Massachusetts 1788 U.S. House of Representatives, District 8

Office:
U.S. House of Representatives (Federal)
Title:
U.S. Congressman
Jurisdiction:
Federal
Label:
Massachusetts 1788 U.S. House of Representatives, District 8
Date:
1788
State:
Massachusetts
Type:
General
Iteration:
First Ballot
Office/Role:
U.S. House of Representatives/U.S. Congressman
Candidates:
Jonathan Grout, Timothy Paine, Artemas Ward, Moses Gill, Abel Wilder, John Sprague, Jonathan Warner, Martin Kingsley, Ebenezer Chaplin, Samuel Baker, Seth Washburn, Samuel Willard, Stephen Maynard, Simon Houghton, Jeremiah Learned, John Taylor, Daniel Grosvener, Ebenezer Leonard, Peter Penniman
Candidates: Jonathan GroutTimothy PaineArtemas WardMoses GillAbel WilderJohn SpragueJonathan WarnerMartin KingsleyEbenezer ChaplinSamuel BakerSeth WashburnSamuel WillardStephen MaynardSimon HoughtonJeremiah LearnedJohn TaylorDaniel GrosvenerEbenezer LeonardPeter Penniman
Affiliation:Federalist
Final Result: [1][2][3]665561284110716339242219973222111
District of Eight665561284110716339242219973222111
Worcester County665561284110716339242219973222111
Town of Ashburnham-1012-5-3--------1--1
Town of Athal16-30----------------
Town of Barre33610-13-----4-------
District of Berlin-712---------3------
Town of Bolton2415-1--------2-----
Town of Boylston135182---------------
Town of Brookfield37750--7-------------
Town of Charlton8211--1-------------
Town of Douglas[4]-------------------
Town of Dudley212---16-------------
Town of Fitchburg-1--37-1------------
Town of Gardner16-5----------------
Town of Gerry99-----------------
Town of Grafton49112--4-------------
Town of Hardwick31----8-------------
Town of Harvard5-13------18---------
Town of Holden-216----12---------1-
Town of Hubbardston47------------------
Town of Lancaster-41-11---------------
Town of Leicester-2-38-2-------------
Town of Leominster-37133-----1---------
Town of Lunenberg1117524-3------------
Town of Mendon141---12-------------
Town of Milford[5][6]-------------------
Town of New Braintree2312----110-----------
Town of Northborough1-18-1--------------
Town of Northbridge[7][8]-------------------
Town of Oakham23-1--4-------------
Town of Oxford241-----------------
Town of Paxton4------------------
Town of Petersham4112--2--------------
Town of Princetown191-53---------------
Town of Royalston22-6---31-1----------
Town of Rutland3324---2-------------
Town of Shrewsbury33-30--2-2-----------
Town of Southborough26--------9-------1
Town of Spencer3418-----------------
Town of Sterling-2121------------1---
Town of Sturbridge3826-1---------------
Town of Sutton-79-----------------
Town of Templeton1319--9--------------
Town of Upton2----29-------------
Town of Uxbridge2613---1-------------
Town of Ward--3-2---21--3--2----
Town of Westborough17109--1-------------
Town of Western124-----------------
Town of Westminster[9]-------------------
Town of Winchendon20116-6--------------
Town of Worcester25461-3--------------

Notes:

[1]Massachusetts law required a majority to elect for the U.S. House of Representatives. The whole number of votes cast was 1886, therefore a candidate needed 944 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 was evident before the elections were completed in Worcester District that a candidate who did not support amendments to the Constitution had no chance of winning. The three leading candidates in the three Worcester District elections were Jonathan Grout, Timothy Paine, and Artemas Ward. Grout, a local leader during the Revolution, had voted against ratification of the Constitution and in 1788 was a member of the legislature. Paine, a prominent officeholder in the county for two decades before the Revolution, had been appointed to the Royal Council in 1774. Unlike most 'mandamus councillors,' he did not become a Loyalist. By 1788 he had regained much of his influence in the town of Worcester. Ward had been appointed commanding general of Massachusetts troops after Lexington and Concord, he remained in charge until George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in July 1775. The popular Ward resigned his commission in April 1776 and returned to state politics. The past records of these three men did not become a public issue until shortly before the third and final election." The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections: 1788-1790, Vol. I. 601.
[4]There were no votes recorded in Douglas.
[5]The votes from Milford were not included in the Original Election Returns.
[6]The Thomas's Massachusetts Spy: Or, The Worcester Gazette (Worcester, MA). states that Jonathan Grout received the majority of votes in Milford Town.
[7]The votes from Northbridge were not included in the Original Election Returns.
[8]The Thomas's Massachusetts Spy: Or, The Worcester Gazette (Worcester, MA). states that "nearly all" of the votes cast in Northbridge Town were for Timothy Paine.
[9]There were no votes recorded in Westminster.

References:

Original Election Returns. Massachusetts State Archives, Boston.
Oakham Town Records. 151.
The Massachusetts Centinel (Boston, MA). December 20, 1788.
The Massachusetts Centinel (Boston, MA). December 24, 1788.
Thomas's Massachusetts Spy: Or, The Worcester Gazette (Worcester, MA). December 25, 1788.
The Hampshire Chronicle (Springfield, MA). December 31, 1788.
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. 601-603.

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