74th New York State Legislature


The 74th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7 to July 11, 1851, during the first year of Washington Hunt's governorship, in Albany.

Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1846, 32 Senators were elected in single-seat senatorial districts for a two-year term, the whole Senate being renewed biennially. The senatorial districts were made up of entire counties. 128 Assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts to a one-year term, the whole Assembly being renewed annually. The Assembly districts were made up of entire towns, or city wards, forming a contiguous area, all in the same county. The City and County of New York was divided into four senatorial districts, and 16 Assembly districts.
At this time there were two major political parties: the Democratic Party and the Whig Party. The Whigs were split into two opposing factions: the Seward/Weed faction and the "Silver Grays". The Anti-Rent Party mostly endorsed Whig or Democratic nominees. The radical abolitionists appeared as the Liberty Party.

Elections

The New York state election, 1850 was held on November 5.
Washington Hunt was elected Governor; and Sanford E. Church was elected Lieutenant Governor. The other three statewide elective offices up for election were carried by the Democrats.
82 Whigs, 44 Democrats and 2 Independents were elected to the State Assembly.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 7, 1851; and adjourned on April 17.
Henry J. Raymond was elected Speaker with 80 votes against 42 for Noble S. Elderkin. Richard U. Sherman was elected Clerk of the Assembly with 81 votes against 44 for the incumbent James R. Rose.
On February 4, the Legislature failed to elect a U.S. Senator to succeed Daniel S. Dickinson, and the seat became vacant on March 4, 1851.
On February 25, Joseph B. Varnum, Jr. was elected Speaker pro tempore, to preside over the Assembly during the absence of Speaker Raymond.
On March 3, Senator William A. Dart questioned the right of Marius Schoonmaker to keep his seat in the Senate. Schoonmaker had been elected to Congress at the last State election, but Congress would not actually meet until December. After some debate, the Senate decided on March 5 that Schoonmaker "is a member of the present Senate... and will remain so, until he accepts the office of member of Congress, or until he otherwise vacates his seat in the Senate."
On March 19, the Legislature elected Hamilton Fish to the vacant seat in the U.S. Senate.
On April 17, twelve Democratic state senators resigned, leaving the Senate without the necessary quorum of two-thirds to pass "An Act to provide for the completion of the Erie canal enlargement, and the Black River and Genesee Valley canals".
On May 27, a special election was held to fill the vacancies in the State Senate. Six of the resigned senators were re-elected; five vacancies were filled with men who later voted for the passage of the bill; and one election resulted in a tie.
The Legislature met for a special session on June 10, 1851; and adjourned on July 11.
Due to ill health, Speaker Raymond did not attend the special session, and Joseph B. Varnum Jr. was again elected Speaker pro tempore, to preside over the Assembly during the special session.
On June 24, the Canal Enlargement Bill was passed in the Senate by a vote of 22 to 8.
On July 2, the Whig majority admitted their party fellow Wiliam J. Gilbert to the vacant seat.

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. Caleb Lyon and Moses P. Hatch changed from the Assembly to the Senate between the regular and the special session.
DistrictSenatorPartyNotes
1stWilliam Horace Brown*Democratresigned on April 17; re-elected on May 27;
died on July 4, 1851
2ndJohn A. Cross*Whig
3rdRichard S. Williams*Whig
4thClarkson Crolius*Whig
5thJames W. Beekman*Whig
6thEdwin D. Morgan*Whigon March 29, elected President pro tempore
7thBenjamin Brandreth*Democrat
8thJohn Snyder*Democratresigned on April 17
8thJoseph HalsteadWhigon May 27, elected to fill vacancy, in place of Snyder
9thJames C. Curtis*Democratresigned on April 17; re-elected on May 27
10thMarius Schoonmaker*Whigon November 5, 1850, elected to the 32nd U.S. Congress;
resigned his seat in the State Senate on July 26, 1851
11thStephen H. Johnson*Whig
12thThomas B. Carroll*Democrat
13thJames M. Cook*Whigon February 10, elected President pro tempore
14thThomas Crook*Democrat
15thWilliam A. Dart*Democratresigned on April 17; re-elected on May 27
16thGeorge H. Fox*Democratresigned on April 17
16thJohn SanfordDemocraton May 27, elected to fill vacancy, in place of Fox
17thSidney Tuttle*Democratresigned on April 17; re-elected on May 27
18thJohn Noyes*Democratresigned on April 17; re-elected on May 27
19thCharles A. Mann*Democratresigned on April 17
19thBenjamin N. HuntingtonWhigon May 27, elected to fill vacancy, in place of Mann
20thAsahel C. Stone*Democratresigned on April 17
20thMoses P. HatchDemocraton April 17, resigned his seat in the Assembly;
on May 27, elected to fill vacancy, in place of Stone
21stAlanson Skinner*Democratresigned on April 17
21stCaleb LyonInd.on April 26, resigned his seat in the Assembly;
on May 27, elected to fill vacancy, in place of Skinner
22ndGeorge Geddes*Whig
23rdLevi Dimmick*Whigresigned on November 12, 1851
24thWilliam Beach*Whig
25thHenry B. Stanton*Democratresigned on April 17; re-elected on May 27
26thGeorge B. Guinnip*Democratresigned on April 17
26thWilliam J. GilbertWhigon July 2, seated by resolution of the State Senate to fill vacancy, in place of Guinnip
27thSamuel Miller*Whig
28thAlonzo S. Upham*Whig
29thCharles Colt*Whig
30thCharles D. Robinson*Whig
31stGeorge R. Babcock*Whig
32ndRobert Owen Jr.*Whig

Employees

Assemblymen

The asterisk denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.
Party affiliations follow the vote on Speaker.

Employees