149th New York State Legislature

The 149th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6 to April 23, 1926, during the fourth year of Al Smith's second tenure as Governor of New York, in Albany.

149th New York State Legislature
← 148th 150th →
New York State Capitol (2009)
Overview
Legislative body	New York State Legislature
Jurisdiction	New York, United States
Term	January 1 – December 31, 1926
Senate
Members	51
President	Lt. Gov. Seymour Lowman (R)
Temporary President	John Knight (R)
Party control	Republican (29–22)
Assembly
Members	150
Speaker	Joseph A. McGinnies (R)
Party control	Republican (91–59)
Sessions
1st January 6 – April 23, 1926

Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1894, re-apportioned in 1917, 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 consisted either of one or more entire counties; or a contiguous area within a single county. The counties which were divided into more than one senatorial district were New York (nine districts), Kings (eight), Bronx (three), Erie (three), Monroe (two), Queens (two) and Westchester (two). 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

The New York state election, 1925, was held on November 3. No statewide elective offices were up for election.

Assemblywoman Rhoda Fox Graves (Rep.), of Gouverneur, a former school teacher who after her marriage became active in women's organisations and politics, was re-elected, and remained the only woman legislator.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 6, 1926; and adjourned on April 23.[1]

Joseph A. McGinnies (Rep.) was re-elected Speaker.

State Senate

Districts

• 1st District: Nassau and Suffolk counties
• 2nd and 3rd District: Parts of Queens County, i.e. the Borough of Queens
• 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th District: Parts of Kings County, i.e. the Borough of Brooklyn
• 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th District: Parts of New York County, i.e. the Borough of Manhattan
• 21st, 22nd and 23rd District: Parts of Bronx County, i.e. the Borough of the Bronx
• 24th District: Richmond County, i.e. the Borough of Richmond (now the Borough of Staten Island), and Rockland County
• 25th District: Part of Westchester County
• 26th District: Cortlandt, Greenburgh, Mount Pleasant, Ossining and part of Yonkers; in Westchester County
• 27th District: Orange and Sullivan counties
• 28th District: Columbia, Dutchess and Putnam counties
• 29th District: Delaware, Greene and Ulster counties
• 30th District: Albany County
• 31st District: Rensselaer County
• 32nd District: Saratoga and Schenectady counties
• 33rd District: Clinton, Essex, Warren and Washington counties
• 34th District: Franklin and St. Lawrence counties
• 35th District: Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer and Lewis counties
• 36th District: Oneida County
• 37th District: Jefferson and Oswego counties
• 38th District: Onondaga County
• 39th District: Madison, Montgomery, Otsego and Schoharie counties
• 40th District: Broome, Chenango and Cortland counties
• 41st District: Chemung, Schuyler, Tioga and Tompkins counties
• 42nd District: Cayuga, Seneca and Wayne counties
• 43rd District: Ontario, Steuben and Yates counties
• 44th District: Allegany, Genesee, Livingston and Wyoming
• 45th and 46th District: Monroe County
• 47th District: Niagara and Orleans counties
• 48th, 49th and 50th District: Erie County
• 51st District: Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties

Members

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	John L. Karle*	Republican
3rd	Peter J. McGarry*	Democrat	on November 2, 1926, elected Register of Queens Co.
4th	Philip M. Kleinfeld*	Democrat
5th	Daniel F. Farrell*	Democrat
6th	James A. Higgins*	Democrat
7th	John A. Hastings*	Democrat
8th	William L. Love*	Democrat
9th	vacant	Frank E. Johnson was elected on November 3, 1925, to the Municipal Court
	Charles E. Russell	Democrat	elected on January 7 to fill vacancy[2]
10th	Jeremiah F. Twomey*	Democrat
11th	Daniel J. Carroll*	Democrat
12th	vacant	Jimmy Walker was elected on November 3, 1925, as Mayor of New York City
	Elmer F. Quinn	Democrat	elected on January 7 to fill vacancy[3]
13th	Thomas F. Burchill*	Democrat
14th	Bernard Downing*	Democrat	Minority Leader
15th	Nathan Straus, Jr.*	Democrat
16th	Thomas I. Sheridan*	Democrat
17th	Courtlandt Nicoll*	Republican
18th	Martin J. Kennedy*	Democrat
19th	Duncan T. O'Brien*	Democrat
20th	Michael E. Reiburn*	Democrat
21st	Henry G. Schackno*	Democrat
22nd	Benjamin Antin*	Democrat
23rd	John J. Dunnigan*	Democrat
24th	Thomas J. Walsh*	Democrat
25th	Walter W. Westall*	Republican
26th	Seabury C. Mastick*	Republican
27th	Caleb H. Baumes*	Republican
28th	J. Griswold Webb*	Republican
29th	Arthur F. Bouton*	Republican
30th	William T. Byrne*	Democrat
31st	John F. Williams*	Republican
32nd	Thomas C. Brown*	Republican
33rd	Mortimer Y. Ferris*	Rep./Dem.
34th	Warren T. Thayer*	Republican
35th	Jeremiah Keck*	Republican
36th	Henry D. Williams*	Republican
37th	Perley A. Pitcher*	Republican
38th	George R. Fearon*	Republican
39th	Willis Wendell*	Republican
40th	B. Roger Wales*	Republican
41st	James S. Truman*	Republican
42nd	Charles J. Hewitt*	Republican
43rd	Ernest E. Cole*	Rep./Soc.	on July 1, 1926, appointed Counsel to the State Education Dept.
44th	John Knight*	Rep./Dem./Soc.	Temporary President
45th	James L. Whitley*	Republican
46th	Homer E. A. Dick*	Republican
47th	William W. Campbell*	Rep./Dem.
48th	William J. Hickey*	Republican
49th	Leonard R. Lipowicz*	Republican
50th	Leonard W. H. Gibbs*	Republican
51st	Leigh G. Kirkland*	Rep./Soc.

