1803–1804 Massachusetts legislature

24th Massachusetts General Court
← 23rd 25th →
Seal of the General Court of Massachusetts
Overview
Legislative body	Massachusetts General Court
Term	May 25, 1803 (1803-05-25) – May 30, 1804 (1804-05-30)
Senate
Members	40
President	David Cobb
Party control	Federalist
House
Speaker	Harrison Gray Otis
Party control	Federalist

The 24th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1803 and 1804 during the governorship of Caleb Strong. David Cobb served as president of the Senate and Harrison Gray Otis served as speaker of the House.^[1]

Composition by party

Resignations and new members are discussed in the "Changes in membership" section below.

Overview of Senate membership by party

	Party (shading shows control)		Total	Vacant
	Democratic- Republican (DR)	Federalist (F)
Begin (May 25, 1803)	13	26	39	1
May 25, 1803 [a]	14	26	40	0
May 27, 1803 [b]	14	20	34	6
Latest voting share	41.18%	58.82%

Leadership

Senate Presiding President: David Cobb (F) House of Representatives Presiding Speaker: Harrison G. Otis (F)

Members

Senate

The 40 seats are apportioned to each county or counties, based upon population size, to be elected at-large. ^[4]

Barnstable ▌At-large. John Dillingham (DR) Berkshire ▌At-large. John Bacon (DR) ▌At-large. Barnabas Bidwell (DR) Bristol ▌At-large. Stephen Bullock (F) (until May 27, 1803) [b] ▌At-large. Alden Spooner (F) Cumberland ▌At-large. John Cushing (DR) ▌At-large. Woodbury Storer (F) Dukes and Nantucket ▌At-large. Isaac Coffin (DR) Essex ▌At-large. Elias H. Derby (F) ▌At-large. John Heard (F) ▌At-large. Nathaniel Marsh (F) (until May 27, 1803) [b] ▌At-large. Benjamin Pickman (F) ▌At-large. Enoch Titcomb (F) ▌At-large. Dudley A. Tyng (F) Hampshire ▌At-large. Samuel Fowler (F) ▌At-large. John Hastings (F) (until May 27, 1803) [b] ▌At-large. John Hooker (F) ▌At-large. Ezra Starkweather (F) Hancock, Lincoln and Washington ▌At-large. Alexander Campbell (F) (until May 27, 1803) [b] ▌At-large. David Cobb (F)

Kennebeck ▌At-large. John Chandler (DR) Middlesex ▌At-large. William Hildreth (DR) ▌At-large. Aaron Hill (DR) ▌At-large. William Hull (DR) ▌At-large. Jonathan Maynard (DR) Norfolk ▌At-large. John Ellis (DR) ▌At-large. John Howe (DR) Plymouth ▌At-large. Beza Hayward (F) ▌At-large. Isaac Thompson (F) Suffolk ▌At-large. John C. Jones (F) ▌At-large. Jonathan Mason (F) ▌At-large. David Tilden (DR) [a] ▌At-large. William Tudor (F) ▌At-large. Oliver Wendell (F) (until May 27, 1803) [b] Worcester ▌At-large. Daniel Bigelow (F) ▌At-large. Elijah Brigham (F) ▌At-large. Thomas Hale (F) ▌At-large. Salem Towne (F) (until May 27, 1803) [b] York ▌At-large. Simon Frye (F) ▌At-large. John Woodman (DR)

President of the Senate David Cobb (F) [c]

House of Representatives

The members of the House of Representatives are apportioned by incorporated township and therefore the number of representatives in the House of Representatives can vary. Every incorporated township that has at least 150 ratable polls (taxable persons) is given one representative and for every additional 225 ratable polls, another representative is given. Townships can choose not to send a representative to the House each session, therefore the total number of filled seats can fluctuate year-to-year. ^[6]

