50th New York State Legislature


The 50th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to December 4, 1827, during the third year of DeWitt Clinton's second tenure as Governor of New York, in Albany.

Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1821, 32 Senators were elected on general tickets in eight senatorial districts for four-year terms. They were divided into four classes, and every year eight Senate seats came up for election. Assemblymen were elected countywide on general tickets to a one-year term, the whole Assembly being renewed annually.
On April 18, 1826, the Legislature amended the senatorial district apportionment: Delaware Co. was transferred from the 6th to the 2nd District; and Steuben Co. was transferred from the 8th to the 6th District. They also amended the Assembly district apportionment: Chautauqua, Erie, New York, St. Lawrence and Tompkins gained one seat each; and Hamilton/Montgomery, Orange, Queens, Ulster and Washington lost one seat each.
State Senator George Brayton resigned on April 18, 1826, leaving a vacancy in the Fifth District. State Senator Jedediah Morgan resigned due to ill health, leaving a vacancy in the Seventh District.
At this time, the Democratic-Republican Party was split into two factions: the "Bucktails" and the "Clintonians".
On September 21, 1826, the Clintonian state convention met at Utica; Pierre Van Cortlandt was Chairman; and Samuel Stevens and Simon G. Throop were Secretaries. The delegates nominated Gov. DeWitt Clinton for re-election; and Henry Huntington for lieutenant governor.
On October 4, 1826, the Bucktail state convention met at Herkimer; James L. Hogeboom was Chairman; and David E. Evans and Assembly Clerk Edward Livingston were Secretaries. The delegates nominated Circuit Judge William B. Rochester for governor; and Nathaniel Pitcher for lieutenant governor.
On September 11, 1826, began the affair surrounding the abduction, and probable murder, of William Morgan which led to the foundation of the Anti-Masonic Party in 1828.

Elections

The State election was held from November 6 to 8, 1826. Gov. DeWitt Clinton was re-elected, and Nathaniel Pitcher was elected lieutenant governor; for the first time in state history, the governor and the lieutenant governor were elected from opposing tickets.
Robert Bogardus, John McCarty, Duncan McMartin Jr., Truman Enos, Thomas G. Waterman, William M. Oliver, Charles H. Carroll ; and Assemblyman Benjamin Woodward were elected to full terms in the Senate. Charles Dayan and Victory Birdseye were elected to fill the vacancies. Bogardus and McMartin were Clintonians, the other eight were Bucktails.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 2, 1827, and adjourned on April 17.
Erastus Root was elected Speaker with 74 votes against 33 for Francis Granger.
On February 6, the Legislature re-elected U.S. Senator Martin Van Buren to a second term of six years.
On February 20, Abraham Keyser, Jr. was re-elected New York State Treasurer.
The Legislature met for a special session on September 11; and adjourned on December 4. This session was called to debate the report of the Board of Revisers of the State Statutes, originally appointed in 1824. At this time, the members of the Board were John Duer, Benjamin F. Butler and John C. Spencer.
The Legislature enacted that 34 presidential electors should be elected by popular ballot in districts, and these 34 then should co-opt two electors-at-large.

State Senate

Districts

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. Benjamin Woodward changed from the Assembly to the Senate.
DistrictSenatorsTerm leftPartyNotes
FirstDavid Gardiner*1 year
FirstCadwallader D. Colden*2 yearsClintonianresigned on August 30, 1827
FirstJoshua Smith*3 yearsDem.-Rep./Bucktail
FirstRobert Bogardus4 yearsClintonian
SecondWilliam Nelson*1 year
SecondWells Lake*2 yearsDem.-Rep./Bucktail
SecondPeter R. Livingston*3 yearsDem.-Rep./Bucktail
SecondBenjamin Woodward*4 yearsDem.-Rep./Bucktailalso Postmaster of Mount Hope
ThirdJacob Haight*1 year
ThirdRichard McMichael*2 yearsClintonian
ThirdAmbrose L. Jordan*3 yearsClintonianuntil October 1827 also Recorder of the City of Hudson
ThirdJohn McCarty4 yearsDem.-Rep./Bucktail
FourthSilas Wright, Jr.*1 yearDem.-Rep./Bucktailin November 1826, elected to the 20th U. S. Congress, and took his
seat on December 3, 1827, thus vacating his seat in the Legislature
FourthJohn Crary*2 yearsClintonian
FourthJohn L. Viele*3 yearsClintonian
FourthDuncan McMartin Jr.4 yearsClintonian
FifthPerley Keyes*1 yearDem.-Rep./Bucktail
FifthCharles Dayan2 yearsDem.-Rep./Bucktailelected to fill vacancy, in place of George Brayton
FifthCharles Stebbins*3 yearsDem.-Rep./Bucktail
FifthTruman Enos4 yearsDem.-Rep./Bucktail
SixthLatham A. Burrows*1 year
SixthStukely Ellsworth*2 yearsDem.-Rep./Bucktail
SixthPeter Hager 2d*3 yearsDem.-Rep./Bucktail
SixthThomas G. Waterman4 yearsDem.-Rep./Bucktail
SeventhVictory Birdseye1 yearDem.-Rep./Bucktailelected to fill vacancy, in place of Jedediah Morgan;
also D.A. of Onondaga Co.
SeventhJohn C. Spencer*2 yearsClintonian
SeventhTruman Hart*3 yearsClintonian
SeventhWilliam M. Oliver4 yearsDem.-Rep./Bucktailalso First Judge of the Yates County Court
EighthJames McCall*1 yearDem.-Rep./Bucktail
EighthSamuel Wilkeson*2 yearsClintonian
EighthEthan B. Allen*3 yearsClintonian
EighthCharles H. Carroll4 yearsDem.-Rep./Bucktailalso First Judge of the Livingston County Court

Employees

Districts

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.

