101st 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. The growing agitation in favor of bettering the conditions of the working class led to the first nomination of labor tickets, by the "Working Men Party", the "Social Democratic Party" and the "Bread-Winners League".

Elections

The 1877 New York state election was held on November 6. All five statewide elective offices up for election were carried by the Democrats. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Secretary of State, was: Democratic 383,000; Republican 372,000; Working Men 20,000; Prohibition 7,000; Social Democratic 1,800; and Greenback 800.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 1, 1878; and adjourned on May 15.

James W. Husted (R) was again elected Speaker with 64 votes against 55 for Erastus Brooks (D).

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.

Senators

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Thomas C. E. Ecclesine changed from the Assembly to the Senate.

Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

Employees

• Clerk: John W. Vrooman
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Weidman Dominick
• Doorkeeper: James G. Caw
• Stenographer: Hudson C. Tanner

State Assembly

Assemblymen

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

Employees

• Clerk: Edward M. Johnson
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles A. Orr
• Doorkeeper: Henry Wheeler
• First Assistant Doorkeeper: Sandford Reynolds
• Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Michael Maher
• Stenographer: Worden E. Payne

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. 377f for assemblymen)
• The Albany Evening Journal Almanac (1878; see pg. 64–68 for election results; pg. 111–116 for senators' bios; pg. 116–131 for assemblymen's bios; pg. 131f for Senate and Assembly committees)
• THE ASSEMBLY in NYT on October 29, 1877 (gives nominations by all parties)
• The Legislature; Senators Probably Elected in the Plattsburgh Sentinel on November 9, 1877
• THE STATE LEGISLATURE; MR. SPEAKER HUSTED in NYT on January 1, 1878
• THE STATE LEGISLATURE; ORGANIZATION OF BOTH HOUSES in NYT on January 2, 1878

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://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1877/10/22/80666241.pdf ''STATE POLITICAL NOTES; ...A Greenback, Labor, and Reform convention...nominated...George M. Baird for the Assembly''] in ''[[The New York Times]]'' on October 22, 1877
3. Mapes's party affiliation is stated in several different ways. In one place it says "United Working Men Party", see [https://archive.org/stream/eveningjournalal1878slsn#page/121/mode/1up ''The Albany Evening Journal Almanac''] (1878; pg. 121); in another place it says "Greenback and Labor Reform", see [https://books.google.com/books?id=tMgJAAAAMAAJ&q=mapes ''Albany Evening Journal Almanac''] (1879; pg. 132)
4. [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1878/04/03/81724075.pdf ''THE STATE LEGISLATURE; THE CLARK-DUELL CONTESTED CASE''] in NYT on April 3, 1878