# 149th New York State Legislature

The 149th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6 to April 23, 1926, during the fourth year of Al Smith's second tenure as Governor of New York, in Albany.

## Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1894, re-apportioned in 1917, 51 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 consisted either of one or more entire counties; or a contiguous area within a single county. The counties which were divided into more than one senatorial district were New York (nine districts), Kings (eight), Bronx (three), Erie (three), Monroe (two), Queens (two) and Westchester (two). 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 1925 New York state election was held on November 3. No statewide elective offices were up for election.
Assemblywoman Rhoda Fox Graves (Rep.), of Gouverneur, a former school teacher who after her marriage became active in women's organizations and politics, was re-elected, and remained the only woman legislator.

## Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 6, 1926; and adjourned on April 23.
Joseph A. McGinnies (Rep.) was re-elected Speaker.

## State Senate
### Districts

* 1st District: Nassau and Suffolk counties
* 2nd and 3rd District: Parts of Queens County, i.e. the Borough of Queens
* 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th District: Parts of Kings County, i.e. the Borough of Brooklyn
* 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th District: Parts of New York County, i.e. the Borough of Manhattan
* 21st, 22nd and 23rd District: Parts of Bronx County, i.e. the Borough of the Bronx
* 24th District: Richmond County, i.e. the Borough of Richmond (now the Borough of Staten Island), and Rockland County
* 25th District: Part of Westchester County
* 26th District: Cortlandt, Greenburgh, Mount Pleasant, Ossining and part of Yonkers; in Westchester County
* 27th District: Orange and Sullivan counties
* 28th District: Columbia, Dutchess and Putnam counties
* 29th District: Delaware, Greene and Ulster counties
* 30th District: Albany County
* 31st District: Rensselaer County
* 32nd District: Saratoga and Schenectady counties
* 33rd District: Clinton, Essex, Warren and Washington counties
* 34th District: Franklin and St. Lawrence counties
* 35th District: Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer and Lewis counties
* 36th District: Oneida County
* 37th District: Jefferson and Oswego counties
* 38th District: Onondaga County
* 39th District: Madison, Montgomery, Otsego and Schoharie counties
* 40th District: Broome, Chenango and Cortland counties
* 41st District: Chemung, Schuyler, Tioga and Tompkins counties
* 42nd District: Cayuga, Seneca and Wayne counties
* 43rd District: Ontario, Steuben and Yates counties
* 44th District: Allegany, Genesee, Livingston and Wyoming
* 45th and 46th District: Monroe County
* 47th District: Niagara and Orleans counties
* 48th, 49th and 50th District: Erie County
* 51st District: Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties

