1787 Massachusetts Senate election

Elections to the Massachusetts Senate were held during 1787 to elect 40 State Senators. Candidates were elected at the county level, with some counties electing multiple Senators.

For election, a candidate needed the support of a majority of those voting. If a seat remained vacant because no candidate received such majority, the Massachusetts General Court was empowered to fill it by a majority vote of its members.

The primary issue in this race was the ongoing ratification of the United States Constitution by a separate ratifying convention; the reaction divided the state (and nation) between Federalists and Anti-Federalists, though the factions did not appear as strictly formal political parties until 1789.

The elections were also held during the midst of Shays' Rebellion, an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts against the national government, formed in opposition to the ongoing debt crisis.

Apportionment

The apportionment of seats by population was as follows:

Barnstable County: 1
Berkshire County: 2
Bristol County: 3
Cumberland County: 1
Dukes and Nantucket Counties: 1
Essex County: 6
Hampshire County: 4
Lincoln County: 1
Middlesex County: 5
Plymouth County: 3
Suffolk County: 6
Worcester County: 5
York County: 2

Results

Barnstable

1787 Barnstable Senate election^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unknown	Thomas Smith	358	68.32%
	Scattering	All others	166	31.68%
Total votes			524	100.00%

Berkshire

1787 Berkshire Senate election^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unknown	Thompson J. Skinner (incumbent)	659	78.45%
	Unknown	Elijah Dwight	503	59.88%
Total votes			840	100.00%

Both candidates were elected.

Bristol

1787 Bristol Senate election^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unknown	Holder Slocum	1,507	74.49%
	Unknown	Abraham White	1,504	74.35%
	Unknown	Phanuel Bishop	1,111	54.92%
Total votes			2,023	100.00%

Cumberland

1787 Cumberland Senate election^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unknown	Josiah Thacher	286	63.56%
	Scattering	All others	164	36.44%
Total votes			450	100.00%

Dukes and Nantucket

1787 Dukes and Nantucket Senate election^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unknown	Matthew Mayhew	155	43.78%
	Unknown	Thomas Cooke	137	38.70%
	Scattering	All others	62	17.51%
Total votes			354	100.00%

Because Mayhew failed to achieve a majority, the election was put to the General Court, which certified his election with near unanimity.

General Court

1787 General Court election^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unknown	Matthew Mayhew	178	90.82%
Total votes			196	100.00%

Essex

1787 Essex Senate election^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Federalist	Benjamin Goodhue (incumbent)	1,493	63.83%
	Unknown	Aaron Wood	1,313	56.14%
	Unknown	Peter Coffin	1,241	53.06%
	Unknown	Israel Hutchinson	1,124	48.05%
	Federalist	Tristram Dalton (incumbent)	1,105	47.24%
	Unknown	Samuel Holton	882	38.70%
	Unknown	John Manning	858	37.71%
	Unknown	Jonathan Greenleaf	850	36.34%
	Unknown	Stephen Choate	808	34.54%
Total votes			2,339	100.00%

Dalton, Choate, and Greenleaf would subsequently be elected by the General Court.

General Court

1787 General Court election^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Federalist	Tristram Dalton (incumbent)	207	95.83%
	Unknown	Stephen Choate	121	56.02%
	Unknown	Jonathan Greenleaf	121	56.02%
Total votes			216	100.00%

Hampshire

1787 Hampshire Senate election^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Federalist	Caleb Strong (incumbent)	696	50.51%
	Unknown	John Hastings	620	44.99%
	Unknown	Oliver Phelps	517	37.52%
	Unknown	William Shepard	477	34.62%
	Unknown	David Smead	362	26.27%
	Unknown	David Sexton	339	24.60%
	Unknown	John Bliss	313	22.71%
Total votes			1,378	100.00%

Hastings, Smead, and Phelps were subsequently elected by the General Court.

General Court

1787 General Court election^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unknown	John Hastings	218	99.09%
	Unknown	Oliver Phelps	158	71.82%
	Unknown	David Smead	145	65.90%
Total votes			220	100.00%

Lincoln

1787 Lincoln Senate election^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unknown	Samuel Thompson	307	56.43%
	Scattering	All others	237	43.57%
Total votes			544	100.00%

Middlesex

1787 Middlesex Senate election^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unknown	Joseph B. Varnum (incumbent)	2,005	75.95%
	Unknown	Isaac Stearns	1,892	71.67%
	Unknown	Ebenezer Bridge	1,403	53.14%
	Unknown	Walter MacFarland	1,300	49.24%
	Unknown	Joseph Hosmer	924	35.00%
	Unknown	Marshal Spring	831	31.48%
	Unknown	Eleazer Brooks	720	27.27%
Total votes			2,640	100.00%

Based on returns from Weston, Ezra Sergant, Abraham Fuller, James Prescot, Joseph Curtis, Thomas Fairweather, Joseph Roberts, John Brooks, and Abner Sanderson also received votes, but how many they received county-wide is unknown.^[13]

Hosmer and MacFarland were subsequently elected by the General Court.

