Massachusetts 1788 U.S. House of Representatives, District 4

Office:
U.S. House of Representatives (Federal)
Title:
U.S. Congressman
Jurisdiction:
Federal
Label:
Massachusetts 1788 U.S. House of Representatives, District 4
Date:
1788
State:
Massachusetts
Type:
General
Iteration:
First Ballot
Office/Role:
U.S. House of Representatives/U.S. Congressman
Candidates:
Theodore Sedgwick, Samuel Lyman, William Whiting, Thompson J. Skinner, William Williams, John Worthington, John Bacon, Oliver Phelps, William Bodman, Samuel Fowler, Elijah Dwight, Israel Williams, William Lyman, Timothy Robinson, Simeon Strong, Ebenezer Hunt, Samuel Henshaw, John Hastings, Moses Bliss, Samuel Field, Nathaniel Kingsley, Ebenezer Mattoon, Nehemiah Rickman
Candidates: Theodore SedgwickSamuel LymanWilliam WhitingThompson J. SkinnerWilliam WilliamsJohn WorthingtonJohn BaconOliver PhelpsWilliam BodmanSamuel FowlerElijah DwightIsrael WilliamsWilliam LymanTimothy RobinsonSimeon StrongEbenezer HuntSamuel HenshawJohn HastingsMoses BlissSamuel FieldNathaniel KingsleyEbenezer MattoonNehemiah Rickman
Affiliation:FederalistFederalistAnti-FederalistFederalistFederalistFederalistFederalist
Final Result: [1][2][3]83533030225618117893543721151177654322111
District of Four83533030225618117893543721151177654322111
Berkshire County269-1492252914932--12---------1--
Town of Adams---39-------------------
Town of Alford8-16---1----------------
Town of Becket18-------------------1--
Town of Dalton[4]-----4-----------------
Town of Egremont-----------------------
Town of Great Barrington28-14-------2------------
Town of Hancock-----------------------
Town of Lanesborough27-28--------------------
Town of Lee-----------------------
Town of Lenox2-2938--2----------------
Town of Louden-----------------------
Town of Mount Washington[5]-----------------------
District of New Ashford---15-------------------
Town of New Marlborough15----------------------
Town of Partridgefield---12--1----------------
Town of Pittsfield38-15--------------------
Town of Richmond33-5---13----------------
Town of Sandisfield1-28---72--10------------
Town of Sheffield34---29------------------
Town of Stockbridge49-----39----------------
Town of Tyringham5-8---15----------------
Town of Washington[6]9----4-----------------
Town of West Stockbridge1-18--115----------------
Town of Williamstown2-1645-------------------
Town of Windsor---48-------------------
Hampshire County56633015331152164-52372131177654322-11
Town of Amherst538--5------------------
Town of Ashfield[7]-----------------------
Town of Belchertown2141---------------------
Town of Bernardston816-------------------1-
Town of Blandford[8]-----------------------
Town of Brimfield37----------------------
Town of Buckland12----3-----------------
Town of Charlemont5---8--------------2---
Town of Chester[9]-----------------------
Town of Chesterfield11---15------------------
Town of Colrain25----------------------
Town of Conway[10]-----------------------
Town of Cummington[11]---21-------------------
Town of Deerfield25---12------------------
District of Easthampton[12]5------4--------4------
Town of Goshen[13]---220------------------
Town of Granby-27---------------------
Town of Granville-128----13-3---7---2-----
Town of Greenfield195-81-------------1----
Town of Greenwich-----30-----------------
Town of Hadley2521-1------------------
Town of Hatfield[14]21---15------------1-----
Town of Heath16----------------------
Town of Holland-26---------------------
Town of Leverett[15]-----------------------
District of Leyden10----------11-----------
Town of Longmeadow45---37-----------------
Town of Ludlow-35---------------------
Town of Middlefield[16]-----------------------
Town of Monson-37---------------------
Town of Montague[17]-----------------------
Town of Montgomery[18]-----------------------
Town of New Salem-----40-----------------
Town of Northampton59---28------------------
Town of Northfield[19]-----------------------
Town of Norwich23---7----------5-------
District of Orange[20]-----------------------
Town of Palmer1----16-----------------
Town of Pelham-27---------------------
District of Plainfield[21]-----------------------
Town of Rowe[22]-----------------------
Town of Shelburne13---20-------------1----
Town of Shutesbury-20------------2-------1
Town of South Brimfield79---------------------
Town of South Hadley[23]-----------------------
Town of Southampton30------32---------------
Town of Southwick5----24-1-1-------------
Town of Springfield459--------3------------
Town of Sunderland[24]-----------------------
Town of Ware-----12------7----------
Town of Warwick26----------------------
Town of Wendell19-------------3--------
Town of West Springfield69101--2-1-1----1--------
Town of Westfield28-23-3--1-16-------------
Town of Westhampton32---17------------------
Town of Whately[25]-----------------------
Town of Wilbraham1123---------------------
Town of Williamsburg[26]--------37--------------
Town of Worthington12----------------------

