| 81st New York State Legislature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
 The Old State Capitol (1879) | |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | New York State Legislature | ||||
| Jurisdiction | New York,United States | ||||
| Term | January 1 – December 31, 1858 | ||||
| Senate | |||||
| Members | 32 | ||||
| President | Lt. Gov.Henry R. Selden (R) | ||||
| Temporary President | John B. Halsted (R), from January 12 | ||||
| Party control | Republican plurality (15-14-2-1) | ||||
| Assembly | |||||
| Members | 128 | ||||
| Speaker | Thomas G. Alvord (D) | ||||
| Party control | Republican plurality (61-57-10) | ||||
| Sessions | |||||
| |||||
The81st New York State Legislature, consisting of theNew York State Senate and theNew York State Assembly, met from January 5 to April 19, 1858, during the second year ofJohn A. King's governorship, inAlbany.
Under the provisions of theNew 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 newSchuyler County was apportioned one seat.[1]
At this time there were two major political parties: theDemocratic Party and theRepublican Party. TheKnow Nothing movement ran in the election as the "American Party."
The1857 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.
The Legislature met for the regular session at the Old State Capitol inAlbany 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 electedSpeaker on the 53rd ballot.[2]
| Ballot | Date | Robert B. Van Valkenburgh Rep. | Thomas G. Alvord Dem. | Samuel A. Law Amer. | Frost Horton Amer. | also ran |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jan. 5 | 60 | 56 | 9 | Adams | |
| 2nd | Jan. 5 | 60 | 56 | 9 | Russell | |
| 3rd | Jan. 5 | 60 | 56 | 9 | Bacheller | |
| 4th | Jan. 6 | 60 | 56 | 9 | ||
| 5th | Jan. 6 | 60 | 56 | 9 | ||
| 6th | Jan. 6 | 60 | 56 | 9 | ||
| 7th | Jan. 6 | 60 | 56 | 9 | ||
| 8th | Jan. 6 | 60 | 56 | 9 | ||
| 9th | Jan. 7 | 60 | 55 | 8 | ||
| 10th | Jan. 7 | 60 | 55 | 8 | Adams | |
| 11th | Jan. 7 | 60 | 55 | 8 | 1 | |
| 12th | Jan. 7 | 60 | 53 | 8 | Boughton | |
| 13th | Jan. 7 | 60 | 53 | 8 | Reynolds | |
| 14th | Jan. 11 | 58 | 54 | 7 | ||
| 15th | Jan. 11 | 58 | 54 | 7 | Becker | |
| 16th | Jan. 11 | 58 | 54 | 7 | Becker | |
| 17th | Jan. 11 | 58 | 54 | 7 | Becker | |
| 18th | Jan. 11 | 58 | 54 | 7 | Becker | |
| 19th | Jan. 11 | 58 | 54 | 7 | Becker | |
| 20th | Jan. 11 | 58 | 54 | 7 | Becker | |
| 21st | Jan. 12 | 58 | 54 | 7 | Hodge | |
| 22nd | Jan. 12 | 59 | 54 | 7 | Hodge | |
| 23rd | Jan. 12 | 58 | 54 | 7 | Hodge | |
| 24th | Jan. 12 | 58 | 53 | 7 | Hodge | |
| 25th | Jan. 13 | 60 | 55 | 7 | D. Miller | |
| 26th | Jan. 13 | 60 | 55 | 8 | D. Miller | |
| 27th | Jan. 13 | 60 | 55 | 8 | D. Miller | |
| 28th | Jan. 13 | 60 | 55 | 8 | D. Miller | |
| 29th | Jan. 13 | 60 | 55 | 8 | D. Miller | |
| 30th | Jan. 14 | 56 | 52 | 7 | Bacheller | |
| 31st | Jan. 14 | 56 | 52 | 7 | Bacheller | |
| 32nd | Jan. 14 | 56 | 52 | 7 | Bacheller | |
| 33rd | Jan. 14 | 56 | 52 | 7 | Bacheller | |
| 34th | Jan. 14 | 56 | 54 | 7 | Bacheller | |
| 35th | Jan. 14 | 55 | 51 | 7 | Bacheller | |
| 36th | Jan. 14 | 55 | 51 | 7 | Bacheller | |
| 37th | Jan. 14 | 55 | 51 | 7 | Bacheller | |
| 38th | Jan. 15 | 54 | 49 | 1 | 6 | |
| 39th | Jan. 15 | 54 | 49 | 1 | 7 | |
| 40th | Jan. 16 | 45 | 40 | 1 | 7 | |
| 41st | Jan. 16 | 45 | 40 | 1 | 7 | |
| 42nd | Jan. 19 | 54 | 48 | 1 | 7 | |
| 43rd | Jan. 19 | 54 | 48 | 1 | 7 | |
| 44th | Jan. 21 | 55 | 50 | 1 | 6 | |
| 45th | Jan. 21 | 55 | 50 | 1 | 6 | |
| 46th | Jan. 21 | 55 | 50 | 1 | 7 | |
| 47th | Jan. 21 | 55 | 50 | 1 | 7 | |
| 48th | Jan. 21 | 55 | 50 | 1 | 7 | |
| 49th | Jan. 21 | 55 | 50 | 1 | 7 | |
| 50th | Jan. 22 | 54 | 49 | 1 | 6 | |
| 51st | Jan. 22 | 52 | 47 | 1 | 6 | |
| 52nd | Jan. 26 | 54 | 49 | 1 | 7 | |
| 53rd | Jan. 26 | 55 | 57 | 2 |
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 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Joshua B. Smith | Democrat | |
| 2nd | Samuel Sloan | Democrat | |
| 3rd | Francis B. Spinola | Democrat | |
| 4th | John C. Mather | Democrat | |
| 5th | Smith Ely, Jr. | Democrat | |
| 6th | Richard Schell | Democrat | |
| 7th | John Doherty | Democrat | |
| 8th | Benjamin Brandreth | Democrat | |
| 9th | Osmer B. Wheeler | American | |
| 10th | George W. Pratt | Democrat | |
| 11th | William G. Mandeville | Democrat | |
| 12th | John D. Willard | Democrat | |
| 13th | George Y. Johnson | American | |
| 14th | Edward I. Burhans | Democrat | |
| 15th | George G. Scott* | Democrat | |
| 16th | Ralph A. Loveland* | Republican | |
| 17th | William A. Wheeler | Republican | |
| 18th | Joseph A. Willard | Republican | |
| 19th | Alrick Hubbell | Republican | |
| 20th | Addison H. Laflin | Republican | |
| 21st | Cheney Ames | Republican | |
| 22nd | James Noxon* | Republican | |
| 23rd | John J. Foote | Republican | |
| 24th | Lyman Truman | Republican | |
| 25th | Alexander B. Williams | Republican | |
| 26th | Truman Boardman | Republican | |
| 27th | Alexander S. Diven | Republican | |
| 28th | John E. Paterson* | Republican | |
| 29th | Horatio J. Stow | Independent[3] | |
| 30th | John B. Halsted* | Republican | on January 12, elected president pro tempore |
| 31st | James Wadsworth* | Democrat | resigned on August 18, 1858 |
| 32nd | John P. Darling* | Republican | also Supervisor ofNew Albion |
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.
Party affiliations follow the original vote for Speaker.
