Luke P. Poland

Luke Potter Poland
Member of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont's 2nd district
In office March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885
Preceded by	James M. Tyler
Succeeded by	William W. Grout
In office March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1875
Preceded by	Justin Smith Morrill
Succeeded by	Dudley C. Denison
United States Senator from Vermont
In office November 21, 1865 – March 3, 1867
Preceded by	Jacob Collamer
Succeeded by	Justin S. Morrill
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office 1886–1887
Preceded by	Orpheus T. Taylor
Succeeded by	Myron E. Church
Constituency	Waterville
In office 1878–1880
Preceded by	Elijah Dickinson Blodgett
Succeeded by	Walter P. Smith
Constituency	St. Johnsbury
Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
In office 1860–1865
Preceded by	Isaac F. Redfield
Succeeded by	John Pierpoint
Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
In office 1857–1860
Preceded by	Pierpoint Isham
Succeeded by	Asahel Peck
In office 1849–1850
Preceded by	Charles Davis
Succeeded by	None (Size of court reduced)
Personal details
Born	(1815-11-01)November 1, 1815 Westford, Vermont, US
Died	July 2, 1887(1887-07-02) (aged 71) Waterville, Vermont, US
Resting place	Mount Pleasant Cemetery, St. Johnsbury, Vermont, US
Political party	Democratic (1836–1848) Free Soil (1848–1854) Republican (from 1854)
Spouse(s)	Martha Smith Poland (m. 1838) Adelia Henrietta Poland (m. 1854)
Children	4
Relatives	Martha L. Poland Thurston (niece)
Profession	Attorney

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 of the Vermont Supreme 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 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 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 and Republican Party as the abolition movement gained increasing prominence in the 1840s and 1850s. He served in county offices including register of probate and state's attorney before being appointed an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, 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, and he served from November 21, 1865 to March 3, 1867. In 1866, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives, 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^[1]

Poland died at his summer home in Waterville, Vermont on July 2, 1887. He was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in St. Johnsbury, Vermont