118th New York State Legislature

118th New York State Legislature
← 117th 119th →
New York State Capitol (2009)
Overview
Legislative body	New York State Legislature
Jurisdiction	New York, United States
Term	January 1 – December 31, 1895
Senate
Members	32
President	Lt. Gov. Charles T. Saxton (R)
Temporary President	Edmund O'Connor (R)
Party control	Republican (19-13)
Assembly
Members	128
Speaker	Hamilton Fish II (R)
Party control	Republican (105-23)
Sessions
1st January 2 – May 16, 1895

The 118th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to May 16, 1895, during the first year of Levi P. Morton's governorship, in Albany.

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 (nine districts), Kings County (five districts) and Erie County (two districts). The Assembly districts were made up of entire towns, or city wards,^[1] forming a contiguous area, all within the same county.

A Constitutional Convention met at the State Capitol in Albany from May 8 to September 29, 1894. The new Constitution was submitted to the electorate for ratification at the state election on November 6.

At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Two Democratic anti-machine factions (the "Democratic Reform Organization" in Brooklyn, and the "Empire State Democracy" in New York City), the Prohibition Party, the Socialist Labor Party and the People's Party also nominated tickets.

Elections

The 1894 New York state election was held on November 6.

Ex-U.S. Vice President Levi P. Morton was elected Governor; and President pro tempore of the State Senate Charles T. Saxton was elected Lieutenant Governor (both Rep.). The only other statewide elective offices up for election was also carried by a Republican. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Republican 674,000; Democratic/Empire State 518,000; Democratic Reform 27,000; Prohibition 24,000; Socialist Labor 16,000; and People's Party 11,000.

Besides, the new Constitution was adopted by the voters, and took effect on January 1, 1895. The new Constitution moved the day for the first meeting of the Legislature from the first Tuesday in January to the first Wednesday, and the 118th Legislature convened on Wednesday, January 2, 1895.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 2, 1895; and adjourned on May 16.

Hamilton Fish II (Rep.) was elected Speaker against Samuel J. Foley (Dem.).

Edmund O'Connor (Rep.) was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate.

On February 13, the Legislature elected Charles R. Skinner (Rep.) as Superintendent of Public Instruction, to succeed James F. Crooker for a term of three years.^[2]

On May 14, Assemblyman Eugene F. Vacheron was indicted for asking for a bribe (a misdemeanor), and for accepting a bribe (a felony). He was accused of having received $3,000 to kill the "Hudson River Ice Bill" in the Assembly Committee on Internal Affairs.^[3] After many postponements the case was tried in December 1896^[4] and Vacheron was acquitted.^[5]

State Senate

Districts

• 1st District: Queens and Suffolk counties
• 2nd District: 7th, 9th, 10th, 12th and 22nd Ward of Brooklyn
• 3rd District: 13th, 19th, 21st, 23rd and 25th Ward of Brooklyn
• 4th District: 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th and 27th Ward of Brooklyn
• 5th District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 11th and 20th Ward of Brooklyn
• 6th District: 8th, 24th, 26th and 28th Ward of the City of Brooklyn; all towns in Kings County; and Richmond County
• 7th District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 8th, 9th and 16th Ward of NYC
• 8th District: 4th, 6th, 7th, 11th and 13th Ward of NYC
• 9th District: 10th, 14th, 15th and 17th Ward of New York City
• 10th District: 18th, 20th and 21st Ward of NYC
• 11th District: Southern parts of the 19th and 22nd Ward of NYC
• 12th District: Middle parts of the 19th and 22nd Ward of NYC
• 13th District: Northern parts of the 19th and 22nd; and 23rd Ward of NYC
• 14th District: Northeastern part of the 19th Ward of NYC
• 15th District: 24th Ward of NYC; and Putnam and Westchester counties
• 16th District: Dutchess, Orange and Rockland counties
• 17th District: Greene, Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster counties
• 18th District: Columbia and Rensselaer counties
• 19th District: Albany County
• 20th District: Herkimer, Montgomery, Saratoga and Schenectady counties
• 21st District: Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Warren and Washington counties
• 22nd District: Jefferson, Oswego and St. Lawrence counties
• 23rd District: Lewis, Oneida County and Otsego counties
• 24th District: Madison and Onondaga counties
• 25th District: Broome, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware and Tioga counties
• 26th District: Cayuga, Ontario, Tompkins, Wayne and Yates counties
• 27th District: Chemung, Schuyler, Seneca and Steuben counties
• 28th District: Monroe County
• 29th District: Genesee, Livingston, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming counties
• 30th District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 19th and 20th Ward of the City of Buffalo
• 31st District: 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th Ward of Buffalo; and the remaining area of Erie County
• 32nd District: Allegany, 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.

