title: 129th New York State Legislature
text: # 129th New York State Legislature
  
  The 129th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3 to May 3, 1906, during the second year of Frank W. Higgins's governorship, in Albany.
  
  ## Background
  
  Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1894, 50 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 (seven 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. In New York City, the Municipal Ownership League also nominated candidates.
  
  ## Elections
  
  The New York state election, 1905, was held on November 7. No statewide elective offices were up for election this time. Special elections were held to fill the vacancies in the 16th and 24th senatorial districts.
  
  ## Sessions
  
  The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 3, 1906; and adjourned on May 3.
  
  James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. (R) was elected Speaker with 106 votes against 34 for George M. Palmer (D) and 6 for Thomas F. Long (M.O.L.).
  
  On April 27, the Legislature re-apportioned the Senate districts, increasing the number to 51. The apportionment was then contested in the courts.
  
  The Legislature also re-apportioned the number of assemblymen per county. Nassau County was separated from the remainder of Queens County; Albany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oswego and Rensselaer counties lost one seat each; Erie, Monroe and Westchester gained one each; and Kings and Queens counties gained two each.
  
  On August 13, the new Senate apportionment was upheld by Supreme Court Justice Howard.
  
  On April 3, 1907, the new Senate and Assembly apportionment was declared unconstitutional by the New York Court of Appeals.
  
  ## State Senate
  
  ### Districts
  
  * 1st District: Richmond and Suffolk counties
  * 2nd District: Queens and Nassau counties
  * 3rd District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Ward of Brooklyn, as constituted in 1894
  * 4th District: 7th, 13th, 19th and 21st Ward of Brooklyn, as constituted in 1894
  * 5th District: 8th, 10th, 12th and 30th Ward of Brooklyn, and the annexed former Town of Gravesend, as constituted in 1894
  * 6th District: 9th, 11th, 20th and 22nd Ward of Brooklyn, as constituted in 1894
  * 7th District: 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th Ward of Brooklyn, as constituted in 1894
  * 8th District: 23rd, 24th, 25th and 29th Ward of Brooklyn; and the annexed former Town of Flatlands, as constituted in 1894
  * 9th District: 18th, 26th, 27th and 28th Ward of Brooklyn, as constituted in 1894
  * 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st District: Parts of the City of New York, defined geographically by their bordering streets, regardless of Wards or Assembly districts
  * 22nd District: Westchester County
  * 23rd District: Orange and Rockland counties
  * 24th District: Columbia, Dutchess and Putnam and counties
  * 25th District: Greene and Ulster counties
  * 26th District: Chenango, Delaware and Sullivan counties
  * 27th District: Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery and Schoharie counties
  * 28th District: Saratoga, Schenectady and Washington counties
  * 29th District: Albany County
  * 30th District: Rensselaer County
  * 31st District: Clinton, Essex and Warren counties
  * 32nd District: Franklin and St. Lawrence counties
  * 33rd District: Otsego and Herkimer counties
  * 34th District: Oneida County
  * 35th District: Jefferson and Lewis counties
  * 36th District: Onondaga County
  * 37th District: Oswego and Madison counties
  * 38th District: Broome, Cortland and Tioga counties
  * 39th District: Cayuga and Seneca counties
  * 40th District: Chemung, Schuyler and Tompkins counties
  * 41st District: Steuben and Yates counties
  * 42nd District: Ontario and Wayne counties
  * 43rd District: 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 17th and 18th Ward of Rochester; and the towns of Brighton, Henrietta, Irondequoit, Menden, Penfield, Perinton, Pittsford, Rush and Webster, in Monroe County
  * 44th District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 15th, 19th and 20th Ward of Rochester; and the towns of Chili, Clarkson, Gates, Greece, Hamlin, Ogden, Parma, Riga, Sweden and Wheatland, in Monroe County
  * 45th District: Genesee, Niagara and Orleans counties
  * 46th District: Allegany, Livingston and Wyoming counties
  * 47th District: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 15th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd and 24th Ward of Buffalo
  * 48th District: 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 16th Ward of Buffalo
  * 49th District: 17th, 18th and 25th Ward of the City of Buffalo; and all area in Erie County outside Buffalo
  * 50th District: Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties
  
  Note: In 1897, New York County (the boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx), Kings County (the borough of Brooklyn), Richmond County (the borough of Staten Island) and the Western part of Queens County (the borough of Queens) were consolidated into the present-day City of New York. The Eastern part of Queens County (the non-consolidated part) was separated in 1899 as Nassau County. Parts of the 1st and 2nd Assembly districts of Westchester County were annexed by New York City in 1895, and became part of the Borough of the Bronx in 1898.
  
