David Allen Smalley (April 6, 1809 – March 10, 1877) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont.

Education and career

Smalley was born in

Middlebury, Vermont Middlebury is the shire town (county seat) of Addison County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,152. Middlebury is home to Middlebury College and the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History and the adjacent ...

, on April 6, 1809. He graduated from the academy in St. Albans, read law with his uncle's firm, Smalley & Adams, and was admitted to the bar in 1831. He practiced in

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

, Vermont, where he was also

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

from 1831 to 1836. He subsequently relocated, first to Lowell, Vermont in 1836, and then to Burlington, Vermont from 1836 to 1857. He was a member of the

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator repre ...

from 1843 to 1844. He practiced law in Burlington with different partners at different times. One partner was Edward J. Phelps, and the firm of Smalley & Phelps included George F. Edmunds among those who studied law in their offices. At the 1852 Democratic National Convention he was vice chairman of the Vermont delegation, a member of the platform committee and was selected to serve as Vermont's member of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

. President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who believed that the Abolitionism in the United States, abolitio ...

appointed him Collector of Customs for the District of Vermont on April 6, 1853, and he served until February 16, 1857. Again a delegate at the 1856 Democratic National Convention held in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, he was reappointed to the National Committee, and he served as chairman from 1856 to 1860.

1860 Democratic National Convention

As Chairman of the Democratic National Committee it was Smalley's task to open the ill-fated 1860 Democratic National Convention in Charleston,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

Federal judicial service

Smalley was nominated by President

on February 2, 1857, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Vermont vacated by Judge Samuel Prentiss. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on February 3, 1857, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on March 10, 1877, due to his death in Burlington. He was buried at Greenmount Cemetery in Burlington.

Honor

Smalley received an honorary

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

in 1846.

Family

In 1833, Smalley married Laura Barlow, the daughter of Bradley Barlow (1770–1836), and sister of Congressman Bradley Barlow. They had five children, four of whom lived to adulthood; Henry Adams; Bradley Barlow; Jacob Meack; and Eugene Allen. Henry A. Smalley (1834–1888) attended

Norwich University Norwich University is a private university in Northfield, Vermont, United States. The university was founded in 1819 as the "American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy". It is the oldest of six senior military college, senior militar ...

and the

. He was a graduate of the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

and attained the rank of brevet Brigadier General during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He later worked as an engineer for

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and was responsible for the construction of the New Croton Aqueduct. Bradley Smalley (1835–1909) was a Vermont attorney. He served on the staff of

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Frederick Holbrook with the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

during the Civil War. Bradley B. Smalley was later appointed Clerk of the United States District Court and Collector of Customs. He also served on the Burlington City Council and was a member of the Democratic National Committee. Jacob M. Smalley (1837–1874) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

veteran who served in the Union Navy during the Civil War. He subsequently served as a Deputy US Customs Collector and Deputy US Marshal for Vermont and engaged in business ventures including an ownership stake in Utah's Bingham Canyon Mine. Eugene A. Smalley (1839–1913) attended the University of Vermont and

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

. He enlisted for the Civil War as a Private in the 19th Ohio Infantry. He was subsequently commissioned as a

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. After his 1866 discharge he was a farmer in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

, Vermont, and also worked as Vermont's Deputy Customs Collector and Deputy

United States Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...

References

Sources

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David A. Smalley
a
''The Political Graveyard''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smalley, David Allen 1809 births 1877 deaths People from Middlebury, Vermont Democratic Party Vermont state senators Vermont lawyers Vermont postmasters Democratic National Committee chairs Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont United States federal judges appointed by Franklin Pierce 19th-century American judges United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly