New York State Treasurer

The New York State Treasurer was a state cabinet officer in the State of New York between 1776 and 1926. During the re-organization of the state government under Governor Al Smith, the office was abolished and its responsibilities transferred to the new Department of Audit and Control headed to the New York State Comptroller.[1]

History

In 1776, the New York Provincial Congress appointed Peter Van Brugh Livingston Treasurer to disburse the monies raised and issued in the revolutionary operations of the day.[2]

After the establishment of the state government, the Treasurer was appointed by special act of the New York State Legislature for short periods.

Under the New York State Constitution of 1821, the Treasurer was elected by joint ballot of the State Legislature.

Under the Constitution of 1846, the office became elective by general election, and the Treasurer was elected with the other state cabinet officers in odd years to a two-year term, serving in the second year of the governor in office and the first year of the succeeding governor. The Treasurer was elected in 1895 to a three-year term, and subsequently was elected in even years and served a two-year term concurrently with the governor until the end of 1926.

New York State Treasurers

Name	Took office	Left office	Party	Notes
Peter Van Brugh Livingston	1776	1778		appointed by Provincial Congress
Gerard Bancker	April 1, 1778	1798
Robert McClellan	March 16, 1798	January 31, 1803	Federalist	resigned after defalcation
Abraham G. Lansing	February 8, 1803	February 5, 1808	Dem.-Rep./Lewisite
David Thomas	February 5, 1808	February 8, 1810	Dem.-Rep./Clintonian
Abraham G. Lansing	February 8, 1810	February 18, 1812	Federalist
David Thomas	February 18, 1812	February 10, 1813	Dem.-Rep.
Charles Z. Platt	February 10, 1813	February 12, 1817	Federalist
Gerrit L. Dox	February 12, 1817	January 29, 1821	Dem.-Rep.
Benjamin Knower	January 29, 1821	November 3, 1824	Dem.-Rep./Bucktail	resigned
Abraham Keyser, Jr.	November 3, 1824	February 16, 1825	Dem.-Rep./Bucktail
Gamaliel H. Barstow	February 16, 1825	February 14, 1826	Dem.-Rep./Clintonian
Abraham Keyser, Jr.	February 14, 1826	February 5, 1838	D-R/Buckt.-Jacksonian-Dem.
Gamaliel H. Barstow	February 5, 1838	February 4, 1839	Whig	resigned
Jacob Haight	February 4, 1839	February 7, 1842	Whig
Thomas Farrington	February 7, 1842	February 3, 1845	Dem./Barnburner
Benjamin Enos	February 3, 1845	February 2, 1846	Dem./Hunker
Thomas Farrington	February 2, 1846	December 31, 1847	Dem./Barnburner	legislated out of office by the Constitution of 1846
Alvah Hunt	January 1, 1848	December 31, 1851	Whig	first Treasurer elected by general ballot, two terms
James M. Cook	January 1, 1852	November 20, 1852	Whig	election contested by Democratic candidate
Benjamin Welch, Jr.	November 20, 1852	December 31, 1853	Democratic	declared elected by the New York Supreme Court, and took office for the remainder of the term
Elbridge G. Spaulding	January 1, 1854	December 31, 1855	Whig
Stephen Clark	January 1, 1856	December 31, 1857	American
Isaac V. Vanderpoel	January 1, 1858	December 31, 1859	Democratic
Philip Dorsheimer	January 1, 1860	December 31, 1861	Republican
William B. Lewis	January 1, 1862	December 31, 1863	Union
George W. Schuyler	January 1, 1864	December 31, 1865	Union
Joseph Howland	January 1, 1866	December 31, 1867	Republican
Wheeler H. Bristol	January 1, 1868	December 31, 1871	Democratic	two terms
Thomas Raines	January 1, 1872	June 1, 1874	Republican	became a Liberal Republican in 1872, and was re-elected on Democratic ticket, declared incapacitated after nervous breakdown
Abraham Lansing	June 1, 1874	August 17, 1874	Democratic	temporarily appointed during illness of Raines
Thomas Raines	August 19, 1874	December 31, 1875	Democratic	reinstated after recovering his mental health
Charles N. Ross	January 1, 1876	December 31, 1877	Democratic
James Mackin	January 1, 1878	December 31, 1879	Democratic
Nathan D. Wendell	January 1, 1880	December 31, 1881	Republican
Robert A. Maxwell	January 1, 1882	December 31, 1885	Democratic	two terms
Lawrence J. Fitzgerald	January 1, 1886	December 31, 1889	Democratic	two terms
Elliott Danforth	January 1, 1890	December 31, 1893	Democratic	two terms
Addison B. Colvin	January 1, 1894	December 31, 1898	Republican	two terms (1894-95, 1896-98)
John P. Jaeckel	January 1, 1899	December 31, 1902	Republican	two terms
John G. Wickser	January 1, 1903	December 31, 1904	Republican
John G. Wallenmeier, Jr.	January 1, 1905	December 31, 1906	Republican
Julius Hauser	January 1, 1907	December 31, 1908	Dem./Ind. League
Thomas B. Dunn	January 1, 1909	December 31, 1910	Republican
John J. Kennedy	January 1, 1911	February 15, 1914	Democratic	committed suicide during his second term
George W. Batten	February 15, 1914	February 25, 1914	Democratic	as Deputy Treasurer acted until the election of a successor
Homer D. Call	February 25, 1914	December 31, 1914	Progressive/Dem.	elected by State Legislature to fill unexpired term
James L. Wells	January 1, 1915	December 31, 1920	Republican	three terms
N. Monroe Marshall	January 1, 1921	December 31, 1922	Republican
George K. Shuler	January 1, 1923	December 31, 1924	Democratic
Lewis H. Pounds	January 1, 1925	December 31, 1926	Republican	last Treasurer, department merged into Comptroller's office

Notes

1. Department of Audit and Control, at NY Archives
2. Hough, Franklin Benjamin (1858). The New York Civil List: Containing the names and origin of the civil divisions, and the names and dates of election or appointment of the principal state and county officers from the Revolution to the present time. Albany: Weed, Parsons and Co. pp. 35-36. Retrieved 30 October 2019.