USA > New York > Bronx County > The Bronx and its people; a history, 1609-1927, Volume I > Part 43
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The General Assembly legally dates from 1691, with which date the compilers of the colonial laws were directed to commence. In the first eight assemblies the county of Westchester was represented. By the royal charter of April 6, 1696, the borough of Westchester was estab- lished, and the freeholders were empowered to choose a mayor, six aldermen, and six assistants or Common Council for the government of the borough; also one discreet burgess to every General Assembly. Later the borough of Westchester was represented from the Ninth Assembly. The manor of Cortlandt was also entitled by its charter, dated June 17, 1697, to one representative after twenty years had elapsed. The General Assembly recognized this right on June 11, 1734, and Philip Yerplanck took his seat on June 22 following. From that date what are now the region of The Bronx and Westchester County in general, had three representatives.
"On the day appointed for the meeting of a new Legislature," says the Civil List, "the members-elect convened at the Assembly Chamber in the City of New York, and if they were above thirteen in number, sent the Clerk of the House to inform the Governor of their attendance. Commissioners, generally, the Judges of the Supreme Court, were sent to the Assembly Chamber to qualify them, after which their presence was required before his Excellency who requested them to return to their Chamber and elect a Speaker. For that purpose they again retired, and having made a choice, conducted the person elected
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to the Chair, which was placed at the upper end of the long table. He subsequently presented himself, accompanied by the members, to the Governor, for his approval, which was of course granted. The Speaker thereupon addressed the Governor, and in behalf of the House, prayed 'that their words and actions may have a favorable construction; that the members may have free access to him, and they and their servants be privileged with freedom from arrests.' The Governor having granted this request opened the session by reading the speech to both Houses, a copy whereof was delivered to the Speaker of the Assembly. Mes- sages to the Council were conveyed by one of the members of the House, who was met at the bar of the Council by the Speaker of that body, into whose hands the message was delivered. All money bills originated in the Assembly, which, according to the practice of the House of Commons, allowed no amendment to be made thereto by the Council. Both Houses were present in the Council Chamber when the Governor passed the bills sent him, on which occasion the custom was for his Excellency to ask the advice of his Council with respect to every bill. If approved, he signed them after these words, 'I assent to this bill, enacting the same, and order it to be enrolled.' The acts were thereupon published in the open street, near the City Hall, New York, in the presence of the Governor and both branches of the Legislature. All laws passed were subject, subsequently, to an absolute veto of the King."
Of the members of the Colonial Assembly from the region of The Bronx and from Westchester County generally Adolph Philipse and Lewis Morris, Jr., were elected Speakers. There were thirty-one Assemblies-terms of service from two months to ten years. The com- pensation of the representatives from Westchester County and the manor of Cortlandt was six shillings a day; that of the representative of the borough of Westchester, ten shillings. These allowances were paid by their constituents.
The Provincial Convention of April 20, 1775, was summoned by the Committee of Sixty, because the General Assembly refused to comply with the recommendation of the Continental Congress to choose dele- gates to the Continental Congress. The Westchester County elected :
Samuel Drake; Jonathan Platt; Robert Graham; John Thomas, Jr .; James Holmes; Philip Van Cortlandt; Lewis Morris; and Stephen Ward.
The last session of the Colonial Assembly was held April 3, 1775. These conventions were four in number. The first Provincial Conven- tion met May 22, 1775. The apportionment varied. Some of the members were elected for one year, others for six months. The vote was taken by counties. The First, Second, and Third Congresses
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met in New York, while the Fourth was migratory-meeting at White Plains, Fishkill and Kingston. The deputies were chosen from the counties in the same manner as representatives to the Colonial As- sembly. The deputies from Westchester County were:
David Dayton; Gilbert Drake; Joseph Drake; Peter Fleming; Lewis Graham; Robert Graham; Samuel Haviland; James Holmes; Ebenezer Lockwood; Zebadiah Mills; Gouverneur Morris; Lewis Morris; Wil- liam Paulding; Jonathan Platt; Benjamin Smith; John Thomas, Jr .; Jonathan G. Tompkins; Philip Van Cortlandt; Pierre Van Cortlandt; Stephen Ward.
During the recesses of the congresses a Committee of Safety from its members was entrusted with executive functions. After the forma- tion of the Constitution of 1777, a temporary form of government, called the Council of Safety, was appointed until the Governor and Legislature should be elected. In this council the members from the region of The Bronx and Westchester County were: Gouverneur Morris; Jon- athan G. Tompkins; and Pierre Van Cortlandt; the last being the presiding officer.
