1840 Massachusetts legislature

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1840 Massachusetts legislature - Wikipedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

61st
Massachusetts General Court

←

60th (1839)

62nd (1841)

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Seal of the General Court of Massachusetts

Overview

Legislative body

Massachusetts General Court

Term

January 1, 1840 – January 6, 1841

Members

Party control

Members

521 ^[1]

Speaker

Robert Charles Winthrop

Party control

Whig

Sessions

1st	January 1, 1840 (1840-01-01) – March 24, 1840 (1840-03-24) ^[2]^[3]

The 61st Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1840 during the governorship of Marcus Morton. Daniel P. King served as president of the Senate and Robert Charles Winthrop served as speaker of the House.^[4]

On January 22, 1840, the governor gave a speech.^[3]

Composition by party

Overview of Senate membership by party
	Party (shading shows control)		Total	Vacant
Begin (January 1, 1840)

	Democratic (D)	Whig (W)
Begin (January 1, 1840)	19	21	40	0
Latest voting share	47.50%	52.50%

Leadership

Senate

Presiding

President: Daniel P. King (W)

House of Representatives

Presiding

Speaker: Robert Charles Winthrop (W)

Members

Senate

The 40 seats are apportioned to each county or counties, based upon population size, to be elected at-large.^[5]

Berkshire

▌At-large. Russell Brown (D)

▌At-large. Increase Sumner (D)

Bristol

▌At-large. Foster Hooper (D)

▌At-large. Horatio Pratt (D)

▌At-large. Seth Whitmarsh (D)

Essex

▌At-large. Amos Abbott (W)

▌At-large. David Choate (W)

▌At-large. Daniel P. King (W)

▌At-large. Samuel Lane (W)

▌At-large. Josiah Little (W)

▌At-large. John S. Williams (W)

Hampden

▌At-large. Matthew Ives Jr. (D)

▌At-large. Asa Lincoln (D)

Hampshire

▌At-large. William Bowdoin (W)

▌At-large. Timothy A. Phelps (W)

Middlesex

▌At-large. Thomas J. Greenwood (D)

▌At-large. Joseph W. Mansur (D)

▌At-large. Leonard M. Parker (D)

▌At-large. James Russell (D)

▌At-large. Sidney Willard (W)

Norfolk

▌At-large. Lucas Pond (D)

▌At-large. Bradford L. Wales (D)

▌At-large. Benjamin P. Williams (D)

Plymouth

▌At-large. Seth Sprague Jr. (W)

▌At-large. Jared Whitman (W)

Suffolk

▌At-large. Edmund Dwight (D)

▌At-large. Isaac Harris (W)

▌At-large. William J. Hubbard (W)

▌At-large. George Morey (W)

▌At-large. Josiah Quincy Jr. (W)

▌At-large. James Savage (W)

Worcester

▌At-large. Benjamin Estabrook (D)

▌At-large. Charles C. P. Hastings (W)

▌At-large. Jedediah Marcy (D)

▌At-large. Charles Sibley (D)

▌At-large. Nathaniel Wood (D)

▌At-large. Samuel Wood (W)

House of Representatives

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2020)

The members of the House of Representatives are apportioned by incorporated township and therefore the number of representatives in the House of Representatives can vary. Every incorporated township that has at least 150 ratable polls (taxable persons) is given one representative and for every additional 225 ratable polls, another representative is given. Townships can choose not to send a representative to the House each session, therefore the total number of filled seats can fluctuate year-to-year.^[6] Only the townships that sent representatives are listed below.

