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

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. He served as

United States district attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

and

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

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 in the town of Morristown, Lamoille County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the village population was 2,086. Morrisville has two country clubs, a hospital, a school featuring Greek architecture and an air ...

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

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

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 ...

Lamoille County Lamoille County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,945, and it is the third-least populous county in Vermont. Its shire town (county seat) is the town of Hyde Park, while Morristow ...

in May 1869. He began the practice of law in

Northfield Northfield may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Northfield, Aberdeen, Scotland * Northfield, Edinburgh, Scotland * Northfield, Birmingham, England * Northfield (Kettering BC Ward), Northamptonshire, England United States * Northfield, Connec ...

. 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 – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-campus ...

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 hono ...

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) 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. Tho ...

. 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 A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

. 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), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

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, abbreviated as 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 ...

. 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. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

from Norwich in 1905, and from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

in 1909. In 1909 Plumley was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. 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; french: Union Interparlementaire, UIP) is an inter-parliamentary institution, international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and coop ...

of the World in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

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 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 Murdock A. Campbell (January 16, 1889 – August 29, 1972) was a Vermont attorney and military officer who served as Adjutant General of the Vermont National Guard. Early life Murdock Alexander Campbell was born in Graniteville, Vermont on Janu ...

. 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 Burials in Vermont United States Attorneys for the District of Vermont Norwich University faculty 19th-century American lawyers

Early life and career

Personal life

Death

References

Further reading

External links