139th New York State Legislature

The 139th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to April 20, 1916, during the second year of Charles S. Whitman's governorship, in Albany.

139th New York State Legislature
138th 140th
The facade of the New York State Capitol building in bright daylight
Overview
Legislative bodyNew York State Legislature
JurisdictionNew York, United States
TermJanuary 1 – December 31, 1916
Senate
Members51
PresidentLt. Gov. Edward Schoeneck (R)
Temporary PresidentElon R. Brown (R)
Party controlRepublican (34-17)
Assembly
Members150
SpeakerThaddeus C. Sweet (R)
Party controlRepublican (96-52-1-1)
Sessions
1stJanuary 5 – April 20, 1916

Background

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Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1894, re-apportioned in 1906 and 1907, 51 Senators and 150 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 (twelve districts), Kings County (eight districts), Erie County (three districts) and Monroe County (two districts). The Assembly districts were made up of contiguous area, all within the same county.

At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

Elections

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The New York state election, 1915, was held on November 2. No statewide elective offices were up for election. The voters rejected all amendments proposed by the Constitutional Convention of 1915.

Sessions

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The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 5, 1916; and adjourned on April 20.

Thaddeus C. Sweet (R) was re-elected Speaker, with 94 votes against 45 for Joseph M. Callahan (D).[1]

On February 8, the Legislature elected three Regents of the University of the State of New York: William Berri to fill the vacancy caused by the death of St. Clair McKelway, for a term to end on April 1, 1917; James Byrne to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Andrew J. Shipman, for a term to end on April 1, 1920; and Walter Guest Kellogg for a term of twelve years, beginning on April 1, 1916.[2]

The Legislature enacted a new apportionment of Senate districts, and the number of assemblymen per county, which became law with the approval by the governor on May 1.[3] The new apportionment was declared unconstitutional by the New York Court of Appeals in July 1916, and the New York state election, 1916, was held under the apportionment of 1907.

State Senate

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Districts

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Members

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

Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

District Senator Party Notes
1st George L. Thompson* Republican
2nd Bernard M. Patten* Democrat
3rd Thomas H. Cullen* Democrat
4th Charles C. Lockwood* Republican Chairman of Public Education
5th William J. Heffernan* Democrat
6th William B. Carswell* Democrat
7th Daniel J. Carroll* Democrat
8th Alvah W. Burlingame Jr.* Republican Chairman of Revision
9th Robert R. Lawson* Republican Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills
10th Alfred J. Gilchrist* Republican Chairman of Commerce and Navigation
11th Christopher D. Sullivan* Democrat on November 7, 1916, elected to the 65th U.S. Congress
12th Henry W. Doll* Democrat
13th Jimmy Walker* Democrat
14th James A. Foley* Democrat
15th John J. Boylan* Democrat
16th Robert F. Wagner* Democrat Minority Leader
17th Ogden L. Mills* Rep./Progr.
18th William M. Bennett* Rep./Progr.
19th George W. Simpson* Democrat
20th Irving J. Joseph* Democrat
21st John J. Dunnigan* Democrat
22nd James A. Hamilton* Democrat
23rd George Cromwell* Republican
24th George A. Slater* Republican
25th John D. Stivers* Republican Chairman of Military Affairs
26th James E. Towner* Republican Chairman of Insurance
27th Charles W. Walton* Republican
28th Henry M. Sage* Republican Chairman of Finance
29th George B. Wellington Republican elected to fill vacancy, in place of Walter A. Wood Jr.;
Chairman of Conservation
30th George H. Whitney* Republican Chairman of Public Health
31st Arden L. Norton* Republican Chairman of Canals
32nd Franklin W. Cristman* Republican Chairman of Privileges and Elections
33rd James A. Emerson* Republican Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
34th N. Monroe Marshall* Republican Chairman of Banks
35th Elon R. Brown* Republican Temporary President; Chairman of Rules
36th Charles W. Wicks* Republican
37th Samuel A. Jones* Republican Chairman of Affairs of Villages
38th J. Henry Walters* Republican Chairman of Judiciary
39th William H. Hill* Rep./Progr.
40th Charles J. Hewitt* Republican Chairman of Internal Affairs
41st Morris S. Halliday* Republican Chairman of Penal Institutions
42nd Thomas B. Wilson* Republican Chairman of Agriculture
43rd Charles D. Newton* Republican Chairman of Codes
44th Archie D. Sanders* Republican on November 7, 1916, elected to the 65th U.S. Congress
45th George F. Argetsinger* Republican Chairman of Affairs of Cities
46th John B. Mullan* Republican Chairman of Public Printing
47th George F. Thompson* Republican Chairman of Public Service
48th Clinton T. Horton* Republican Chairman of Civil Service
49th Samuel J. Ramsperger* Democrat
50th William P. Greiner* Democrat
51st George E. Spring* Republican Chairman of Labor and Industry

