100th New York State Legislature

The 100th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to May 24, 1877, during the first year of Lucius Robinson's governorship, in Albany.

100th New York State Legislature
← 99th 101st →
The Old State Capitol (1879)
Overview
Legislative body	New York State Legislature
Jurisdiction	New York, United States
Term	January 1 – December 31, 1877
Senate
Members	32
President	Lt. Gov. William Dorsheimer (D)
Temporary President	William H. Robertson (R)
Party control	Republican (19-13)
Assembly
Members	128
Speaker	George B. Sloan (R)
Party control	Republican (71-57)
Sessions
1st January 2 – May 24, 1877

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 (five districts) and Kings County (two districts). The Assembly districts were made up of entire towns, or city wards,[1] forming a contiguous area, all within the same county.

At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Prohibition Party and the Greenback Party also nominated tickets.

Elections

The New York state election, 1876 was held on November 7. The Democratic incumbent State Comptroller Lucius Robinson was elected Governor, and his running mate William Dorsheimer was re-elected Lieutenant Governor. The other three statewide elective offices up for election were also carried by the Democrats. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Democratic 520,000; Republican 489,000; Prohibition 3,400; and Greenback 1,400.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 2, 1877; and adjourned on May 24.

George B. Sloan (R) was elected Speaker with 69 votes against 57 for Luke F. Cozans (D).

On April 3, the Legislature re-elected Superintendent of Public Instruction Neil Gilmour to a term of three years.[2]

The Senate met for a special session at Saratoga; and adjourned on August 18.

On August 17, Superintendent of the New York State Banking Department DeWitt C. Ellis was removed from office.[3]

State Senate

Districts

• 1st District: Queens, Richmond and Suffolk counties
• 2nd District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 11th, 13th, 15th, 19th and 20th wards of the City of Brooklyn
• 3rd District: 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 17th and 18th wards of the City of Brooklyn; and all towns in Kings County
• 4th District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 13th and 14th wards of New York City
• 5th District: 8th, 9th, 15th and 16th wards of New York City
• 6th District: 10th, 11th and 17th wards of New York City
• 7th District: 18th, 20th and 21st wards of New York City
• 8th District: 12th, 19th and 22nd wards of New York City
• 9th District: Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties
• 10th District: Orange and Sullivan counties
• 11th District: Columbia and Dutchess counties
• 12th District: Rensselaer and Washington counties
• 13th District: Albany County
• 14th District: Greene and Ulster counties
• 15th District: Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, Saratoga and Schenectady counties
• 16th District: Clinton, Essex and Warren counties
• 17th District: Franklin and St. Lawrence counties
• 18th District: Jefferson and Lewis counties
• 19th District: Oneida County
• 20th District: Herkimer and Otsego counties
• 21st District: Madison and Oswego counties
• 22nd District: Onondaga and Cortland counties
• 23rd District: Chenango, Delaware and Schoharie counties
• 24th District: Broome, Tompkins and Tioga counties
• 25th District: Cayuga and Wayne counties
• 26th District: Ontario, Seneca and Yates counties
• 27th District: Chemung, Schuyler and Steuben counties
• 28th District: Monroe County
• 29th District: Genesee, Niagara and Orleans counties
• 30th District: Allegany, Livingston and Wyoming counties
• 31st District: Erie County
• 32nd District: Cattaraugus and Chautauqua 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.

Members

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

District	Senator	Party	Notes
1st	L. Bradford Prince*	Republican
2nd	John R. Kennaday*	Democrat
3rd	John C. Jacobs*	Democrat
4th	John Morrissey*	Anti-Tam. Dem.
5th	Alfred Wagstaff Jr.	Democrat	elected to fill vacancy, in place of James W. Booth
6th	Caspar A. Baaden*	Republican
7th	James W. Gerard*	Democrat
8th	Francis M. Bixby*	Anti-Tam. Dem.
9th	William H. Robertson*	Republican	President pro tempore
10th	Daniel B. St. John*	Democrat
11th	B. Platt Carpenter*	Republican
12th	Thomas Coleman*	Republican
13th	Hamilton Harris*	Republican
14th	Augustus Schoonmaker, Jr.*	Democrat	on November 6, 1877, elected New York Attorney General
15th	Webster Wagner*	Republican
16th	Franklin W. Tobey*	Republican
17th	Darius A. Moore*	Republican
18th	James F. Starbuck*	Democrat
19th	Theodore S. Sayre*	Republican
20th	David P. Loomis*	Democrat
21st	Benjamin Doolittle*	Republican
22nd	Dennis McCarthy*	Republican
23rd	William C. Lamont*	Democrat
24th	John H. Selkreg*	Republican
25th	William B. Woodin*	Republican
26th	Stephen H. Hammond*	Democrat
27th	George B. Bradley*	Democrat
28th	William N. Emerson*	Republican
29th	Dan H. Cole*	Republican
30th	Abijah J. Wellman*	Republican
31st	E. Carleton Sprague	Republican	elected to fill vacancy, in place of Sherman S. Rogers
32nd	Commodore P. Vedder*	Republican

