List of members of the United States House of Representatives in the 8th Congress by seniority

This is a list of members of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 8th United States Congress by seniority. For the most part, representatives are ranked by the beginning of their terms in office.

As an historical article, the districts and party affiliations listed reflect those during the 8th Congress (March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1805). Seats and party affiliations on similar lists for other Congresses will be different for certain members.

This article describes the criteria for seniority in the House of Representatives and sets out the list of members by seniority. It is prepared on the basis of the interpretation of seniority applied to the House of Representatives in the 112th Congress. In the absence of information to the contrary, it is presumed that the twenty-first-century practice is identical to the seniority customs used during the 8th Congress.

House seniority

Seniority in the House, for Congressmen with unbroken service, depends on the date on which the members first term began. That date is either the start of the Congress (4 March in odd numbered years, for the era up to and including the 73rd Congress starting in 1933) or the date of a special election during the Congress. Since many members start serving on the same day as others, ranking between them is based on alphabetical order by the last name of the congressman.

Congressmen, in early Congresses, were often elected after the legal start of the Congress. Such representatives are attributed with unbroken seniority, from the legal start of the congressional term, if they were the first person elected to a seat in a Congress. The date of the election is indicated in a note.

The seniority date is normally taken from the members entry in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, except where the date given is the legal start of the Congress and the actual election (for someone who was not the first person elected to the seat in that Congress) was later. The date of election is taken from United States Congressional Elections 1788-1997. In a few instances the latter work provides dates, for the start and end of terms, which correct those in the Biographical Directory.

The Biographical Directory normally uses the date of a special election, as the seniority date. However, mostly in early Congresses, the date of the member taking his seat can be the one given. The date of the special election is mentioned in a note to the list below, when that date is not used as the seniority date by the Biographical Directory.

Representatives who returned to the House, after having previously served, are credited with service equal to one less than the total number of terms they served. When a representative has served a prior term of less than two terms (i.e. prior term minus one equals less than one), he is ranked above all others whose service begins on the same day.

Leadership

In this Congress the only formal leader was the Speaker of the House. A Speakership ballot was held on October 17, 1803 and Nathaniel Macon (DR-NC) was re-elected for a second consecutive term.

Standing Committees

The House created its first standing committee, on April 13, 1789. There were five standing committees, listed in the rules initially used by the 8th Congress. In addition an Accounts Committee was created.

Committees, in this period, were appointed for a session at a time by the Speaker.

This list refers to the standing committees of the House in the 8th Congress, the year of establishment as a standing committee, the number of members assigned to the committee and the dates of appointment in each session, the end of the session and its chairman. Chairmen, who were re-appointed after serving in the previous Congress, are indicated by an *.

The first session was October 17, 1803-March 27, 1804 (163 days) and the second session was November 5, 1804-March 3, 1805 (119 days).

No.	Committee	From	Mbrs	Appointed	Chairman
01	Accounts	1803	3	December 27, 1803-March 27, 1804	Peter Early (DR-GA)
				November 7, 1804-March 3, 1805
02	Claims	1794	7	October 17, 1803-March 27, 1804	*John C. Smith (F-CT) a
				November 5, 1804-March 3, 1805
					David Holmes (DR-VA)
03	Commerce and Manufactures	1795	7	October 17, 1803-March 27, 1804	Samuel L. Mitchill (DR-NY) b
				November 5, 1804-March 3, 1805
					Jacob Crowninshield (DR-MA)
04	Elections	1789	7	October 17, 1803-March 27, 1804	William Findley (DR-PA)
				November 5, 1804-March 3, 1805
05	Revisal and Unfinished Business	1795	3	October 17, 1803-March 27, 1804	Samuel Tenney (F-NH)
				November 5, 1804-March 3, 1805
06	Ways and Means	1802	7	October 17, 1803-March 27, 1804	*John Randolph (DR-VA)
				November 5, 1804-March 3, 1805

Notes:-

• a John C. Smith was excused, from service on the Claims Committee, on November 6, 1804. David Holmes was the next ranking member of the Committee (and was the Chairman in part of the 9th Congress) so it is presumed that he replaced Smith as Chairman.
• b Samuel L. Mitchill resigned from the House on November 22, 1804. Jacob Crowninshield was the next ranking member of the Commerce and Manufactures Committee (and was the Chairman in the 9th Congress) so it is presumed that he replaced Mitchill as Chairman.