Assemblymen

The asterisk denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.
DistrictAssemblymenPartyNotes
AlbanyIsaac Hamilton
AlbanyJohn Haswell
AlbanyHenry Stone
AlleganyAsa Lee Davidson
BroomePeter Robinson*
CattaraugusJohn A. BryanClintonianunsuccessfully contested by James McGlashan
CayugaGardner Kortright
CayugaAndrews Preston
CayugaPeter Yawger
Cayugavacant
ChautauquaSamuel A. Brown
ChautauquaElial T. Foote*
ChenangoJames BirdsallClintonian
ChenangoJoseph Juliand
ChenangoAugustus C. Welch
ClintonBela Edgerton
ColumbiaJacob P. Mesick
ColumbiaIsaac Mills
ColumbiaSimon Rockefeller
CortlandCephas Comstock
CortlandNathan Dayton
DelawareErastus Root*Dem.-Rep./Bucktailelected Speaker
DelawareJohn Thompson
DutchessEgbert Cary
DutchessJacob C. Elmendorf
DutchessSamuel B. Halsey
DutchessHenry A. Livingston
ErieDavid Burt
ErieOziel Smith
EssexJohn HoffnagleClintonian
FranklinJames Campbell
GeneseeJosiah Churchill*
GeneseeShubeal Dunham
GeneseeJohn B. SkinnerDem.-Rep./Bucktail
GreenePerkins King
GreeneWilliam Tuttle
Hamilton and
Montgomery		Howland FishClintonian
Hamilton and
Montgomery		Lawrence GrosDem.-Rep./Bucktail
Hamilton and
Montgomery		Nathaniel Westcott
HerkimerFrederick P. Bellinger
HerkimerDaniel C. Henderson
HerkimerRichard Smith 2d
JeffersonDavid W. Bucklin*Dem.-Rep./Bucktail
JeffersonAlpheus S. Greene
JeffersonDaniel Wardwell*Dem.-Rep./Bucktail
KingsClarence D. Sackett
LewisJohn W. Martin
LivingstonWilliam H. Spencer*
LivingstonFelix Tracy
MadisonSylvester Beecher
MadisonJames B. Eldredge
MadisonLemuel White
MonroePeter Price
MonroeAbelard Reynolds
MonroeJoseph Sibley
New YorkPhilip Brasher*Dem.-Rep./Bucktail
New YorkAbraham Cargill
New YorkJonathan I. Coddington
New YorkGilbert Conant
New YorkIsaac Minard*Dem.-Rep./Bucktail
New YorkJoseph Piggot
New YorkJonathan E. Robinson*Dem.-Rep./Bucktail
New YorkAlpheus Sherman*Dem.-Rep./Bucktail
New YorkLemuel Smith
New YorkThomas R. Smith
New YorkCharles Town
NiagaraJohn Garnsey
OneidaJohn Billings
OneidaWinthrop H. Chandler
OneidaBenjamin P. Johnson
OneidaJohn Parker
OneidaTheodore Sill*Clintonian
OnondagaChauncey Betts*
OnondagaAaron Burt
OnondagaCharles Jackson
OnondagaDaniel MoseleyDem.-Rep./Bucktail
OntarioFrancis Granger*Clintonian
OntarioLemuel Morse
OntarioNathan Parke
OrangeWilliam W. Crawford
OrangeWilliam Ecker
OrangeNathaniel Jones
OrleansAbraham Cantine
OswegoOrris Hart
OtsegoWilliam Campbell
OtsegoJohn Judson
OtsegoSherman Page
OtsegoSamuel Starkweather
PutnamHenry B. Cowles*Dem.-Rep./Bucktail
QueensThomas Tredwell*
RensselaerJeremiah Dauchy
RensselaerJohn DeFreest Jr.
RensselaerReuben Halsted
RensselaerHenry Platt
RichmondAbraham Cole
RocklandLevi Sherwood
St. LawrenceBaron S. Doty*Dem.-Rep./Bucktail
St. LawrenceSilvester Gilbert
SaratogaNicholas Emigh Jr.
SaratogaHowell Gardner
SaratogaJohn Gilchrist
SchenectadyAlonzo C. PaigeDem.-Rep./Bucktail
SchoharieSamuel Baldwin
SchoharieWilliam Mann
SenecaDaniel RhoadDem.-Rep./Bucktail
SenecaDaniel Scott*
SteubenPaul C. Cook
SteubenGeorge McClure
SuffolkGeorge L. Conklin
SuffolkSamuel Strong
SullivanHiram Bennett
TiogaGamaliel H. BarstowClintonian
TiogaDavid Williams
TompkinsNathan Benson*
TompkinsBenjamin Jennings
TompkinsJohn Sayler
UlsterJasper Cropsey
UlsterJacob Trumpbour
WarrenJohn Hay Jr.Dem.-Rep./Bucktail
WashingtonJohn McDonald
WashingtonPeter J. H. Myers
WashingtonSamuel StevensClintonian
WayneThomas Armstrongpreviously a member from Seneca Co.;
also Supervisor of Butler
WayneJonathan Boynton
WestchesterJohn Fisher
WestchesterNathaniel Montross
WestchesterJoseph Scofield*Dem.-Rep./Bucktail
YatesJames C. Robinson

Employees