61st New York State Legislature
# 61st New York State Legislature

The 61st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to April 18, 1838, during the sixth year of William L. Marcy's governorship, in Albany.

## Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1821, 32 Senators were elected on general tickets in eight senatorial districts for four-year terms. They were divided into four classes, and every year eight Senate seats came up for election. Assemblymen were elected countywide on general tickets to a one-year term, the whole Assembly being renewed annually.

At this time there were two political parties: the Democratic Party and the Whig Party.

In May 1837, the Panic of 1837 broke out, and led to a severe financial crisis. The incumbent Democratic State government was blamed for it by the voters, and the opposing Whig Party won the election in November in a landslide.

## Elections

The State election was held from November 6 to 8, 1837. Gulian C. Verplanck (1st D.), Henry A. Livingston (2nd D.), Edward P. Livingston (3rd D.), Martin Lee (4th D.), Avery Skinner (5th D.), Laurens Hull (6th D.), John Maynard (7th D.) and William A. Moseley (8th D.) were elected to the Senate. Edward P. Livingston and Avery Skinner were Democrats, the other six were Whigs.

## Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 2, 1838; and adjourned on April 18.

Luther Bradish (W) was elected Speaker.

On February 5, the Legislature elected Gamaliel H. Barstow (W) to succeed Abraham Keyser (D) as State Treasurer; and Orville L. Holley (W) to succeed William Campbell (D) as Surveyor General.

On September 12, the Whig state convention met at Utica, and nominated William H. Seward for Governor, and Speaker Luther Bradish for Lieutenant Governor. On the same day, the Democratic state convention met at Herkimer, and nominated Gov. Marcy and Lt. Gov. Tracy unanimously for re-election.

On October 3, a state convention of former Democrats (among them U.S. Senator Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, Congressman John C. Clark and Ex-Assemblyman Judah Hammond) met under the name of "Conservatives" at Syracuse, and endorsed the Whig nominees Seward and Bradish.

## State Senate

### Districts

* The First District (4 seats) consisted of Kings, New York and Richmond counties.
* The Second District (4 seats) consisted of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester counties.
* The Third District (4 seats) consisted of Albany, Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Schoharie counties.
* The Fourth District (4 seats) consisted of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Herkimer, Montgomery, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties.
* The Fifth District (4 seats) consisted of Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Oswego and Otsego counties.
* The Sixth District (4 seats) consisted of Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Chemung, Chenango, Livingston, Steuben, Tioga and Tompkins counties.
* The Seventh District (4 seats) consisted of Cayuga, Cortland, Onondaga, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne and Yates counties.
* The Eighth District (4 seats) consisted of Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Monroe, Niagara and Orleans counties.

### Members

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

Senators who resided in counties which were transferred to a different district continued to represent the district in which they were elected.

| District | Senators | Term left | Party | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| First | Coe S. Downing* | 1 year | Democrat | |
| First | Henry Floyd-Jones* | 2 years | Democrat | resided in Queens Co., elected in the old 1st D. |
| First | Frederick A. Tallmadge* | 3 years | Whig | |
| First | Gulian C. Verplanck | 4 years | Whig | |
| Second | John P. Jones* | 1 year | Democrat | |
| Second | John Hunter* | 2 years | Democrat | |
| Second | Henry H. Van Dyck* | 3 years | Democrat | |
| Second | Henry A. Livingston | 4 years | Whig | |
| Third | Abraham L. Lawyer* | 1 year | Democrat | |
| Third | James Powers* | 2 years | Democrat | |
| Third | Noadiah Johnson* | 3 years | Democrat | |
| Third | Edward P. Livingston | 4 years | Democrat | |
| Fourth | Jabez Willes* | 1 year | Democrat | |
| Fourth | David Spraker* | 2 years | Democrat | |
| Fourth | Samuel Young* | 3 years | Democrat | also a Canal Commissioner and, until February 13, 1838, First Judge of the Saratoga Co. Court |
| Fourth | Martin Lee | 4 years | Whig | |
| Fifth | Abijah Beckwith* | 1 year | Democrat | resided in Herkimer Co., elected in the old 5th D. |
| Fifth | Micah Sterling* | 2 years | Democrat | |
| Fifth | David Wager* | 3 years | Democrat | |
| Fifth | Avery Skinner | 4 years | Democrat | also Postmaster of Union Square |
| Sixth | Levi Beardsley* | 1 year | Democrat | resided in Otsego Co., elected in the old 6th D. |
| Sixth | George Huntington* | 2 years | Democrat | |
| Sixth | Daniel S. Dickinson* | 3 years | Democrat | |
| Sixth | Laurens Hull | 4 years | Whig | |
| Seventh | Chester Loomis* | 1 year | Democrat | also Postmaster of Rushville |
| Seventh | John Beardsley* | 2 years | Democrat | |
| Seventh | Samuel L. Edwards* | 3 years | Democrat | |
| Seventh | John Maynard | 4 years | Whig | |
| Eighth | Isaac Lacey* | 1 year | Whig | |
| Eighth | Chauncey J. Fox* | 2 years | Whig | resided in Cattaraugus Co., elected in the old 8th D. |
| Eighth | Samuel Works* | 3 years | Whig | |
| Eighth | William A. Moseley | 4 years | Whig | |