Notes:

[1]Massachusetts law required a majority to elect for the U.S. House of Representatives. The whole number of votes cast was 2201, therefore a candidate needed 1101 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]"The first election in the district was in part a reflection of the rivalry between Hampshire and Berkshire counties. Berkshire was the less populous county, but four of the six candidates who received the most votes - Theodore Sedgwick, William Whiting, Thompson J. Skinner, and William Williams - were residents of the county. The two Hampshire candidates were Samuel Lyman and John Worthington. The first election did not reflect the fact that the two counties were centers of agrarian discontent and of support for Shays's Rebellion. Nor did it reflect the fact that in the state Convention the Hampshire delegates voted 32 to 19 and the Berkshire delegates voted 16 to 6 against ratification of the Constitution. Only Whiting was regarded as a Shaysite and an Anti-Federalist, while the other five men were Federalists - and two of these - Worthington and Williams - had been virtual if not actual Loyalists during the Revolution. The issue of amendments to the Constitution was not raised during the first election in the district, but it became so important in the ensuing elections that Theodore Sedgwick, who opposed amendments, publicly promised to support them before the fifth election, which he won." The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections: 1788-1790, Vol. I. p 603.
[4]The votes from Dalton were not included in the Original Election Returns.
[5]Mount Washington was not listed in the Original Election Returns.
[6]The votes from Washington were not included in the Original Election Returns.
[7]There were no votes recorded in Ashfield.
[8]There were no votes recorded in Blandford.
[9]There were no votes recorded in Chester.
[10]There were no votes recorded in Conway.
[11]The votes from Cummington were not included in the Original Election Returns.
[12]The votes from Easthampton were not included in the Original Election Returns.
[13]The votes from Goshen were not included in the Original Election Returns.
[14]The votes from Hatfield were not included in the Original Election Returns.
[15]There were no votes recorded in Leverett.
[16]Middlefield was not listed in the Original Election Returns.
[17]There were no votes recorded in Montague.
[18]There were no votes recorded in Montgomery.
[19]There were no votes recorded in Northfield.
[20]There were no votes recorded in Orange.
[21]Plainfield was not listed in the Original Election Returns.
[22]There were no votes recorded in Rowe.
[23]There were no votes recorded in South Hadley.
[24]There were no votes recorded in Sunderland.
[25]There were no votes recorded in Whately.
[26]The votes from Williamsburg were not included in the Original Election Returns.

References:

Original Election Returns. Massachusetts State Archives, Boston.
Cummington Town Records.
Easthampton Town Records. Vol. One. 41.
Goshen Town Records.
Hatfield Town Records. 1741-1813, 364.
Williamsburg Town Records.
The Berkshire Chronicle, and the Massachusetts Intelligencer (Pittsfield, MA). December 19, 1788.
The Massachusetts Centinel (Boston, MA). December 20, 1788.
The Hampshire Chronicle (Springfield, MA). December 24, 1788.
The Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, MA). December 24, 1788.
The Berkshire Chronicle, and the Massachusetts Intelligencer (Pittsfield, MA). December 26, 1788.
The Hampshire Chronicle (Springfield, MA). December 31, 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. 603-608.

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