General Court

1787 General Court election^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unknown	Joseph Hosmer	127	58.26%
	Unknown	Walter MacFarland	116	53.21%
Total votes			218	100.00%

Plymouth

1787 Plymouth Senate election^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unknown	Nathan Mitchel	890	63.44%
	Unknown	Noah Fearing	537	38.28%
	Unknown	Charles Turner	401	28.58%
	Unknown	Nathan Cushing	369	26.30%
	Unknown	Abraham Holmes	350	24.95%
Total votes			1,403	100.00%

Turner and Cushing were subsequently elected by the General Court.

General Court

1787 General Court election^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unknown	Nathan Cushing	143	64.71%
	Unknown	Charles Turner	118	53.39%
Total votes			221	100.00%

Suffolk

1787 Suffolk Senate election^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unknown	Stephen Metcalf	2,087	65.75%
	Federalist	Cotton Tufts	1,976	62.26%
	Anti-Federalist	Samuel Adams	1,704	53.69%
	Federalist	William Phillips Jr.	1,590	50.09%
	Unknown	Thomas Dawes	1,137	35.82%
	Unknown	Benjamin Austin Jr.	1,056	33.27%
	Anti-Federalist	James Warren	1,031	32.48%
	Unknown	Elijah Dunbar	994	31.32%
Total votes			3,174	100.00%

Austin and Dunbar were subsequently elected by the General Court. (No result is listed for Dunbar's election.)

General Court

1787 General Court election^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unknown	Benjamin Austin Jr.	129	61.72%
Total votes			209	100.00%

Worcester

1787 Worcester Senate election^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unknown	Jonathan Grout (incumbent)	2,341	67.72%
	Unknown	Samuel Curtis	2,290	66.24%
	Unknown	Abel Wilder	1,841	53.25%
	Unknown	Joseph Stone	1,635	47.30%
	Anti-Federalist	Amos Singletary	1,133	32.77%
	Unknown	Seth Washburn	991	28.67%
	Unknown	Peter Penniman	892	25.80%
Total votes			3,457	100.00%

General Court

1787 General Court election^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Anti-Federalist	Amos Singletary	110	52.13%
	Unknown	Seth Washburn	109	51.66%
Total votes			211	100.00%

York

1787 York Senate election^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unknown	John Frost	271	48.13%
	Unknown	Tristram Jordan	232	41.21%
	Unknown	Ichabod Goodwin	149	26.47%
	Unknown	Edward Cutts	110	19.54%
Total votes			563	100.00%

No candidate received a majority. Cutts and Jordan were subsequently elected by the General Court.

General Court

1787 General Court election^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unknown	Edward Cutts	112	52.13%
	Unknown	Tristram Jordan	109	51.66%
Total votes			211	100.00%

References

↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Barnstable County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Berkshire County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Bristol County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Cumberland County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Dukes and Nantucket Counties". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Dukes and Nantucket Counties". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Essex County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Essex County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Hampshire County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Hampshire County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Lincoln County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Middlesex County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ Town of Weston: Records of the First Precinct, 1746-1754 and of the Town, 1754-1803. Boston, MA: Alfred Mudge and Son. 1893. p. 389.
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Middlesex County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Plymouth County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Plymouth County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Suffolk County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Suffolk County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Worcester County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Worcester County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, York County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).
↑ "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, York County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[1] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Barnstable County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[2] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Berkshire County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[3] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Bristol County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[4] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Cumberland County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[5] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Dukes and Nantucket Counties". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[6] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Dukes and Nantucket Counties". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[7] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Essex County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[8] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Essex County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[9] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Hampshire County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[10] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Hampshire County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[11] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Lincoln County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[12] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Middlesex County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[13] Town of Weston: Records of the First Precinct, 1746-1754 and of the Town, 1754-1803. Boston, MA: Alfred Mudge and Son. 1893. p. 389.

[14] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Middlesex County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[15] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Plymouth County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[16] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Plymouth County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[17] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Suffolk County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[18] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Suffolk County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[19] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Worcester County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[20] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, Worcester County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[21] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, York County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

[22] "Massachusetts 1787 State Senate, York County". Tufts Digital Collections and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved April 6, 2020., citing Governor's Council Records (Boston, MA).

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v t e State elections in Massachusetts
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Mass. Senate	1787 1788 ... 1824 ... 1908 ... 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026
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Gov.'s Council	2002 2006 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026
Ballot measures	2018 2020 2022 2024 2026
"s/" = Special election See also: Political party strength in Massachusetts For federal elections, see Template:Federal elections in Massachusetts footer.