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

Office:
U.S. House of Representatives (Federal)
Title:
U.S. Congressman
Jurisdiction:
Federal
Label:
Massachusetts 1789 U.S. House of Representatives, District 4, Ballot 4
Date:
1789
State:
Massachusetts
Type:
General
Iteration:
Fourth Ballot
Office/Role:
U.S. House of Representatives/U.S. Congressman
Candidates:
Theodore Sedgwick, Samuel Lyman, William Whiting, Samuel Fowler, William Williams, Thompson J. Skinner, William Lyman, John Bacon
Candidates: Theodore SedgwickSamuel LymanWilliam WhitingSamuel FowlerWilliam WilliamsThompson J. SkinnerWilliam LymanJohn Bacon
Affiliation:FederalistFederalistAnti-Federalist
Final Result: [1][2][3][4][5]1649138246831161331
District of Four1649138246831161331
Berkshire County74036443-1110-1
Town of Adams[6]--------
Town of Alford18-34-----
Town of Becket272------
Town of Dalton16-------
Town of Egremont2-43-----
Town of Great Barrington49-35-----
Town of Hancock[7]--------
Town of Lanesborough127-------
Town of Lee25-37----1
Town of Lenox29723--10--
Town of Louden3112-----
Town of Mount Washington2-17-----
District of New Ashford6-18-----
Town of New Marlborough3119-----
Town of Partridgefield19-------
Town of Pittsfield55---11---
Town of Richmond65201-----
Town of Sandisfield[8]--------
Town of Sheffield62259-----
Town of Stockbridge883------
Town of Tyringham23-61-----
Town of Washington11-14-----
Town of West Stockbridge17-21-----
Town of Williamstown35-47-----
Town of Windsor30-12-----
Hampshire County90913462531533-
Town of Amherst1330------
Town of Ashfield224------
Town of Belchertown4925------
Town of Bernardston929------
Town of Blandford2515------
Town of Brimfield377------
Town of Buckland[9]--------
Town of Charlemont[10]--------
Town of Chester57------
Town of Chesterfield30---3---
Town of Colrain320------
Town of Conway742------
Town of Cummington9----2--
Town of Deerfield382------
District of Easthampton2461-----
Town of Goshen144------
Town of Granby232------
Town of Granville36115-----
Town of Greenfield1319------
Town of Greenwich[11]--------
Town of Hadley4213------
Town of Hatfield4613--21--
Town of Heath[12]--------
Town of Holland516------
Town of Leverett[13]--------
District of Leyden-12------
Town of Longmeadow1255------
Town of Ludlow-62------
Town of Middlefield[14]--------
Town of Monson1970------
Town of Montague21-------
Town of Montgomery[15]--------
Town of New Salem[16]--------
Town of Northampton14213------
Town of Northfield291------
Town of Norwich145------
District of Orange92------
Town of Palmer252------
Town of Pelham155------
District of Plainfield[17]--------
Town of Rowe[18]--------
Town of Shelburne655------
Town of Shutesbury[19]--------
Town of South Brimfield842------
Town of South Hadley745------
Town of Southampton61101-----
Town of Southwick15108---3-
Town of Springfield21127------
Town of Sunderland165------
Town of Ware144------
Town of Warwick214------
Town of Wendell203------
Town of West Springfield13147------
Town of Westfield6615-31----
Town of Westhampton264------
Town of Whately412------
Town of Wilbraham997------
Town of Williamsburg924------
Town of Worthington[20]--------

