120th New York State Legislature
| 120th New York State Legislature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
 New York State Capitol (1897) | |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | New York State Legislature | ||||
| Jurisdiction | New York, United States | ||||
| Term | January 1 – December 31, 1897 | ||||
| Senate | |||||
| Members | 50 | ||||
| President | Lt. Gov. Timothy L. Woodruff (R) | ||||
| Temporary President | Timothy E. Ellsworth (R) | ||||
| Party control | Republican (36-14) | ||||
| Assembly | |||||
| Members | 150 | ||||
| Speaker | James M. E. O'Grady (R) | ||||
| Party control | Republican (114-36) | ||||
| Sessions | |||||
| |||||
The 120th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6 to April 24, 1897, during the first year of Frank S. Black's governorship, in Albany.
Background
Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1894, 50 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 were made up of entire counties, except New York County (twelve districts), Kings County (seven districts), Erie County (three districts) and Monroe County (two districts). The Assembly districts were made up of contiguous area, all within the same county.
At the New York state election, 1895, the state officers and state senators were elected to an exceptional three-year term (for the sessions of 1896, 1897 and 1898), so that the election of these officers would be held, beginning in 1898, in even-numbered years, at the same time as the gubernatorial election.
At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Democrats were split into two factions: the majority supported Free silver and William Jennings Bryan for U.S. President; a minority supported the Gold standard and John M. Palmer for U.S. President. The Socialist Labor Party, the Prohibition Party, and the People's Party also nominated tickets.
Elections
The New York state election, 1896 was held on November 3. Congressman Frank S. Black was elected Governor; and Timothy L. Woodruff was elected Lieutenant Governor; both Republicans.
The only other statewide elective office up for election was also carried by a Republican. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Republican 788,000; Silver Democrats 570,000; Gold Democrats 27,000; Socialist Labor 18,000; Prohibition 17,000; and People's Party 5,000.
Sessions
The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 6, 1897; and adjourned on April 24.
James M. E. O'Grady (R) was elected Speaker with 112 votes against 34 for Daniel E. Finn (D).[1]
On January 19, the Legislature elected Thomas C. Platt (R) to succeed David B. Hill (D) as U.S. Senator from New York, for a six-year term beginning on March 4, 1897.
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.
Senators
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 | Richard Higbie* | Republican | Chairman of Agriculture |
| 2nd | Theodore Koehler* | Democrat | |
| 3rd | Frank Gallagher* | Democrat | |
| 4th | George W. Brush* | Republican | Chairman of Public Health |
| 5th | Michael J. Coffey* | Democrat | |
| 6th | Peter H. McNulty* | Democrat | |
| 7th | Patrick H. McCarren* | Democrat | |
| 8th | Albert A. Wray* | Republican | Chairman of Public Education |
| 9th | Julius L. Wieman* | Republican | |
| 10th | John F. Ahearn* | Democrat | |
| 11th | Timothy D. Sullivan* | Democrat | |
| 12th | Samuel J. Foley* | Democrat | |
| 13th | Bernard F. Martin* | Democrat | |
| 14th | Thomas F. Grady* | Democrat | |
| 15th | Frank D. Pavey* | Republican | Chairman of Revision |
| 16th | Louis Munzinger* | Democrat | |
| 17th | Charles B. Page* | Republican | |
| 18th | Maurice Featherson* | Democrat | |
| 19th | John Ford* | Republican | |
| 20th | Jacob A. Cantor* | Democrat | Minority Leader |
| 21st | Charles L. Guy* | Democrat | |
