Frank Plumley (December 17, 1844 – April 30, 1924) was an American politician and lawyer from

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. He served as

United States district attorney United States attorneys are officials of the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 United States federal judicial district, U.S. federal judici ...

and

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from Vermont.

Early life and career

Plumley was born in Eden,

, son of William Plumley and Eliza Little. He attended the public schools and People's Academy in

Morrisville, Vermont Morrisville is a village (Vermont), village in the town of Morristown, Vermont, Morristown, Lamoille County, Vermont, Lamoille County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the village population was 2,086. Mor ...

. Plumley taught school and studied law in Morrisville. He graduated from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (branded as Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparati ...

and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in Lamoille County in May 1869. He began the practice of law in Northfield. Plumley held many positions in state and federal government. He served as the state's attorney of Washington County from 1876 to 1880. He served in the Vermont House of Representatives (1882), and was chairman of the Republican State convention in 1886. In 1888 Plumley was a delegate to the Republican National Convention. He was appointed lecturer of constitutional law at

Norwich University Norwich University is a private university in Northfield, Vermont, United States. The university was founded in 1819 as the "American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy". It is the oldest of six senior military college, senior militar ...

in 1884 and was named a trustee of the university in 1888. In 1892 Norwich awarded Plumley the

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

. He served as the United States district attorney for the district of Vermont from 1889 to 1894. In 1894 he served in the Vermont State Senate and was elected President pro tempore. Plumley was a member of the Vermont Court of Claims from 1902 to 1904 and chief justice from 1904 to 1908. In 1903

President Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

appointed him as umpire of the mixed commissions of Great Britain and Venezuela, and the Netherlands and Venezuela, sitting in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

. In 1905, he was selected by France and Venezuela as umpire in the French-Venezuela mixed commission, which sat in

Northfield, Vermont Northfield is a New England town, town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The town lies in a valley within the Green Mountains and has been home to Norwich University since 1866. It contains the Northfield (CDP), Vermont, village of No ...

. This is the only instance where an American not serving in a high official office was chosen by these countries to arbitrate the differences between them. Plumley was again a trustee of Norwich University in 1905. Plumley received the honorary degree of

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from Norwich in 1905 and from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

in 1909. In 1909 Plumley was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Republican. He was reelected twice and served from March 4, 1909, to March 3, 1915. He was one of the four delegates from the U.S. Congress to the

Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; , UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing g ...

of the World in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

in 1912. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1914.

Personal life

Plumley married Lavinia Lucretia Smith Fletcher on August 9, 1871. They had two children

Charles Albert Plumley Charles Albert Plumley (April 14, 1875 – October 31, 1964) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a Republican U.S. Representative from Vermont, and was the son of U.S. Representative Frank Plumley. Biography Plumley was born in ...

and Theodora May Plumley. Their son Charles Albert Plumley was a President of Norwich University who also served in the United States House of Representatives.

Death

After serving in Congress, Plumley resumed the practice of law in Northfield, Vermont in partnership with his son Charles and Murdock A. Campbell.Vermont Historical Society, Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society, 1926, page 267 He died on April 30, 1924, and is interred in Mount Hope Cemetery in Northfield.

References

External links

*
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: PLUMLEY, Frank, (1844 - 1924)

Govtrack.us: Rep. Frank Plumley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plumley, Frank Edgar 1844 births 1924 deaths People from Eden, Vermont People from Washington County, Vermont University of Michigan Law School alumni Vermont lawyers State's attorneys in Vermont Republican Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives Republican Party Vermont state senators Presidents pro tempore of the Vermont Senate Vermont state court judges Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont United States attorneys for the District of Vermont Norwich University faculty 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly

Early life and career

Personal life

Death

References

Further reading

External links