  ### Members
  
  The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature.
  
  | District | Senator | Party | Notes |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | 1st | Carll S. Burr Jr.* | Republican | |
  | 2nd | Luke A. Keenan* | Democrat | |
  | 3rd | Thomas H. Cullen* | Democrat | |
  | 4th | John Drescher Jr.* | Republican | |
  | 5th | James J. Kehoe* | Democrat | |
  | 6th | Frank J. Gardner* | Republican | |
  | 7th | Patrick H. McCarren* | Democrat | |
  | 8th | Charles Cooper* | Republican | |
  | 9th | Conrad Hasenflug* | Democrat | |
  | 10th | Daniel J. Riordan* | Democrat | on November 6, 1906, elected to the 59th U.S. Congress |
  | 11th | John C. Fitzgerald* | Democrat | |
  | 12th | Samuel J. Foley* | Democrat | |
  | 13th | Bernard F. Martin* | Democrat | |
  | 14th | Thomas F. Grady* | Democrat | Minority Leader |
  | 15th | Nathaniel A. Elsberg* | Republican | |
  | 16th | John M. Quinn | Democrat | elected to fill vacancy, in place of Peter J. Dooling |
  | 17th | Martin Saxe* | Republican | |
  | 18th | Jacob Marks* | Democrat | |
  | 19th | Alfred R. Page* | Republican | |
  | 20th | James J. Frawley* | Democrat | |
  | 21st | John A. Hawkins* | Democrat | |
  | 22nd | Francis M. Carpenter* | Republican | |
  | 23rd | Louis F. Goodsell* | Republican | |
  | 24th | Sanford W. Smith | Republican | elected to fill vacancy, in place of Henry S. Ambler |
  | 25th | John N. Cordts* | Republican | |
  | 26th | Jotham P. Allds* | Republican | |
  | 27th | Spencer K. Warnick* | Republican | |
  | 28th | Edgar T. Brackett* | Republican | |
  | 29th | James B. McEwan* | Republican | |
  | 30th | William D. Barnes* | Republican | |
  | 31st | Spencer G. Prime* | Republican | |
  | 32nd | George R. Malby* | Republican | |
  | 33rd | Walter L. Brown* | Republican | |
  | 34th | Henry J. Coggeshall* | Republican | |
  | 35th | George H. Cobb* | Republican | |
  | 36th | Horace White* | Republican | |
  | 37th | Francis H. Gates* | Republican | |
  | 38th | Harvey D. Hinman* | Republican | |
  | 39th | Benjamin M. Wilcox* | Republican | |
  | 40th | Owen Cassidy* | Republican | |
  | 41st | William J. Tully* | Republican | |
  | 42nd | John Raines* | Republican | President pro tempore |
  | 43rd | Merton E. Lewis* | Republican | |
  | 44th | William W. Armstrong* | Republican | |
  | 45th | Irving L'Hommedieu* | Republican | |
  | 46th | Frederick C. Stevens* | Republican | |
  | 47th | Henry W. Hill* | Republican | |
  | 48th | Louis Fechter, Sr.* | Republican | |
  | 49th | George Allen Davis* | Republican | |
  | 50th | Albert T. Fancher* | Republican | |
  
  ### Employees
  
  * Clerk: Lafayette B. Gleason
  * Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles R. Hotaling
  * Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Everett Brown
  * Stenographer: James C. Marriott
  
