Massachusetts 1793 U.S. House of Representatives, District 2, At-Large, Ballot 3
- Office:
- U.S. House of Representatives (Federal)
- Title:
- U.S. Congressman
- Jurisdiction:
- Federal
- Label:
- Massachusetts 1793 U.S. House of Representatives, District 2, At-Large, Ballot 3
- Date:
- 1793
- State:
- Massachusetts
- Type:
- General
- Iteration:
- Third Ballot
- Office/Role:
- U.S. House of Representatives/U.S. Congressman
- Candidates:
- Dwight Foster, Samuel Lyman, William Lyman
| Candidates: | Dwight Foster[1] | Samuel Lyman | William Lyman |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affiliation: | Federalist | Federalist | |
| Final Result: [2][3][4] | 3535 | 2854 | 20 |
| District of Two | 3535 | 2854 | 20 |
| Berkshire County | 612 | 392 | - |
| Town of Adams | 10 | 12 | - |
| Town of Alford | 17 | - | - |
| Town of Becket | 18 | - | - |
| District of Bethlehem | - | 9 | - |
| Town of Chesire | - | 52 | - |
| Town of Dalton | 12 | 6 | - |
| Town of Egremont | - | 30 | - |
| Town of Great Barrington | 57 | 1 | - |
| Town of Hancock | 20 | 1 | - |
| Town of Lanesborough | 52 | 12 | - |
| Town of Lee | 42 | - | - |
| Town of Lenox | 22 | 31 | - |
| Town of Louden | 16 | - | - |
| Town of Mount Washington | - | 13 | - |
| District of New Ashford | - | 27 | - |
| Town of New Marlborough | 53 | - | - |
| Town of Partridgefield | - | 62 | - |
| Town of Pittsfield | 46 | 8 | - |
| Town of Richmond | 41 | 1 | - |
| Town of Sandisfield | 16 | 4 | - |
| Town of Sheffield | 37 | 6 | - |
| Town of Stockbridge | 99 | - | - |
| Town of Tyringham | 28 | - | - |
| Town of Washington | 19 | - | - |
| Town of West Stockbridge | 7 | 29 | - |
| Town of Williamstown | - | 70 | - |
| Town of Windsor | - | 18 | - |
| Hampshire County | 727 | 2353 | 4 |
| Town of Amherst | 4 | 95 | - |
| Town of Ashfield | - | 46 | - |
| Town of Belchertown | 22 | 20 | 1 |
| Town of Bernardston | 5 | 38 | - |
| Town of Blandford | 23 | 21 | - |
| Town of Brimfield | 73 | - | - |
| Town of Buckland | 2 | 20 | - |
| Town of Charlemont | 6 | 17 | - |
| Town of Chester | 3 | 33 | - |
| Town of Chesterfield | 22 | 25 | - |
| Town of Colrain | - | 44 | - |
| Town of Conway | - | 100 | - |
| Town of Cummington | 24 | - | 1 |
| Town of Deerfield | 1 | 13 | - |
| District of Easthampton | 6 | 27 | 1 |
| Town of Goshen | 6 | 38 | - |
| Town of Granby | 3 | 28 | 1 |
| Town of Granville | - | 45 | - |
| Town of Greenfield | - | 60 | - |
| Town of Greenwich | 10 | 29 | - |
| Town of Hadley | 40 | 12 | - |
| Town of Hatfield | 29 | 26 | - |
| Town of Hawley | - | 20 | - |
| Town of Heath | 17 | - | - |
| Town of Holland | 39 | - | - |
| Town of Leverett | - | 24 | - |
| District of Leyden | 19 | 5 | - |
| Town of Longmeadow | 38 | 35 | - |
| Town of Ludlow | - | 62 | - |
| Town of Middlefield | - | 7 | - |
| Town of Monson | 1 | 56 | - |
| Town of Montague | 21 | 1 | - |
| Town of Montgomery | 17 | 10 | - |
| Town of New Salem | 9 | 34 | - |
| Town of Northfield | 1 | 58 | - |
| Town of Northampton | 50 | 79 | - |
| Town of Norwich | 28 | 4 | - |
| District of Orange | 14 | 23 | - |
| Town of Palmer | - | 34 | - |
| Town of Pelham | - | 36 | - |
| District of Plainfield | 25 | - | - |
| Town of Rowe | 14 | - | - |
| Town of Russell | - | 20 | - |
| Town of Shelburne | 1 | 63 | - |
| Town of Shutesbury | - | 41 | - |
| Town of South Brimfield | - | 43 | - |
| Town of South Hadley | 7 | 29 | - |
| Town of Southampton | 27 | 39 | - |
| Town of Southwick | - | 48 | - |
| Town of Springfield | 12 | 104 | - |
| Town of Sunderland | 14 | 4 | - |
| Town of Ware | 15 | 22 | - |
| Town of Warwick | 1 | 97 | - |
| Town of Wendell | 3 | 20 | - |
| Town of West Springfield | 1 | 265 | - |
| Town of Westfield | 16 | 120 | - |
| Town of Westhampton | 29 | 42 | - |
| Town of Whately | - | 28 | - |
| Town of Wilbraham | 2 | 47 | - |
| Town of Williamsburg | 10 | 60 | - |
| Town of Worthington | 17 | 36 | 1 |
| Worcester County | 2196 | 109 | 16 |
| Town of Ashburnham | 64 | - | 3 |
| Town of Athal | 42 | - | - |
| Town of Barre | 28 | 15 | - |
| District of Berlin | 21 | - | - |
| Town of Bolton | 22 | - | - |
| Town of Boylston | 27 | 6 | - |
| Town of Brookfield | 110 | 17 | 1 |
| Town of Charlton | 46 | 1 | - |
| Town of Douglas | 41 | - | - |
| Town of Dudley | 59 | - | - |
| Town of Fitchburg | 34 | - | - |
| Town of Gardner | 18 | 8 | - |
| Town of Gerry | 54 | - | - |
| Town of Grafton | 26 | 3 | - |
| Town of Hardwick | 54 | - | - |
| Town of Harvard | 40 | - | - |
| Town of Holden | 17 | - | - |
| Town of Hubbardston | 34 | 3 | - |
| Town of Lancaster | 88 | 1 | - |
| Town of Leicester | 80 | - | - |
| Town of Leominster | 51 | - | - |
| Town of Lunenberg | 77 | 1 | - |
| Town of Mendon | 72 | - | - |
| Town of Milford | 53 | - | - |
| Town of New Braintree | 55 | 2 | - |
| Town of Northborough | 39 | - | - |
| Town of Northbridge | 27 | - | - |
| Town of Oakham | 16 | - | 8 |
| Town of Oxford | 53 | - | - |
| Town of Paxton | 34 | - | - |
| Town of Petersham | 72 | - | - |
