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Bradley Smalley

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Bradley Smalley
Collector of the Port of Burlington
In office
September 1, 1885 – September 1, 1889
Preceded byWilliam Wells[1]
Succeeded byGeorge Grenville Benedict
In office
September 1, 1893 – October 1, 1897
Preceded byGeorge Grenville Benedict
Succeeded byOlin Merrill
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Burlington
In office
1874–1876
Succeeded byTorrey E. Wales
In office
1878–1880
Preceded byTorrey E. Wales
Succeeded byRussell S. Taft
Personal details
Born
Bradley Barlow Smalley

(1835-11-26)November 26, 1835
Jericho, Vermont, U.S.
DiedNovember 6, 1909(1909-11-06) (aged 73)
Burlington, Vermont, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseCaroline Baxter
Children5
Parent
RelativesBradley Barlow (uncle)
John Holmes Jackson (son-in-law)
Military service
Branch/service
RankColonel
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Bradley Barlow Smalley (November 26, 1835 – November 6, 1909) was an American politician who served as the Collector of the Port of Burlington from 1885 to 1889, and 1893 to 1897, and was a member of the Democratic National Committee from 1876 to 1908. He represented Burlington, Vermont, in the Vermont House of Representatives for two terms and served on the Burlington Board of Aldermen.

Smalley was born in Jericho, Vermont, the son of David Allen Smalley. He became a court clerk in 1861, was admitted to the bar in 1863, and was a founding member of the Vermont Bar Association. During the American Civil War he worked as an aide-de-camp under Governor Frederick Holbrook.

Heavily involved in the activities of the Vermont Democratic Party, Smalley was its chair, member to the DNC, and attended four Democratic National Conventions. He unsuccessfully sought the positions of Speaker, U.S. Senator, and Governor.

Early life

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Bradley Barlow Smalley was born on November 26, 1835, in Jericho, Vermont, to David Allen Smalley and Laura Barlow, the daughter of Bradley Barlow. Their family moved to Burlington, Vermont, when Smalley was four years old.[2]

Career

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William H. Hoyt resigned from his position as clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont and Smalley was appointed to replace him on January 1, 1861, and held the position until July 1, 1885.[3][4] That same year Governor Frederick Holbrook selected him as an aide-de-camp with the rank of colonel[5] handled the enlisting, equipping, and forwarding of soldiers during the American Civil War.[2]

Smalley was admitted to the bar in Chittenden County on October 3, 1863,[6] and the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York in 1869.[7] He was a founding member of the Vermont Bar Association in 1878.[8] Smalley was a director of the Central Vermont Railway and Rutland Railroad Company.[2]

President Grover Cleveland appointed Smalley collector of the port of Burlington, a position his father held, from September 1, 1885, to September 1, 1889, and September 1, 1893, to October 1, 1897.[2][9] George Grenville Benedict was appointed to replace him in 1889,[10] and Olin Merrill in 1897.[11] President Benjamin Harrison appointed Smalley as one of the commissioners to negotiate with the Cheyenne in 1890.[12]

Party politics

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Smalley was appointed to the Democratic town committee in Burlington in 1855,[13] and assistant secretary of the Vermont Democratic Party's state convention that year.[14] He was a substitute delegate from Vermont's 3rd congressional district to the 1860 Democratic National Convention in Charleston, South Carolina,[15][16] and a delegate to the 1872, 1876, 1880, and 1884 conventions.[2] He was an alternate delegate to the 1866 National Union Convention.[17] He was the chair of the state party[18] and the political boss of the Vermont Democrats.[19]

H.B. Smith, Vermont's member of the Democratic National Committee, died in 1876, and Smalley was appointed to replace him.[20] He held the position until he declined to seek reelection in 1908, citing poor health and was succeeded by Thomas H. Brown.[21][22] The DNC selected him to serve as secretary in 1892.[23]

Local and state politics

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In 1865, Smalley was elected as an election inspector for Burlington's South Ward.[24][25] Leverett B. Englesby defeated Smalley for Chittenden County State's Attorney in 1866 and 1867.[26][27][28]