| 22nd | J. Irving Burns* | Republican | Chairman of Insurance |
| 23rd | Clarence Lexow* | Republican | Chairman of Judiciary |
| 24th | William C. Daley* | Republican | |
| 25th | Charles Davis* | Republican | |
| 26th | John Grant | Republican | elected to fill vacancy, in place of James Ballantine; Chairman of Public Printing |
| 27th | Hobart Krum* | Republican | Chairman of Forest, Fish and Game Laws |
| 28th | Edgar T. Brackett* | Republican | Chairman of Affairs of Villages |
| 29th | Myer Nussbaum* | Republican | Chairman of Privileges and Elections |
| 30th | LeGrand C. Tibbits* | Republican | |
| 31st | George Chahoon* | Republican | Chairman of Trades and Manufactures |
| 32nd | George R. Malby* | Republican | Chairman of Codes |
| 33rd | Walter L. Brown* | Republican | Chairman of Miscellaneous Corporations |
| 34th | Henry J. Coggeshall* | Ind. Rep. | |
| 35th | Joseph Mullin* | Republican | Chairman of Finance; died on September 1, 1897 |
| 36th | Horace White* | Republican | Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills |
| 37th | Nevada N. Stranahan* | Republican | Chairman of Affairs of Cities |
| 38th | William Elting Johnson* | Republican | Chairman of Military Affairs |
| 39th | Benjamin M. Wilcox* | Republican | Chairman of Penal Institutions |
| 40th | Edwin C. Stewart* | Republican | Chairman of Internal Affairs of Towns and Counties |
| 41st | John S. Sheppard* | Republican | Chairman of Roads and Bridges |
| 42nd | John Raines* | Republican | Chairman of Railroads |
| 43rd | Cornelius R. Parsons* | Republican | Chairman of Commerce and Navigation |
| 44th | Henry Harrison* | Republican | |
| 45th | Timothy E. Ellsworth* | Republican | President pro tempore; Chairman of Rules |
| 46th | Lester H. Humphrey* | Republican | Chairman of Banks |
| 47th | Charles Lamy* | Republican | Chairman of Canals |
| 48th | Simon Seibert* | Republican | |
| 49th | George Allen Davis* | Republican | Chairman of Indian Affairs |
| 50th | Frank W. Higgins* | Republican | Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment |
Employees
- Clerk: John S. Kenyon
- Sergeant-at-Arms: Garret J. Benson
- Doorkeeper: Nathan Lewis
- Stenographer: Edward Shaughnessy
- Journal Clerk: Lafayette B. Gleason
- Index Clerk: Ernest A. Fay
State Assembly
Assemblymen
Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."
| District | Assemblymen | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany | 1st | Robert G. Scherer* | Republican | Chairman of Judiciary |
| 2nd | James B. McEwan | Republican | ||
| 3rd | George T. Kelly* | Democrat | ||
| 4th | Jacob D. Leversee | Republican | ||
| Allegany | Frederick A. Robbins* | Republican | ||
| Broome | 1st | Charles E. Fuller | Republican | |
| 2nd | Charles F. Tupper* | Republican | ||
| Cattaraugus | 1st | Charles H. Miller* | Republican | |
| 2nd | Girvease A. Matteson* | Republican | ||
| Cayuga | 1st | W. Clarence Sheldon* | Republican | |
| 2nd | Eugene B. Rounds* | Republican | ||
| Chautauqua | 1st | Frederick R. Peterson | Republican | |
| 2nd | S. Frederick Nixon* | Republican | Majority Leader; Chairman of Ways and Means | |
| Chemung | John H. Holbert | Republican | ||
| Chenango | Jotham P. Allds* | Republican | Chairman of Excise | |
| Clinton | Everett C. Baker | Republican | Chairman of State Prisons | |
| Columbia | Robert Hoes | Republican | ||
| Cortland | Franklin P. Saunders* | Republican | Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills | |
| Delaware | Delos H. Mackey* | Republican | ||
| Dutchess | 1st | John A. Hanna* | Republican | |
| 2nd | Augustus B. Gray* | Republican | Chairman of Banks | |
| Erie | 1st | Cornelius Coughlin* | Democrat | |
| 2nd | Henry W. Hill* | Republican | Chairman of Revision | |
| 3rd | William Maloney | Democrat | ||