Employees

• Clerk: Henry A. Glidden
• Sergeant-at-Arms: John W. Corning
• Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: James L. Hart
• Doorkeeper: Frederick M. Burton
• First Assistant Doorkeeper: Webster Howard
• Stenographer: Hudson C. Tanner
• Janitor and Keeper of the Senate Chamber: George A. Johnson
• Assistant Janitor and Keeper of the Senate Chamber: Robert McIntyre
• Assistant Postmaster: Henry L. Griswold
• Chaplain: Ebenezer Halley

State Assembly

Assemblymen

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

Party affiliations follow the vote for Speaker.

District		Assemblymen	Party	Notes
Albany	1st	John Sager	Democrat
	2nd	Jonathan R. Herrick	Democrat
	3rd	William J. Maher*	Democrat
	4th	Edward Curran	Democrat	contested; seat vacated on February 27
		Waters W. Braman	Republican	seated on February 27[4]
Allegany		Sumner Baldwin*	Republican
Broome		Edwin C. Moody	Republican
Cattaraugus	1st	Thomas J. King	Republican
	2nd	Edgar Shannon*	Republican
Cayuga	1st	George I. Post*	Republican
	2nd	John S. Brown*	Republican
Chautauqua	1st	Sherman Williams	Republican
	2nd	Theodore A. Case*	Republican
Chemung		Hosea H. Rockwell	Democrat
Chenango		J. Hudson Skillman	Republican
Clinton		Shepard P. Bowen*	Republican
Columbia	1st	Jacob H. Proper	Democrat
	2nd	John T. Hogeboom*	Republican
Cortland		Deloss McGraw	Republican
Delaware	1st	William J. Welsh	Republican
	2nd	Isaac H. Maynard*	Democrat
Dutchess	1st	Thomas Hammond*	Republican
	2nd	DeWitt Webb*	Republican
Erie	1st	John L. Crowley	Democrat
	2nd	John G. Langner	Democrat
	3rd	Edward Gallagher*	Republican
	4th	Charles F. Tabor*	Democrat
	5th	Charles A. Orr	Republican
Essex		Benjamin D. Clapp	Republican
Franklin		John I. Gilbert*	Republican
Fulton and Hamilton		George W. Fay	Republican
Genesee		Eli Taylor	Republican
Greene		Oscar T. Humphrey	Democrat
Herkimer		Myron A. McKee*	Republican
Jefferson	1st	Charles R. Skinner	Republican
	2nd	Henry Spicer	Republican
Kings	1st	Daniel Bradley*	Ind. Dem.
	2nd	Richard Marvin	Republican
	3rd	John Shanley	Democrat
	4th	James G. Tighe	Democrat
	5th	William W. Stephenson	Republican
	6th	John A. Dillmeier	Democrat
	7th	Charles L. Lyon*	Democrat
	8th	Adrian M. Suydam*	Republican
	9th	John McGroarty*	Democrat
Lewis		William W. Rice	Democrat
Livingston		Jonathan B. Morey	Republican
Madison	1st	Albert N. Sheldon	Republican
	2nd	Merchant Billington	Republican
Monroe	1st	Willard Hodges*	Republican
	2nd	James S. Graham*	Republican
	3rd	Washington L. Rockwell	Democrat
Montgomery		Edward Wemple	Democrat
New York	1st	James Healey	Democrat	death announced January 23
		John F. Berrigan	Democrat	elected to fill vacancy, seated on February 27
	2nd	Thomas F. Grady	Democrat
	3rd	William H. Rooney	Democrat
	4th	John Galvin*	Democrat
	5th	Peter Mitchell	Democrat
	6th	Michael Healy[5]	Democrat
	7th	Isaac Israel Hayes*	Republican
	8th	Martin Nachtmann	Democrat
	9th	William H. Corsa	Republican
	10th	Christopher Flecke	Democrat
	11th	Elliot C. Cowdin	Republican
	12th	Maurice F. Holahan	Democrat
	13th	Robert H. Strahan*	Republican
	14th	Luke F. Cozans	Democrat
	15th	James G. Dimond	Democrat
	16th	Francis B. Spinola	Democrat
	17th	James E. Coulter	Democrat
	18th	Stephen J. O'Hare*	Democrat
	19th	Thomas C. E. Ecclesine	Democrat
	20th	Joseph L. Stein	Democrat
	21st	J. C. Julius Langbein	Republican
Niagara	1st	Amos A. Bissell*	Democrat
	2nd	Sherburne B. Piper	Democrat
Oneida	1st	James Corbett	Republican
	2nd	Everett Case	Republican
	3rd	Benjamin D. Stone	Democrat
	4th	J. Robert Moore	Republican
Onondaga	1st	Thomas G. Alvord	Republican
	2nd	Carroll E. Smith*	Republican
	3rd	C. Fred Herbst*	Republican
Ontario	1st	Dwight B. Backenstose	Republican
	2nd	Amasa T. Winch	Republican
Orange	1st	James G. Graham	Republican
	2nd	Stewart L. Durland	Democrat	died on January 17[6]
		John V. D. Benedict		elected to fill vacancy, seated on February 27
Orleans		Joseph Drake Billings*	Republican
Oswego	1st	George B. Sloan*	Republican	elected Speaker
	2nd	George M. Case	Republican
	3rd	DeWitt C. Peck	Republican
Otsego	1st	James S. Davenport*	Democrat
	2nd	Simeon R. Barnes	Republican
Putnam		Hamilton Fish II*	Republican
Queens	1st	Elbert Floyd-Jones	Democrat
	2nd	George E. Bulmer	Democrat
Rensselaer	1st	John H. Burns	Democrat
	2nd	John J. Filkin	Republican
	3rd	William H. Sliter	Democrat
Richmond		Samuel R. Brick	Democrat
Rockland		George W. Weiant*	Democrat
St. Lawrence	1st	David McFalls*	Republican
	2nd	A. Barton Hepburn*	Republican
	3rd	Lewis C. Lang*	Republican
Saratoga	1st	George W. Neilson	Democrat
	2nd	Isaac Noyes Jr.*	Republican
Schenectady		Walter T. L. Sanders	Democrat
Schoharie		James H. Brown	Democrat
Schuyler		William Gulick*	Republican
Seneca		Albert L. Childs	Democrat
Steuben	1st	William B. Ruggles*	Democrat
	2nd	Jerry E. B. Santee*	Republican
Suffolk		Francis Brill	Democrat
Sullivan		Thornton A. Niven	Democrat
Tioga		Eugene B. Gere*	Republican
Tompkins		Silas R. Wickes	Republican
Ulster	1st	Thomas Hamilton*	Democrat
	2nd	Nathan Keator	Republican
	3rd	Isaac W. Longyear	Democrat
Warren		Robert Waddell*	Republican
Washington	1st	Townsend J. Potter*	Republican
	2nd	Isaac V. Baker Jr.	Republican
Wayne	1st	Jackson Valentine	Republican
	2nd	Jeremiah Thistlethwaite	Republican
Westchester	1st	Ambrose H. Purdy	Democrat
	2nd	William F. Moller	Democrat
	3rd	James W. Husted*	Republican
Wyoming		Arthur Clark*	Republican
Yates		Mason L. Baldwin	Republican