List of Representatives by seniority

A numerical rank is assigned to each of the 142 members initially elected to the 8th Congress. Other members, who were not the first person elected to a seat but who joined the House during the Congress, are not assigned a number.

Four Representatives-elect were not sworn in, as one died and three resigned. The list below includes the Representatives-elect (with name in italics), with the seniority they would have held if they had been sworn in.

Party designations used in this article are DR for Democratic-Republican members and F for Federalist representatives. Designations used for service in the first three congresses are (A) for Anti-Administration members and (P) for Pro-Administration representatives.

U.S. House Seniority

Rank	Representative	Party	District	Seniority date	Notes
Seven consecutive terms
001	Andrew Gregg	DR	PA-5	March 4, 1791	(A) 1791-95
002	Nathaniel Macon	DR	NC-6		(A) 1791-95. Elected to this Congress: August 11, 1803. Speaker of the House.
Six consecutive terms
003	Anthony New	DR	VA-11	March 4, 1793	(A) 1793-95. Elected to this Congress: April 1803. Last term while serving as a member of the House until 12th Congress.
004	Philip Van Cortlandt	DR	NY-4		(A) 1793-95
005	Peleg Wadsworth	F	MA-15		(P) 1793-95
Six non-consecutive terms
006	Daniel Hiester	DR	MD-4	March 4, 1801	Previously served (PA-A) 1789-95 and (PA-DR) 1795-July 1, 1796 while still as a member of the House. Elected to this Congress: October 3, 1803. Died on March 7, 1804 while still serving as a member of the House.
Five consecutive terms
007	Roger Griswold	F	CT-al	March 4, 1795	Last term while serving as a member of the House (elected to 9th Congress but did not serve)
008	Joseph B. Varnum	DR	MA-4
009	Samuel W. Dana	F	CT-al	January 3, 1797
Five non-consecutive terms
010	Thomas Claiborne	DR	VA-17	March 4, 1801	Previously served (A) 1793-95 and (DR) 1795-99 while as a member of the House.. Elected to this Congress: April 1803. Last term while serving as a member of the House.
011	William Findley	DR	PA-8	March 4, 1803	Previously served (A) 1791-95 and (DR) 1795-99 while as a member of the House. Chairman: Elections.
012	John Milledge	DR	GA-al	March 23, 1801	Previously served (A) November 22, 1792–93 and (DR) 1795-99 while as a member of the House.. Resigned, as Representative-elect, to become Governor: c. November 9, 1802.
Four consecutive terms
013	Matthew Clay	DR	VA-14	March 4, 1797	Elected to this Congress: April 1803
014	John Dawson	DR	VA-10
015	John Dennis	F	MD-8		Elected to this Congress: October 3, 1803. Last term while serving as a member of the House.
016	John Fowler	DR	KY-5		Elected to this Congress: August 2, 1803
017	John A. Hanna	DR	PA-4
018	David Holmes	DR	VA-4		Elected to this Congress: April 1803. Chairman: Claims (1804–05).
019	Richard Stanford	DR	NC-8		Elected to this Congress: August 11, 1803
020	Abram Trigg	DR	VA-6		Elected to this Congress: April 1803
021	John J. Trigg	DR	VA-13		Elected to this Congress: April 1803. Died on May 17, 1804 while still serving as a member of the House.
022	Joseph Hiester	DR	PA-3	December 1, 1798	Last term while serving as a member of the House until 14th Congress
023	Robert Brown	DR	PA-2	December 4, 1798
Four non-consecutive terms
024	John Clopton	DR	VA-22	March 4, 1801	Previously served (DR) 1795-99 while as a member of the House. Elected to this Congress: April 1803.
025	James Gillespie	DR	NC-5	March 4, 1803	Previously served (A) 1793-95 and (DR) 1795-99. Elected to this Congress: August 11, 1803. Died on January 11, 1805 while still serving as a member of the House.