Delegates and State Constitution-The Fourth Provincial Congress, which assumed the name of the Convention of Representatives of the State of New York, resolved itself into a convention to frame a con- stitution for the State. On August 1, 1776, a committee of thirteen members was appointed to prepare a form of government. The com- mittee reported on March 12, 1777, and the first constitution was adopted on April 20, following. It is saturated with the principles for which the people had contended for more than a century. The three distinct functions of government were recognized. A Legislature, consisting of a Senate and Assembly, was the law-making body. The executive officer was called the Governor. The appointing power was vested in a Council of Appointment, which consisted of one Senator from each of the four senatorial districts. These members of the Council were appointed annually by the Assembly. The Governor, who presided over the Council of Appointment, was to have a "casting voice, but no other vote." The elective officers were : Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Senators, Assemblymen, and the clerks, supervisors, constables and collectors of the several towns. All other officers-civil and military -- were appointed by the Council of Appointment. Male resident owners of freeholds of one hundred pounds' value elected the Governor, Lieu- tenant-Governor, and Senators; while owners of freeholds of twenty pounds in value, etc., were entitled to vote for Assemblymen.
The Second Convention convened in Poughkeepsie on June 17, 1788, pursuant to an act of Legislature, to consider the Federal Constitution. On July 26, the convention ratified it by a vote of thirty to twenty-seven,
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seven not voting. The following were the delegates from the region of The Bronx and Westchester County, all of whom showed their good sense by voting to ratify the new instrument: Thaddeus Crane; Lewis Morris; Richard Hatfield; Lott W. Sarls; Philip Livingston; Philip Van Cortlandt.
The Third Convention was that of 1801, which was held at. Albany, October 13th, to 27th, pursuant to an act passed on April 6 of that year, to settle the controversy which had arisen regarding the relative powers of the Governor and Council of Appointment respecting nominations for office, and to consider the expediency of altering the Constitution in regard to the number of Senators and Assemblymen, with power to reduce and limit the same. The Convention unanimously decided that the Council of Appointment had equal powers of nomination with the Governor; fixed the number of Senators at thirty-two, and the Assemblymen at one hundred, to be increased after each census, at the rate of two yearly, until they reached the number of one hundred and fifty. The delegates from the region of The Bronx and West- chester County in general were: Thomas Ferris; Israel Honeywell; Jonathan G. Tompkins ; Pierre Van Cortlandt, Jr .; and Ebenezer White.
The Fourth Convention was held in Albany during the period from August 28 to November 10, 1821. The question of a Convention for the Revision of the Constitution was submitted to the people, and was carried by a very large majority. The burning questions of the day were about the Councils of Revision and Appointment. The former was objected to as exercising the veto power contrary to the ideas for which the colonists contended, and as being beyond the reach of the people; and the latter, because it had assumed judicial authority. The Constitution of 1821 was ratified by the people in February, 1822. The vote was put into the hands of all white male citizens, virtually without condition. The Councils of Revision and Appointment were abolished. Appointments, for the most part, were made by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The number of elective officers was increased. The delegates at the Convention from the region of The Bronx and from Westchester County in general, were: Peter A. Jay, who did not sign the constitution ; Peter J. Munro; and Jonathan Ward.
The Fifth Convention met, pursuant to the vote of the people and an act of the Legislature, at Albany, on June 1, 1846, and continued in session until October 9th of the same year. The new constitution was ratified by the popular vote on November 3, 1846. Judicial offices were made elective. Members of Assembly in each county had been hitherto elected on a general ticket. The third Constitution of 1846 directed the Boards of Supervisors to divide their counties into Assembly
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STATUE OF LOUIS J. HEINTZ
258TH FIELD ARTILLERY ARMORY KINGSBRIDGE ROAD AND JEROME AVENUE
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Districts. The delegates from the region of The Bronx and from West- chester County in general at this Fifth Convention, were : John Hunter, who did not sign the engrossed constitution; and Aaron Ward.
The Sixth Convention, convened in the same manner as the preceding, met in the Assembly Chamber in Albany, on June 4, 1867, and ad- journed, sine die, on February 28, 1868. It consisted of thirty-two delegates-at-large and four from each Senatorial District. Only the judiciary article was ratified. The delegates from the Ninth Senatorial District, including the region of The Bronx, were: Robert Cochran; Abraham B. Conger; William H. Morris; and Abraham B. Tappan.
