1st New York State Legislature

Background

The 4th Provincial Congress of the Colony of New York convened at White Plains on July 9, 1776, and declared the independence of the State of New York. The next day the delegates re-convened as the "Convention of Representatives of the State of New-York" and on August 1 a committee was appointed to prepare a State Constitution. The New York Constitution was adopted by the Convention on April 20, 1777, and went into force immediately, without ratification by popular vote.

Apportionment and election

The State Senators were elected on general tickets in the senatorial districts, and were then divided into four classes. Six senators each drew lots for a term of 1, 2, 3 or 4 years and, beginning at the following election in April 1778, every year one fourth of the State Senate seats came up for election to a four-year term.

Assemblymen were elected countywide on general tickets to a one-year term, the whole assembly being renewed annually.

On May 8, 1777, the Constitutional Convention appointed the senators from the Southern District, and the assemblymen from Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond and Suffolk counties—the area which was under British control—and determined that these appointees serve in the Legislature until elections could be held in those areas, presumably after the end of the American Revolutionary War. Vacancies among the appointed members in the Senate should be filled by the Assembly, and vacancies in the Assembly by the Senate.

Sessions

The State Legislature met in Kingston, the seat of Ulster County. The State Senate met first on September 9, 1777, at the home of Abraham Van Gaasbeck, now known as Senate House, the Assembly met first on the next day at the Bogardus Tavern. At the approach of the British army, the State Legislature dispersed on October 7, and reconvened in Poughkeepsie on January 5, 1778, possibly at a house now known as Clinton House.

State Senate

Districts

• The Southern District (9 seats) consisted of Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk and Westchester counties.
• The Middle District (6 seats) consisted of Dutchess, Orange and Ulster counties.
• The Eastern District (3 seats) consisted of Charlotte, Cumberland and Gloucester counties.
• The Western District (6 seats) consisted of Albany and Tryon 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. In 1784, Charlotte Co. was renamed Washington Co., and Tryon Co. was renamed Montgomery Co.

Senators

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the Constitutional Convention who continued as members of the Legislature.

Employees

• Clerk: Robert Benson
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Stephen Hendrickson, elected March 11, 1778
• Doorkeeper and Messenger: Victor Bicker

State Assembly

Districts

• The City and County of Albany (10 seats)
• Charlotte County (4 seats)
• Cumberland County (3 seats)
• Dutchess County (7 seats)
• Gloucester County (2 seats)
• Kings County (2 seats)
• The City and County of New York (9 seats)
• Orange County (4 seats)
• Queens County (4 seats)
• Richmond County (2 seats)
• Suffolk County (5 seats)
• Tryon County (6 seats)
• Ulster County (6 seats)
• Westchester County (6 seats)

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. In 1784, Charlotte Co. was renamed Washington Co., and Tryon Co. was renamed Montgomery Co.

Assemblymen

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the Constitutional Convention who continued as members of the Legislature.

Employees

• Clerk: John McKesson
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Thomas Pettit
• Doorkeeper: Richard Ten Eyck

Notes

Sources

• The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) [see pg. 48-52 for Constitutional Convention; pg. 108 for Senate districts; pg. 110 for senators; pg. 148f for Assembly districts; pg. 157 for assemblymen]

References

1. The same system of rotative renewal, though with three classes and 6-year terms, was adopted by the [[United States Constitution]] in 1789 for the [[United States Senate]], and has been in use there ever since. Rotative renewal of the New York State Senate was abolished by the State Constitution of 1846, and State Senators have served two-year terms since 1848-49, except 1896-98 (a three-year term, to move the elections to even-numbered years), 1965 and 1966 (two one-year terms due to redistricting).
2. [https://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/1070248167/ Photo of the historical marker of the site] at Flickr
3. [http://nysparks.state.ny.us/historic-sites/1/details.aspx Clinton House] {{Webarchive. link. (December 29, 2010 at NY State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation)
4. All three senators from the Eastern District in this Legislature came from Charlotte County; see note for Assembly.
5. At the [[New York gubernatorial election, 1777]], George Clinton was elected at the same time Governor and Lieutenant Governor. On June 30, 1777, he took office as Governor, and at the same time formally resigned the lieutenant governorship, leaving a vacancy. Van Cortlandt was elected Temporary President in this Legislature, and took office as Lt. Gov. at the beginning of the next legislative year.
6. Cumberland and Gloucester counties seceded from the [[Province of New York]] in January 1777, and became part of the [[Vermont Republic]], while the Constitutional Convention was still debating the new Constitution. The New York Constitution was approved in April 1777, not recognizing the secession. Neither county did file any election returns with the Committee of Safety (the governing body of the State of New York between the adjournment of the Constitutional Convention and the inauguration of Gov. George Clinton) in 1777, and nobody claimed the seats.