This volume (5.5" x 6.75") contains 20 ink portraits of members of the New Jersey State Senate of 1876 and 4 illustrations of scenes from the senate's centennial session. E. S. Ellis presented this book to William J. Sewell, president of the New Jersey Senate. The individual portraits of senate members are organized alphabetically by the county each senator represented; Sewell, who represented Camden County, is the only member not individually drawn. The 4 additional illustrations depict an eagle holding the shield of the United States, Sewell calling the senate to order, a member reading the minutes, and a composite portrait of five individuals representing major newspapers.
The New Jersey legislature first convened on August 27, 1776, following the creation of the New Jersey Constitution in July 1776. The body consisted of a general assembly, made up of three representatives from each county, and a legislative council, composed of one representative from each county. In 1844, the amended state constitution created a 60-member general assembly, as well as a senate composed of one member from each county.
The centennial New Jersey State Senate convened in Trenton on January 11, 1876, presided over by General William Joyce Sewell (1835-1901). Sewell, an Irish immigrant, served in the Union Army during the Civil War and in the New Jersey State Senate between 1872 and 1881, including several terms as president. He also served in the United States Senate from 1881 to 1887 and from 1895 to 1901.