### 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 | George L. Thompson* | Republican | |
| 2nd | John L. Karle* | Republican | |
| 3rd | Peter J. McGarry* | Democrat | on November 2, 1926, elected Register of Queens Co. |
| 4th | Philip M. Kleinfeld* | Democrat | |
| 5th | Daniel F. Farrell* | Democrat | |
| 6th | James A. Higgins* | Democrat | |
| 7th | John A. Hastings* | Democrat | |
| 8th | William L. Love* | Democrat | |
| 9th | vacant | Frank E. Johnson was elected on November 3, 1925, to the Municipal Court | Frank E. Johnson was elected on November 3, 1925, to the Municipal Court |
| 9th | Charles E. Russell | Democrat | elected on January 7 to fill vacancy |
| 10th | Jeremiah F. Twomey* | Democrat | |
| 11th | Daniel J. Carroll* | Democrat | |
| 12th | vacant | Jimmy Walker was elected on November 3, 1925, as Mayor of New York City | Jimmy Walker was elected on November 3, 1925, as Mayor of New York City |
| 12th | Elmer F. Quinn | Democrat | elected on January 7 to fill vacancy |
| 13th | Thomas F. Burchill* | Democrat | |
| 14th | Bernard Downing* | Democrat | Minority Leader |
| 15th | Nathan Straus Jr.* | Democrat | |
| 16th | Thomas I. Sheridan* | Democrat | |
| 17th | Courtlandt Nicoll* | Republican | |
| 18th | Martin J. Kennedy* | Democrat | |
| 19th | Duncan T. O'Brien* | Democrat | |
| 20th | Michael E. Reiburn* | Democrat | |
| 21st | Henry G. Schackno* | Democrat | |
| 22nd | Benjamin Antin* | Democrat | |
| 23rd | John J. Dunnigan* | Democrat | |
| 24th | Thomas J. Walsh* | Democrat | |
| 25th | Walter W. Westall* | Republican | |
| 26th | Seabury C. Mastick* | Republican | |
| 27th | Caleb H. Baumes* | Republican | |
| 28th | J. Griswold Webb* | Republican | |
| 29th | Arthur F. Bouton* | Republican | |
| 30th | William T. Byrne* | Democrat | |
| 31st | John F. Williams* | Republican | |
| 32nd | Thomas C. Brown* | Republican | |
| 33rd | Mortimer Y. Ferris* | Rep./Dem. | |
| 34th | Warren T. Thayer* | Republican | |
| 35th | Jeremiah Keck* | Republican | |
| 36th | Henry D. Williams* | Republican | |
| 37th | Perley A. Pitcher* | Republican | |
| 38th | George R. Fearon* | Republican | |
| 39th | Willis Wendell* | Republican | |
| 40th | B. Roger Wales* | Republican | |
| 41st | James S. Truman* | Republican | |
| 42nd | Charles J. Hewitt* | Republican | |
| 43rd | Ernest E. Cole* | Rep./Soc. | on July 1, 1926, appointed Counsel to the State Education Dept. |
| 44th | John Knight* | Rep./Dem./Soc. | Temporary President |
| 45th | James L. Whitley* | Republican | |
| 46th | Homer E. A. Dick* | Republican | |
| 47th | William W. Campbell* | Rep./Dem. | |
| 48th | William J. Hickey* | Republican | |
| 49th | Leonard R. Lipowicz* | Republican | |
| 50th | Leonard W. H. Gibbs* | Republican | |
| 51st | Leigh G. Kirkland* | Rep./Soc. | |

### Employees

* Clerk: Ernest A. Fay
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles R. Hotaling