Employees

• Clerk: Ernest A. Fay
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles R. Hotaling

State Assembly

Assemblymen

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

District		Assemblymen	Party	Notes
Albany	1st	William J. Snyder	Democrat
	2nd	John P. Hayes*	Democrat
	3rd	Frederick B. Linen*	Republican
Allegany		Cassius Congdon*	Republican
Bronx	1st	Nicholas J. Eberhard*	Democrat
	2nd	William F. Smith	Democrat
	3rd	Julius S. Berg*	Democrat
	4th	Herman M. Albert	Democrat
	5th	Harry A. Samberg*	Democrat
	6th	Thomas J. McDonald*	Democrat
	7th	John F. Reidy*	Democrat
	8th	Joseph E. Kinsley*	Democrat
Broome	1st	Edmund B. Jenks*	Republican	Chairman of Codes
	2nd	Forman E. Whitcomb*	Republican
Cattaraugus		James W. Watson*	Republican
Cayuga		Sanford G. Lyon*	Republican
Chautauqua	1st	Adolf F. Johnson*	Republican
	2nd	Joseph A. McGinnies*	Republican	re-elected Speaker
Chemung		Hovey E. Copley*	Republican
Chenango		Bert Lord*	Republican
Clinton		Ezra Trepanier	Republican
Columbia		Henry M. James	Republican
Cortland		Irving F. Rice*	Republican
Delaware		Ralph H. Loomis*	Republican
Dutchess	1st	Howard N. Allen*	Republican
	2nd	John M. Hackett*	Republican
Erie	1st	John S. N. Sprague*	Republican
	2nd	Henry W. Hutt*	Republican
	3rd	Frank X. Bernhardt*	Republican
	4th	John J. Meegan*	Democrat
	5th	Ansley B. Borkowski*	Republican
	6th	Charles A. Freiberg*	Republican
	7th	Edmund F. Cooke*	Republican
	8th	Nelson W. Cheney*	Republican
Essex		Fred L. Porter*	Republican	Chairman of State Re-Organization
Franklin		John E. Redwood	Republican
Fulton and Hamilton		Eberly Hutchinson*	Republican	Chairman of Ways and Means
Genesee		Charles P. Miller*	Republican
Greene		Ellis W. Bentley*	Republican
Herkimer		Theodore L. Rogers*	Republican
Jefferson		Jasper W. Cornaire*	Republican
Kings	1st	Charles F. Cline*	Democrat
	2nd	Murray Hearn*	Democrat
	3rd	Michael J. Gillen	Democrat
	4th	George E. Dennen	Democrat
	5th	John J. Cooney	Democrat
	6th	George Blumberg	Republican
	7th	John J. Howard*	Democrat
	8th	Michael J. Reilly*	Democrat
	9th	Richard J. Tonry*	Democrat
	10th	William C. McCreery	Democrat
	11th	Edward J. Coughlin*	Democrat
	12th	Marcellus H. Evans*	Democrat
	13th	William Breitenbach*	Democrat
	14th	Harry Landau	Democrat
	15th	Edward P. Doyle	Democrat
	16th	Maurice Z. Bungard*	Democrat
	17th	Edward E. Fay*	Republican
	18th	Irwin Steingut*	Democrat
	19th	Jerome G. Ambro*	Democrat
	20th	Frank A. Miller*	Democrat
	21st	Emory F. Dyckman	Republican
	22nd	Jacob H. Livingston	Democrat
	23rd	Joseph F. Ricca*	Republican
Lewis		Clarence L. Fisher*	Republican
Livingston		Lewis G. Stapley*	Republican
Madison		John W. Gates*	Republican
Monroe	1st	Arthur T. Pammenter*	Republican
	2nd	Simon L. Adler*	Republican	Majority Leader
	3rd	Cosmo A. Cilano*	Republican
	4th	Fred J. Slater*	Republican
	5th	W. Ray Austin*	Republican
Montgomery		Samuel W. McCleary*	Republican
Nassau	1st	Edwin W. Wallace*	Republican
	2nd	F. Trubee Davison*	Republican	in July 1926, appointed as Asst. Secretary of War for Air
New York	1st	Peter J. Hamill*	Democrat
	2nd	Frank R. Galgano*	Democrat
	3rd	Sylvester A. Dineen*	Democrat
	4th	Samuel Mandelbaum*	Democrat
	5th	Frank A. Carlin*	Democrat
	6th	Morris Weinfeld*	Democrat
