Massachusetts 1788 U.S. House of Representatives, District 3
- Office:
- U.S. House of Representatives (Federal)
- Title:
- U.S. Congressman
- Jurisdiction:
- Federal
- Label:
- Massachusetts 1788 U.S. House of Representatives, District 3
- Date:
- 1788
- State:
- Massachusetts
- Type:
- General
- Iteration:
- First Ballot
- Office/Role:
- U.S. House of Representatives/U.S. Congressman
- Candidates:
- Nathaniel Gorham, Elbridge Gerry, Joseph B. Varnum, John Brooks, James Winthrop, Leammi Baldwin, Eleazer Brooks, Ebenezer Bridge, William Hull, Joseph Hosmer, Francis Dana, Oliver Prescott, Parker Varnum, Samuel Dexter, Jr., William Winthrop
| Candidates: | Nathaniel Gorham | Elbridge Gerry | Joseph B. Varnum | John Brooks | James Winthrop | Leammi Baldwin | Eleazer Brooks | Ebenezer Bridge | William Hull | Joseph Hosmer | Francis Dana | Oliver Prescott | Parker Varnum | Samuel Dexter, Jr. | William Winthrop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affiliation: | Federalist | Federalist | Federalist | Federalist | |||||||||||
| Final Result: [1][2][3] | 536 | 384 | 254 | 106 | 50 | 43 | 36 | 18 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| District of Three | 536 | 384 | 254 | 106 | 50 | 43 | 36 | 18 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Middlesex County | 536 | 384 | 254 | 106 | 50 | 43 | 36 | 18 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Town of Acton | 27 | 16 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Ashby | 2 | 30 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Bedford | - | 1 | 31 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Billerica | 37 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| District of Boxboro | 21 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Cambridge | - | 3 | 37 | 1 | 28 | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| District of Carlisle | 3 | 8 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Charlestown | - | 49 | 25 | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Chelmsford[4] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Concord | 76 | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - |
| Town of Dracut | 2 | 1 | 51 | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - |
| Town of Dunstable | 8 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Town of East Sudbury | 16 | 19 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Framingham | 50 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Groton | 3 | 18 | - | 1 | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Holliston | 25 | 9 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Hopkinton | 33 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Lexington | 27 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Lincoln | - | - | 15 | - | - | - | 18 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Littleton | 9 | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Malden | 6 | - | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | 17 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Marlborough | 39 | 25 | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Medford | - | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 11 | - | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Natick | - | 16 | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Newton | 20 | 11 | - | 11 | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Pepperell | 27 | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Reading | 39 | 10 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Sherborn | 1 | 1 | - | 29 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Shirley | - | 24 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Stoneham | - | 12 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Stow | 31 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Sudbury | 13 | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Tewksbury | - | 3 | 20 | - | 5 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Townsend | 21 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | - | - | - |
| Town of Waltham | - | 24 | - | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Watertown | - | 24 | - | 13 | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Westford | - | 21 | 20 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Weston | - | 20 | - | 26 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Wilmington[5] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Town of Woburn | - | 7 | 1 | - | - | 43 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Notes:
[1]Massachusetts law required a majority to elect for the U.S. House of Representatives. The whole number of votes cast was 1473, therefore a candidate needed 737 votes in order to be elected. No candidates were successful in reaching the majority and a second voting was held on January 29, 1789.
[2]"The elections in the country have, in general, been very thinly attended - owing in some measure to the late fall of snow, making the passing bad." The Massachusetts Centinel (Boston, MA). December 20, 1788.
[3]"It is evident that the Federalists had difficulty deciding upon a candidate who would accept if elected, a difficulty that continued in the second election in the district." The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections: 1788-1790, Vol. I. p 600.
[4]There were no votes recorded in Chelmsford.
[5]The December 23rd issue of The Salem Mercury (Salem, MA) states that all of the votes cast in Wilmington Town were for Elbridge Gerry, except one.
References:
Original Election Returns. Massachusetts State Archives, Boston.
The Massachusetts Centinel (Boston, MA). December 20, 1788.
The Salem Mercury (Salem, MA). December 23, 1788.
The Massachusetts Centinel (Boston, MA). December 24, 1788.
The Hampshire Chronicle (Springfield, MA). January 7, 1789.
The Hampshire Chronicle (Springfield, MA). January 14, 1789.
The Pennsylvania Packet, and Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA). January 20, 1789.
Jensen, Merrill and Robert A. Becker, ed. The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections: 1788-1790. Vol. I. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1976. 600-601.
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