District	Senator	Party	Notes
1st	John Lewis Childs*	Republican
2nd	Michael J. Coffey*	Democrat
3rd	William H. Reynolds*	Republican
4th	George A. Owens*	Republican
5th	Daniel Bradley*	Ind. Dem.
6th	Henry Wolfert*[6]	Republican
7th	Martin T. McMahon*	Democrat
8th	John F. Ahearn*	Democrat
9th	Timothy D. Sullivan*	Democrat
10th	Frank A. O'Donnel*	Democrat
11th	Joseph C. Wolff*	Democrat
12th	Thomas C. O'Sullivan*	Democrat
13th	Charles L. Guy*	Democrat
14th	Jacob A. Cantor*	Democrat	Minority Leader
15th	George W. Robertson*	Republican
16th	Clarence Lexow*	Republican
17th	Jacob Rice*	Democrat
18th	Michael F. Collins*	Democrat
19th	Amasa J. Parker Jr.*	Democrat
20th	Harvey J. Donaldson*	Republican
21st	Frederick D. Kilburn*	Republican
22nd	Joseph Mullin*	Republican
23rd	Henry J. Coggeshall*	Republican
24th	Charles W. Stapleton*	Republican
25th	Edmund O'Connor*	Republican	elected President pro tempore
26th	John Raines	Republican	elected to fill vacancy, in place of Charles T. Saxton
27th	Baxter T. Smelzer*	Republican
28th	Cornelius R. Parsons*	Republican
29th	Cuthbert W. Pound*	Republican
30th	Charles Lamy*	Republican
31st	Henry H. Persons*	Republican
32nd	Frank W. Higgins*	Republican

Employees

• Clerk: John S. Kenyon
• Assistant Clerk: Charles A. Ball
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles V. Schram
• Doorkeeper: Edward Dowling
• Stenographer: Lucius A. Waldo
• Journal Clerk: Lafayette B. Gleason
• Postmaster: Stephen C. Green

