112th New York State Legislature


The 112th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 1 to May 16, 1889, during the fifth year of David B. Hill'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 and Kings County. 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 Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The "United Labor" organization endorsed the Republican nominee for governor Warner Miller, but nominated own candidates for the other offices. The Prohibition Party and the Socialist Labor Party also nominated state tickets.

Elections

The New York state election, 1888 was held on November 6. Gov. David B. Hill and Lt. Gov. Edward F. Jones were re-elected. The only other statewide elective office up for election was also carried by a Democrat. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for governor, was: Democrats 650,000; Republicans/United Labor 631,000; Prohibition 30,000; and Socialist Labor 3,500.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 1, 1889; and adjourned on May 16.
Fremont Cole was re-elected Speaker with 76 votes against 47 for William F. Sheehan.
Jacob Sloat Fassett was elected President pro tempore of the State Senate.
On January 18, a grand jury in Albany refused to indict Assemblyman Charles Smith for perjury. The New York City Reform Club had accused Smith of having obtained his election by buying votes.

State Senate

Districts

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.
DistrictSenatorPartyNotes
1stSimeon S. Hawkins*Republican
2ndJames F. Pierce*Democrat
3rdEugene F. O'Connor*Republican
4thJacob Worth*Republican
5thMichael C. Murphy*Democrat
6thThomas F. GradyDemocratelected on December 28, 1888, to fill vacancy,
in place of Edward F. Reilly
7thGeorge F. Langbein*Democrat
8thCornelius Van Cott*Republicanseat vacated on May 1, upon taking
office as Postmaster of New York City
9thCharles A. Stadler*Democrat
10thJacob A. Cantor*DemocratMinority Leader
11thEugene S. Ives*Democrat
12thWilliam H. Robertson*Republican
13thvacantHenry R. Low died on December 1, 1888
13thPeter WardDemocratelected on January 29, 1889, to fill vacancy
14thJohn J. Linson*Democrat
15thGilbert A. Deane*Republican
16thMichael F. Collins*Democrat
17thHenry Russell*Republican
18thJohn Foley*Democrat
19thRowland C. Kellogg*Republican
20thGeorge Z. Erwin*Republican
21stGeorge B. Sloan*Republican
22ndHenry J. Coggeshall*Republican
23rdFrank B. Arnold*Republican
24thWilliam Lewis*Republican
25thFrancis Hendricks*Republican
26thWilliam L. Sweet*Republican
27thJ. Sloat Fassett*Republicanelected President pro tempore
28thJohn Raines*Republican
29thDonald McNaughton*Democrat
30thEdward C. Walker*Republican
31stJohn Laughlin*Republican
32ndCommodore P. Vedder*Republican

Employees

Assemblymen

The asterisk denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.

Employees