There was a later Constitutional Commission. The Governor was empowered, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to ap- point thirty-two persons, four from each judicial district, as a commis- sion to frame into amendments several provisions contained in the re- jected Constitution of 1867. The commission began its work in Albany on December 4, 1872, and completed it March 15, 1873. Most of the amendments proposed were submitted to and ratified by the people. The members of the Commission of the Second Judicial District, in- cluding the region of The Bronx, were: John J. Armstrong; Odle Close; Erastus Brooks; and Benjamin D. Silliman.
The Legislature of the State of New York was made to consist of the Senate and the Assembly, the members of both bodies being elected by the people. Viva voce voting was done away with by the act of February 13, 1787, and since that time the ballot has been used in elections.
Under the Constitution of 1777, the Senate consisted of twenty-four members, apportioned among the four districts, which bore the designa- tions Southern, Middle, Eastern and Western. The Convention of 1801 increased the number of Senators to thirty-two, and the State was divided into eight districts. After the adoption of the Constitution of 1846, there were thirty-two districts, each entitled to one member. The term of office was made two years. Under the Constitution of 1777 it was four. Westchester County has belonged successively to the Southern, First, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Twelfth.
With regard to the Assembly, it originally consisted of seventy mem- bers. The Constitution of 1821 fixed the number permanently at one hundred and twenty-eight. Prior to the adoption of the Constitution of 1846, all the members of the Assembly were elected on a general ticket. After that the counties were divided into districts. The repre- sentation from Westchester County varied from six in 1777 to two in 1836.
Local Representatives in Congress-The residents of the region of The Bronx and of Westchester County generally in the Continental
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Congress were chosen originally by the Provincial Congress. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union adopted by the Con- tinental Congress, November 15, 1777, directed the appointment annu- ally of delegates by the State Legislatures. The number from each State was not to be fewer than two or more than seven. New York State usually sent five, occasionally six. The votes in Congress were by States. Members of the Continental Congress who were residents of the region of The Bronx and Westchester County in general were : Gouverneur Morris, who was in the Congress during .1777 and 1778; Lewis Morris, who was in Congress during 1775; and Philip Pell, who was in Congress during the year 1788.
In regard to the residents of the valley of The Bronx and of West- chester County generally who have represented their districts in Con- gress, it is to be noted that the county originally was divided; the northern tier of towns formed, with Dutchess County, one district, while the remainder was, with New York, in another. Later it formed with Richmond a district. After that it was in the Third, Fourth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, and Twelfth districts. The term of office was made two years. Some of the early representatives in Congress from the region of The Bronx and Westchester County in general, were: Joseph H. Anderson; Joel Frost; John B. Haskin; William Nelson; N. Holmes Odell; Jarel V. Peck; Clarkson N. Potter; William Radford; William H. Robertson; Caleb Tompkins; Philip Van Cortlandt; Pierre Van Cortlandt, Jr .; Aaron Wood; and Jonathan Ward.
Appointment of Judges-With regard to Colonial Supreme Court jus- tices, the appointment was vested in the Governor; and the term of office was at his pleasure. Among the early Supreme Court justices were: Joseph Dudley ; William Smith; Stephen Van Cortlandt; Abra- ham De Peyster; William Atwood; William Smith; John Bridges; Roger Mompesson; Lewis Morris; James De Lancey ; Benjamin Pratt ; and Daniel Horsemanden.
Associate and Puisne justices of the Colonial Supreme Court included : Thomas Johnson; William Smith; Stephen Van Cortlandt; William Pinhorne; Chidley Brooke; John Lawrence; John Guest; Abraham De Peyster; Robert Waltons; John Bridges; Robert Milward; Thomas Wenham; James De Lancey ; Frederick Philipse ; Daniel Horsemanden ; John Chambers; David Jones; William Smith, Sen .; Robert R. Living- ston; George D. Ludlow; Thomas Jones; and Whitehead Hicks.