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 and a 3rd Trial on March 2, 1789. A 5th Trial would follow on May 11, 1789.
[2]"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.
[3]"No precept for the fourth election has been located, but since Governor Hancock had usually issued precepts for the next election on the same day that the votes of the previous election were recorded, he probably issued the precept for the fourth election on 16 March. In any case, the election was called for 30 March, with the votes to be returned to the Secretary of the Commonwealth by 9 April. If the precept was issued on 16 March, this left only two weeks between that date and the election, an unusually short time as compared to the other elections, and the precept did not reach Northampton in Hampshire County until 25 March, only five days before the election. Sedgwick's supporters charged that the Governor had deliberately allowed so little time in order to aid Samuel Lyman. However, Samuel Henshaw assured Sedgwick that Sheriff Elisha Porter of Hampshire County would see to it that the precepts would be rushed 'to such towns as will vote like rational beings.' Presumably, this precluded delivery to towns which had voted for Samuel Lyman in previous elections. In the case of the town of Greenwich, which voted overwhelmingly for Lyman in the second and fifth elections, a newspaper reported that the precept for the fourth election had been left three miles from town by 'a stranger' and that the town had not held an election because it did not know one had been called. Shortly after the results of the election were recorded on 9 April, the Northampton and Springfield newspapers reported that the votes for twenty-one towns had been either detained or had not been returned in time to be counted. The supporters of both Sedgwick and Lyman charged that their candidates had been cheated out of the election." The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections: 1788-1790, Vol. I. p 695.
[4]A gentleman of veracity, directly from Boston, assures us, that twenty towns in this district made no seasonable returns to the secretary's office, of the state of their votes which were given in on the 30th of last month, for the choice of a federal Representative. The names of the towns are Conway, New Salem, Chester, Charlemont, Ashfield, Worthington, Shutesbury, Leverett, Montgomery, Buckland, Middlefield, Rowe, Heath, Greenwich, No. 7, Williamstown, Adams, Windsor, Sandisfield and New Ashford - fifteen in this county and five in Berkshire. Returns from sundry of the above towns were lodged in the secretary's office some days after the return day; and the gentleman observes, that the Secretary informed him that Mr. Lyman had the greatest number of votes, but that they unfortunately came in too late." The Hampshire Chronicle (Springfield, MA). April 22, 1789.
[5]"Unfortunately, on the return day for the election of a Representative in this district, the towns of Conway, Greenwich, New Salem, Chester, Charlemont, Ashfield, Worthington, Shutesbury, Leverett, Montgomery, Buckland, Middlefield, Rowe, Heath, Williamstown, Adams, New Ashford, Windsor, Hancock and Sandisfield sent in no votes; otherwise, we should, most probably, have been rescued from the inconvenience of another meeting; as we may most reasonably presume that the votes of the aforesaid towns would have decided the election in favor of Samuel Lyman." The Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, MA). April 22, 1789.
[6]There were no votes recorded in Adams.
[7]There were no votes recorded in Hancock.
[8]There were no votes recorded in Sandisfield.
[9]There were no votes recorded in Buckland.
[10]There were no votes recorded in Charlemont.
[11]There were no votes recorded in Greenwich.
[12]There were no votes recorded in Heath.
[13]There were no votes recorded in Leverett.
[14]There were no votes recorded in Middlefield.
[15]There were no votes recorded in Montgomery.
[16]There were no votes recorded in New Salem.
[17]Plainfield was not listed in the Original Election Returns.
[18]There were no votes recorded in Rowe.
[19]There were no votes recorded in Shutesbury.
[20]There were no votes recorded in Worthington.

References:

Original Election Returns. Massachusetts State Archives, Boston.
The Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, MA). April 1, 1789.
The Berkshire Chronicle, and the Massachusetts Intelligencer (Pittsfield, MA). April 3, 1789.
The Hampshire Chronicle (Springfield, MA). April 8, 1789.
The Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, MA). April 8, 1789.
The Berkshire Chronicle, and the Massachusetts Intelligencer (Pittsfield, MA). April 10, 1789.
The Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, MA). April 10, 1789.
The Massachusetts Centinel (Boston, MA). April 11, 1789.
The Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, MA). April 15, 1789.
The Hampshire Chronicle (Springfield, MA). April 22, 1789.
The Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, MA). April 22, 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. 694-711.

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