Barnstable

▌Barnstable. Daniel Basset (D)

▌Barnstable. Nathaniel Hinckley (D)

▌Barnstable. Thomas B. Lewis (D)

▌Brewster. Josiah Foster (W)

▌Chatham. Samuel Doane (D)

▌Chatham. Henry Gorham (D)

▌Dennis. Seth Crowell (W)

▌Dennis. Samuel Rogers (W)

▌Eastham. Barnabas Freeman (D)

▌Falmouth. Silas Jones (W)

▌Falmouth. Elijah Swift (W)

▌Harwich. Cyrus Weeks (W)

▌Harwich. Richard Baker Jr. (W)

▌Orleans. Luther Snow (W)

▌Orleans. Nathaniel Freeman (D)

▌Provincetown. John Atkins (W)

▌Provincetown. David Cook II (W)

▌Sandwich. Josiah Bacon (W)

▌Sandwich. Benjamin Bourne (W)

▌Sandwich. Charles Nye (W)

▌Truro. Freeman Atkins (W)

▌Truro. Jedediah Shed (D)

▌Wellfleet. Nathaniel P. Wiley (D)

▌Wellfleet. Solomon R. Hawes (D)

▌Yarmouth. Silvanus Crowell (W)

▌Yarmouth. Freeman Taylor (W)

Berkshire

▌Adams. Snell Babbit (W)

▌Adams. Lorenzo Rice (W)

▌Adams. Ezra D. Whitaker (W)

▌Alford. Elijah K. Williams (D)

▌Cheshire. Noah Y. Bushnell (D)

▌Dalton. John Chamberlain (D)

▌Egremont. Rich P. Brown (D)

▌Great Barrington. Perley D. Whitmore (W)

▌Great Barrington. Philip Barnes (W)

▌Hinsdale. William Hinsdale (W)

▌Lanesborough. Asahel Buck Jr. (D)

▌Lee. Eli Bradley (W)

▌Lee. Leonard Church (W)

▌Lenox. Henry H. Cook (D)

▌New Ashford. Phineas Harmon (W)

▌New Marlborough. George Smith (W)

▌Otis. Curtis Hunt (D)

▌Peru. Edward T. Nash (W)

▌Pittsfield. James Francis (W)

▌Pittsfield. Jabez Peck (W)

▌Pittsfield. Comfort B. Platt (W)

▌Richmond. Seneca Pettee (D)

▌Sandisfield. David Belden (D)

▌Savoy. Philip Pierce (D)

▌Sheffield. Orrin Curtis (D)

▌Sheffield. Moses Forbes (D)

▌Stockbridge. John M. Cooper (D)

▌Stockbridge. Charles Webster (D)

▌Tyringham. Amos Langdon Jr. (D)

▌Washington. John S. Noble (D)

▌Williamstown. James Corbin (D)

▌Williamstown. Henry Johnson (D)

▌Windsor. Moses Ford (D)

Bristol

Dukes

▌Chilmark. Daniel Flanders (D)

▌Edgartown. David Davis (D)

▌Edgartown. Elihu P. Norton (D)

▌Tisbury. Bartlett Allen (D)

▌Tisbury. Asa Johnson (D)

▌Nantucket. Benjamin Gardner (W)

▌Nantucket. Samuel H. Jenks (W)

▌Nantucket. William B. Mitchell (W)

▌Nantucket. David Joy (W)

▌Boston. John Boles (W)

▌Boston. Noah Brooks (W)

▌Boston. William C. Brown (D)

▌Boston. Francis Brown (W)

▌Boston. George T. Curtis (W)

▌Boston. George Darracott (W)

▌Boston. Isaac P. Davis (W)

▌Boston. Thomas A. Davis (W)

▌Boston. Daniel Denny (W)

▌Boston. Franklin Dexter (W)

▌Boston. Frederic Emerson (W)

▌Boston. David Francis (W)

▌Boston. John Gardner (W)

▌Boston. James W. Gates (W)

▌Boston. John C. Gray (W)

▌Boston. Samuel Greele (W)

▌Boston. John Green Jr. (W)

▌Boston. Ozias Goodwin (W)

▌Boston. Frederick Gould (W)

▌Boston. Nathan Gurney (W)

▌Boston. Samuel W. Hall (W)

▌Boston. James Harris (W)

▌Boston. Eliphalet P. Hartshorn (W)

▌Boston. John P. Healy (W)

▌Boston. Robert Hooper Jr. (W)

▌Boston. Cranston Howe (W)

▌Boston. Thomas Hunting (W)

▌Boston. Robert Keith (W)