026	John Smilie	DR	PA-9	March 4, 1799	Previously served (A) 1793-95 while as a member of the House.
027	Richard Winn	DR	SC-5	January 24, 1803	Previously served (A) 1793-95 and (DR) 1795-97 while as a member of the House.
Three consecutive terms
028	Willis Alston	DR	NC-2	March 4, 1799	Elected to this Congress: August 11, 1803
029	Phanuel Bishop	DR	MA-9
030	John Davenport	F	CT-al
031	Edwin Gray	DR	VA-19		Elected to this Congress: April 1803
032	Benjamin Huger	F	SC-3		Last term while serving as a member of the House until 14th Congress
033	Michael Leib	DR	PA-1
034	Joseph H. Nicholson	DR	MD-7		Elected to this Congress: October 3, 1803
035	John Randolph	DR	VA-15		Elected to this Congress: April 1803. Chairman: Ways and Means.
036	Lemuel Williams	F	MA-8		Last term
037	John Smith	DR	NY-1	February 6, 1800	Resigned on February 23, 1804 while still serving as a member of the House.
038	John C. Smith	F	CT-al	November 17, 1800	Chairman: Claims (1803–04)
039	Samuel Tenney	F	NH-al	December 8, 1800	Chairman: Revisal and Unfinished Business
040	John Stewart	DR	PA-6	January 15, 1801	Last term
Three non-consecutive terms
041	David Bard	DR	PA-4	March 4, 1803	Previously served (DR) 1795-99 while still serving as a member of the House.
042	James Holland	DR	NC-11	March 4, 1801	Previously served (DR) 1795-97 while as a member of the House. Elected to this Congress: August 11, 1803.
043	Matthew Lyon	DR	KY-1	March 4, 1803	Previously served (DR-VT) 1797-1801 while as a member of the House. Elected to this Congress: August 2, 1803.
044	Thomson J. Skinner	DR	MA-12		Previously served (DR) January 27, 1797-99. Resigned on August 10, 1804 while still serving as a member of the House.
Two consecutive terms
045	John Archer	DR	MD-6	March 4, 1801	Elected to this Congress: October 3, 1803
046	William Butler	DR	SC-2
047	John Campbell	F	MD-1		Elected to this Congress: October 3, 1803
048	Manasseh Cutler	F	MA-3		Last term
049	Ebenezer Elmer	DR	NJ-al		Elected to this Congress: December 13–14, 1803
050	William Eustis	DR	MA-1		Last term until 17th Congress
051	William Helms	DR	NJ-al		Elected to this Congress: December 13–14, 1803
052	Thomas Lowndes	F	SC-1		Last term while still serving as a member of the House.
053	Samuel L. Mitchill	DR	NY-3		Chairman: Commerce and Manufactures (1803–04). Resigned, to become US Senator: November 22, 1804. Elected to 9th Congress, but did not serve.
054	Thomas Moore	DR	SC-7
055	James Mott	DR	NJ-al		Elected to this Congress: December 13–14, 1803. Last term while serving as a member of the House.
056	Thomas Newton, Jr.	DR	VA-20		Elected to this Congress: April 1803
057	Elias Perkins	F	CT-al		Resigned as Representative-elect: c. August 1803
058	Thomas Plater	F	MD-3		Elected to this Congress: October 3, 1803. Last term while still serving as a member of the House.
059	John Smith	DR	VA-3		Elected to this Congress: April 1803
060	Henry Southard	DR	NJ-al		Elected to this Congress: December 13–14, 1803
061	Joseph Stanton, Jr.	DR	RI-al
062	David Thomas	DR	NY-12
063	Philip R. Thompson	DR	VA-9		Elected to this Congress: April 1803
064	Killian K. Van Rensselaer	F	NY-9
065	Calvin Goddard	F	CT-al	May 14, 1801	Last term (elected to 9th Congress but did not serve)
066	Richard Cutts	DR	MA-14	June 22, 1801
067	Seth Hastings	F	MA-10	August 24, 1801
068	Benjamin Tallmadge	F	CT-al	September 21, 1801
069	William Hoge	DR	PA-10	October 13, 1801	Resigned on October 15, 1804 while still serving as a member of the House. Last term until 10th Congress.