	7th	John L. Buckley*	Democrat
	8th	Henry O. Kahan*	Democrat
	9th	John H. Conroy*	Democrat
	10th	Phelps Phelps*	Republican
	11th	Samuel I. Rosenman*	Democrat
	12th	John A. Byrnes	Democrat
	13th	John P. Nugent*	Democrat
	14th	Frederick L. Hackenburg*	Democrat
	15th	Samuel H. Hofstadter*	Republican
	16th	Maurice Bloch*	Democrat	Minority Leader
	17th	Meyer Alterman*	Democrat
	18th	Vincent H. Auleta	Democrat
	19th	Abraham Grenthal	Republican
	20th	Louis A. Cuvillier*	Democrat
	21st	Albert Grossman	Democrat
	22nd	Joseph A. Gavagan*	Democrat
	23rd	A. Spencer Feld*	Democrat
Niagara	1st	Mark T. Lambert*	Republican
	2nd	Frank S. Hall*	Republican
Oneida	1st	Gordon C. Ferguson*	Republican
	2nd	Russell G. Dunmore*	Republican
	3rd	George J. Skinner*	Republican
Onondaga	1st	Horace M. Stone*	Republican	Chairman of Re-Apportionment
	2nd	Willis H. Sargent*	Republican
	3rd	Richard B. Smith*	Republican
Ontario		Robert A. Catchpole*	Republican
Orange	1st	DeWitt C. Dominick*	Republican
	2nd	Alexander G. Hall	Republican
Orleans		Frank H. Lattin*	Republican
Oswego		Victor C. Lewis*	Republican
Otsego		Frank M. Smith*	Republican
Putnam		D. Mallory Stephens	Republican
Queens	1st	Henry M. Dietz*	Democrat
	2nd	John T. Hammond	Democrat
	3rd	Alfred J. Kennedy*	Democrat
	4th	Jere F. Ryan	Democrat
	5th	William F. Brunner*	Democrat
	6th	Paul P. Gallagher	Democrat
Rensselaer	1st	Harry M. Brooks	Republican
	2nd	William D. Thomas*	Republican	on November 2, 1926, elected Treasurer of Rensselaer Co.
Richmond	1st	William S. Hart*	Democrat
	2nd	William L. Vaughan*	Democrat
Rockland		Walter S. Gedney*	Republican
St. Lawrence	1st	Rhoda Fox Graves*	Republican	Chairwoman of Public Institutions
	2nd	Walter L. Pratt*	Republican
Saratoga		Burton D. Esmond*	Republican
Schenectady	1st	Charles W. Merriam*	Republican
	2nd	William M. Nicoll*	Republican
Schoharie		Kenneth H. Fake*	Republican
Schuyler		Jacob W. Winters	Republican
Seneca		William H. Van Cleef*	Republican
Steuben	1st	Wilson Messer*	Republican
	2nd	Leon F. Wheatley*	Republican
Suffolk	1st	John G. Downs*	Republican
	2nd	John Boyle, Jr.*	Republican
Sullivan		J. Maxwell Knapp*	Republican
Tioga		Daniel P. Witter*	Republican
Tompkins		James R. Robinson*	Republican
Ulster		Millard Davis*	Republican
Warren		Richard J. Bolton*	Republican
Washington		Herbert A. Bartholomew*	Republican
Wayne		Harry A. Tellier*	Republican
Westchester	1st	Thomas Channing Moore*	Republican
	2nd	Herbert B. Shonk*	Republican
	3rd	Milan E. Goodrich*	Republican
	4th	Alexander H. Garnjost*	Republican
	5th	Arthur I. Miller	Democrat
Wyoming		Webb A. Joiner*	Republican
Yates		Edwin C. Nutt	Republican

Employees

• Clerk: Fred W. Hammond

Notes

1. Governor Takes Ten-Day Rest in NYT on April 25, 1926 (subscription required)
2. SPECIAL ELECTION WON BY DEMOCRATS; C. E. Russell Chosen to Fill Seat of Justice Johnson in NYT on January 8, 1926 (subscription required)
3. SPECIAL ELECTION WON BY DEMOCRATS; Elmer F. Quinn to Succeed Walker in NYT on January 8, 1926 (subscription required)

Sources

• Members of the New York Senate (1920s) at Political Graveyard
• Members of the New York Assembly (1920s) at Political Graveyard
• 1926 COMMITTEE MEMBERS NAMED in The Cornell Daily Sun on January 12, 1926