▌Boston. William Lawrence (W)

▌Boston. Ezekiel W. Leach (W)

▌Boston. Benson Leavitt (W)

▌Boston. Joseph Lewis (W)

▌Boston. Theophilus R. Marvin (W)

▌Boston. Nahum Mitchell (W)

▌Boston. Francis J. Oliver (W)

▌Boston. William W. Parrott (W)

▌Boston. Theophilus Parsons (W)

▌Boston. Thomas Patten (W)

▌Boston. George W. Phillips (W)

▌Boston. Lewis G. Pray (W)

▌Boston. Samuel Quincy (W)

▌Boston. John Raynor (W)

▌Boston. Joseph W. Revere (W)

▌Boston. Jeffrey Richardson (W)

▌Boston. Daniel Safford (W)

▌Boston. J. Thomas Stevenson (W)

▌Boston. Woodbridge Strong (W)

▌Boston. Josiah Vinton Jr. (W)

▌Boston. Thomas B. Wales (W)

▌Boston. John B. Wells (W)

▌Boston. James M. Whiton (W)

▌Boston. William Willett (W)

▌Boston. Horatio M. Willis (W)

▌Boston. Robert C. Winthrop (W)

Worcester

Officers and officials

Congressional officers

Sergeant-at-Arms to the Legislature: Benjamin Stevens
Messenger to Governor and Council: William Manning
Watchman to State-House: Edmund S. Brigham

Senate officers

Chaplain: Rev. Daniel M. Lord
Clerk: Charles Calhoun
Assistant Clerk: W. P. Gregg
Doorkeeper to Senate: Milton Hall

House of Representatives officers

Chaplain: Rev. Joy H. Fairchild
Chaplain: Rev. Benjamin Whittemore
Clerk: Luther S. Cushing
Doorkeeper to the House of Representatives: Elijah W. Cutting
Doorkeeper to the House of Representatives: David Murphey
Doorkeeper to the House of Representatives: Alexis Pool

References

^ "Composition of the State of Massachusetts House of Representatives", Resources on Massachusetts Political Figures in the State Library, Mass.gov, archived from the original on June 6, 2020
^ "Length of Legislative Sessions". Manual for the Use of the General Court. Boston: Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 2009. p. 348+.
^ ^a ^b S. N. Dickinson, Boston Almanac for the Year 1841, Boston: Thomas Groom, hdl:2027/njp.32101056187543
^ "Organization of the Legislature Since 1780". Manual for the Use of the General Court. Boston: Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 2009. p. 340+.
^ "Civil Government of Massachusetts". Massachusetts Register and United States Calendar for 1840 – via HathiTrust.
^ Chapter I, Section III, Article II of the Constitution of Massachusetts (1780)

External links

Massachusetts General Court, Bills (Legislative Documents) and Journals: 1840, hdl:2452/738674
Massachusetts Acts and Resolves: 1840, hdl:2452/92922

Massachusetts General Courts by year convened

1 (1780)
2 (1781)
3 (1782)
4 (1783)
5 (1784)
6 (1785)
7 (1786)
8 (1787)
9 (1788)
10 (1789)
11 (1790)
12 (1791)
13 (1792)
14 (1793)
15 (1794)
16 (1795)
17 (1796)
18 (1797)
19 (1798)
20 (1799)
21 (1800)
22 (1801)
23 (1802)
24 (1803)
25 (1804)

26 (1805)
27 (1806)
28 (1807)
29 (1808)
30 (1809)
31 (1810)
32 (1811)
33 (1812)
34 (1813)
35 (1814)
36 (1815)
37 (1816)
38 (1817)
39 (1818)
40 (1819)
41 (1820)
42 (1821)
43 (1822)
44 (1823)
45 (1824)
46 (1825)
47 (1826)
48 (1827)
49 (1828)
50 (1829)

51 (1830)
52 (1831)
53 (1832)
54 (1833)
55 (1834)
56 (1835)
57 (1836)
58 (1837)
59 (1838)
60 (1839)
61 (1840)
62 (1841)
63 (1842)
64 (1843)
65 (1844)
66 (1845)
67 (1846)
68 (1847)
69 (1848)
70 (1849)
71 (1850)
72 (1851)
73 (1852)
74 (1853)
75 (1854)

