The 81st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to April 19, 1858, during the second year of John A. King'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 (four 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.
On April 13, the Legislature re-apportioned the Senate districts, and the Assembly seats per county. Cayuga, Dutchess, Genesee, Greene, Montgomery, Onondaga, Orange, Otsego, Schoharie and Tompkins counties lost one seat each; New York, Oswego, Queens, Ulster and Westchester counties gained one seat each; Kings County gained four seats; and the new Schuyler County was apportioned one seat.see The Revised Statutes of the State of New York (1859; Senate pg. 149f, Assembly pg. 452f)
At this time there were two major political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Know Nothing movement ran in the election as the "American Party."
Elections The 1857 New York state election was held on November 3. All eight statewide elective offices were carried by the Democrats. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Secretary of State was: Democratic 195,000; Republican 177,000; and American 67,000.
Sessions The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 5, 1858; and adjourned on April 19.
On January 12, John B. Halsted (R) was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate..
On January 26, after three weeks of deadlock, Thomas G. Alvord (D) was elected Speaker on the 53rd ballot.Under ordinary circumstances, the result of the last ballot would have been "no choice", the vote being a tie of 57 for Alvord and 57 for all other candidates together but, between the 52nd and the 53rd ballot, a resolution was adopted that the person receiving the largest number of votes on the next ballot would be elected.
+1858 Speaker election result Ballot Date Robert B. Van Valkenburgh Rep. Thomas G. Alvord Dem. Samuel A. Law Amer. Frost Horton Amer. also ran1stJan. 5 60 56 9 Adams2ndJan. 5 60 56 9 Russell3rdJan. 5 60 56 9 Bacheller4thJan. 6 60 56 95thJan. 6 60 56 96thJan. 6 60 56 97thJan. 6 60 56 98thJan. 6 60 56 99thJan. 7 60 55 810thJan. 7 60 55 8 Adams11thJan. 7 60 55 8 1 12thJan. 7 60 53 8 Boughton13thJan. 7 60 53 8 Reynolds14thJan. 11 58 54 7 15thJan. 11 58 54 7 Becker16thJan. 11 58 54 7 Becker17thJan. 11 58 54 7 Becker18thJan. 11 58 54 7 Becker19thJan. 11 58 54 7 Becker20thJan. 11 58 54 7 Becker21stJan. 12 58 54 7 Hodge22ndJan. 12 59 54 7 Hodge23rdJan. 12 58 54 7 Hodge24thJan. 12 58 53 7 Hodge25thJan. 13 60 55 7 D. Miller26thJan. 13 60 55 8 D. Miller27thJan. 13 60 55 8 D. Miller28thJan. 13 60 55 8 D. Miller29thJan. 13 60 55 8 D. Miller30thJan. 14 56 52 7 Bacheller31stJan. 14 56 52 7 Bacheller32ndJan. 14 56 52 7 Bacheller33rdJan. 14 56 52 7 Bacheller34thJan. 14 56 54 7 Bacheller35thJan. 14 55 51 7 Bacheller36thJan. 14 55 51 7 Bacheller37thJan. 14 55 51 7 Bacheller38thJan. 15 54 49 1 6 39thJan. 15 54 49 1 740thJan. 16 45 40 1 741stJan. 16 45 40 1 7 42ndJan. 19 54 48 1 7 43rdJan. 19 54 48 1 7 44thJan. 21 55 50 1 6 45thJan. 21 55 50 1 6 46thJan. 21 55 50 1 747thJan. 21 55 50 1 7 48thJan. 21 55 50 1 7 49thJan. 21 55 50 1 7 50thJan. 22 54 49 1 6 51stJan. 22 52 47 1 6 52ndJan. 26 54 49 1 7 53rdJan. 26 55 57 2
State Senate Districts
1st District: Queens, Richmond and Suffolk counties 2nd District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 11th, 13th and 19th wards of the City of Brooklyn 3rd District: 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th wards of the City of Brookland; and all towns in Kings County 4th District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 14th wards of New York City 5th District: 10th, 11th, 13th and 17th wards of New York City 6th District: 9th, 15th, 16th and 18th wards of New York City 7th District: 12th, 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd wards of New York City 8th District: Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties 9th District: Orange and Sullivan counties 10th District: Greene and Ulster counties 11th District: Columbia and Dutchess counties 12th District: Rensselaer and Washington counties 13th District: Albany County 14th District: Delaware, Schenectady and Schoharie counties 15th District: Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery and Saratoga 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: Oswego County 22nd District: Onondaga County 23rd District: Chenango, Cortland and Madison 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.
Members The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. James Noxon, John E. Paterson, John B. Halsted, James Wadsworth and John P. Darling were re-elected. George G. Scott and Ralph A. Loveland changed from the Assembly to the Senate.
Party affiliations follow the vote for Senate officers.
District Senator Party Notes1stJoshua B. Smith Democrat2ndSamuel Sloan Democrat3rdFrancis B. Spinola Democrat4thJohn C. Mather Democrat5thSmith Ely, Jr. Democrat6thRichard Schell Democrat7thJohn Doherty Democrat8thBenjamin Brandreth Democrat9thOsmer B. Wheeler American10thGeorge W. Pratt Democrat11thWilliam G. Mandeville Democrat12thJohn D. Willard Democrat13thGeorge Y. Johnson American14thEdward I. Burhans Democrat15thGeorge G. Scott* Democrat16thRalph A. Loveland* Republican17thWilliam A. Wheeler Republican18thJoseph A. Willard Republican19thAlrick Hubbell Republican20thAddison H. Laflin Republican21stCheney Ames Republican22ndJames Noxon* Republican23rdJohn J. Foote Republican24thLyman Truman Republican25thAlexander B. Williams Republican26thTruman Boardman Republican27thAlexander S. Diven Republican28thJohn E. Paterson* Republican29thHoratio J. Stow IndependentStow was elected in opposition to his predecessor, Republican Alonzo S. Upham, but voted with the Republicans for Clerk of the Senate. 30thJohn B. Halsted* Republicanon January 12, elected president pro tempore31stJames Wadsworth* Democratresigned on August 18, 185832ndJohn P. Darling* Republicanalso Supervisor of New Albion
Employees Clerk: Samuel P. Allen Deputy Clerk: Henry J. Sickles Sergeant-at-Arms: Henry W. Dwight Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Simeon Dillingham Doorkeeper: Richard U. Owens First Assistant Doorkeeper: Henry W. Shipman Second Assistant Doorkeeper: Samuel Ten Eyck Third Assistant Doorkeeper: James P. Clark Journal Clerk: James Terwilliger Engrossing Clerks: A. N. Cole, Charles G. Fairman
State Assembly Assemblymen The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.
Party affiliations follow the original vote for Speaker.