Employees

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  • Clerk: Ernest A. Fay
  • Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles R. Hotaling
  • Stenographer: John K. Marshall

State Assembly

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Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

Assemblymen

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District Assemblymen Party Notes
Albany 1st Clarence F. Welsh Republican
2nd John G. Malone* Republican Chairman of Cities
3rd William C. Baxter* Republican Chairman of Electricity, Gas and Water Supply
Allegany William Duke Jr. Republican
Broome Simon P. Quick* Republican Chairman of Penal Institutions
Cattaraugus DeHart H. Ames* Republican
Cayuga William F. Whitman* Republican
Chautauqua 1st Leon L. Fancher Republican
2nd Joseph A. McGinnies Republican
Chemung Robert P. Bush Democrat
Chenango Bert Lord* Republican
Clinton William R. Weaver Republican
Columbia William Wallace Chace* Republican
Cortland George H. Wiltsie* Republican Chairman of Banks
Delaware Edwin A. Mackey* Republican
Dutchess 1st James C. Allen* Republican
2nd Frank L. Gardner Republican
Erie 1st Alexander Taylor Republican
2nd Ross Graves* Republican
3rd Nicholas J. Miller* Republican Chairman of Public Institutions
4th James M. Mead* Democrat
5th John A. Lynch Democrat
6th Peter C. Jezewski* Republican
7th Joseph Roemhild Jr. Rep./Progr.
8th Leonard W. H. Gibbs* Republican
9th Nelson W. Cheney Republican
Essex Raymond T. Kenyon* Republican
Franklin Warren T. Thayer Republican
Fulton and Hamilton Burt Z. Kasson Republican
Genesee Louis H. Wells* Republican Chairman of Internal Affairs
Greene George H. Chase* Republican Chairman of Commerce and Navigation
Herkimer Selden C. Clobridge* Republican Chairman of Soldiers' Home
Jefferson 1st H. Edmund Machold* Republican Chairman of Conservation
2nd Willard S. Augsbury* Republican
Kings 1st R. Hunter McQuistion* Republican Chairman of Social Welfare
2nd William J. Gillen* Democrat
3rd Frank J. Taylor* Democrat
4th Peter A. McArdle* Democrat
5th Fred G. Milligan Jr.* Republican
6th Nathan D. Shapiro* Republican
7th Daniel F. Farrell* Democrat
8th John J. McKeon* Democrat
9th Frederick S. Burr* Democrat
10th Fred M. Ahern* Republican Chairman of Codes
11th George R. Brennan* Republican Chairman of General Laws
12th William T. Simpson* Republican
13th Herman Kramer* Democrat
14th John Peter La Frenz* Democrat
15th Jeremiah F. Twomey Democrat
16th Charles Joseph Democrat
17th Frederick A. Wells* Republican
18th Frederick B. Maerkle Republican
19th William A. Bacher* Democrat
20th August C. Flamman* Republican Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills
21st Isaac Mendelsohn* Democrat
22nd Charles H. Duff* Republican
23rd Abraham I. Shiplacoff Socialist
Lewis Henry L. Grant* Republican Chairman of Agriculture
Livingston George F. Wheelock Republican
Madison Morell E. Tallett* Republican Chairman of Public Education
Monroe 1st James A. Harris* Republican
2nd Simon L. Adler* Republican Majority Leader
3rd John R. Powers* Republican
4th Frank Dobson* Republican
5th Franklin W. Judson* Republican
Montgomery Erastus Corning Davis* Republican
Nassau Thomas A. McWhinney* Republican
New York 1st John J. Ryan* Democrat
2nd Peter J. Hamill Democrat
3rd Caesar B. F. Barra Democrat
4th Henry S. Schimmel* Democrat
5th Maurice McDonald* Democrat
6th Nathan D. Perlman* Republican Chairman of Claims
7th Peter P. McElligott* Democrat
8th Abraham Goodman Democrat
9th Charles D. Donohue* Democrat
10th Leon Bleecker Rep./Progr.
11th James F. Mahony Democrat