| 4th | William Schneider | Republican | ||
| 5th | Charles Braun* | Republican | Chairman of Charitable and Religious Societies | |
| 6th | Nicholas J. Miller | Republican | ||
| 7th | Henry L. Steiner* | Republican | Chairman of Privileges and Elections | |
| 8th | Heman M. Blasdell* | Republican | ||
| Essex | James H. Pierce | Republican | previously a member from Franklin Co. | |
| Franklin | Thomas A. Sears* | Republican | Chairman of Claims | |
| Fulton and Hamilton | Byron D. Brown* | Republican | ||
| Genesee | Archie D. Sanders* | Republican | Chairman of Labor and Industries | |
| Greene | Newton Sweet* | Republican | ||
| Herkimer | Oliver H. Springer* | Republican | ||
| Jefferson | 1st | Walter Zimmerman* | Republican | Chairman of Unfinished Business |
| 2nd | Cornelius J. Clark* | Republican | ||
| Kings | 1st | Thomas H. Wagstaff* | Republican | |
| 2nd | John McKeown* | Democrat | ||
| 3rd | Thomas H. Cullen* | Democrat | ||
| 4th | George W. Wilson* | Republican | Chairman of Trades and Manufactures | |
| 5th | John C. Knaup | Republican | ||
| 6th | Edward H. M. Roehr | Republican | ||
| 7th | George H. Parshall | Republican | ||
| 8th | James Lennon, Jr.* | Democrat | ||
| 9th | John J. Cain* | Democrat | ||
| 10th | William L. Perkins* | Republican | ||
| 11th | Lucien S. Bayliss | Republican | ||
| 12th | Henry E. Abell | Republican | ||
| 13th | Orrion L. Forrester* | Republican | ||
| 14th | John M. Zurn* | Democrat | ||
| 15th | Joseph Murray | Republican | ||
| 16th | Edward C. Brennan* | Republican | ||
| 17th | Henry Marshall* | Republican | ||
| 18th | George J. Soper | Republican | ||
| 19th | Frederick Schmid* | Democrat | ||
| 20th | Frederick G. Hughes* | Republican | ||
| 21st | Henry S. French | Democrat | ||
| Lewis | John S. Koster* | Republican | Chairman of Military Affairs | |
| Livingston | Otto Kelsey* | Republican | ||
| Madison | Robert J. Fish | Republican | ||
| Monroe | 1st | Merton E. Lewis | Republican | |
| 2nd | James M. E. O'Grady* | Republican | elected Speaker; Chairman of Rules | |
| 3rd | William W. Armstrong* | Republican | Chairman of Codes | |
| 4th | Frederick E. Gott | Republican | ||
| Montgomery | Edward L. Schmidt* | Republican | ||
| New York | 1st | Daniel E. Finn* | Democrat | Minority Leader |
| 2nd | Thomas J. Barry* | Democrat | ||
| 3rd | William H. Leonard* | Democrat | ||
| 4th | Patrick H. Roche | Democrat | ||
| 5th | Richard Van Cott | Republican | ||
| 6th | Timothy P. Sullivan | Democrat | ||
| 7th | Edward W. Hart* | Democrat | ||
| 8th | Charles S. Adler* | Republican | ||
| 9th | James F. Maccabe* | Democrat | ||
| 10th | Jeremiah J. Sullivan | Republican | ||
| 11th | William H. Gledhill* | Democrat | ||
| 12th | Joseph Schulum* | Democrat | ||
| 13th | Patrick F. Trainor* | Democrat | ||
| 14th | Jacob Fritz* | Democrat | ||
| 15th | Thomas F. Myers* | Democrat | ||
| 16th | Benjamin Hoffman* | Democrat | ||
| 17th | John A. Dempsey | Democrat | ||
| 18th | John F. Daly | Democrat | ||
| 19th | Robert Mazet | Republican | ||
| 20th | John P. Corrigan* | Democrat | ||
| 21st | George C. Austin* | Republican | Chairman of Affairs of Cities | |
| 22nd | Daniel D. Tooher | Democrat | ||
| 23rd | Richard Gilleland | Democrat | ||
| 24th | John B. Fitzgerald* | Democrat | ||
| 25th | Patrick H. Murphy* | Republican | Chairman of Public Health | |
| 26th | Patrick J. Andrews* | Democrat | ||
| 27th | Francis E. Laimbeer* | Republican | ||
| 28th | Joseph I. Green* | Democrat | ||
| 29th | Lawrence E. Brown | Republican | ||
| 30th | George W. Meyer, Jr.* | Democrat | ||
| 31st | Harvey T. Andrews* | Republican | ||
| 32nd | Thomas F. Donnelly* | Democrat | ||
| 33rd | James P. Degnan | Republican | ||
| 34th | Philip W. Reinhard, Jr. | Republican | ||