070	Isaac Van Horne	DR	PA-2		Last term while serving as a member of the House.
071	William Dickson	DR	TN-al	October 30, 1801	Elected to this Congress: August 4–5, 1803
072	Walter Bowie	DR	MD-2	March 24, 1802	Elected to this Congress: October 3, 1803. Last term.
073	Samuel Hunt	F	NH-al	December 6, 1802	Last term while serving as a member of the House.
074	David Meriwether	DR	GA-al
075	Samuel Thatcher	F	MA-16		Last term while serving as a member of the House.
076	Thomas Wynns	DR	NC-1	December 7, 1802	Elected to this Congress: August 11, 1803
077	Peter Early	DR	GA-al	January 10, 1803	Chairman: Accounts
Two non-consecutive terms
078	Wade Hampton	DR	SC-4	March 4, 1803	Previously served (DR) 1795-97 while as a member of the House. Last term while serving as a member of the House.
079	Walter Jones	DR	VA-8		Previously served (DR) 1797-99 while as a member of the House. Elected to this Congress: April 1803.
080	Joseph Winston	DR	NC-12		Previously served (A) 1793-95 while as a member of the House. Elected to this Congress: August 11, 1803.
One term
081	Nathaniel Alexander	DR	NC-10	March 4, 1803	Elected to this Congress: August 11, 1803
082	Isaac Anderson	DR	PA-3
083	George M. Bedinger	DR	KY-6		Elected to this Congress: August 2, 1803.
084	Silas Betton	F	NH-al
085	William Blackledge	DR	NC-4		Elected to this Congress: August 11, 1803
086	Isaac Bloom	DR	NY-6		Died, as Representative-elect: April 26, 1803
087	Adam Boyd	DR	NJ-al		Elected to this Congress: December 13–14, 1803. Only term until 10th Congress while serving as a member of the House.
088	John Boyle	DR	KY-2		Elected to this Congress: August 2, 1803
089	Phineas Bruce	F	MA-17		Only term while serving as a member of the House.
090	George W. Campbell	DR	TN-al		Elected to this Congress: August 4–5, 1803
091	John Cantine	F	NY-7		Resigned, as Representative-elect, before the Congress began*
092	Levi Casey	DR	SC-6
093	William Chamberlain	F	VT-3		Only term while serving as a member of the House until 11th Congress
094	Martin Chittenden	F	VT-4		Elected to this Congress: May 9, 1803
095	Clifton Clagett	F	NH-al		Only term while serving as a member of the House until 15th Congress
096	Joseph Clay	DR	PA-1
097	Frederick Conrad	DR	PA-2
098	Jacob Crowninshield	DR	MA-2		Chairman: Commerce and Manufactures (1804–05)
099	Thomas Dwight	F	MA-5		Only term while serving as a member of the House.
100	John B. Earle	DR	SC-8
101	James Elliot	F	VT-2
102	John W. Eppes	DR	VA-16		Elected to this Congress: April 1803
103	Peterson Goodwyn	DR	VA-18
104	Thomas Griffin	F	VA-12		Elected to this Congress: April 1803. Only term while serving as a member of the House.
105	Gaylord Griswold	F	NY-15		Only term while serving as a member of the House.
106	Samuel Hammond	DR	GA-al		Resigned on February 2, 1805 while still serving as a member of the House.
107	David Hough	F	NH-al
108	John G. Jackson	DR	VA-1		Elected to this Congress: April 1803
109	William Kennedy	DR	NC-3		Elected to this Congress: August 11, 1803. Only term while serving as a member of the House until 11th Congress
110	Nehemiah Knight	DR	RI-al
111	Joseph Lewis, Jr.	F	VA-7		Elected to this Congress: April 1803
112	Thomas Lewis, Jr.	F	VA-5		Elected to this Congress: April 1803. Unseated, after an election contest: March 5, 1804.
113	Henry W. Livingston	F	NY-8
114	John B. C. Lucas	DR	PA-11
115	Andrew McCord	DR	NY-5		Only term while serving as a member of the House.
116	William McCreery	DR	MD-5		Elected to this Congress: October 3, 1803
117	Nahum Mitchell	F	MA-7		Only term while serving as a member of the House.