| Town of Princetown | 70 | 1 | - |
| Town of Royalston | 30 | - | - |
| Town of Rutland | 42 | - | - |
| Town of Shrewsbury | 27 | 4 | - |
| Town of Southborough | 29 | - | 1 |
| Town of Spencer | 50 | - | - |
| Town of Sterling | 62 | 7 | - |
| Town of Sturbridge | 43 | - | - |
| Town of Sutton | 39 | 7 | - |
| Town of Templeton | 50 | - | - |
| Town of Upton | 25 | 5 | - |
| Town of Uxbridge | 25 | 7 | - |
| Town of Ward | 28 | - | - |
| Town of Westborough | 16 | 15 | 2 |
| Town of Western | 69 | 3 | - |
| Town of Westminster | 58 | 3 | - |
| Town of Winchendon | 18 | - | - |
| Town of Worcester | 61 | - | - |
Notes:
[1]Elected.
[2]"The Massachusetts law provided for a complex method of voting. The voters of Districts One and Two each could vote for four candidates, but the votes had to be distributed as follows: one vote for a candidate from each of the three counties in the district and one additional vote for any candidate from any part of the district. In the Third District each voter had two votes; one had to be cast for a candidate from Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket counties and the other for a candidate from Bristol and Plymouth. In addition all voters in the above three districts cast one additional vote for any candidate from anywhere in the three districts, listed in the returns as at-large. Voters of the Fourth District had three votes, one for a candidate from York, another from Cumberland and the other from any of the remaining counties of this district." Dubin, Michael J. United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997: The Official Results of the Elections of the 1st through 105th Congresses. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, 1998. 9.
[3]Massachusetts law required a majority to elect for the U.S. House of Representatives. The original election was held on November 2, 1792 and a 2nd Trial was held on January 14, 1793.
[4]There seems to have been confusion over which congressional race Samuel Lyman was running in. Because of the unique nature of the Massachusetts Congressional Districts at the time, Samuel Lyman was being run as a candidate in two different races at the same time - the At-Large spot in District 2 and the Hampshire County spot in District 2. At first glance, it would appear that he simply lost both races - by votes of 3535 to 2854 in the At-Large race and by 3245 to 2861 in the Hampshire race. However, a closer look reveals that there was almost no overlapping of his votes. There were 6106 votes cast in the former race and 6409 in the latter. Yet, from a detailed look at the votes at the town level, at least 4924 separate votes were cast for Samuel Lyman. They could not be the same 2800+ people voting for him both times. In The At-Large race, he received only 109 votes in Worcester County while in the Hampshire he received 1547. In the At-Large race he received 2353 votes in Hampshire County while only 842 in the Hampshire race. Even these are not the same; he received 139 votes in the At-Large race in towns where he received no votes in the Hampshire race (Brimfield, Cummington, Heath, Holland and Rowe). He also received another 68 votes in three towns where he received only 10 votes in the Hampshire race (Leyden, Montague and Norwich). The same results occur in Berkshire County where his votes totals were the closest (472 in the At-Large race, 392 in the Hampshire race). In the At-Large race, he received 246 votes in towns where he received no votes in the Hampshire race (Alford, Becket, Lee, Louden, New Marlboro, Stockbridge, Tyringham, Washington), while he also received 252 votes in the Hampshire race in towns where he received no votes in the At-Large race (Bethlehem, Chesire, Hancock, Mount Washington, New Ashford, Partridgefield, Williamstown, Windsor). In one election or the other, Lyman received at least 50% of the vote in every town in Berkshire County except two (Hancock and Sandisfield), yet received a majority in both elections in only three towns (Bethlehem, Egremont, Lenox). Likewise, in Hampshire County, where only 6 towns did not give him at least 50% of the vote in either election (Belchertown, Blandford, Cummington, Gill, Hatfield, Plainfield) but only received majorities in both elections in only 4 towns (Greenwich, Southampton, Springfield, Wilbraham).
References:
Original Election Returns. Massachusetts State Archives, Boston.
Hardwick Town Records. 171.
Oakham Town Records. 266.
Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, MA). April 3, 1793.
Greenfield Gazette (Greenfield, MA). April 4, 1793.
Thomas's Massachusetts Spy: Or, The Worcester Gazette (Worcester, MA). April 4, 1793.
Western Star (Stockbridge, MA). April 9, 1793.
Dubin, Michael J. United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997: The Official Results of the Elections of the 1st through 105th Congresses. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, 1998. 9.
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