Sabin was born in
Georgia, Vermont, to Benjamin Sabin and Polly McMaster Sabin, and was educated in the common schools. He was also a member of the Vermont
militia and served during the
War of 1812. Sabin also attended the
University of Vermont in
Burlington, which awarded him the
honorary degree of
Master of Arts in 1826. After the war, Sabin studied theology in
Philadelphia and graduated from Columbian College (now
George Washington University),
Washington, D.C., in 1821. He was ordained a minister and preached at Cambridge, Westfield, and Underhill until 1825, when he returned to Georgia, Vermont. He was pastor of the
Georgia Baptist Church for fifty-three years. Sabin was a member of the
Vermont House of Representatives from 1826 to 1835, 1838 to 1840, 1847 to 1849, 1851, 1861 and 1862. He served in the
Vermont Senate in 1841, 1843, and 1845. He was the
Secretary of State of Vermont in 1841, and served as Probate Judge. He was a member of the Constitutional; Conventions of 1843 and 1850, and was Assistant Judge of the Franklin County Court from 1846 to 1852. He was elected as a
Whig Party (United States) to the Thirty-third Congress and reelected as an Opposition Party candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1853, to March 3, 1857.{{cite web|url= http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/alvah_sabin/409523|title= Rep. Alvah Sabin ==Family life==