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VanLeer Polk facts for kids

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VanLeer Polk
Born 1858
Died 1907
Occupation Politician, diplomat
Parent(s) Andrew Jackson Polk
Rebecca Van Leer
Relatives William Polk (paternal grandfather)
Antoinette Polk (sister)

VanLeer Polk (a.k.a. Van Leer Polk) (1858-1907) was an American politician and diplomat from Tennessee.

Early life

VanLeer Polk was born in 1858. His father, Andrew Jackson Polk, was the son of Colonel William Polk. His mother, Rebecca Van Leer, was an heiress to an iron fortune from Cumberland Furnace. Polk grew up at Ashwood Hall in Ashbrook, near Columbia, Tennessee.

Career

Polk was a member of the Democratic Party. He served in the Tennessee Senate in the 1890s, representing Maury County. With Flourney Rivers, a state senator for Giles County, he introduced railroad commission bills.

Polk was appointed as Consul-General in Bombay, India, by President Grover Cleveland. Later, he was appointed as one of five delegates to Brazil by President Theodore Roosevelt.

Death

He died in 1907.

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