Monday, December 7, 1801.
This being the day appointed by the constitution for the annual meeting of Congress, the following members of the House of Representatives appeared, produced their credentials, and took their seats in the House, to wit:
From New Hampshire.—Abiel Foster, George P. Upham, and Samuel Tenney.
From Massachusetts.—William Eustis, John Bacon, Phanuel Bishop, Joseph B. Varnum, Richard Cutts, Lemuel Williams, William Shepard, Ebenezer Mattoon, Nathan Read, Josiah Smith, and Manasseh Cutler.
From Rhode Island.—Thomas Tillinghast, and Joseph Stanton, jr.
From Connecticut.—Roger Griswold, Samuel W. Dana, John Davenport, Calvin Goddard, Benjamin Tallmadge, Elias Perkins, and John C. Smith.
From Vermont.—Israel Smith.
From New York.—Samuel L. Mitchill, Philip Van Cortlandt, Theodorus Bailey, John Smith, Benjamin Walker, Thomas Morris, Killian K. Van Rensselaer, Lucas Elmendorph, David Thomas, and John P. Van Ness.
From New Jersey.—John Condit, James Mott, William Helms, Henry Southard, and Ebenezer Elmer.
From Pennsylvania.—William Jones, Michael Leib, John Smilie, William Hoge, Isaac Vanhorne, Joseph Heister, Robert Brown, Henry Woods, John A. Hanna, John Stewart, Thomas Boude, and Joseph Hemphill.
From Delaware.—James A. Bayard.
From Maryland.—John Archer, Joseph H. Nicholson, Samuel Smith, Richard Sprigg, John Dennis, and Thomas Plater.
From Virginia.—Thomas Newton, jr., John Randolph, jr., George Jackson, Philip R. Thompson, John Taliaferro, John Stratton, William B. Giles, Abram Trigg, John Trigg, Anthony New, John Smith, David Holmes, Richard Brent, Edwin Gray, and Matthew Clay.
From Kentucky.—Thomas T. Davis, and John Fowler.
From North Carolina.—Nathaniel Macon, Willis Alston, Richard Stanford, Charles Johnson, Archibald Henderson, and John Stanley.
From Tennessee.—William Dickson.
From South Carolina.—Thomas Sumter, Thomas Moore, and Thomas Lowndes.
From Georgia.—John Milledge.
From the North-west Territory.—Paul Fearing.
From Mississippi Territory.—Narsworthy Hunter.
A quorum, consisting of a majority, being present, the House proceeded, by ballot, to the choice of a Speaker; and, upon examining the ballots, a majority of the votes of the whole House was found in favor of Nathaniel Macon, one of the Representatives for the State of North Carolina: Whereupon, Mr. Macon was conducted to the chair, and he made his acknowledgments to the House as follows:
"Gentlemen: Accept my sincere thanks for the honor you have conferred on me, in the choice just made. The duties of the chair will be undertaken with great diffidence indeed; but it shall be my constant endeavor to discharge them with fidelity and impartiality."
The House proceeded, in the same manner, to the appointment of a Clerk; and, upon examining the ballots, a majority of the whole House was found in favor of John Beckley.
The oath to support the Constitution of the United States, as prescribed by law, was then administered by Mr. Griswold, one of the Representatives for the State of Connecticut, to the Speaker; and then the same oath, or affirmation, was administered, by Mr. Speaker, to each of the members present.
A message from the Senate informed the House that a quorum of the Senate is assembled, and ready to proceed to business; and that, in the absence of the Vice President, they have elected the honorable Abraham Baldwin, President of the Senate, pro tempore.
Ordered, That a message be sent to the Senate to inform them that a quorum of this House is assembled, and have elected Nathaniel Macon, one of the Representatives of the State of North Carolina, their Speaker, and are ready to proceed to business; and that the Clerk of this House do go with the said message.
The House proceeded, by ballot, to the choice of a Sergeant-at-Arms, Doorkeeper, and Assistant Doorkeeper; and upon examining the ballots, a majority of the votes of the whole House was found in favor of Joseph Wheaton, as Sergeant-at-Arms, and, also, a unanimous vote in favor of Thomas Claxton, and Thomas Dunn, severally, the former as Doorkeeper, and the latter as Assistant Doorkeeper.
A message from the Senate informed the House that the Senate have appointed a committee on their part, jointly, with such committee as may be appointed on the part of this House, to wait on the President of the United States, and inform him that a quorum of the two Houses is assembled, and ready to receive any communications he may think proper to make to them.
Mr. Samuel Smith, from the joint committee appointed to wait on the President of the United States, and notify him that a quorum of the two Houses is assembled and ready to receive any communication he may think proper to make to them, reported that the committee had performed that service, and that the President signified to them that he would make a communication to this House, to-morrow, by message.