fill vacancy, in place of John Ganson |
| 32nd | Albert G. Dow* | Republican | |

### Employees

* Clerk: Henry A. Glidden
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Daniel K. Schram
* Doorkeeper: Frederick M. Burton

## 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 | Peter Slingerland | Republican | |
| Albany | 2nd | Leopold C. G. Kshinka* | Democrat | |
| Albany | 3rd | Francis W. Vosburgh | Democrat | |
| Albany | 4th | Waters W. Braman* | Republican | |
| Allegany | Allegany | Orrin T. Stacy* | Republican | |
| Broome | Broome | George Sherwood* | Republican | |
| Cattaraugus | 1st | Commodore P. Vedder* | Republican | |
| Cattaraugus | 2nd | Samuel Scudder | Lib. Rep./Dem. | |
| Cayuga | 1st | Charles S. Beardsley | Democrat | |
| Cayuga | 2nd | Erastus H. Hussey* | Republican | |
| Chautauqua | 1st | Otis D. Hinckley | Republican | |
| Chautauqua | 2nd | Obed Edson | Democrat | |
| Chemung | Chemung | Jeremiah McGuire | Democrat | elected Speaker |
| Chenango | Chenango | Daniel M. Holmes | Democrat | |
| Clinton | Clinton | Shepard P. Bowen | Republican | |
| Columbia | 1st | Henry Lawrence* | Democrat | |
| Columbia | 2nd | Alonzo H. Farrar* | Republican | |
| Cortland | Cortland | Daniel E. Whitmore | Republican | |
| Delaware | 1st | Warren G. Willis | Republican | |
| Delaware | 2nd | George G. Decker | Republican | |
| Dutchess | 1st | James Mackin* | Democrat | |
| Dutchess | 2nd | Benjamin S. Broas | Democrat | |
| Erie | 1st | Patrick Hanrahan* | Democrat | |
| Erie | 2nd | William W. Lawson | Republican | |
| Erie | 3rd | Edward Gallagher | Republican | |
| Erie | 4th | Harry B. Ransom | Democrat | |
| Erie | 5th | William Alfred Johnson | Republican | |
| Essex | Essex | William E. Calkins | Republican | |
| Franklin | Franklin | John P. Badger* | Republican | |
| Fulton and Hamilton | Fulton and Hamilton | George W. Fay | Republican | |
| Genesee | Genesee | Newton H. Green | Republican | |
| Greene | Greene | Benjamin F. Barkley | Democrat | |
| Herkimer | Herkimer | Warner Miller* | Republican | |
| Jefferson | 1st | John F. Peck | Republican | |
| Jefferson | 2nd | George E. Yost | Republican | |
| Kings | 1st | Daniel Bradley | Ind. Dem. | |
| Kings | 2nd | John R. Kennaday | Democrat | |
| Kings | 3rd | Michael J. Coffey* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 4th | Tunis V. P. Talmage | Democrat | |
| Kings | 5th | John H. Burtis | Republican | |
| Kings | 6th | Jacob Worth* | Republican | |
| Kings | 7th | vacant | Democrat | Assemblyman-elect Stephen J. Colahan died on December 10, 1874 |
| Kings | 7th | Michael O'Keefe | Democrat | elected to fill vacancy |
| Kings | 8th | Bernard Silverman | Democrat | |
| Kings | 9th | John McGroarty* | Democrat | |
| Lewis | Lewis | James A. Merwin | Democrat | |
| Livingston | Livingston | James Faulkner Jr. | Democrat | |
| Madison | 1st | D. Gerry Wellington | Republican | |
| Madison | 2nd | George Berry | Democrat | |
| Monroe | 1st | Richard D. Cole | Democrat | |
| Monroe | 2nd | George Taylor* | Democrat | |
| Monroe | 3rd | Josiah Rich | Democrat | |
| Montgomery | Montgomery | Martin Schenck | Democrat | |
| New York | 1st | Nicholas Muller | Democrat | |
| New York | 2nd | William P. Kirk* | Democrat | |
| New York | 3rd | John C. Brogan | Democrat | |
| New York | 4th | Charles Reilly | Democrat | |
| New York | 5th | Warren C. Bennett* | Democrat | |
| New York | 6th | Timothy J. Campbell | Democrat | |
| New York | 7th | Frederick W. Seward | Republican | |
| New York | 8th | George A. Stauf | Democrat | |
| New York | 9th | William H. Gedney | Republican | |
| New York | 10th | Louis C. Waehner* | Democrat | |
