5th New York State Legislature

5th New York State Legislature
5th New York State Legislature
	Clinton House, Poughkeepsie (2007)
Overview
Legislative body	New York State Legislature
Jurisdiction	New York, United States
Term	July 1, 1781 – June 30, 1782
Senate
Members	24
President	Lt. Gov. Pierre Van Cortlandt
Assembly
Members	70 (de facto 65)
Speaker	Evert Bancker
Sessions
1st
1st	October 10 – November 23, 1781
2nd	February 21 – April 14, 1782

The 5th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from October 10, 1781, to April 14, 1782, during the fifth year of George Clinton's governorship, at Poughkeepsie.

Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1777, the State Senators were elected on general tickets in the senatorial districts, and were then divided into four classes. Six senators each drew lots for a term of 1, 2, 3 or 4 years and, beginning at the election in April 1778, every year six Senate seats came up for election to a four-year term. Assemblymen were elected countywide on general tickets to a one-year term, the whole assembly being renewed annually.

On May 8, 1777, the Constitutional Convention had appointed the senators from the Southern District, and the assemblymen from Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond and Suffolk counties—the area which was under British control—and determined that these appointees serve in the Legislature until elections could be held in those areas, presumably after the end of the American Revolutionary War. Vacancies among the appointed members in the Senate should be filled by the Assembly, and vacancies in the Assembly by the Senate.

Elections

The State elections were held from April 24 to 26, 1781. Under the determination by the Constitutional Convention, Senator Sir James Jay, whose seat was up for election, continued in office, as well as the assemblymen from Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond and Suffolk counties. Levi Pawling (Middle D.) and Alexander Webster (Eastern D.) were re-elected. John Haring (Middle D.), and ex-assemblymen Henry Oothoudt and William B. Whiting (Western D.) were also elected to the Senate. Ex-Assemblyman Thomas Palmer was elected in the Middle District to fill the vacancy caused by the expulsion of Ephraim Paine.^[1]

Sessions

The State Legislature met in Poughkeepsie, the seat of Dutchess County. The Senate met first on October 10, 1781, the Assembly on October 24; the Senate adjourned on November 3, the Assembly on November 23. The Assembly reconvened on February 21, 1782, the Senate on February 23; and both Houses adjourned on April 14. The seat of Sir James Jay was declared vacant when he joined the Loyalists, and at the end of the American Revolutionary War he went into exile in London.

State Senate

Districts

The Southern District (9 seats) consisted of Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk and Westchester counties.
The Middle District (6 seats) consisted of Dutchess, Orange and Ulster counties.
The Eastern District (3 seats) consisted of Charlotte, Cumberland and Gloucester counties.
The Western District (6 seats) consisted of Albany and Tryon counties.

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. In 1784, Charlotte Co. was renamed Washington Co., and Tryon Co. was renamed Montgomery Co.

Senators

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature.

District	Senators	Term left	Notes
Southern	Isaac Roosevelt*	1 year	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
	John Morin Scott*	1 year	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention; also Secretary of State of New York
	Jonathan Lawrence*	2 years	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
	(Lewis Morris)*	2 years	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention; did not attend
	Stephen Ward*	2 years	appointed by State Assembly
	William Floyd*	3 years	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
	William Smith*	3 years	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
	Isaac Stoutenburgh*	3 years	holding over on appointment by State Assembly; elected to the Council of Appointment
	Sir James Jay*	4 years	holding over on appointment by State Assembly; seat declared vacant from "inability to attend, being held a prisoner"
Middle	Henry Wisner*	1 year
	Thomas Palmer	2 years	elected to fill vacancy, in place of Ephraim Paine
	Zephaniah Platt*	2 years	elected to the Council of Appointment
	Arthur Parks*	3 years
	John Haring	4 years
	Levi Pawling*	4 years	died March 1782
Eastern	(Ebenezer Russell)*	1 year	did not attend
	(Elkanah Day)*^[2]	3 years	did not attend
	Alexander Webster*	4 years	elected to the Council of Appointment
Western	Jacob G. Klock*	1 years
	Abraham Yates Jr.*	1 years
	Abraham Ten Broeck	2 years	also Mayor of Albany
	Philip Schuyler	3 years	also New York State Surveyor General
	Henry Oothoudt	4 years	elected to the Council of Appointment
	William B. Whiting	4 years

Employees

Clerk: Robert Benson

State Assembly

Districts

The City and County of Albany (10 seats)
Charlotte County (4 seats)
Cumberland County (3 seats)
Dutchess County (7 seats)
Gloucester County (2 seats)
Kings County (2 seats)
The City and County of New York (9 seats)
Orange County (4 seats)
Queens County (4 seats)
Richmond County (2 seats)
Suffolk County (5 seats)
Tryon County (6 seats)
Ulster County (6 seats)
Westchester County (6 seats)

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. In 1784, Charlotte Co. was renamed Washington Co., and Tryon Co. was renamed Montgomery Co.

