100th New York State Legislature

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, 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 1876 New York state election 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.

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

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

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.

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.

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
• Superintendent of Documents: DeWitt Griffin

Notes

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)

References

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. [https://archive.org/stream/journalassembly10legigoog#page/n696/mode/1up ''Journal of the Assembly''] (1877; pg. 692f)
3. [http://fultonhistory.com/newspaper%202//Auburn%20NY%20Bulletin/Auburn%20NY%20Daily%20Bulletin%201877.pdf/Newspaper%20Auburn%20NY%20Daily%20Bulletin%201877%20-%200780.PDF see ''STATE SENATE - EXTRA SESSION''] in ''Auburn Daily Bulletin'' on August 18, 1877
4. see [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1877/02/28/81704035.pdf ''THE ASSEMBLY HALL DISGRACED''] in NYT on February 28, 1877
5. Michael Healy, died 1882; see [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1882/03/15/96858388.pdf ''IRVING HALL DEMOCRACY'; ...announced the death of Ex-Assemblyman Michael Healy...''] in NYT on March 15, 1882
6. ''Tri-States Union, 23 January 1877'' https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=tsu18770123-01.1.1&srpos=1&e=------187-en-20--1--txt-txIN-durland----1877---Orange--
7. Stewart T. Durland, brother of [[Daniel T. Durland]] who was assemblyman in 1850; see [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1877/01/18/80361592.pdf ''HON. STEWART T. DURLAND''] in NYT on January 18, 1877
8. ''The Evening Gazette, 8 February 1877'' https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=teg18770208-01.1.1&srpos=9&e=------187-en-20--1--txt-txIN-durland----1877---Orange--