State Assembly

Assemblymen

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

District		Assemblymen	Party	Notes
Albany	1st	Frank Bloomingdale	Republican
	2nd	James Keenholts	Republican
	3rd	Jacob L. Ten Eyck	Democrat
	4th	Amos J. Ablett	Republican
Allegany		Frederick A. Robbins*	Republican
Broome		Joseph H. Brownell*	Republican
Cattaraugus		Charles W. Terry*	Republican
Cayuga		Benjamin M. Wilcox*	Republican
Chautauqua		S. Frederick Nixon*	Republican
Chemung		John B. Stanchfield	Democrat
Chenango		David Sherwood*	Republican
Clinton		Willis T. Honsinger	Republican
Columbia		Aaron B. Gardenier	Republican
Cortland		Wilber Holmes	Republican
Delaware		Robert Cartwright	Republican
Dutchess	1st	Edward H. Thompson*	Republican
	2nd	Augustus B. Gray*	Republican
Erie	1st	Cornelius Coughlin*	Democrat
	2nd	Simon Seibert*	Republican
	3rd	Charles Braun*	Republican
	4th	Joseph L. Whittet*	Republican
	5th	Philip Gerst*	Republican
	6th	Charles F. Schoepflin*	Republican
Essex		Albert Weed	Republican
Franklin		Thomas A. Sears	Republican
Fulton and Hamilton		Philip Keck*	Republican
Genesee		Thomas B. Tuttle*	Republican
Greene		Daniel G. Greene	Republican
Herkimer		E. LaGrange Smith	Republican
Jefferson		Harrison Fuller*	Republican
Kings	1st	John McKeown	Democrat
	2nd	John A. Hennessey*	Democrat
	3rd	John F. Houghton*	Republican
	4th	Frank Gallagher	Democrat
	5th	John H. Read	Republican
	6th	Edward M. Clarkson	Republican
	7th	George W. Brush	Republican
	8th	John J. Cain*	Democrat
	9th	Thomas H. Rockwell	Republican
	10th	Frank F. Schulz*	Republican
	11th	Harry Schulz*	Republican
	12th	John H. Campbell	Republican
	13th	Arthur J. Audett	Republican
	14th	Henry E. Abell	Republican
	15th	Albert A. Wray*	Republican
	16th	William H. Friday*[7]	Republican
	17th	James Scanlon*	Republican
	18th	Julius L. Wieman*	Republican
Lewis		Melville W. Van Amber*	Republican
Livingston		Otto Kelsey*	Republican
Madison		Lambert B. Kern*	Republican
Monroe	1st	Charles J. Smith	Republican
	2nd	James M. E. O'Grady*	Republican
	3rd	William W. Armstrong	Republican
Montgomery		E. Watson Gardiner*	Republican
New York	1st	Daniel E. Finn	Democrat
	2nd	Thomas J. Barry	Democrat
	3rd	Charles S. Adler	Republican
	4th	James A. Donnelly	Democrat
	5th	Samuel J. Foley*	Democrat	Minority Leader
	6th	Benjamin Hoffman	Democrat
	7th	Henry William Hoops Jr.	Republican
	8th	Alfred R. Conkling	Republican
	9th	John F. McDermott*	Democrat
	10th	Jacob Kunzenman	Democrat
	11th	Frank D. Pavey	Republican
	12th	Edward B. La Fetra*	Democrat
	13th	William Halpin	Republican
	14th	John P. Corrigan*	Democrat
	15th	Seth Wilks	Republican
	16th	Charles Steinberg	Republican
	17th	Robert Miller	Republican
	18th	Daniel J. Gleason*	Democrat
	19th	Welton C. Percy	Republican
	20th	John B. Fitzgerald	Democrat
	21st	Howard Payson Wilds	Republican
	22nd	Michael F. Tobin*	Democrat
	23rd	Judson Lawson*	Republican
	24th	Louis H. Bold	Republican
	25th	Stephen S. Blake	Democrat
	26th	Harvey T. Andrews	Republican
	27th	Philip W. Reinhard Jr.	Republican
	28th	George W. Hamilton	Republican
	29th	Alonzo Bell	Republican
	30th	William White Niles	Republican
Niagara		John H. Clark*	Republican
Oneida	1st	Henry P. Hoefler*	Republican
	2nd	William Cary Sanger	Republican
Onondaga	1st	Charles R. Rogers	Republican
	2nd	Charles C. Cole	Republican
	3rd	Levi S. Chapman	Republican
Ontario		Walter A. Clark	Republican
Orange	1st	Louis F. Goodsell	Republican
	2nd	Joseph Dean*	Republican
Orleans		George Bullard	Republican
Oswego		Danforth E. Ainsworth*	Republican	Majority Floor Leader
Otsego		John J. Rider*	Republican
Putnam		Hamilton Fish II*	Republican	elected Speaker
Queens	1st	John P. Madden	Democrat
	2nd	James S. Fairbrother*	Republican
	3rd	Eugene F. Vacheron	Republican
Rensselaer	1st	John T. Norton	Democrat
	2nd	John M. Chambers*	Republican
	3rd	John P. Cole	Republican
Richmond		Michael Conklin*	Republican
Rockland		Otis H. Cutler*	Republican
St. Lawrence		George R. Malby*	Republican
Saratoga		Charles H. McNaughton	Republican
Schenectady		Thomas W. Winne	Republican
Schoharie		Henry J. Staley	Democrat
Schuyler		George A. Snyder*	Republican
Seneca		Harry M. Glen*	Republican
Steuben	1st	Willoughby W. Babcock*	Republican
	2nd	Merritt F. Smith*	Republican
Suffolk		Richard Higbie*	Republican
Sullivan		Henry Krenrich	Republican
Tioga		Epenetus Howe*	Republican
Tompkins		Edwin C. Stewart*	Republican
Ulster	1st	William S. Van Keuren	Republican
	2nd	James Lounsbery*	Republican
Warren		Taylor J. Eldredge*	Republican
Washington		William D. Stevenson	Republican
Wayne		George S. Horton*	Republican
Westchester	1st	J. Irving Burns	Republican
	2nd	John N. Stewart	Republican
	3rd	James W. Husted	Republican
Wyoming		Reuben J. Tilton*	Republican
Yates		Everett Brown	Republican

Employees

• Clerk: Archie E. Baxter
• Assistant Clerk: Haines D. Cunningham
• Financial Clerk: William C. Stevens
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Garret J. Benson
• Doorkeeper: Joseph Bauer
• Stenographer: Robert C. Chapin
• Journal Clerk: Edward M. Johnson

Notes

1. Except New York City where the 19th and the 22nd Ward were divided into several districts.
2. NEW EDUCATIONAL OFFICERS in The New York Times on February 14, 1895
3. ACCUSED OF BRIBERY in NYT on May 15, 1895
4. ON TRIAL FOR BRIBERY in NYT on December 3, 1896
5. Vacheron pleaded not guilty, and did not resign his seat; see: EUGENE VACHERON SURRENDERS in NYT on May 17, 1895. The trial occurred a year and a half after the session ended, and Vacheron had not been re-elected to the session of 1896. When he was convicted of grand larceny in 1912, The New York Times published a mistaken reminder of the case here: EX-ASSEMBLYMAN CONVICTED in The New York Times on February 29, 1912
6. Henry Wolfert (1826–1898), see DEATH LIST OF A DAY; Henry Wolfert in NYT on December 18, 1898
7. William H. Friday (died 1915), see WILLIAM H. FRIDAY DIES in NYT on November 5, 1915

Sources

• The New York Red Book compiled by Edgar L. Murlin (published by James B. Lyon, Albany NY, 1897; see pg. 385 for senate districts; pg. 404 for senators; pg. 410–417 for Assembly districts; and pg. 511f for assemblymen)
• Sketches of the members of the Legislature in The Evening Journal Almanac (1895; pg. 48–64)
• HAMILTON FISH SPEAKER in NYT on January 2, 1895
• NEW STATE LEGISLATURE in NYT on January 3, 1895