12th Joseph D. Kelly* Democrat
13th James C. Campbell* Democrat
14th Robert Lee Tudor* Democrat
15th Abram Ellenbogen* Republican Chairman of Charitable and Religious Societies
16th Martin G. McCue* Democrat
17th Vincent Gilroy Democrat
18th Mark Goldberg* Democrat
19th Perry M. Armstrong Democrat
20th Frank Aranow* Democrat
21st Thomas T. Reilley Democrat
22nd Maurice Bloch* Democrat
23rd Daniel C. Oliver* Democrat on November 7, 1916, elected to the 65th U.S. Congress
24th Owen M. Kiernan* Democrat
25th Robert McC. Marsh Republican
26th Meyer Levy Democrat
27th Hoffman Nickerson Republican
28th Salvatore A. Cotillo* Democrat
29th Alfred D. Bell Republican
30th Timothy F. Gould Democrat
31st Jacob Goldstein Democrat
Bronx 32nd William S. Evans* Democrat
33rd Earl H. Miller* Democrat
34th M. Maldwin Fertig* Democrat
35th Joseph M. Callahan* Democrat Minority Leader[4]
Niagara 1st William Bewley* Republican Chairman of Labor and Industry
2nd Alan V. Parker* Republican
Oneida 1st John J. Hess Democrat
2nd Louis M. Martin Republican
3rd George T. Davis Republican
Onondaga 1st Edward Arnts* Republican Chairman of Canals
2nd J. Leslie Kincaid* Republican Chairman of Military Affairs
3rd George R. Fearon Republican
Ontario Heber E. Wheeler* Republican
Orange 1st William T. Snider Republican
2nd Charles L. Mead Republican
Orleans A. Allen Comstock* Republican
Oswego Thaddeus C. Sweet* Republican re-elected Speaker; Chairman of Rules
Otsego Allen J. Bloomfield* Republican
Putnam Hamilton Fish III* Progressive
Queens 1st Nicholas Nehrbauer Jr.* Democrat
2nd Peter J. McGarry* Democrat
3rd William H. O'Hare* Democrat
4th George E. Polhemus* Democrat
Rensselaer 1st John F. Shannon* Democrat
2nd Arthur Cowee Republican
Richmond Stephen D. Stephens* Democrat
Rockland William A. Serven Republican
St. Lawrence 1st Frank L. Seaker* Republican Chairman of Railroads
2nd Edward A. Everett* Republican
Saratoga Gilbert T. Seelye* Republican Chairman of Public Health
Schenectady Walter S. McNab* Republican
Schoharie Edward A. Dox* Democrat
Schuyler Henry J. Mitchell Republican
Seneca William J. Maier* Republican Chairman of Ways and Means
Steuben 1st Reuben B. Oldfield* Republican Chairman of Revision
2nd Richard M. Prangen* Republican
Suffolk 1st DeWitt C. Talmage* Republican
2nd Henry A. Murphy* Republican Chairman of Excise
Sullivan William B. Voorhees Republican
Tioga Daniel P. Witter Republican
Tompkins Casper Fenner Republican
Ulster 1st Henry R. DeWitt* Republican
2nd Abram P. Lefevre* Republican Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
Warren Henry E. H. Brereton* Republican Chairman of Privileges and Elections
Washington Charles O. Pratt* Republican Chairman of Villages
Wayne Riley A. Wilson* Republican Chairman of Public Printing
Westchester 1st George Blakely* Republican
2nd William S. Coffey* Republican Chairman of Insurance
3rd Walter W. Law Jr.* Republican
4th Floy D. Hopkins* Republican
Wyoming John Knight* Republican Chairman of Judiciary
Yates Howard S. Fullagar Republican

Employees

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Notes

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  1. ^ SWEET AGAIN MADE ASSEMBLY SPEAKER in The Rome Daily Sentinel on January 5, 1916
  2. ^ Laws of the State of New York (pg. 2494f)
  3. ^ see Laws of the State of New York (Vol. II; Chap. 373)
  4. ^ MAKE ASSEMBLY SLATES in The New York Times on January 5, 1916
  5. ^ Murlin, Edgar L. (1916). The New York Red Book. Albany, N.Y.: J. B. Lyon Company. p. 678 – via Google Books.

Sources

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