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Trusten Polk

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"Senator Polk" redirects here. For other uses, see Senator Polk (disambiguation).

Trusten Polk
c. 1860 – c. 1865 portrait of Polk, by Mathew Brady
United States Senator
from Missouri
In office
March 4, 1857 – January 10, 1862
Preceded byHenry S. Geyer
Succeeded byJohn B. Henderson
12th Governor of Missouri
In office
January 5, 1857 – February 27, 1857
LieutenantHancock Lee Jackson
Preceded bySterling Price
Succeeded byHancock Lee Jackson
Personal details
Born(1811-05-29)May 29, 1811
Bridgeville, Delaware, U.S.
DiedApril 16, 1876(1876-04-16) (aged 64)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
SpouseElizabeth Skinner
EducationYale University (BA)
Military service
AllegianceConfederate States
Branch/serviceConfederate States Army
RankColonel
UnitMissouri State Guard
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Trusten W. Polk (May 29, 1811 – April 16, 1876) was an American politican. He served as governor of Missouri in 1857, and was a member of the United States Senate from Missouri, from 1857 to 1862.

Early life and law career

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Polk was born on May 29, 1811, in Bridgeville, Delaware, to William Nutter Polk and Levinia Causey Polk. He was a member of the Polk family and distant cousin of President James K. Polk.[1] He first attended common schools, graduating from Yale College in 1831. He planned to become a minister, though his father suggested he become a lawyer. He studied law under Delaware Attorney General James Rogers and attended Yale Law School for two years. In 1835, he was admitted to the bar.[2][3][4]

In 1835, Polk moved to St. Louis. There, he practiced law, serving as St. Louis City Counselor in 1843.[2] He also helped Governor Henry S. Geyer in the establishment of the University of Missouri School of Medicine. Between 1835 and fall 1845, he left Missouri due to illness, durong which he studied education in other regions of North America.[5]

Political career and military service

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Polk also involved himself in politics as a Democrat. In 1845, was a delegate to the Missouri State constitutional convention, then in 1848 was a Missouri Democratic presidential elector.[3] In 1854, he unsucessfully ran for the United States House of Representatives.[2]

Polk was inaugurated as governor of Missouri from January 5, 1857. He served until February 27, resigning in order to be seated in the United States Senate. His tenure as Governor is the shortest in Missouri history, at 53 days.[2] He served as Senator beginning on March 4, 1857. On January 10, 1862, he and fellow Missouri Senator Waldo P. Johnson were expelled due to their support of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.[3]

Polk was a supporter of temperance movement, with him heading a temperance group beginning in 1836.[2] He also supported hard currency.[6] He was a slaveowner[7] and was the first Missouri Governor to actively support slavery, though he more actively supported it while in the Senate.[2] Though from Missouri, he was a member of the "Central Clique", a group of conservative politicians from the loosely-defined Mid-Missouri.[2]

After his expulsion from the Senate, Polk served in the Missouri State Guard and was ranked colonel. During the war, his family was exiled from St. Louis. In 1863, he was captured by Union Army forces and imprisoned at Johnson's Island; he became ill while imprisoned. He was later released, in exchanged for a Union prisoner in Mississippi. Through 1864 and 1865, he served as a judge in Misssippi's court-martial.[2]

Person life and death

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After the war, Polk moved to Mexico for some time. He returned to St. Louis to reunite with his family and continue his law practice.[3] On December 26, 1837, he married Elizabeth Skinner, with whom he had five children.[2] He died on April 16, 1876, aged 64, in St. Louis,[5] from heart disease.[8] He is buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Poiney to Polkowitz". politicalgraveyard.com. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Trusten Polk (D)". Missouri Office of Administration. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Polk, Trusten". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  4. ^ Bay, William Van Ness (1878). Reminiscences of the Bench and Bar of Missouri. F. H. Thomas Company. pp. 409–414.
  5. ^ a b "Trusten W. Polk (1811–1876) | Missouri Encyclopedia". missouriencyclopedia.org. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  6. ^ "Trusten W. Polk". Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  7. ^ "The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Poiney to Polkowitz". politicalgraveyard.com. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  8. ^ "Trusten Polk". Kansas City Journal. April 19, 1876. p. 2. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
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