With regard to the State Supreme Court, under the Constitution of 1777, appointment was vested in the Council of Appointment, and the term was during good behavior or until sixty years of age. Under the Constitution of 1821, the Governor appointed the justices with the
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advice and consent of the Senate. The term remained the same. The Constitution of 1846 made the office elective and the term eight years. The amendment to the judiciary article adopted in November, 1869, lengthened the term to fourteen years. Chief justices of the State Supreme Court included : John Jay; Richard Morris; Robert Yates; John Lansing, Jr .; Morgan Lewis; James Kent; Smith Thompson; Ambrose Spencer; John Savage; Samuel Nelson; Greene C. Bronson ; and Samuel Beardsley.
Associate or Puisne justices of the State Supreme Court included : Robert Yates; John Sloss Hobart; John Lansing, Jr .; Morgan Lewis ; Egbert Benson; James Kent; John Cozine; Jacob Radcliff; Brockholst Livingston ; Smith Thompson; Ambrose Spencer ; Daniel D. Tompkins ; William W. Van Ness; Joseph C. Yates ; Jonas Platt ; John Woolworth ; Jacob Sunderland; William L. Marcy; Samuel Nelson; Greene C. Bronson; Esek Cowen; Samuel Beardsley; Freeborn G. Jewett; Fred- erick Whittlesey; Thomas McKissock.
Circuit judges of the Second Circuit included: Samuel R. Betts ; James Emott; Charles H. Huggins; Selah B. Strong; and Seward Barculo.
Justices of the Supreme Court of the Second District included : Selah B. Strong; William T. McCown; Nathan B. Morse; Seward Barculo; John W. Brown; William Rockwell; Gilbert Dean; James Emott ; Lucien Birdseye; John A. Lott; William W. Scrugham; William Ful- lerton; Stephen W. Fullerton; Joseph F. Barnard; Jasper W. Gilbert ; Abraham B. Tappan; Calvin E. Pratt; and Jackson O. Dykeman.
With regard to the county judges, the Court of Common Pleas was erected by the act of 1691. It was composed of one judge and three justices, who were appointed by the Governor and held office during his pleasure. In 1702, the judge was assisted by two or more justices. Under the first Constitution there was one judge and several assistant judges. The act of March 27, 1818, abolished the office of assistant judge and limited the number of judges to five. Under the State government, the appointment was at first vested in the Council of Ap- pointment, and the office was held during their pleasure. Later, the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appointed the county judges, and the term was five years. The Constitution of 1846 made the office elective and the term four years. The amendment of 1869 extended it to six years. Judges of the Court of Common Pleas and County Court in colonial days from the region of The Bronx and Westchester County in general included: Caleb Heathcote; William Willett; Frederick Philipse; Samuel Purdy; and John Thomas.
Under the State Constitution of 1777 and 1821, the judges included : Lewis Morris, who was appointed by ordinance of the Provincial Con-
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vention; Robert Graham; Stephen Ward; Ebenezer Lockwood; Jon- athan G. Tompkins; Ebenezer Purdy; Elijah Lee; John Watts; Caleb Tompkins; William Jay; Robert S. Hart.
Under the Constitution of 1846, the judges included : John W. Mills ; William H. Robertson; Robert Cochran; Silas D. Gifford; and Isaac N. Mills.
With regard to surrogates, the authority to grant probates was vested in the Governor as the representative of the king, and he was the or- dinary of the Prerogative Court. All wills relating to estates in New York, Orange, Richmond, Westchester, and Kings counties were to be proved in New York. In the towns under the Duke's Laws the constables, overseers and justices took charge of the estates of intestates. Under the act of November 11, 1692, this duty was performed by two freeholders appointed or elected for the purpose. Surrogates were appointed by the colonial Governor at a very early date-for West- chester County as early as 1730. They had very limited powers. After the organization of the State the surrogates were invested with the authority to grant probates, subject to appeal to the Court of Probates. Counties where the population exceeded forty thousand, it was agreed, might be authorized by the Legislature to elect such an officer. Other- wise the county judge was to act as such. The office was filled by appointment of the Council of Appointment; later by the Governor and Senate. Under the Constitution of 1846 it became elective. The term was at first during the pleasure of the appointing power. From 1821 to 1846 the surrogates were appointed for four years. After the office became elective, the term was six years. Surrogates in colonial times for the region of The Bronx and for Westchester County in general were: Gilbert White, appointed in 1730; John Bar- ton, appointed on February 9, 1754; Caleb Fowler, appointed June 10, 1761; and David Daton, appointed on June 9, 1766. The following were the surrogates of the region of The Bronx and of Westchester County generally under the constitutions of 1777 and 1821; Richard Hatfield; Philip Pell, Jr .; Samuel Youngs; Edward Thomas; Ezra Lockwood; Henry White; Ebenezer White; Jonathan Ward; Alexander H. Wells ; Frederick J. Coffin.