  ## State Assembly
  
  ### Assemblymen
  
  | District | District | Assemblymen | Party | Notes |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Albany | 1st | Charles W. Mead* | Republican | |
  | Albany | 2nd | Abram S. Coon* | Republican | |
  | Albany | 3rd | Thomas F. Maher | Republican | |
  | Albany | 4th | William J. Grattan* | Republican | |
  | Allegany | Allegany | Jesse S. Phillips* | Republican | |
  | Broome | 1st | James T. Rogers* | Republican | |
  | Broome | 2nd | Fred E. Allen* | Republican | |
  | Cattaraugus | 1st | Jasper E. Smith | Republican | |
  | Cattaraugus | 2nd | John J. Volk | Republican | |
  | Cayuga | 1st | Judson W. Hapeman* | Republican | |
  | Cayuga | 2nd | J. Guernsey Allen* | Republican | |
  | Chautauqua | 1st | Arthur C. Wade* | Republican | |
  | Chautauqua | 2nd | Henry K. Williams | Republican | |
  | Chemung | Chemung | Sherman Moreland* | Republican | Majority Leader |
  | Chenango | Chenango | Charles L. Carrier* | Republican | |
  | Clinton | Clinton | H. Wallace Knapp* | Republican | |
  | Columbia | Columbia | Edward W. Scovill* | Republican | |
  | Cortland | Cortland | Fred A. Crosley | Republican | |
  | Delaware | Delaware | James R. Cowan* | Republican | |
  | Dutchess | 1st | Myron Smith | Republican | |
  | Dutchess | 2nd | Augustus B. Gray* | Republican | |
  | Erie | 1st | Charles J. Quinn* | Democrat | |
  | Erie | 2nd | Robert L. Cox* | Republican | |
  | Erie | 3rd | Frank S. Burzynski* | Democrat | |
  | Erie | 4th | Charles V. Lynch | Democrat | |
  | Erie | 5th | Louis Dressing | Democrat | |
  | Erie | 6th | James S. Keyes | Democrat | |
  | Erie | 7th | John K. Patton* | Republican | |
  | Erie | 8th | Luther J. Shuttleworth* | Republican | |
  | Essex | Essex | Frank C. Hooper* | Republican | |
  | Franklin | Franklin | Charles R. Matthews* | Republican | |
  | Fulton and Hamilton | Fulton and Hamilton | William Ellison Mills | Republican | |
  | Genesee | Genesee | S. Percy Hooker* | Republican | |
  | Greene | Greene | William C. Brady* | Republican | |
  | Herkimer | Herkimer | Abram B. Steele* | Republican | |
  | Jefferson | 1st | Albert Foster* | Republican | |
  | Jefferson | 2nd | Gary H. Wood | Republican | |
  | Kings | 1st | Thomas O'Neill* | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | Kings | 2nd | Patrick Donohue | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | Kings | 3rd | Thomas P. Reilly* | Democrat | |
  | Kings | 4th | William W. Colne | Republican | |
  | Kings | 5th | Otto G. Foelker* | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | Kings | 6th | Thomas J. Surpless | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | Kings | 7th | Michael J. Grady* | Democrat | |
  | Kings | 8th | James A. Thompson* | Democrat | |
  | Kings | 9th | Thomas F. McGuire | Democrat | |
  | Kings | 10th | Charles F. Murphy* | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | Kings | 11th | William S. Shanahan* | Dem./M.O.L. | |
  | Kings | 12th | George A. Green | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | Kings | 13th | Samuel J. Palmer | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | Kings | 14th | George W. Kavanagh* | Democrat | |
  | Kings | 15th | Charles C. G. Sprenger | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | Kings | 16th | Charles J. Weber | Republican | |
  | Kings | 17th | Edward C. Dowling* | Republican | |
  | Kings | 18th | Warren I. Lee | Republican | |
  | Kings | 19th | Charles Schmitt | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | Kings | 20th | Charles Feth | M.O.L. | |
  | Kings | 21st | Frank E. Harvey | M.O.L. | |
  | Lewis | Lewis | C. Fred Boshart | Republican | |
  | Livingston | Livingston | James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr.* | Republican | elected Speaker |
  | Madison | Madison | Robert J. Fish* | Republican | |
  | Monroe | 1st | DeWitt C. Becker* | Republican | |
  | Monroe | 2nd | James L. Whitley | Republican | |
  | Monroe | 3rd | Robert Averill | Republican | |
  | Monroe | 4th | Albert P. Beebe* | Republican | |
  | Montgomery | Montgomery | William B. Charles* | Republican | |
  | New York | 1st | Thomas B. Caughlan* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 2nd | Al Smith* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 3rd | John T. Eagleton | Democrat | |
  | New York | 4th | William H. Burns* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 5th | Leslie J. Tompkins* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 6th | James Oliver | Democrat | |
  | New York | 7th | Thomas F. Long | M.O.L./Rep. | |
  | New York | 8th | Abraham Harawitz | Democrat | |
  | New York | 9th | Patrick H. Bird* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 10th | Samuel Hoffman | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | New York | 11th | John J. Sammon* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 12th | Max Eckmann | M.O.L./Rep. | |
