Smalley was born in Middlebury , Vermont on April 6 , 1809 . He graduated from the academy in St. Albans , read law in 1831 with his uncle , and was admitted to the bar . He practiced in Jericho , Vermont , where he was also postmaster 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 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 . President Franklin Pierce 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 , Ohio , he was reappointed to the National Committee , and he served Chairman from 1856 to 1860
1852 Democratic National Convention
1852 Democratic National Convention
David Allen Smalley