Pennsylvania 1805 State Senate, District 1, Special

Office:
State Senate (State)
Title:
State Senator
Jurisdiction:
State
Label:
Pennsylvania 1805 State Senate, District 1, Special
Date:
1805
State:
Pennsylvania
Type:
Special
Iteration:
First Ballot
Office/Role:
State Senate/State Senator
Candidates:
John Dorsey, John Hallowell
Candidates: John Dorsey[1]John Hallowell
Affiliation:RepublicanFederalist
Final Result: [2][3][4]35483324
District of One35483324
Delaware County[5]304672
District of Ashton and Birmingham3346
Chester89157
District of Chichester and Bethel1837
District of Concord and Thornbury2990
Darby[6]--
Newtown48225
City of Philadelphia[7]14221695
Ward Cedar105106
Ward Chesnut[8]75138
Ward Dock42121
Ward High Street48179
Ward Locust10589
Ward Lower Delaware108130
Ward Middle60118
Ward New Market144148
Ward North143197
Ward North Mulberry10437
Ward South4997
Ward South Mulberry243112
Ward Upper Delaware125114
Ward Walnut71109
Philadelphia County1822957
District of Blockley and Kingsessing4875
Blockley3458
Kingsessing1417
Bustleton[9]92137
District of Germantown, Bristol, and Roxborough[10]--
Bristol--
Germantown--
Roxborough--
District of Northern Liberties979347
District of Northern Liberties East420180
District of Northern Liberties West559167
District of Southwark, Moyamensing, and Passyunk[11]480199
Moyamensing8012
Passyunk512
District of Southwark East153126
District of Southwark West19659

Notes:

[1]Elected.
[2]"In the place of James Gamble, Esq., resigned." The Intelligencer, and Weekly Advertiser (Lancaster, PA). December 3, 1805.
[3]"The following statement was copied from the Official Returns:~ Dorsey Hallowell[:] Philadelphia City 1422 1695[;] Philadelphia County 1822 957[;] Delaware County 304 672[; Totals:] 3548 3324 From which it appears that John Dorsey, Esq. is elected by a majority of 224 votes." Poulson's American Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA), December 6, 1805; The True American and Commercial Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA), December 7, 1805; and, The Enquirer (Richmond, VA), December 14, 1805.
[4]"Among the first of the appointments made by the Governor after the election was that of James Gamble, State Senator from Philadelphia, as auctioneer. Gamble's resignation as Senator necessitated the election of a successor and precipitated an open quarrel among the Quids. The Federalists of the city met on November 18, 1805, and nominated John Hallowell for the vacancy. They also attended in force a Constitutionalist meeting held two days later. Both factions agreed on the choice of a Quid chairman for the meeting; but a loud dispute broke out when the Federalists nominated one of their own number for secretary . . . The Federalist success in electing their secretary led [United States Attorney for the District of Pennsylvania Alexander J.] Dallas and his supporters to withdraw from the meeting. Subsequently holding one of their own, they chose as their candidate, Samuel Wetherill, Sr.; but he declined the nomination for personal reasons. A number of Quids refused to leave the original meeting, but remained and co-operated with the Federalists in supporting Hallowell . . . The Democrats were delighted by these evidences of dissension and made the most of the equivocal position of the Quids. They nominated John Dorsey to succeed Gamble and conducted an active campaign in his behalf. The supporters of Hallowell worked equally hard; but he lost by 200 votes in what McKean believed to be the most vigorous contest over the election of a single member of the legislature that he had ever seen." Higginbotham, Sanford W. The Keystone in the Democratic Arch: Pennsylvania Politics, 1800-1816. Philadelphia: Pennyslvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1952. 104-105.
[5]Not all sources list votes by township, and some sources just list majorities for one or the other candidate, but the total votes listed for Delaware County are consistent.
[6]Vote totals are not reported for Darby township, but John Hallowell is reported to have had a majority of 30 votes.
[7]The True American and Commercial Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA) from November 29 lists 1693 for John Hallowell.
[8]Two sources list vote totals for the candidates by Ward, Aurora. General Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA) from November 30, and True American from November 29. The Aurora. General Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA) lists John Hallowell with 158 votes, but lists the total votes for the city at 1695, which is consistent with most other sources. The True American lists John Hallowell with 138 votes in Chestnut, and 1693 in the city, which is the accurate sum for the Ward totals as listed and very close to the 1695 city total listed for him in other sources.
[9]Sources interchange the name of this voting district between Bustleton and a district composed of the townships of Byberry, Lower Dublin, Moreland, and Oxford. For this election, Bustleton appears more frequently.
[10]Vote totals are not reported for this district, but John Dorsey is reported to have had a majority of 24 votes in the district.
[11]Some sources refer to East and West Southwark as East and West Southern Liberties.

References:

Poulson's American Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA). November 29, 1805.
The True American and Commercial Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA). November 29, 1805.
Aurora. General Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA). November 30, 1805.
Poulson's American Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA). November 30, 1805.
The True American and Commercial Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA). November 30, 1805.
Aurora. General Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA). December 3, 1805.
The Intelligencer, and Weekly Advertiser (Lancaster, PA). December 3, 1805.
Poulson's American Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA). December 6, 1805.
The True American and Commercial Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA). December 7, 1805.
The Enquirer (Richmond, VA). December 14, 1805.
Higginbotham, Sanford W. The Keystone in the Democratic Arch: Pennsylvania Politics, 1800-1816. Philadelphia: Pennyslvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1952. 104.

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handwritten notes
Phil's original notebook pages that were used to compile this election. These notes are considered a draft of the electronic version. Therefore, the numbers may not match. To verify numbers you will need to check the original sources cited. Some original source material is available at the American Antiquarian Society).

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