76 (1855)
77 (1856)
78 (1857)
79 (1858)
80 (1859)
81 (1860)
82 (1861)
83 (1862)
84 (1863)
85 (1864)
86 (1865)
87 (1866)
88 (1867)
89 (1868)
90 (1869)
91 (1870)
92 (1871)
93 (1872)
94 (1873)
95 (1874)
96 (1875)
97 (1876)
98 (1877)
99 (1878)
100 (1879)

101 (1880)
102 (1881)
103 (1882)
104 (1883)
105 (1884)
106 (1885)
107 (1886)
108 (1887)
109 (1888)
110 (1889)
111 (1890)
112 (1891)
113 (1892)
114 (1893)
115 (1894)
116 (1895)
117 (1896)
118 (1897)
119 (1898)
120 (1899)
121 (1900)
122 (1901)
123 (1902)
124 (1903)
125 (1904)

126 (1905)
127 (1906)
128 (1907)
129 (1908)
130 (1909)
131 (1910)
132 (1911)
133 (1912)
134 (1913)
135 (1914)
136 (1915)
137 (1916)
138 (1917)
139 (1918)
140 (1919)
141 (1920)
142 (1921)
143 (1923)
144 (1925)
145 (1927)
146 (1929)
147 (1931)
148 (1933)
149 (1935)
150 (1937)

151 (1939)
152 (1941)
153 (1943)
154 (1945)
155 (1947)
156 (1949)
157 (1951)
158 (1953)
159 (1955)
160 (1957)
161 (1959)
162 (1961)
163 (1963)
164 (1965)
165 (1967)
166 (1969)
167 (1971)
168 (1973)
169 (1975)
170 (1977)
171 (1979)
172 (1981)
173 (1983)
174 (1985)
175 (1987)

176 (1989)
177 (1991)
178 (1993)
179 (1995)
180 (1997)
181 (1999)
182 (2001)
183 (2003)
184 (2005)
185 (2007)
186 (2009)
187 (2011)
188 (2013)
189 (2015)
190 (2017)
191 (2019)
192 (2021)
193 (2023)
194 (2025)

Commons

Districts of the Massachusetts General Court

Senate

Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden
Bristol and Norfolk
Bristol and Plymouth: 1st, 2nd
Cape and Islands
Essex: 1st, 2nd, 3rd
Essex and Middlesex: 1st, 2nd
Hampden
Hampden and Hampshire: 1st, 2nd
Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester
Middlesex: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th
Middlesex and Norfolk: 1st, 2nd
Middlesex and Suffolk
Middlesex and Worcester
Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex
Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth
Norfolk and Plymouth
Norfolk and Suffolk
Plymouth and Barnstable
Plymouth and Bristol: 1st, 2nd
Plymouth and Norfolk
Suffolk: 1st, 2nd
Suffolk and Middlesex: 1st, 2nd
Worcester: 1st, 2nd
Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Middlesex
Worcester and Middlesex
Worcester and Norfolk
Obsolete districts

House

Barnstable	1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th
Berkshire	1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th
Bristol	1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th
Cape and Islands	Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket
Essex	1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th
Franklin	1st, 2nd
Hampden	1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th
Hampshire	1st, 2nd, 3rd
Middlesex	1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 34th, 35th, 36th, 37th
Norfolk	1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th
Plymouth	1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th
Suffolk	1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th
Worcester	1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th
Defunct districts	Former districts

Commons

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Law	Constitution General Laws Code of Massachusetts Regulations Abortion Alcohol Cannabis Capital punishment Crime Elder law Gambling Gun laws LGBT rights Taxation

Categories:

Hidden categories:

Composition by party

Leadership

Senate

Presiding

House of Representatives

Presiding

Members

Senate

Dukes and Nantucket

House of Representatives

Officers and officials

Congressional officers

Senate officers

House of Representatives officers

See also

References

External links