## State Assembly
### Assemblymen

Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."
| District | District | Assemblymen | Party | Notes |
| Albany | 1st | William J. Snyder | Democrat | |
| Albany | 2nd | John P. Hayes* | Democrat | |
| Albany | 3rd | Frederick B. Linen* | Republican | |
| Allegany | Allegany | Cassius Congdon* | Republican | |
| Bronx | 1st | Nicholas J. Eberhard* | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 2nd | William F. Smith | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 3rd | Julius S. Berg* | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 4th | Herman M. Albert | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 5th | Harry A. Samberg* | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 6th | Thomas J. McDonald* | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 7th | John F. Reidy* | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 8th | Joseph E. Kinsley* | Democrat | |
| Broome | 1st | Edmund B. Jenks* | Republican | Chairman of Codes |
| Broome | 2nd | Forman E. Whitcomb* | Republican | |
| Cattaraugus | Cattaraugus | James W. Watson* | Republican | |
| Cayuga | Cayuga | Sanford G. Lyon* | Republican | |
| Chautauqua | 1st | Adolf F. Johnson* | Republican | |
| Chautauqua | 2nd | Joseph A. McGinnies* | Republican | re-elected Speaker |
| Chemung | Chemung | Hovey E. Copley* | Republican | |
| Chenango | Chenango | Bert Lord* | Republican | |
| Clinton | Clinton | Ezra Trepanier | Republican | |
| Columbia | Columbia | Henry M. James | Republican | |
| Cortland | Cortland | Irving F. Rice* | Republican | |
| Delaware | Delaware | Ralph H. Loomis* | Republican | |
| Dutchess | 1st | Howard N. Allen* | Republican | |
| Dutchess | 2nd | John M. Hackett* | Republican | |
| Erie | 1st | John S. N. Sprague* | Republican | |
| Erie | 2nd | Henry W. Hutt* | Republican | |
| Erie | 3rd | Frank X. Bernhardt* | Republican | |
| Erie | 4th | John J. Meegan* | Democrat | |
| Erie | 5th | Ansley B. Borkowski* | Republican | |
| Erie | 6th | Charles A. Freiberg* | Republican | |
| Erie | 7th | Edmund F. Cooke* | Republican | |
| Erie | 8th | Nelson W. Cheney* | Republican | |
| Essex | Essex | Fred L. Porter* | Republican | Chairman of State Re-Organization |
| Franklin | Franklin | John E. Redwood | Republican | |
| Fulton and Hamilton | Fulton and Hamilton | Eberly Hutchinson* | Republican | Chairman of Ways and Means |
| Genesee | Genesee | Charles P. Miller* | Republican | |
| Greene | Greene | Ellis W. Bentley* | Republican | |
| Herkimer | Herkimer | Theodore L. Rogers* | Republican | |
| Jefferson | Jefferson | Jasper W. Cornaire* | Republican | |
| Kings | 1st | Charles F. Cline* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 2nd | Murray Hearn* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 3rd | Michael J. Gillen | Democrat | |
| Kings | 4th | George E. Dennen | Democrat | |
| Kings | 5th | John J. Cooney | Democrat | |
| Kings | 6th | George Blumberg | Republican | |
| Kings | 7th | John J. Howard* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 8th | Michael J. Reilly* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 9th | Richard J. Tonry* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 10th | William C. McCreery | Democrat | |
| Kings | 11th | Edward J. Coughlin* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 12th | Marcellus H. Evans* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 13th | William Breitenbach* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 14th | Harry Landau | Democrat | |
| Kings | 15th | Edward P. Doyle | Democrat | |
| Kings | 16th | Maurice Z. Bungard* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 17th | Edward E. Fay* | Republican | |
| Kings | 18th | Irwin Steingut* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 19th | Jerome G. Ambro* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 20th | Frank A. Miller* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 21st | Emory F. Dyckman | Republican | |
| Kings | 22nd | Jacob H. Livingston | Democrat | |
| Kings | 23rd | Joseph F. Ricca* | Republican | |
| Lewis | Lewis | Clarence L. Fisher* | Republican | |
| Livingston | Livingston | Lewis G. Stapley* | Republican | |
| Madison | Madison | John W. Gates* | Republican | |
| Monroe | 1st | Arthur T. Pammenter* | Republican | |
| Monroe | 2nd | Simon L. Adler* | Republican | Majority Leader |
| Monroe | 3rd | Cosmo A. Cilano* | Republican | |
| Monroe | 4th | Fred J. Slater* | Republican | |
