The New York State Treasurer was a state cabinet officer in the State of New York between 1776 and 1926. During the re-organization of the state government under Governor Al Smith, the office was abolished and its responsibilities transferred to the new Department of Audit and Control headed to the New York State Comptroller.[1]
In 1776, the New York Provincial Congress appointed Peter Van Brugh Livingston Treasurer to disburse the monies raised and issued in the revolutionary operations of the day.[2]
After the establishment of the state government, the Treasurer was appointed by special act of the New York State Legislature for short periods.
Under the New York State Constitution of 1821, the Treasurer was elected by joint ballot of the State Legislature.
Under the Constitution of 1846, the office became elective by general election, and the Treasurer was elected with the other state cabinet officers in odd years to a two-year term, serving in the second year of the governor in office and the first year of the succeeding governor. The Treasurer was elected in 1895 to a three-year term, and subsequently was elected in even years and served a two-year term concurrently with the governor until the end of 1926.
| Name | Took office | Left office | Party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Van Brugh Livingston | 1776 | 1778 | appointed by Provincial Congress | |
| Gerard Bancker | April 1, 1778 | 1798 | ||
| Robert McClellan | March 16, 1798 | January 31, 1803 | Federalist | resigned after defalcation |
| Abraham G. Lansing | February 8, 1803 | February 5, 1808 | Dem.-Rep./Lewisite | |
| David Thomas | February 5, 1808 | February 8, 1810 | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | |
| Abraham G. Lansing | February 8, 1810 | February 18, 1812 | Federalist | |
| David Thomas | February 18, 1812 | February 10, 1813 | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Charles Z. Platt | February 10, 1813 | February 12, 1817 | Federalist | |
| Gerrit L. Dox | February 12, 1817 | January 29, 1821 | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Benjamin Knower | January 29, 1821 | November 3, 1824 | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | resigned |
| Abraham Keyser, Jr. | November 3, 1824 | February 16, 1825 | Dem.-Rep./Bucktail | |
| Gamaliel H. Barstow | February 16, 1825 | February 14, 1826 | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | |
| Abraham Keyser, Jr. | February 14, 1826 | February 5, 1838 | D-R/Buckt.-Jacksonian-Dem. | |
| Gamaliel H. Barstow | February 5, 1838 | February 4, 1839 | Whig | resigned |
| Jacob Haight | February 4, 1839 | February 7, 1842 | Whig | |
| Thomas Farrington | February 7, 1842 | February 3, 1845 | Dem./Barnburner | |
| Benjamin Enos | February 3, 1845 | February 2, 1846 | Dem./Hunker | |
| Thomas Farrington | February 2, 1846 | December 31, 1847 | Dem./Barnburner | legislated out of office by the Constitution of 1846 |
| Alvah Hunt | January 1, 1848 | December 31, 1851 | Whig | first Treasurer elected by general ballot, two terms |
| James M. Cook | January 1, 1852 | November 20, 1852 | Whig | election contested by Democratic candidate |
| Benjamin Welch, Jr. | November 20, 1852 | December 31, 1853 | Democratic | declared elected by the New York Supreme Court, and took office for the remainder of the term |
| Elbridge G. Spaulding | January 1, 1854 | December 31, 1855 | Whig | |
| Stephen Clark | January 1, 1856 | December 31, 1857 | American | |
| Isaac V. Vanderpoel | January 1, 1858 | December 31, 1859 | Democratic | |
| Philip Dorsheimer | January 1, 1860 | December 31, 1861 | Republican | |
| William B. Lewis | January 1, 1862 | December 31, 1863 | Union | |
| George W. Schuyler | January 1, 1864 | December 31, 1865 | Union | |
| Joseph Howland | January 1, 1866 | December 31, 1867 | Republican | |
| Wheeler H. Bristol | January 1, 1868 | December 31, 1871 | Democratic | two terms |
| Thomas Raines | January 1, 1872 | June 1, 1874 | Republican | became a Liberal Republican in 1872, and was re-elected on Democratic ticket, declared incapacitated after nervous breakdown |
| Abraham Lansing | June 1, 1874 | August 17, 1874 | Democratic | temporarily appointed during illness of Raines |
| Thomas Raines | August 19, 1874 | December 31, 1875 | Democratic | reinstated after recovering his mental health |
| Charles N. Ross | January 1, 1876 | December 31, 1877 | Democratic | |
| James Mackin | January 1, 1878 | December 31, 1879 | Democratic | |
| Nathan D. Wendell | January 1, 1880 | December 31, 1881 | Republican | |
| Robert A. Maxwell | January 1, 1882 | December 31, 1885 | Democratic | two terms |
| Lawrence J. Fitzgerald | January 1, 1886 | December 31, 1889 | Democratic | two terms |
| Elliott Danforth | January 1, 1890 | December 31, 1893 | Democratic | two terms |
| Addison B. Colvin | January 1, 1894 | December 31, 1898 | Republican | two terms (1894-95, 1896-98) |
| John P. Jaeckel | January 1, 1899 | December 31, 1902 | Republican | two terms |
| John G. Wickser | January 1, 1903 | December 31, 1904 | Republican | |
| John G. Wallenmeier, Jr. | January 1, 1905 | December 31, 1906 | Republican | |
| Julius Hauser | January 1, 1907 | December 31, 1908 | Dem./Ind. League | |
| Thomas B. Dunn | January 1, 1909 | December 31, 1910 | Republican | |
| John J. Kennedy | January 1, 1911 | February 15, 1914 | Democratic | committed suicide during his second term |
| George W. Batten | February 15, 1914 | February 25, 1914 | Democratic | as Deputy Treasurer acted until the election of a successor |
| Homer D. Call | February 25, 1914 | December 31, 1914 | Progressive/Dem. | elected by State Legislature to fill unexpired term |
| James L. Wells | January 1, 1915 | December 31, 1920 | Republican | three terms |
| N. Monroe Marshall | January 1, 1921 | December 31, 1922 | Republican | |
| George K. Shuler | January 1, 1923 | December 31, 1924 | Democratic | |
| Lewis H. Pounds | January 1, 1925 | December 31, 1926 | Republican | last Treasurer, department merged into Comptroller's office |