### Employees

* Clerk: John F. Bacon

## State Assembly

### Districts

* Albany County (3 seats)
* Allegany County (2 seats)
* Broome County (1 seat)
* Cattaraugus County (2 seats)
* Cayuga County (3 seats)
* Chautauqua County (3 seats)
* Chemung County (1 seat)
* Chenango County (3 seats)
* Clinton County (1 seat)
* Columbia County (3 seats)
* Cortland County (2 seats)
* Delaware County (2 seats)
* Dutchess County (3 seats)
* Erie County (3 seats)
* Essex County (1 seat)
* Franklin County (1 seat)
* Genesee County (4 seats)
* Greene County (2 seats)
* Hamilton and Montgomery counties (3 seats)
* Herkimer County (2 seats)
* Jefferson County (3 seats)
* Kings County (2 seats)
* Lewis County (1 seat)
* Livingston County (2 seats)
* Madison County (3 seats)
* Monroe County (3 seats)
* The City and County of New York (13 seats)
* Niagara County (2 seats)
* Oneida County (4 seats)
* Onondaga County (4 seats)
* Ontario County (3 seats)
* Orange County (3 seats)
* Orleans County (1 seat)
* Oswego County (2 seats)
* Otsego County (3 seats)
* Putnam County (1 seat)
* Queens County (1 seat)
* Rensselaer County (3 seats)
* Richmond County (1 seat)
* Rockland County (1 seat)
* St. Lawrence County (2 seats)
* Saratoga County (2 seats)
* Schenectady County (1 seat)
* Schoharie County (2 seats)
* Seneca County (1 seat)
* Steuben County (3 seats)
* Suffolk County (2 seats)
* Sullivan County (1 seat)
* Tioga County (1 seat)
* Tompkins County (2 seats)
* Ulster County (2 seats)
* Warren County (1 seat)
* Washington (2 seats)
* Wayne County (2 seats)
* Westchester County (2 seats)
* Yates County (1 seat)

### Assemblymen

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

Party affiliations follow the vote on State officers on February 5.