Barnstable ▌Barnstable. Isaiah L. Green (DR) ▌Brewster. Isaac Clark ▌Chatham. Richard Sears ▌Falmouth. David Nye ▌Harwich. Ebenezer Broadbrook ▌Orleans. Richard Sparrow ▌Sandwich. William Bodfish ▌Yarmouth. Elisha Doane Berkshire ▌Adams. Abraham Howland ▌Cheshire. Jonathan Richardson ▌Lanesborough. Gideon Wheeler (F) ▌Lenox. Elijah Northrup ▌Peru[d]. Cyrus Stowell (DR) ▌Pittsfield. Joshua Danforth ▌Richmond. Noah Roseter ▌Sandisfield. John Picket ▌Stockbridge. Jonathan Patten ▌Tyringham. Adonijah Bidwell ▌West Stockbridge. Enoch W. Thayer (DR) ▌Williamstown. William Young ▌Windsor. Amos Holbrook Bristol ▌Attleborough. Ebenezer Tyler ▌Berkley. Apollos Tobey ▌Dartmouth. Holder Slocum ▌Dighton. George Walker ▌Easton. Abiel Mitchell ▌Freetown. Nathaniel Morton Jr. (DR) ▌New Bedford. Benjamin Church Jr. ▌Norton. Laban Wheaton (F) ▌Raynham. William A. Leonard ▌Rehoboth. Frederick Down ▌Somerset. Francis Borland ▌Swansea[e]. Christopher Mason ▌Taunton. Jones Godfrey ▌Westport. Abner Brownell Cumberland ▌Brunswick. John Durlap ▌Cape Elizabeth. Mark Dyer ▌Falmouth. Archelaus Lewis ▌Gorham. Lothrop Lewis (F) ▌Harpswell. Benjamin Dunning ▌Brunswick. John Durlap ▌Hebron. Samuel Paris (F) ▌Lewiston. John Herrick ▌Livermore. Cyrus Hamlin ▌New Gloucester. Joseph E. Foxcraft ▌North Yarmouth. James Prince (DR) ▌Paris. Josiah Bisco ▌Portland. William Symmes ▌Portland. Joseph Titcomb ▌Scarborough. Joseph Emerson ▌Windham. Peter T. Smith Dukes ▌Edgartown. William Mayhew ▌Tisbury. Benjamin Allen Essex ▌Amesbury. Christopher Sargent ▌Andover. Thomas Kitteridge (DR) ▌Beverly. Israel Thorndike (F) ▌Beverly. Joseph Wood ▌Boxford. Thomas Perley ▌Bradford. Nathanial Thurston (F) ▌Danvers. Gideon Foster ▌Danvers. Samuel Page ▌Gloucester. Daniel Rogers Jr. (DR) ▌Hamilton. Robert Dodge ▌Haverhill. Francis Carr (DR) ▌Ipswich. Jonathan Cogswell ▌Ipswich. Joseph Swazey ▌Ipswich. Nathaniel Wade ▌Lynn. Abner Cheever ▌Marblehead. Richard James (DR) ▌Marblehead. Nathan B. Martin (DR) ▌Marblehead. Joshua Prentiss (DR) ▌Marblehead. John Prince (DR) ▌Methuen. William Russ ▌Newbury. Josiah Little ▌Newburyport. Thomas Carter ▌Newburyport. Thomas M. Clark (F) ▌Newburyport. Mark Fitz (F) ▌Newburyport. Nicholas Johnson ▌Newburyport. Jonathan Marsh ▌Newburyport. Jeremiah Nelson (F) ▌Rowley. Moody Spafford ▌Salem. John Hathorne (DR) ▌Salem. Joseph Sprague (DR) ▌Salem. Jonathan Waldo (DR) ▌Salisbury. Jonathan Webster ▌Wenham. Samuel Blanchard Hancock ▌Belfast. Jonathan Wilson ▌Castine. Oliver Mann ▌Frankfort. Abner Bicknell ▌Hampden. Martin Kinsley ▌Orrington. Oliver Leonard ▌Penobscot. Jeremiah Wardwell ▌Vinalhaven. William Vinal

Kennebec ▌Augusta. Samuel Howard ▌Hallowell. Nathaniel Perley ▌Pittston. Samuel Oakman ▌Winthrop. Nathaniel Banks Middlesex ▌Acton. Asa Perlin ▌Billerica. James Abbot ▌Cambridge. Jonathan L. Austin (DR) ▌Charlestown. Matthew Bridge (DR) ▌Charlestown. Thomas Harris (DR) ▌Concord. Joseph Chandler ▌Dracut. Israel Hildreth ▌Framingham. Jonathan Maynard ▌Groton. Samuel Dana (DR) ▌Holliston. Ephraim Littlefield ▌Hopkinton. Timothy Sheppard ▌Lexington. Isaac Hastings ▌Lincoln. Samuel Hoar (DR) ▌Malden. Jonathan Oakes ▌Malborough. John Loring ▌Medford. Nathaniel Hall ▌Newton. Timothy Jackson (F) ▌Reading. James Bancroft ▌Sherburne. Daniel Whitney ▌Sudbury. Jonathan Rice ▌Watertown. Jonas White ▌Westford. Jonathan Carver ▌Weston. John Slack ▌Woburn. Loammi Baldwin (F) Nantucket ▌Nantucket. Micajah Coffin (DR) Norfolk ▌Bellingham. Laban Bates ▌Brookline[f]. Stephen Sharp ▌Canton. Joseph Bemis ▌Cohasset. Thomas Lothrop ▌Dedham. Ebenezer Fisher ▌Dorchester. Perez Morton (DR) ▌Franklin. John Boyd ▌Medfield. John Baxter ▌Medway. John Ellis ▌Milton. David Tucker ▌Needham. Jonathan Kingsbery ▌Randolph. Joseph White ▌Roxbury. Crowell Hatch ▌Roxbury. Joseph Heath ▌Roxbury. Willian Brewer ▌Stoughton. Lemuel Gay ▌Walpole. William Bacon ▌Weymouth. James Lovell ▌Wrentham. Nathan Comstock Plymouth ▌Abington. Aaron Hobart ▌Bridgewater. Daniel Snow ▌Duxbury. Seth Sprague ▌Hanover. Albert Smith ▌Hingham. Nathan Rice ▌Kingston. Seth Drew ▌Marshfield. Elisha Phillips ▌Middleborough. John Tinkham ▌Pembroke. Nathaniel Smith ▌Plymouth. John D. Dunbar ▌Rochester. Elisha Ruggles ▌Scituate. Charles Turner Jr. (DR) Suffolk ▌Boston. William Brown (F) ▌Boston. Jonathan Hunnewell (F) ▌Boston. John Lowell (F) ▌Boston. Harrison G. Otis (F) ▌Boston. Samuel Parkman (F) ▌Boston. John Phillips (F) ▌Boston. William Smith (F) Washington No representatives sent York ▌Arundel. Thomas Perkins III ▌Berwick. John Lord (F) ▌Biddeford. Nathaniel Webster ▌Kittery. Mark Adams ▌Lyman. John Low ▌Saco[g]. Samuel Scammon ▌Saco[g]. Thomas G. Thornton ▌Waterborough. James Carlisle ▌Wells. Nathaniel Wells (F) ▌York. Samuel Darby

