Henry A. Smythe, collector of customs for the Port of New York 1866-1869
Herman Melville met Henry Smythe in Switzerland, which proved to be the means by which Melville finally managed to acquire a federal job in the New York Custom House. Smythe was appointed collector of customs for the collection district of New York on May 10, 1866. In lieu of obtaining the usual political endorsements, Melville applied for a job directly to Smythe, and he was rewarded with an appointment as a customs inspector in the surveyor's office on Dec. 5, 1866. Accused of corruption, Smythe barely managed to hold on to his collectorship and was forced out of office after four years, whereas Melville toiled on the piers for 19 years until his retirement in 1885.