Assemblymen

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

County	Assemblymen	Notes
Albany	Matthew Adgate*
	Jacob Ford
	Philip Frisbie
	John Lansing Jr.*
	George Palmer
	Dirck Swart*
	Samuel Ten Broeck
	Israel Thompson
	Isaac Vrooman*
	Edmund Wells
Charlotte	David Hopkins*
	Hamilton McCollister*
	Matthew McWhorter*
	John Williams
Cumberland	none	No election returns from these counties^[3]
Gloucester	none	No election returns from these counties^[3]
Dutchess	Dirck Brinckerhoff
	Jonathan Dennis
	Cornelius Humfrey
	Ebenezer Husted
	Abraham Paine
	Thomas Storm
	Jacobus Swartwout*
Kings	William Boerum*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
Kings	Henry Williams*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
New York	Evert Bancker*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention; re-elected Speaker
	John Berrien*	holding over on appointment by the State Senate
	Abraham Brasher*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
	Daniel Dunscomb*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
	Robert Harpur*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
	Frederick Jay*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
	Abraham P. Lott*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
	Jacobus Van Zandt*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
	Peter P. Van Zandt*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
Orange	Jeremiah Clark
	John Hathorn
	John Stagg*
	John Suffern
Queens	Benjamin Birdsall*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
	Benjamin Coe*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
	Philip Edsall*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention; resigned on October 20, 1781; Nathaniel Tom was appointed by the State Senate on October 31, 1781, to fill the vacancy
	Daniel Lawrence*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
Richmond	Joshua Mersereau*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
Richmond	vacant
Suffolk	David Gelston*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
	Ezra L'Hommedieu*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
	Burnet Miller*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
	Thomas Tredwell*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
	Thomas Wickes*	holding over on appointment by Constitutional Convention
Tryon	Zephaniah Batchelor*
	Abraham Garrison*
	William Harper
	Isaac Merselis
	John Moore*
	William Petrie
Ulster	Johannes Bruyn
	Charles DeWitt
	Johannes Hardenbergh
	Abraham Hasbrouck
	James Hunter
	vacant
Westchester	Nathaniel Delivan
	Abijah Gilbert
	Zebediah Mills
	Nathan Rockwell*
	Thomas Thomas*
	Jonathan G. Tompkins*

Employees

Clerk: John McKesson

Notes

^ It is unclear how the terms in the Middle District were distributed. There were three vacancies, being two full terms and one short term—the terms of Levi Pawling and Jesse Woodhull had expired, and Paine had been expelled with 2 years left—and Pawling, Haring and Palmer were elected. Pawling died before the next Legislature. On January 21, 1784, the first day of the 7th New York State Legislature, Palmer claimed the seat for the full term, but his term was declared expired, and Haring continued to sit.
^ Elkanah Day is not listed among the senators in any session in the Civil List of 1858, which means that he did not attend any session, but it is certain that election returns were filed with the Secretary of State of New York in 1780, since he was elected to the Council of Appointment in 1782; the History of Eastern Vermont by Benjamin Homer Hall (Civil list appendix, page 768) lists him as a New York State Senator and stating "Commencement of Session September 10, 1781"
^ Cumberland and Gloucester counties seceded from the Province of New York in January 1777, and became part of the Vermont Republic, while the Constitutional Convention was still debating the new Constitution. The New York Constitution was approved in April 1777, not recognizing the secession. Neither county did file any election returns with the Secretary of State of New York in 1781.

Sources

The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) [see pg. 108 for Senate districts; pg. 111f for senators; pg. 148f for Assembly districts; pg. 160 for assemblymen]

[1] It is unclear how the terms in the Middle District were distributed. There were three vacancies, being two full terms and one short term—the terms of Levi Pawling and Jesse Woodhull had expired, and Paine had been expelled with 2 years left—and Pawling, Haring and Palmer were elected. Pawling died before the next Legislature. On January 21, 1784, the first day of the 7th New York State Legislature, Palmer claimed the seat for the full term, but his term was declared expired, and Haring continued to sit.

[2] Elkanah Day is not listed among the senators in any session in the Civil List of 1858, which means that he did not attend any session, but it is certain that election returns were filed with the Secretary of State of New York in 1780, since he was elected to the Council of Appointment in 1782; the History of Eastern Vermont by Benjamin Homer Hall (Civil list appendix, page 768) lists him as a New York State Senator and stating "Commencement of Session September 10, 1781"

[3] Cumberland and Gloucester counties seceded from the Province of New York in January 1777, and became part of the Vermont Republic, while the Constitutional Convention was still debating the new Constitution. The New York Constitution was approved in April 1777, not recognizing the secession. Neither county did file any election returns with the Secretary of State of New York in 1781.

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