| 35th | Douglas Mathewson | Republican | ||
| Niagara | 1st | Henry E. Warner* | Republican | |
| 2nd | Frank A. Dudley* | Republican | Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment | |
| Oneida | 1st | George E. Philo | Republican | |
| 2nd | William Cary Sanger* | Republican | Chairman of Public Education | |
| 3rd | William B. Graves* | Republican | Chairman of Indian Affairs | |
| Onondaga | 1st | William J. Bellen | Republican | |
| 2nd | Edward G. Ten Eyck | Republican | ||
| 3rd | Joseph Bondy* | Republican | Chairman of Canals | |
| 4th | Edwin M. Wells* | Republican | ||
| Ontario | Murray Benham | Republican | ||
| Orange | 1st | Louis F. Goodsell* | Republican | Chairman of Electricity, Gas and Water Supply |
| 2nd | Louis Bedell* | Republican | Chairman of Trust Investigation | |
| Orleans | Fred L. Downs* | Republican | Chairman of Affairs of Villages | |
| Oswego | 1st | Louis P. Taylor* | Republican | Chairman of Federal Relations |
| 2nd | Thomas M. Costello* | Republican | ||
| Otsego | Charles B. Gorham* | Republican | Chairman of Public Lands and Forestry | |
| Putnam | Emerson W. Addis | Republican | ||
| Queens | 1st | Thomas F. Kennedy | Democrat | |
| 2nd | Harvey Stewart McKnight | Republican | ||
| 3rd | Morton Cromwell* | Republican | ||
| Rensselaer | 1st | Edward McGraw* | Republican | Chairman of Public Institutions |
| 2nd | William Hutton, Jr. | Democrat | ||
| 3rd | George Anderson* | Republican | ||
| Richmond | George Garby | Republican | ||
| Rockland | Frederick L. Whritner | Republican | ||
| St. Lawrence | 1st | Ira C. Miles* | Republican | |
| 2nd | Martin V. B. Ives* | Republican | Chairman of Agriculture | |
| Saratoga | George W. Kavanaugh | Republican | ||
| Schenectady | Thomas W. Winne* | Republican | ||
| Schoharie | George M. Palmer | Democrat | ||
| Schuyler | Oliver H. Budd* | Republican | ||
| Seneca | Harry M. Glen | Republican | Chairman of Public Printing | |
| Steuben | 1st | James S. Harrison* | Republican | Chairman of Soldiers' Home |
| 2nd | Joel Clark* | Republican | ||
| Suffolk | 1st | Erastus F. Post* | Republican | |
| 2nd | Carll S. Burr, Jr.* | Republican | ||
| Sullivan | George McLaughlin | Republican | ||
| Tioga | Daniel P. Witter* | Republican | Chairman of Internal Affairs | |
| Tompkins | Frederick E. Bates* | Republican | ||
| Ulster | 1st | William S. Van Keuren* | Republican | Chairman of Commerce and Navigation |
| 2nd | Harcourt J. Pratt | Republican | ||
| Warren | Taylor J. Eldridge* | Republican | Chairman of Railroads | |
| Washington | William R. Hobbie* | Republican | Chairman of Fisheries and Game | |
| Wayne | George S. Horton* | Republican | Chairman of General Laws | |
| Westchester | 1st | Alfred E. Smith | Republican | |
| 2nd | Richard S. Emmet Jr. | Republican | died on February 7, 1897 | |
| 3rd | James W. Husted* | Republican | Chairman of Insurance | |
| Wyoming | Mortimer N. Cole* | Republican | ||
| Yates | Miles W. Raplee | Republican | ||
Employees
- Clerk: Archie E. Baxter
- Sergeant-at-Arms: James C. Crawford
- Doorkeeper: Joseph Bauer
- Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Eugene L. Demers
- Stenographer: Henry C. Lammert
- Assistant Journal Clerk: Sanford W. Smith
- Chief of the Revision Room: Jean L. Burnett
- Committee Clerk: William L. Coughtry
- General Committee Clerk: Jacob A. Livingston
Notes
- ^ O'GRADY WANTS FEWER BILLS in NYT on January 7, 1897
Sources
- The New York Red Book compiled by Edgar L. Murlin (published by James B. Lyon, Albany NY, 1897; see pg. 133–177 for senators' bios; between pg. 136 and 137 for senators' portraits; pg. 179–279 for assemblymen's bios; between pg. 184 and 185 for assemblymen's portraits; pg. 404 for list of senators; pg. 513 for list of assemblymen; and pg. 712–716 for senate districts)