Speaker of the House Harrison G. Otis (F) Speaker Vote [7] ▌Harrison G. Otis (F): 124 ▌Perez Morton (DR): 73 ▌Henry Knox (F): 2 ▌John Lowell (F): 1

Committees

Standing Committees

Committee [4]	Senate Members	House Members
Committee on Accounts	▌Isaac Thompson (F) ▌Thomas Hale (F)	▌Samuel Porter (F) ▌Stephen Monroe ▌Bezaleel Taft (F)
Committee on Applications for New Trials	▌Barnabas Bidwell (DR) ▌John Hooker (F)	▌William Ely (F) ▌William Symmes ▌Enoch W. Thayer (DR)
Committee on Applications for incorporation of Towns and Districts	▌Beza Hayward (F) ▌Elijah Brigham (F)	▌Lothrop Lewis (F) ▌Mark Langdon Hill (DR) ▌Josiah Little
Committee on Applications for incorporation of Turnpikes, Bridges and Canals	▌John Bacon (DR) ▌Alden Spooner (F)	▌Jonathan Smith (F) ▌Joseph Kendall ▌Lothrop Lewis (F)
Committee on Applications for incorporation of Parishes	▌Enoch Titcomb (F) ▌Jonathan Maynard (DR)	▌Hugh MacLellan (DR) ▌Nathaniel Webster ▌Timothy Jackson (F)
Committee on Applications for incorporation of Fisheries	▌Aaron Hill (DR) ▌John Cushing (DR)	▌Joseph Titcomb ▌Moody Spafford ▌Aaron Hobart

Changes in membership

Senate

County	Vacated by	Reason for change	Successor	Date of successor's formal installation
Suffolk	Vacant	Incumbent John Codman (F) died before the beginning of this General Court. The House and Senate elected a replacement. [a]	David Tilden (DR)	May 25, 1803

Officers and officials

Senate officers

• Chaplain: Rev. William Emerson
• Clerk: Wendell Davis

House of Representatives officers

• Chaplian: Rev. Thomas Baldwin
• Clerk: Nicholas Tillinghast

See also

• 8th United States Congress
• List of Massachusetts General Courts

Notes

1. David Tilden (DR) was elected by the House and Senate to fill the vacany left by John Codman (F), who died before the start of term. ^[2]
2. Elected to the Massachusetts Governor's Council at the start of term. ^[3]
3. Unanimously elected by the Senate ^[5]
4. Originally incorporated as Partridgefield
5. Originally incorporated as Swanzey
6. Originally incorporated as Brooklyn
7. Originally incorporated as Pepperelborough

References

1. "Organization of the Legislature Since 1780". Manual for the Use of the General Court. Boston: Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 2009. p. 340+.
2. "Massachusetts 1803 State Senate, Suffolk County, Special". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
3. "Massachusetts 1803 Governor's Council". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
4. "Civil Government in Massachusetts". Massachusetts Register and United States Calendar for 1804. 1804. hdl:2452/121950. For the political year, commencing May, 1803, and ending May, 1804
5. "Massachusetts 1803 Senate President". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
6. Chapter I, Section III, Article II of the Constitution of Massachusetts (1780)
7. "Massachusetts 1803 Speaker of the House". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825. Retrieved January 18, 2023.

External links

• "Massachusetts", A New Nation Votes: American Electoral Returns, 1788-1825, American Antiquarian Society, 2007 – via Tufts University. (Includes data for state senate and house elections in 1803)
• Massachusetts Acts and Resolves: 1803, hdl:2452/103848
• Massachusetts General Court, Bills (Legislative Documents) and Journals: 1804, hdl:2452/819126
• Massachusetts Acts and Resolves: 1804, hdl:2452/103849