L. Underwood resigned as alderman from the North Ward in 1865,[29] and Smalley ran to replace him, but lost to Noble B. Flanagan.[30] F.M. Van Sicklen defeated Smalley for a seat on Burlington's Board of Aldermen from the south ward in 1868.[31][32] Alderman Calvin H. Blodgett was elected mayor of Burlington in 1874, and a special election was held for his 5th ward seat. The Republicans and Democrats both gave their nominations to Smalley, who won[33][34][35] and was reelected in 1875.[36]

In 1874, Smalley was elected to represent Burlington in the Vermont House of Representatives.[37] 52 representatives voted for him in the 1874 Speaker vote on the second ballot, behind H. Henry Powers's 125.[38] Torrey E. Wales defeated him in 1876,[39] but he defeated Wales in 1878.[40] Incumbent U.S. Senator George F. Edmunds defeated Smalley in the 1880 U.S. Senate election.[41] Republican nominee Levi K. Fuller defeated Smalley in the 1892 gubernatorial election.[42]

Personal life

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Smalley was an Episcopalian.[43] He married Caroline Maria Baxter, with whom he had five children, on June 4, 1860, in Burlington.[44][2] His daughter married John Holmes Jackson. Smalley died in Burlington on November 6, 1909.[2] Caroline died on March 16, 1915.[45]

Electoral history

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1868 Burlington Board of Alderman South Ward election[32]
Party Candidate Votes %
F.M. Van Sicklen 121 53.54%
Bradley Smalley 105 46.46%
Total votes 226 100.00%
1880 United States Senate election in Vermont[41]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican George F. Edmunds (incumbent) 203 92.69%
Democratic Bradley Smalley 16 7.31%
Total votes 219 100.00%
1892 Vermont gubernatorial election[42]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Levi K. Fuller 38,918 64.99%
Democratic Bradley Smalley 19,216 32.09%
Prohibition Edward L. Allen 1,525 2.55%
Write-in 221 0.37%
Total votes 59,880 100.00%

References

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  1. ^ Wells 1885.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Obituary 1909.
  3. ^ District of Vermont 1861.
  4. ^ Carleton 1903, p. 472.
  5. ^ Aide 1861.
  6. ^ Bar Admission 1863.
  7. ^ New York 1869.
  8. ^ State Bar 1878.
  9. ^ Obituary 2 1909.
  10. ^ GGB 1889.
  11. ^ Merrill 1897.
  12. ^ Cheyenne 1890.
  13. ^ Town Committee 1855.
  14. ^ Assistant Secretary 1855.
  15. ^ Sub 1860.
  16. ^ Sub2 1860.
  17. ^ Philadelphia 1866.
  18. ^ Chair 1876.
  19. ^ Political Boss 1890.
  20. ^ DNC 1876.
  21. ^ Ill 1908.
  22. ^ Brown 1908.
  23. ^ Secretary 1892.
  24. ^ Inspect 1865.
  25. ^ Inspect Confirm 1865.
  26. ^ SA Election 1866.
  27. ^ Nomination 1867.
  28. ^ Election 1867.
  29. ^ Underwood 1865.
  30. ^ Special 1865.
  31. ^ Nomination 1868.
  32. ^ a b Election 1868.
  33. ^ Republican Nomination 1874.
  34. ^ Democratic Nomination 1874.
  35. ^ Special Election 1874.
  36. ^ Election 1875.
  37. ^ Vermont House 1874.
  38. ^ Speaker 1874.
  39. ^ Election 1876.
  40. ^ Election 1878.
  41. ^ a b Election 1880.
  42. ^ a b Election 1892.
  43. ^ Religion 1878.
  44. ^ Marriage 1860.
  45. ^ Caroline Obituary 1915.

Works cited

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Books

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  • Carleton, Hiram (1903). Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. Vol. 2. Lewis Publishing Company.

Newspapers

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Web

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