| District | Assemblymen | Party | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| Albany | Daniel D. Barnard | Whig | in November 1838 elected to the 26th U.S. Congress |
| Albany | Edmund Raynsford | Whig | |
| Albany | Paul Settle | Whig | |
| Allegany | Seth H. Pratt | Whig | |
| Allegany | Samuel Russell | Whig | |
| Broome | James Stoddard | Whig | |
| Cattaraugus | Nelson Green | Whig | |
| Cattaraugus | Timothy H. Porter | Whig | |
| Cayuga | Henry R. Filley | Whig | |
| Cayuga | Isaac S. Miller | | |
| Cayuga | Nathan G. Morgan | | |
| Chautauqua | Thomas I. Allen | Whig | |
| Chautauqua | George A. French | Whig | |
| Chautauqua | Abner Lewis | Whig | |
| Chemung | Hiram White | Democrat | |
| Chenango | Henry Balcom | Whig | |
| Chenango | Demas Hubbard, Jr. | Whig | |
| Chenango | Justus Parce | Whig | |
| Clinton | Cornelius Halsey* | Democrat | |
| Columbia | Abraham Bain | Whig | |
| Columbia | William A. Dean | Whig | |
| Columbia | William H. Tobey | Whig | |
| Cortland | David Matthews | Whig | |
| Cortland | John Osgood | Whig | |
| Delaware | Cornelius Bassett | Democrat | |
| Delaware | Darius Mapes | | |
| Dutchess | Cornelius Dubois | Whig | |
| Dutchess | Freeborn Garretson | Whig | |
| Dutchess | Jacob Sisson | | |
| Erie | Lewis F. Allen | Whig | |
| Erie | Asa Warren | Whig | |
| Erie | Cyrenus Wilbur | Whig | |
| Essex | Gideon Hammond* | Whig | |
| Franklin | Luther Bradish* | Whig | elected Speaker; in November 1838 elected Lieutenant Governor of New York |
| Genesee | Reuben Benham* | Whig | |
| Genesee | Andrew H. Green | Whig | |
| Genesee | John Head | Whig | |
| Genesee | Leverett Seward* | Whig | |
| Greene | Thomas B. Cooke | Whig | |
| Greene | Peter Hubbell | Whig | |
| Hamilton and Montgomery | Jeremiah Nellis | Whig | |
| Hamilton and Montgomery | Abraham V. Putman | | |
| Hamilton and Montgomery | Marcellus Weston | | |
| Herkimer | Abijah Mann, Jr. | Democrat | |
| Herkimer | Volney Owen | | |
| Jefferson | Charles B. Hoard | Democrat | also Postmaster of Antwerp |
| Jefferson | Richard Hulbert* | Democrat | |
| Jefferson | Daniel Wardwell | Democrat | |
| Kings | Cornelius Bergen | Whig | |
| Kings | Benjamin D. Silliman | Whig | |
| Lewis | William Dominick | Democrat | |
| Livingston | George W. Patterson* | Whig | |
| Livingston | William Scott* | Whig | |
| Madison | William F. Bostwick | Democrat | |
| Madison | William Lord | Democrat | |
| Madison | Onesimus Mead | Democrat | |
| Monroe | John P. Patterson | Whig | |
| Monroe | Ezra Sheldon Jr. | Whig | |
| Monroe | Derick Sibley* | Whig | |
| New York | Alfred Carhart | Whig | |
| New York | Adoniram Chandler | | |
| New York | Heman W. Childs | Whig | |
| New York | Evan Griffith | Whig | |
| New York | Willis Hall | Whig | |
| New York | William Harsell | | |
| New York | John I. Labagh* | Whig | |
| New York | David B. Ogden | Whig | |
| New York | Samuel B. Ruggles | Whig | |
| New York | John B. Scoles | Whig | |
| New York | Garret H. Stryker | Whig | |
| New York | Anson Willis* | Whig | |
| New York | George Zabriskie* | Whig | |
| Niagara | Davis Hurd* | Whig | |
| Niagara | Peter B. Porter, Jr. | Whig | |
| Oneida | Russel Fuller | Whig | |
| Oneida | Henry Hearsey | Whig | |
| Oneida | James S. T. Stranahan | | |
| Oneida | Fortune C. White | Whig | |
| Onondaga | Victory Birdseye | Whig | |
| Onondaga | Phares Gould | Whig | |
| Onondaga | James R. Lawrence | Whig | |
| Onondaga | Azariah Smith | Whig | |
| Ontario | Jonathan Buell | Whig | |
| Ontario | David Hudson | Whig | |
| Ontario | Henry W. Taylor* | Whig | |
| Orange | Goldsmith Denniston | Whig | |
| Orange | Stephen W. Fullerton | Whig | |
| Orange | Hudson McFarlan | Whig | |
| Orleans | Horatio Reed | Whig | |
| Oswego | Arvin Rice | Whig | |
| Oswego | John M. Richardson | Whig | |
| Otsego | Samuel Betts Jr. | Democrat | |
| Otsego | John Drake | Democrat | |
| Otsego | Jacob K. Lull | Democrat | |
| Putnam | Saxton Smith | Democrat | |
| Queens | John A. King | Whig | |
| Rensselaer | Hezekiah Hull | Whig | |
| Rensselaer | Jacob A. Ten Eyck | Whig | |
| Rensselaer | James Wallace | Whig | |
| Richmond | Israel Oakley | | |
| Rockland | David Clark | Democrat | |
| St. Lawrence | Preston King* | Democrat | |
| St. Lawrence | Myron G. Peck | Democrat | |
| Saratoga | Walter Van Veghten | Whig | |
| Saratoga | Calvin Wheeler | Whig | |
| Schenectady | Silas H. Marsh | Whig | |
| Schoharie | Jedediah Miller | | |
| Schoharie | Mitchell Sanford | Whig | |
| Seneca | Nathan Wakeman | Democrat | |
| Steuben | Samuel Griggs | Democrat | |
| Steuben | David Hall | Democrat | |
| Steuben | Manning Kelly | Democrat | |
| Suffolk | Charles A. Floyd | Democrat | |
| Suffolk | Sidney L. Griffin | Democrat | |
| Sullivan | John H. Bowers | Democrat | |
| Tioga | John Coryell | Whig | |
| Tompkins | Elbert Curtis | | |
| Tompkins | Robert Swartwout | Whig | |
| Ulster | Benjamin R. Bevier | Whig | |
| Ulster | James N. Mitchell | Whig | |
| Warren | Thomas A. Leggett | Democrat | |
| Washington | Erastus D. Culver | Whig | |
| Washington | Leonard Gibbs | Whig | |
| Wayne | Esbon Blackmar | Whig | |
| Wayne | John M. Holley | Whig | |
| Westchester | Francis Barretto | | |
| Westchester | Nicholas Cruger | | |
| Yates | Miles Benham | Whig | |

### Employees

* Clerk: Jarvis N. Lake
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Harley R. Luddington
* Doorkeeper: William C. Bloss
* Assistant Doorkeeper: Frederick Lamb
