| 72nd New York State Legislature | |||||
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 The Old State Capitol (1879) | |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | New York State Legislature | ||||
| Jurisdiction | New York,United States | ||||
| Term | January 1 – December 31, 1849 | ||||
| Senate | |||||
| Members | 32 | ||||
| President | Lt. Gov.George W. Patterson (W) | ||||
| Temporary President | Samuel J. Wilkin (W), from April 11 | ||||
| Party control | Whig (24-6-2) | ||||
| Assembly | |||||
| Members | 128 | ||||
| Speaker | Amos K. Hadley (W) | ||||
| Party control | Whig (106-15-7) | ||||
| Sessions | |||||
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The72nd New York State Legislature, consisting of theNew York State Senate and theNew York State Assembly, met from January 2 to April 11, 1849, during the first year ofHamilton Fish's governorship, inAlbany.
Under the provisions of theNew York Constitution of 1846, 32 Senators were elected in single-seat senatorial districts for a two-year term, the whole Senate being renewed biennially. The senatorial districts (except those in New York City) were made up of entire counties. 128 Assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts to a one-year term, the whole Assembly being renewed annually. The Assembly districts were made up of entire towns, or city wards, forming a contiguous area, all in the same county. The City and County of New York was divided into four senatorial districts, and 16 Assembly districts.
State SenatorAllen Ayrault resigned on June 2, 1848, leaving a vacancy in the 29th District.
At this time there were two major political parties: theDemocratic Party and theWhig Party. The Democratic Party was split into two factions:the "Barnburners" and the "Hunkers." The Barnburners walked out of the 1848 Democratic state convention and joined up with a small faction of anti-slavery Whigs and most of theLiberty Party to form theFree Soil Party. The uncompromising radical abolitionists ran their own tickets as the Liberty Party.
The1848 New York state election was held on November 7.
WhigsHamilton Fish andGeorge W. Patterson were elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor; and the other two statewide elective offices were also carried by the Whigs.
State ComptrollerMillard Fillmore was electedUnited States Vice President.
106 Whigs, 15 Free Soilers and 7 Hunkers were elected to the State Assembly. One Whig was elected to fill the vacancy in the State Senate.
The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol inAlbany on January 2, 1849; and adjourned on April 11.
Amos K. Hadley (W) was re-electedSpeaker with 101 votes against 13 forFrederick P. Bellinger (Barnb.) and 6 forCharles C. Noble (Hunker).
On January 31, State ComptrollerMillard Fillmore sent a letter to the Legislature, resigning the office, to take effect on February 20.
On February 6,the Legislature electedWilliam H. Seward (W) to succeedJohn A. Dix (Barnb.) as U.S. Senator, for a six-year term beginning on March 4, 1849.
On February 17, the Legislature electedWashington Hunt (W) to succeed Millard Fillmore as State Comptroller on February 20.
On April 11,Samuel J. Wilkin was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate.
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature.
| District | Senator | Party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | John G. Floyd* | Democrat/Barnburner | |
| 2nd | David A. Bokee* | Whig | on November 7, 1848, elected to the31st U.S. Congress[1] |
| 3rd | William Hall* | Whig | |
| 4th | John L. Lawrence* | Whig | |
| 5th | Samuel Frost* | Whig | |
| 6th | William Samuel Johnson* | Whig | |
| 7th | Saxton Smith* | Democrat/Barnburner | |
| 8th | Alexander J. Coffin* | Whig | |
| 9th | Samuel J. Wilkin* | Whig | on April 11, 1849, elected president pro tempore |
| 10th | Platt Adams* | Democrat/Hunker | |
| 11th | Valentine Treadwell* | Whig | |
| 12th | Albert R. Fox* | Whig | |
| 13th | James M. Cook* | Whig | |
| 14th | James S. Whallon* | Democrat/Barnburner | |
| 15th | John Fine* | Democrat/Barnburner | |
| 16th | Thomas Burch* | Whig | |
| 17th | John M. Betts* | Democrat/Barnburner | |
| 18th | David H. Little* | Whig | |
| 19th | Thomas E. Clark* | Whig | |
| 20th | Thomas H. Bond* | Whig | |
| 21st | John W. Tamblin* | Democrat/Hunker | |
| 22nd | George Geddes* | Whig | |
| 23rd | Samuel H. P. Hall* | Whig | |
| 24th | William J. Cornwell* | Whig | |
| 25th | Timothy S. Williams* | Whig | died on March 11, 1849 |
| 26th | William M. Hawley* | Democrat/Barnburner | |
| 27th | Jerome Fuller* | Whig | |
| 28th | A. Hyde Cole* | Whig | |
| 29th | Charles Colt | Whig | elected to fill vacancy, in place ofAllen Ayrault |
| 30th | John W. Brownson* | Whig | |
| 31st | John T. Bush* | Whig | |
| 32nd | Frederick S. Martin* | Whig |
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.
Party affiliations follow the vote on Speaker, U.S. Senator and USNY Regent.[2]
