Luke Potter Poland (November 1, 1815 – July 2, 1887) was an American attorney, politician, and judge from Vermont. A Republican, he was most notable for his service as a

justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

of the

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The court ...

(associate justice from 1848 to 1849 and 1857 to 1860, chief justice from 1860 to 1865). A native of Westford, Vermont, Poland was educated in the local schools and at

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

Academy. While still in school, he worked in his father's sawmill and as a store clerk in Waterville. He received his qualification as a teacher, then taught school while studying law with an attorney in Morristown. He 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 1836 and practiced in Morrisville. Poland was an opponent of slavery and became active in politics as a Democrat, then gravitated to the

Free Soil Party The Free Soil Party, also called the Free Democratic Party or the Free Democracy, was a political party in the United States from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. The party was focused o ...

and Republican Party as the abolition movement gained increasing prominence in the 1840s and 1850s. He served in county offices including register of

probate In common law jurisdictions, probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased; or whereby, in the absence of a legal will, the e ...

and

state's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

before being appointed an associate justice of the

, an office he held from 1848 to 1849 and 1857 to 1860. From 1860 to 1865, he served as the court's chief justice. In October 1865, Poland was appointed to temporarily succeed Jacob Collamer in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

, and he served from November 21, 1865 to March 3, 1867. In 1866, he was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

, and he served three terms, from March 4, 1867 to March 3, 1875. In 1882, he was again elected to the U.S. House and served one term, from March 4, 1883 to March 3, 1885. He served as the chair of the "Poland Committee", tasked with reporting on the “Condition of Affairs in the State of Arkansas,” after the Brooks-Baxter War Poland died at his summer home in Waterville, Vermont on July 2, 1887. He was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in St. Johnsbury, Vermont

Early life

Poland was born in Westford, Vermont son of Luther and Nancy Potter Poland. His father was a carpenter, farmer, and sawmill owner who also represented Waterville, Vermont in the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...

. He attended the common schools of Waterville and the

Academy. Poland worked as a clerk in Waterville, Vermont, worked in his father's sawmill, and taught in the public schools of

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 ...

. He studied law in the Morristown, Vermont office of attorney Samuel A. Willard and was

in December 1836. Poland was also active in politics as an opponent of slavery, initially as a Democrat, and in 1848 was the party's unsuccessful nominee for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

. He later became a member of the

. He became a Republican when the party was founded in the mid-1850s and maintained that affiliation for the rest of his life.

Career

He practiced in Morrisville. Poland was registrar of

from 1839 to 1840 and was a member of the State

constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

convention of 1843. In 1844 and 1845 he was the

of Lamoille County, and in 1848 he succeeded Charles Davis as an associate justice of the

, a position in which he served until 1849. In 1850, Poland moved to St. Johnsbury, Vermont. From 1850 to 1857, he served as a judge of the Vermont Circuit Court. He served as an associate justice again from 1857 to 1860, succeeding Pierpoint Isham. In 1860, he succeeded Isaac F. Redfield as chief justice; he served until 1865, and was succeeded by John Pierpoint. On October 24, 1865, Poland was to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Jacob Collamer, and he served from November 21, 1865 to March 3, 1867. He was then elected to the House of Representatives for the 40th and the three succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1867 to March 3, 1875. While in the U.S. House, he was chairman of the Committee on Revisal and Unfinished Business (40th Congress) and a member of the Committee on Revision of the Laws (40th, 41st, and 43rd Congresses). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the 44th Congress in 1874. After leaving the House, Poland continued to practice law in St. Johnsbury. In 1878, he was elected to a term in the

, where he was appointed chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Poland was also a trustee of 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 ...

and president of the First National Bank of St. Johnsbury. In 1882, Poland was again elected to the U.S. House. He served one term ( 48th Congress, March 4, 1883 to March 3, 1885). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1884 and resumed practicing law in St. Johnsbury.

Death and burial

In retirement, Poland resided in Waterville, where he had purchased and renovated his father-in-law's home. In 1886, he was elected to represent Waterville in the Vermont House and was again selected to chair the Judiciary Committee. He died in Waterville on July 2, 1887. Poland was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in St. Johnsbury.

Awards

In 1858, the

(UVM) awarded Poland 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 ...

. In 1861, UVM awarded him an honorary

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 ...

Family

In 1838, Poland married Martha Smith Page and they had three children. Martha died in 1853 and he married her sister, Adelia Henrietta. With his first wife, Poland's children included: Susan E. (1840–1841); Martin Luther (1841–1878), a

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

graduate and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

who died while on duty at Fort Yuma on the

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

border; Mary Frances (1843–1865); and Isabel Emma (1848–1927), the wife of first Andrew E. Rankin, and then Henry O. Cushman.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poland, Luke P. 1815 births 1887 deaths People from Westford, Vermont Republican Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives State's attorneys in Vermont Vermont lawyers Chief justices of the Vermont Supreme Court Republican Party United States senators from Vermont People from Waterville, Vermont Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont 19th-century Vermont state court judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly