Bradley Smalley

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)
Carlos Baxter (father-in-law)
Portus Baxter (uncle-in-law)
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 1875 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 Vermont's member to the DNC and attended four Democratic National Conventions. He unsuccessfully sought the positions of speaker, U.S. Senator, and governor.

Early life

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

Legal, business, and appointments

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] When his father resigned from his judicial position in 1877, Smalley personally delivered the letter to Washington, D.C.[8] He was a founding member of the Vermont Bar Association in 1878.[9]

In 1869, Morrillo Noyes, Smalley, and other people purchased the Sentinel, a newspaper in Burlington which recently stopped publication.[10][11] 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, and he served from September 1, 1885, to September 1, 1889, and September 1, 1893, to October 1, 1897.[2][12] Smalley was replaced by George Grenville Benedict in 1889,[13] and Olin Merrill in 1897.[14] Nelson A. Miles chaired a commission,[15] with Smalley as one of its members, created by President Benjamin Harrison to negotiate with the Cheyenne in 1890,[16] and place them into an indian reservation.[17]

Party politics

Smalley was appointed to the Democratic town committee in Burlington in 1855,[18] and chaired the Burlington Democratic caucus in 1870.[19] At the 1855 state convention of the Vermont Democratic Party he was assistant secretary[20] and one of the secretaries at the 1869 state convention.[21] He was elected to the state committee of the Vermont Democrats in 1870.[22] He was the political boss of the Vermont Democrats[23] and was in charge of political patronage.[24]

Smalley was a substitute delegate from Vermont's 3rd congressional district to the 1860 Democratic National Convention in Charleston, South Carolina,[25][26] and an alternate delegate to the 1866 National Union Convention.[27] As a delegate to the 1872 Democratic National Convention, he served on the committee on permanent organization.[28][2] He was a delegate to the 1876, 1880, and 1884 conventions.[2] An opponent of free silver, Smalley fought for the gold standard in the platform at the 1896 convention.[29] He opposed William Randolph Hearst's candidacy at the 1904 convention and stated that nominating Hearst would be "suicide for the Democratic Party".[30]

H.B. Smith, Vermont's member of the Democratic National Committee, died in 1875, and Smalley was appointed to replace him.[31] He held the position until he declined to seek reelection in 1908, citing poor health, and was succeeded by Thomas H. Brown.[32][33] The DNC selected him to serve as secretary in 1892.[34]

Local and state politics

In 1865, Smalley was elected as an election inspector for Burlington's South Ward.[35][36] Leverett B. Englesby defeated Smalley for Chittenden County State's Attorney in 1866 and 1867.[37][38][39] L. Underwood resigned as alderman from the North Ward in 1865,[40] and Smalley ran to replace him, but lost to Noble B. Flanagan.[41] F.M. Van Sicklen defeated Smalley for a seat on Burlington's Board of Aldermen from the south ward in 1868.[42][43]

At the 1874 Burlington Democratic caucus he nominated Calvin H. Blodgett for mayor.[44] Blodgett, a member of the Board of Aldermen, was elected mayor, and a special election was held for his 5th ward seat. The Republicans and Democrats both gave their nominations to Smalley, who won[45][46][47] and was reelected in 1875.[48]

In 1874, Smalley was elected to represent Burlington in the Vermont House of Representatives.[49] 52 representatives voted for him in the 1874 Speaker vote on the second ballot, behind H. Henry Powers's 125.[50] Torrey E. Wales defeated him in 1876,[51] but he defeated Wales in 1878.[52] During his tenure he proposed legislation to move the state's capital from Montpelier, Vermont, to Burlington.[53]

Incumbent U.S. Senator George F. Edmunds defeated Smalley in the 1880 U.S. Senate election[54] and Republican nominee Levi K. Fuller defeated Smalley in the 1892 gubernatorial election.[55]

Personal life

Smalley was an Episcopalian.[56] He married Caroline Maria Baxter, with whom he had five children, on June 4, 1860, in Burlington.[57][2] Caroline was the niece of U.S. Representative Portus Baxter and daughter of Carlos Baxter, who served in the state legislature as a Whig.[58] One of their children died from diphtheria at age 7 in 1885.[59] Smalley's daughter married John Holmes Jackson.[2]

Smalley died in Burlington on November 6, 1909,[2] and Caroline died on March 16, 1915.[60] After Smalley's death, his daughter and Jackson donated land that formerly belonged to him to become a park in Burlington.[61]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Bradley Smalley
Year Office Party Primary General Result Ref.
Total % P. Total % P.
1868 Burlington Board of Aldermen (South Ward) Unknown No primary 105 46.46% 2nd Lost [43]
1868 Burlington Board of Aldermen (South Ward) Democratic No primary 105 46.46% 2nd Lost [43]
1874 Burlington Board of Aldermen (5th) Democratic
Republican 		No primary 201 94.37% 1st Won [62]
1880 United States Senate Democratic No primary 16 7.31% 2nd Lost [54]
1892 Governor of Vermont Democratic No primary 19,216 32.09% 2nd Lost [55]

References

  1. ^ Wells 1885.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Obituary 1909.
  3. ^ District of Vermont 1861.
  4. ^ Carleton 1903, p. 472.
  5. ^ Aide 1861.
  6. ^ Bar Admission 1863.
  7. ^ New York 1869.
  8. ^ Resignation 1877.
  9. ^ State Bar 1878.
  10. ^ Sentinel 1869.
  11. ^ Sentinel2 1869.
  12. ^ Obituary 2 1909.
  13. ^ GGB 1889.
  14. ^ Merrill 1897.
  15. ^ Helena Independent 1890.
  16. ^ Cheyenne 1890.
  17. ^ St. Johnsbury Republican 1890.
  18. ^ Town Committee 1855.
  19. ^ Caucus Chair 1870.
  20. ^ Assistant Secretary 1855.
  21. ^ Secretary 1869.
  22. ^ State Committee 1870.
  23. ^ Political Boss 1890.
  24. ^ Vermont Spoils 1892.
  25. ^ Sub 1860.
  26. ^ Sub2 1860.
  27. ^ Philadelphia 1866.
  28. ^ Committee 1872.
  29. ^ Off For Chicago 1896.
  30. ^ Opposed to Hearst 1904.
  31. ^ DNC 1875.
  32. ^ Ill 1908.
  33. ^ Brown 1908.
  34. ^ Secretary 1892.
  35. ^ Inspect 1865.
  36. ^ Inspect Confirm 1865.
  37. ^ SA Election 1866.
  38. ^ Nomination 1867.
  39. ^ Election 1867.
  40. ^ Underwood 1865.
  41. ^ Special 1865.
  42. ^ Nomination 1868.
  43. ^ a b c Election 1868.
  44. ^ Blodgett 1874.
  45. ^ Republican Nomination 1874.
  46. ^ Democratic Nomination 1874.
  47. ^ Special Election 1874.
  48. ^ Election 1875.
  49. ^ Vermont House 1874.
  50. ^ Speaker 1874.
  51. ^ Election 1876.
  52. ^ Election 1878.
  53. ^ Move 1874.
  54. ^ a b Election 1880.
  55. ^ a b Election 1892.
  56. ^ Religion 1878.
  57. ^ Marriage 1860.
  58. ^ Carlos Baxter 1874.
  59. ^ Little Daughter Dies 1885.
  60. ^ Caroline Obituary 1915.
  61. ^ Donation 1920.
  62. ^ Election Results 1874.

Works cited

Books

  • 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

Web

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