Attorneys, Sheriffs, Clerks-As to district attorneys, by the act of February 12, 1796, the State was divided into seven districts, each of which had an attorney, called assistant attorney-general. The Assistant Attorney-General became in 1801, district attorney. By the act of April, 1818, each county became a district, and had its own district attorney. Under the Constitution of 1777 the Council of Appointment filled the office during pleasure; that of 1821 vested the appointment in the Court of Sessions, while later the office was made elective. The
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district attorneys for the First District-including Kings, Queens, Rich- mond, Suffolk, and Westchester counties-under the act of 1796 were Nathaniel Lawrence and Cadwallader D. Colden. The district attor- neys under the act of 1801 included: Richard Riker, Cadwallader D. Colden, Barent Gardenier, and Thomas S. Lester. District attorneys under the act of 1818 included: Robert P. Lee, Aaron Ward, William Nelson, Richard R. Voris, William W. Scrugham, Edward Wells, William H. Pemberton, Pelham L. McClellan, John S. Bates, Jackson O. Dykeman, Daniel C. Briggs, Robert Cochran, and Nelson H. Baker.
With regard to sheriffs, during the colonial period these officials were appointed annually by the Governor, usually in the month of October. The Constitution of 1777 vested the appointment in the Council of Appointment. The term was one year, and no person could hold the office for more than four successive years. The Constitution of 1821 made the office elective and the term three years. In the colonial period the sheriffs included: William Wells, Robert Coe, John Man- ning, Sylvester Salisbury, Philip Wells, Thomas Willett, Richard Betts, and John Young. After the formation of the county the sheriffs were : Benjamin Collier, Thomas Statham, John Shute, Edmund Ward, Jere- miah Fowler, Isaac Dunham, Roger Barton, Israel Honeywell, Jr., Gilbert Willett, Jacobus Van Dyck, Nicholas Cooper, Lewis Graham, John De Lancey, James De Lancey. Under the Constitution of 1777 the sheriffs were: John Thomas, Jr., John Thomas, Jesse Hunt, Philip Pell, Thomas Thomas, Samuel Haight, Elias Newman, William Barker, Jonathan Ward, Daniel Delevan, Joseph Hatfield, St. John Constant, Elijah Ward, Lyman Cook, Zabud June, Ward B. Howard.
With regard to the County Clerks the "Civil List of the State of New York" remarks: "The County Clerk, during the colonial period, was constituted by his commission clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, Clerk of the Peace and Clerk of the Sessions of the Peace in his county. Under the first State Constitution, it was his duty to keep the County Records and act as Clerk of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas and Clerk of the Oyer and Terminer. County Clerks are now likewise Clerks of the Supreme Court in their respective counties." During the colonial period appointment was vested in the Governor ; under the first Constitution of 1777, in the Council of Appointment. After that the office was made elective and the term three years. During the colonial period the County Clerks were: John Rider, Joseph Lee, Edward Collier, Benjamin Collier, John Clapp, Daniel Clark, Wil- liam Forrester, Benjamin Nicoll, and John Bartow. The County Clerks under the State Constitution of 1777 were: John Bartow, Richard Hatfield, Thomas Ferris, Elijah Crawford, William Requa, and Nehemiah S. Bates.
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With regard to the treasurers in the region of The Bronx and in Westchester County generally, during the colonial period the treasurers from 1701 to 1703 were elected by the Justices of the Peace in the Court of General or Special Sessions; from 1703 to 1846 by the supervisors. The Constitution of 1846 made the office elective and the term three years. The Boards of Supervisors were directed by the act of April 17, 1843, to appoint County superintendents of common schools. The office was abolished on March 13, 1847, after Samuel L. Holmes and John Hobb had been in office. With regard to school commissioners "prior to 1857 School Commissioners were appointed by the Boards of Supervisors. Since that year they have been elected on a separate ballot. The first election under the act creating the office was held in November, 1859. Term, three years."
Since the formation of The Bronx Borough under the Greater New York Charter of 1897, amended 1901, effective January 1, 1898, and January 1, 1902, respectively, the principal borough officials have been as follows :
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