Frank Plumley

Frank Plumley
Member of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont's 2nd district
In office March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1915
Preceded by	Kittredge Haskins
Succeeded by	Porter H. Dale
Personal details
Born	December 17, 1844 Eden, Vermont
Died	April 30, 1924 (aged 79) Northfield, Vermont
Citizenship	United States
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Lavinia Lucretia Smith Fletcher Plumley
Children	Charles Albert Plumley and Theodora May Plumley
Alma mater	University of Michigan Law School and Norwich University
Profession	Politician, Lawyer

Frank Plumley (December 17, 1844 – April 30, 1924) was an American politician and lawyer from Vermont. He served as United States district attorney and U.S. Representative from Vermont.

Early life and career

Plumley was born in Eden, Vermont, son of John E Plumley and Sarah Zobeda Hough.^[1] Frank Plumley attended the public schools and People's Academy in Morrisville, Vermont. Plumley taught school and studied law in Morrisville. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and was admitted to the bar 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,^[2] and United States district attorney for the district of Vermont from 1889 to 1894. He served briefly in the Vermont House of Representatives (1882),^[3] and was chairman of the Republican State convention in 1886.

In 1888 Plumley was a delegate to the Republican National Convention,^[4] and was named a trustee of Norwich University. He was appointed lecturer of constitutional law at Norwich University in 1884 following his success as a civil lawyer. In 1892 Plumley was awarded an honorary degree of Master of Arts from Norwich University.^[5]

He served as the United States district attorney for the district of Vermont from 1889 to 1894.^[6] In 1994 he served in the Vermont State Senate and was elected President pro tempore of that body.^[7] 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 appointed him as umpire of the mixed commissions of Great Britain and Venezuela, and the Netherlands and Venezuela, sitting in Caracas, Venezuela.^[8] In 1905 he was selected by France and Venezuela as umpire in the French-Venezuela mixed commission, which sat in Northfield, Vermont. 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.^[9] Plumley was again a trustee of Norwich University in 1905.

In 1909 Plumley was elected as a Republican candidate to the United States House of Representatives, and was reelected twice, serving from March 4, 1909 to March 3, 1915.^[10] He represented the 2nd District at a time when Vermont had two Congressional districts. He was one of the four delegates from the U.S. Congress to the Inter-Parliamentary Union of the World in Geneva in 1912. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1914.^[11]

Personal life

Plumley married Lavinia Lucretia Smith Fletcher on August 9, 1871.^[12] They had two children Charles Albert Plumley 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.^[13]

Death

After serving in Congress, Plumley resumed the practice of law in Northfield, Vermont in partnership with his son Charles and Murdock A. Campbell.^[14] He died on April 30, 1924 and is interred in Mount Hope Cemetery in Northfield.^[15]

References

1. "Frank Plumley (1855 - Unknown)". Ancestry.com. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
2. ""Plumley" Eden, Vermont" Lamoille County and "Northfield, Vermont" Washington County "Shrewsbury, Vt." Rutland County.". Ancestry.com. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
3. "Frank Plumley". Find A Grave. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
4. Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- ). National Convention (1903). Official proceedings of the Republican National Convention: held at Chicago, June 3, 4, 5 and 6, 1884. C.W. Johnson,. p. 25.
5. Cutter, William Richard (1914). New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation, Volume 4. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 2202.
6. Ellis, William Arba (1911). Norwich University, 1819-1911; Her History, Her Graduates, Her Roll of Honor. The Capital City Press. p. 33.
7. "Plumley, Frank (1844-1924)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
8. Proctor, Redfield and Charles H. Davenport, (1894). Men of Vermont: an illustrated biographical history of Vermonters and sons of Vermont. Transcript publishing company,. p. 320.
9. Cutter, William Richard (1914). New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation, Volume 4. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 2202.
10. "Rep. Frank Plumley". Govtrack.us. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
11. "PLUMLEY, Frank, (1844 - 1924)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
12. "Lavinia Lucretia Smith Fletcher Plumley". Find A Grave. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
13. "Plumley, Frank (1844-1924)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
14. Vermont Historical Society, Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society, 1926, page 267
15. "Frank Plumley". Find A Grave. Retrieved December 26, 2012.

Further reading

• "New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation, Volume 4" by William Richard Cutter, published by Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1914.
• Norwich University, 1819-1911; Her History, Her Graduates, Her Roll of Honor by William Arba Ellis, published The Capital City Press, 1911.

External links

• Find A Grave: Frank Plumley
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: PLUMLEY, Frank, (1844 - 1924)
• The Political Graveyard: Plumley, Frank (1844-1924)
• Govtrack.us: Rep. Frank Plumley
• The University of Vermont Libraries: Frank Plumley Portrait