Employees

• Clerk: Edward M. Johnson
• Sergeant-at-Arms: George A. Goss
• Doorkeeper: Eugene L. Demers
• Assistant Doorkeeper: Francis Strickland
• Assistant Doorkeeper: Michael Maher
• Stenographer: Worden E. Payne

Notes

1. Except New York City where the wards were apportioned into election districts, and then some whole wards and some election districts of other wards were gerrymandered together into Assembly districts.
2. Journal of the Assembly (1877; pg. 692f)
3. see STATE SENATE - EXTRA SESSION in Auburn Daily Bulletin on August 18, 1877
4. see THE ASSEMBLY HALL DISGRACED in NYT on February 28, 1877
5. Michael Healy, died 1882; see IRVING HALL DEMOCRACY'; ...announced the death of Ex-Assemblyman Michael Healy... in NYT on March 15, 1882
6. Stewart L. Durland, brother of Daniel T. Durland who was assemblyman in 1850; see HON. STEWART T. DURLAND in NYT on January 18, 1877

Sources

• Civil List and Constitutional History of the Colony and State of New York compiled by Edgar Albert Werner (1884; see pg. 276 for Senate districts; pg. 291 for senators; pg. 298–304 for Assembly districts; and pg. 376f for assemblymen)
• OUR STATE GOVERNMENT in Newark Union on November 18, 1876
• MR. SPEAKER SLOAN in NYT on January 2, 1877
• The Legislature in The Madison Observer on January 10, 1877
• Journal of the Assembly (100th Session) (1877)