118	Nicholas R. Moore	DR	MD-5		Elected to this Congress: October 3, 1803
119	Jeremiah Morrow	DR	OH-al		First representative of new state. Elected to this Congress: June 21, 1803.
120	Gideon Olin	DR	VT-1
121	Beriah Palmer	DR	NY-11		Only term while serving as a member of the House.
122	John Paterson	DR	NY-16
123	Oliver Phelps	DR	NY-17
124	Samuel D. Purviance	F	NC-7		Elected to this Congress: August 11, 1803. Only term while serving as a member of the House.
125	Thomas M. Randolph	DR	VA-21		Elected to this Congress: April 1803
126	John Rea	DR	PA-7
127	John Rhea	DR	TN-al		Elected to this Congress: August 4–5, 1803
128	Jacob Richards	DR	PA-1
129	Caesar A. Rodney	DR	DE-al		Only term while serving as a member of the House until 17th Congress
130	Erastus Root	DR	NY-14		Only term while serving as a member of the House until 11th Congress
131	Thomas Sammons	DR	NY-13
132	Thomas Sandford	DR	KY-4		Elected to this Congress: August 2, 1803
133	Joshua Sands	F	NY-2		Only term while serving as a member of the House until 19th Congress
134	Ebenezer Seaver	DR	MA-13
135	James Sloan	DR	NJ-al		Elected to this Congress: December 13–14, 1803
136	William Stedman	F	MA-11
137	James Stephenson	F	VA-2		Elected to this Congress: April 1803. Only term while serving as a member of the House until 11th Congress
138	Samuel Taggart	F	MA-6		Elected to this Congress: April 3, 1803
139	George Tibbits	F	NY-10		Only term while serving as a member of the House.
140	Matthew Walton	DR	KY-3		Elected to this Congress: August 2, 1803
141	John Whitehill	DR	PA-3
142	Marmaduke Williams	DR	NC-9		Elected to this Congress: August 11, 1803
Members joining the House, after the start of the Congress
...	Josiah Hasbrouck	DR	NY-7	April 28, 1803	Special election: April 26–28, 1803. Took seat: October 17, 1803. Only term while serving as a member of the House until 15th Congress
...	Simeon Baldwin	F	CT-al	September 5, 1803	Special election: September 5, 1803. Only term while serving as a member of the House.
...	Joseph Bryan	DR	GA-al	October 3, 1803	Special election
...	Daniel C. Verplanck	DR	NY-6	October 17, 1803	Special election: September 14–16, 1803
...	Andrew Moore	DR	VA-5	March 5, 1804	Previously served (A) 1789-95 and (DR) 1796-97 while as a member of the House. Seated after election contest. Resigned upon appointment as US Senator: November 6, 1804.
...	John Hoge	DR	PA-10	November 2, 1804	Special election. Only term.
...	Christopher H. Clark	DR	VA-13	November 5, 1804	Special election: October 1804
...	Simon Larned	DR	MA-12		Special election: September 17, 1804. Only term while serving as a member of the House.
...	Samuel Riker	DR	NY-1		Special election: April 24–26, 1804. Only term while serving as a member of the House until 10th Congress.
...	Roger Nelson	DR	MD-4	November 6, 1804	Special election: October 1, 1804
...	Alexander Wilson	DR	VA-5	December 4, 1804	Special election: November 13, 1804
...	George Clinton, Jr.	DR	NY-3	February 14, 1805	Special election: January 2–4, 1805
Non voting member
a	William Lattimore	-	MS-al	March 4, 1803	Delegate from Mississippi Territory

See also

• 8th United States Congress
• List of United States Senators in the 8th Congress by seniority

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

• United States Congressional Elections 1788-1997, by Michael J. Dubin (McFarland and Company 1998) ISBN 0-7864-0283-0

External links

• House Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress
• House of Representatives list of members of the 8th Congress