| New York | 11th | Knox McAfee* | Republican | |
| New York | 12th | John Keenan | Democrat | |
| New York | 13th | A. Nelson Beach | Democrat | |
| New York | 14th | James Daly* | Democrat | |
| New York | 15th | Thomas Costigan | Democrat | |
| New York | 16th | John T. McGowan | Democrat | |
| New York | 17th | Leo C. Dessar | Democrat | |
| New York | 18th | Thomas Cooper Campbell | Democrat | |
| New York | 19th | Germain Hauschel | Democrat | |
| New York | 20th | Jacob Hess | Republican | |
| New York | 21st | John W. Smith | Democrat | |
| Niagara | 1st | Artemas W. Comstock* | Republican | |
| Niagara | 2nd | Orville C. Bordwell* | Republican | |
| Oneida | 1st | Richard U. Sherman | Lib. Rep./Dem. | |
| Oneida | 2nd | Silas T. Ives | Democrat | |
| Oneida | 3rd | Edward Lewis | Democrat | |
| Oneida | 4th | Harrison Lillybridge | Republican | |
| Onondaga | 1st | Thomas G. Alvord* | Republican | |
| Onondaga | 2nd | George Barrow* | Republican | |
| Onondaga | 3rd | Charles Tremain | Republican | |
| Ontario | 1st | Stephen H. Hammond* | Democrat | |
| Ontario | 2nd | Cyrillo S. Lincoln* | Republican | |
| Orange | 1st | James W. Miller | Democrat | |
| Orange | 2nd | Joseph D. Friend | Democrat | |
| Orleans | Orleans | John N. Wetherbee | Republican | died on March 22, 1875 |
| Oswego | 1st | Alanson S. Page | Democrat | |
| Oswego | 2nd | Willard Johnson* | Democrat | |
| Oswego | 3rd | Henry J. Daggett | Republican | |
| Otsego | 1st | William H. Ely* | Democrat | |
| Otsego | 2nd | James E. Cooke | Democrat | |
| Putnam | Putnam | William H. Christopher | Democrat | |
| Queens | 1st | L. Bradford Prince* | Republican | |
| Queens | 2nd | James M. Oakley* | Democrat | |
| Rensselaer | 1st | William V. Cleary* | Democrat | |
| Rensselaer | 2nd | William F. Taylor | Republican | |
| Rensselaer | 3rd | Jacob M. Witbeck* | Democrat | |
| Richmond | Richmond | Stephen D. Stephens Jr.* | Democrat | |
| Rockland | Rockland | James C. Brown | Democrat | |
| St. Lawrence | 1st | Seth G. Pope* | Republican | |
| St. Lawrence | 2nd | A. Barton Hepburn | Republican | |
| St. Lawrence | 3rd | Jonah Sanford* | Republican | |
| Saratoga | 1st | George West* | Republican | |
| Saratoga | 2nd | Nathaniel M. Houghton | Republican | |
| Schenectady | Schenectady | Samuel T. Benedict | Democrat | |
| Schoharie | Schoharie | John M. Roscoe | Democrat | |
| Schuyler | Schuyler | William H. Fish | Democrat | |
| Seneca | Seneca | William Hogan | Democrat | |
| Steuben | 1st | Stephen D. Shattuck* | Democrat | |
| Steuben | 2nd | Lucius C. Pierson | Democrat | |
| Suffolk | Suffolk | Nathan D. Petty* | Republican | |
| Sullivan | Sullivan | Adolphus E. Wenzel | Democrat | |
| Tioga | Tioga | James Bishop | Republican | |
| Tompkins | Tompkins | George W. Schuyler | Lib. Rep./Dem. | |
| Ulster | 1st | John Fream | Democrat | |
| Ulster | 2nd | Jacob D. Wurts | Democrat | |
| Ulster | 3rd | Charles H. Krack | Democrat | |
| Warren | Warren | Stephen Griffin | Democrat | |
| Washington | 1st | Alexander B. Law* | Republican | |
| Washington | 2nd | Emerson E. Davis* | Democrat | |
| Wayne | 1st | William H. Clark | Republican | |
| Wayne | 2nd | Allen S. Russell | Republican | |
| Westchester | 1st | Dennis R. Shiel | Democrat | |
| Westchester | 2nd | Charles M. Schieffelin | Democrat | |
| Westchester | 3rd | James W. Husted* | Republican | |
| Wyoming | Wyoming | Samuel W. Tewksbury* | Republican | |
| Yates | Yates | Hanford Struble | Republican | |

### Employees

* Clerk: Hiram Calkins
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Edward A. Brown
* Doorkeeper: George W. Irish
* Stenographer: Spencer C. Rodgers