  | New York | 13th | John C. Hackett* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 14th | Jacob Fritz | Democrat | |
  | New York | 15th | Owen W. Bohan | Democrat | |
  | New York | 16th | Gustave Hartman* | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | New York | 17th | Christopher Steffens | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | New York | 18th | Edward B. La Fetra* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 19th | Mervin C. Stanley* | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | New York | 20th | Thomas A. Farnan | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | New York | 21st | William Young* | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | New York | 22nd | Thomas Rock | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | New York | 23rd | James A. Francis | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | New York | 24th | John T. Story | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | New York | 25th | Ezra P. Prentice* | Republican | |
  | New York | 26th | Roger J. Brennan | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | New York | 27th | George B. Agnew* | Republican | |
  | New York | 28th | George Schwegler | Democrat | |
  | New York | 29th | Frederick D. Wells | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | New York | 30th | Maurice F. Smith | M.O.L. | |
  | New York | 31st | J. Sidney Bernstein | Democrat | on December 27, 1906, appointed as Transfer Tax Appraiser by Comptroller-elect Martin H. Glynn |
  | New York | 32nd | Samuel Krulewitch | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | New York | 33rd | Jacob E. Salomon* | Democrat | |
  | New York | 34th | Charles Campbell | M.O.L. | |
  | New York | 35th | John P. Cohalan | Democrat | |
  | Niagara | 1st | A. Edmund Lee | Democrat | |
  | Niagara | 2nd | W. Levell Draper | Republican | |
  | Oneida | 1st | Henry L. Gates* | Republican | |
  | Oneida | 2nd | Jay H. Pratt* | Republican | |
  | Oneida | 3rd | John C. Evans* | Republican | |
  | Onondaga | 1st | Charles H. Gregory | Republican | |
  | Onondaga | 2nd | Edward Schoeneck* | Republican | |
  | Onondaga | 3rd | George L. Baldwin | Republican | |
  | Onondaga | 4th | Fred W. Hammond* | Republican | |
  | Ontario | Ontario | Jean L. Burnett* | Republican | |
  | Orange | 1st | William G. Hastings* | Republican | |
  | Orange | 2nd | Louis Bedell* | Republican | |
  | Orleans | Orleans | Henry V. Wilson* | Republican | |
  | Oswego | 1st | Thomas D. Lewis* | Republican | |
  | Oswego | 2nd | Fred G. Whitney* | Republican | |
  | Otsego | Otsego | Deloss E. Bass* | Republican | |
  | Putnam | Putnam | John R. Yale* | Republican | |
  | Queens | 1st | Dennis J. Harte | Democrat | |
  | Queens | 2nd | William A. De Groot | Rep./M.O.L. | |
  | Queens and Nassau | Queens and Nassau | William G. Miller* | Republican | |
  | Rensselaer | 1st | Frederick C. Filley | Republican | |
  | Rensselaer | 2nd | Michael D. Nolan | Democrat | |
  | Rensselaer | 3rd | Bradford R. Lansing | Republican | |
  | Richmond | Richmond | Arnold J. B. Wedemeyer* | Democrat | |
  | Rockland | Rockland | Gouverneur M. Carnochan | Democrat | |
  | St. Lawrence | 1st | Fred J. Gray | Republican | |
  | St. Lawrence | 2nd | Edwin A. Merritt Jr.* | Republican | |
  | Saratoga | Saratoga | George H. Whitney* | Republican | |
  | Schenectady | Schenectady | William W. Wemple* | Republican | |
  | Schoharie | Schoharie | George M. Palmer* | Democrat | Minority Leader |
  | Schuyler | Schuyler | John W. Gurnett* | Democrat | |
  | Seneca | Seneca | William J. Maier* | Republican | |
  | Steuben | 1st | William H. Chamberlain | Republican | |
  | Steuben | 2nd | Jerry E. B. Santee* | Republican | |
  | Suffolk | 1st | John M. Lupton | Republican | |
  | Suffolk | 2nd | Orlando Hubbs* | Republican | |
  | Sullivan | Sullivan | Edward Bisland* | Republican | |
  | Tioga | Tioga | Byram L. Winters | Republican | |
  | Tompkins | Tompkins | William R. Gunderman | Republican | |
  | Ulster | 1st | Joseph M. Fowler | Republican | |
  | Ulster | 2nd | William D. Cunningham* | Republican | |
  | Warren | Warren | William R. Waddell* | Republican | |
  | Washington | Washington | Eugene R. Norton | Republican | |
  | Wayne | Wayne | Edson W. Hamn | Republican | |
  | Westchester | 1st | Woodson R. Oglesby | Ind. Dem. | |
  | Westchester | 2nd | J. Mayhew Wainwright* | Republican | |
  | Westchester | 3rd | James K. Apgar* | Republican | |
  | Wyoming | Wyoming | Byron A. Nevins | Republican | |
  | Yates | Yates | Leonidas D. West* | Republican | |
  
  ### Employees
  
  * Clerk: Archie E. Baxter
  * Assistant Clerk: Ray B. Smith
  * Sergeant-at-Arms: Frank W. Johnston
  * Stenographer: Henry C. Lammert
  