Massachusetts 1789 U.S. House of Representatives, District 4, Ballot 5

Office:
U.S. House of Representatives (Federal)
Title:
U.S. Congressman
Jurisdiction:
Federal
Label:
Massachusetts 1789 U.S. House of Representatives, District 4, Ballot 5
Date:
1789
State:
Massachusetts
Type:
General
Iteration:
Fifth Ballot
Office/Role:
U.S. House of Representatives/U.S. Congressman
Candidates:
Theodore Sedgwick, Samuel Lyman, John Bacon, Thompson J. Skinner, William Whiting, Simeon Strong, Ichabod Crittendon, Samuel Henshaw, William Lyman, Joel Smith, John Worthington
Candidates: Theodore SedgwickSamuel LymanJohn BaconThompson J. SkinnerWilliam WhitingSimeon StrongIchabod CrittendonSamuel HenshawWilliam LymanJoel SmithJohn Worthington
Affiliation:FederalistFederalistAnti-Federalist
Final Result: [1][2][3][4][5]2155213867119211111
District of Four2155213867119211111
Berkshire County91937467108-1----
Town of Adams322-1-------
Town of Alford[6]-----------
Town of Becket274---------
Town of Dalton93---------
Town of Egremont2025---------
Town of Great Barrington4425--2------
Town of Hancock231---------
Town of Lanesborough1002---------
Town of Lee273813--------
Town of Lenox34399-2------
Town of Louden133----1----
Town of Mount Washington212--1------
District of New Ashford[7]-----------
Town of New Marlborough6613--1------
Town of Partridgefield161-12------
Town of Pittsfield6411---------
Town of Richmond7219---------
Town of Sandisfield[8]-----------
Town of Sheffield7081---------
Town of Stockbridge107-35--------
Town of Tyringham39302--------
Town of Washington[9]624---------
Town of West Stockbridge1438--------
Town of Williamstown10537-3-------
Town of Windsor291-5-------
Hampshire County12361764-112-1111
Town of Amherst3256--------1
Town of Ashfield[10]-----------
Town of Belchertown4455---------
Town of Bernardston1225---------
Town of Blandford4340---------
Town of Brimfield69----------
Town of Buckland10----------
Town of Charlemont45---------
Town of Chester[11]-----------
Town of Chesterfield2716---------
Town of Colrain234---------
Town of Conway[12]2425---------
Town of Cummington401-1-------
Town of Deerfield418---------
District of Easthampton159---------
Town of Goshen14----------
Town of Granby729---1-----
Town of Granville764---------
Town of Greenfield1451---------
Town of Greenwich678---------
Town of Hadley498---------
Town of Hatfield407-------1-
Town of Heath11----------
Town of Holland10----------
Town of Leverett1140---------
District of Leyden-85---------
Town of Longmeadow1456---1-----
Town of Ludlow-64---------
Town of Middlefield340---------
Town of Monson2668---------
Town of Montague335---------
Town of Montgomery47---------
Town of New Salem951---------
Town of Northfield31----------
Town of Northampton12311-----11--
Town of Norwich[13]-----------
District of Orange1115---------
Town of Palmer[14]560---------
Town of Pelham262---------
District of Plainfield[15]-----------
Town of Rowe94---------
Town of Shelburne[16]-----------
Town of Shutesbury-60---------
Town of South Brimfield914---------
Town of South Hadley2115---------
Town of Southampton6522---------
Town of Southwick[17]-----------
Town of Springfield20137---------
Town of Sunderland[18]168---------
Town of Ware645---------
Town of Warwick1539---------
Town of Wendell133---------
Town of West Springfield18177--1------
Town of Westfield7842---------
Town of Westhampton3118---------
Town of Whately322---------
Town of Wilbraham11132---------
Town of Williamsburg[19]-----------
Town of Worthington781---------

Notes:

[1]Massachusetts law required a majority to elect for the U.S. House of Representatives. The original election was held on December 18, 1788, with a 2nd Trial on January 29, 1789, a 3rd Trial on March 2, 1789 and a 4th Trial on March 30, 1789.
[2]Theodore Sedgwick was not seated until after the 1st Session of Congress began.
[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 Antifederalist, 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 implication that there had been fraud in the issuing of precepts and in the return of votes in the fourth election, and that the sheriff of Hampshire County was responsible, possibly led to the publication of a notice in the Hampshire Chronicle on 29 April that Sheriff Elisha Porter would receive the votes at his office in Hadley from Monday, 11 May, through Saturday, 16 May. Sedgwick won the election, but again there were charges that the election had been 'stolen' from Lyman by holding back the votes of pro-Lyman towns." The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections: 1788-1790, Vol. I. p 712.
[5]"The votes of seventeen towns were not returned, or were not returned in time to be counted in the fifth election. As in the fourth election, Samuel Lyman's supporters believed that Theodore Sedgwick's men were responsible and that Lyman had been cheated of the election. Sedgwick's supporters, on the other hand, insisted that he was the choice of the majority of those who voted in all five elections." The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections: 1788-1790, Vol. I. p 736.
[6]There were no votes recorded in Alford.
[7]There were no votes recorded in New Ashford.
[8]There were no votes recorded in Sandisfield.
[9]The votes from Washington were not included in the Original Election Returns.
[10]There were no votes recorded in Ashfield.
[11]There were no votes recorded in Chester.
[12]The votes from Conway were not included in the Original Election Returns.
[13]There were no votes recorded in Norwich.
[14]The votes from Palmer were not included in the Original Election Returns.
[15]There were no votes recorded in Plainfield.
[16]There were no votes recorded in Shelburne.
[17]There were no votes recorded in Southwick.
[18]The votes from Sunderland were not included in the Original Election Returns.
[19]There were no votes recorded in Williamsburg.

References:

Original Election Returns. Massachusetts State Archives, Boston.
Lee Town Records.
Palmer Town Records.
The Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, MA). May 13, 1789.
The Berkshire Chronicle, and the Massachusetts Intelligencer (Pittsfield, MA). May 15, 1789.
The Hampshire Chronicle (Springfield, MA). May 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. 712-742.

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