| Monroe | 5th | W. Ray Austin* | Republican | |
| Montgomery | Montgomery | Samuel W. McCleary* | Republican | |
| Nassau | 1st | Edwin W. Wallace* | Republican | |
| Nassau | 2nd | F. Trubee Davison* | Republican | in July 1926, appointed as Asst. Secretary of War for Air |
| New York | 1st | Peter J. Hamill* | Democrat | |
| New York | 2nd | Frank R. Galgano* | Democrat | |
| New York | 3rd | Sylvester A. Dineen* | Democrat | |
| New York | 4th | Samuel Mandelbaum* | Democrat | |
| New York | 5th | Frank A. Carlin* | Democrat | |
| New York | 6th | Morris Weinfeld* | Democrat | |
| New York | 7th | John L. Buckley* | Democrat | |
| New York | 8th | Henry O. Kahan* | Democrat | |
| New York | 9th | John H. Conroy* | Democrat | |
| New York | 10th | Phelps Phelps* | Republican | |
| New York | 11th | Samuel I. Rosenman* | Democrat | |
| New York | 12th | John A. Byrnes | Democrat | |
| New York | 13th | John P. Nugent* | Democrat | |
| New York | 14th | Frederick L. Hackenburg* | Democrat | |
| New York | 15th | Samuel H. Hofstadter* | Republican | |
| New York | 16th | Maurice Bloch* | Democrat | Minority Leader |
| New York | 17th | Meyer Alterman* | Democrat | |
| New York | 18th | Vincent H. Auleta | Democrat | |
| New York | 19th | Abraham Grenthal | Republican | |
| New York | 20th | Louis A. Cuvillier* | Democrat | |
| New York | 21st | Albert Grossman | Democrat | |
| New York | 22nd | Joseph A. Gavagan* | Democrat | |
| New York | 23rd | A. Spencer Feld* | Democrat | |
| Niagara | 1st | Mark T. Lambert* | Republican | |
| Niagara | 2nd | Frank S. Hall* | Republican | |
| Oneida | 1st | Gordon C. Ferguson* | Republican | |
| Oneida | 2nd | Russell G. Dunmore* | Republican | |
| Oneida | 3rd | George J. Skinner* | Republican | |
| Onondaga | 1st | Horace M. Stone* | Republican | Chairman of Re-Apportionment |
| Onondaga | 2nd | Willis H. Sargent* | Republican | |
| Onondaga | 3rd | Richard B. Smith* | Republican | |
| Ontario | Ontario | Robert A. Catchpole* | Republican | |
| Orange | 1st | DeWitt C. Dominick* | Republican | |
| Orange | 2nd | Alexander G. Hall | Republican | |
| Orleans | Orleans | Frank H. Lattin* | Republican | |
| Oswego | Oswego | Victor C. Lewis* | Republican | |
| Otsego | Otsego | Frank M. Smith* | Republican | |
| Putnam | Putnam | D. Mallory Stephens | Republican | |
| Queens | 1st | Henry M. Dietz* | Democrat | |
| Queens | 2nd | John T. Hammond | Democrat | |
| Queens | 3rd | Alfred J. Kennedy* | Democrat | |
| Queens | 4th | Jere F. Ryan | Democrat | |
| Queens | 5th | William F. Brunner* | Democrat | |
| Queens | 6th | Paul P. Gallagher | Democrat | |
| Rensselaer | 1st | Harry M. Brooks | Republican | |
| Rensselaer | 2nd | William D. Thomas* | Republican | on November 2, 1926, elected Treasurer of Rensselaer Co. |
| Richmond | 1st | William S. Hart* | Democrat | |
| Richmond | 2nd | William L. Vaughan* | Democrat | |
| Rockland | Rockland | Walter S. Gedney* | Republican | |
| St. Lawrence | 1st | Rhoda Fox Graves* | Republican | Chairwoman of Public Institutions |
| St. Lawrence | 2nd | Walter L. Pratt* | Republican | |
| Saratoga | Saratoga | Burton D. Esmond* | Republican | |
| Schenectady | 1st | Charles W. Merriam* | Republican | |
| Schenectady | 2nd | William M. Nicoll* | Republican | |
| Schoharie | Schoharie | Kenneth H. Fake* | Republican | |
| Schuyler | Schuyler | Jacob W. Winters | Republican | |
| Seneca | Seneca | William H. Van Cleef* | Republican | |
| Steuben | 1st | Wilson Messer* | Republican | |
| Steuben | 2nd | Leon F. Wheatley* | Republican | |
| Suffolk | 1st | John G. Downs* | Republican | |
| Suffolk | 2nd | John Boyle Jr.* | Republican | |
| Sullivan | Sullivan | J. Maxwell Knapp* | Republican | |
| Tioga | Tioga | Daniel P. Witter* | Republican | |
| Tompkins | Tompkins | James R. Robinson* | Republican | |
| Ulster | Ulster | Millard Davis* | Republican | |
| Warren | Warren | Richard J. Bolton* | Republican | |
| Washington | Washington | Herbert A. Bartholomew* | Republican | |
| Wayne | Wayne | Harry A. Tellier* | Republican | |
| Westchester | 1st | Thomas Channing Moore* | Republican | |
| Westchester | 2nd | Herbert B. Shonk* | Republican | |
| Westchester | 3rd | Milan E. Goodrich* | Republican | |
| Westchester | 4th | Alexander H. Garnjost* | Republican | |
| Westchester | 5th | Arthur I. Miller | Democrat | |
| Wyoming | Wyoming | Webb A. Joiner* | Republican | |
| Yates | Yates | Edwin C. Nutt | Republican | |

### Employees

* Clerk: Fred W. Hammond