Samuel Cleland Polley Biography


	This biography appears on pages 213-214 in "History of Dakota Territory" 
	by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. IV (1915) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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			JUDGE SAMUEL CLELAND POLLEY.  

	In the history of South Dakota it is imperative that mention be 
made of Judge Samuel Cleland Polley, who for four years was secretary 
of state and has been otherwise prominently connected with events which 
have shaped the history and molded the policy of the commonwealth. In 
1912 he was made a member of the supreme court and is proving himself 
the peer of the ablest members of this court of last resort. His birth 
occurred in Winnebago Valley township, Houston county, Minnesota, on 
the 13th of January, 1864, his parents being John C. and Amanda A. 
(Korn) Polley. The father, who was born in Youngstown, Ohio, February 
26, 1826, and was an agriculturist by occupation, removed to Houston 
county, Minnesota, in 1857 and in the fall of 1878 took up his abode in 
Aitkin county, Minnesota, being the first man to engage in farming in 
that county. There he made his home until called to his final rest on 
the 26th of September, 1886, while his wife died in August, 1896. To 
them were born eleven children, three of whom died in infancy, the 
others being as follows: Robert Bruce, who was born in 1853 and is a 
resident of the state of Washington; Isabella, who passed away at the 
age of sixteen years; Alice, who is the widow of Lafayette Knox and 
resides in Pasadena, California; Anna Louise, the wife of W. A. 
Schoemaker, who is the president of the State Normal School of St. 
Cloud, Minnesota; Theresa, who gave her hand in marriage to Charles H. 
Foot, a practicing attorney of Kalispell, Montana; Samuel C., of this 
review; Jessie M., a school teacher of Minneapolis; and Helen, who is 
the v. if e of Arthur P. White, of Bemidji, Minnesota.  

	Samuel C. Polley supplemented his early public-school training by 
a course in the State Normal School at St. Cloud, Minnesota, and in the 
University of Minnesota. In the latter he pursued a law course and was 
graduated LL. B. in 1890. He has since concentrated his efforts upon 
the practice of law and has advanced continuously until he stands today 
as one of the foremost representatives of the bar of the state. He has 
resided in Deadwood since 1890 and throughout the intervening years, 
while engaged in private practice, has been connected with some of the 
most important litigation heard in the state. In 1912 he was elected to 
the supreme bench, whereon he is now sitting. His decisions indicate 
strong mentality, careful analysis, a thorough knowledge of the law and 
an unbiased judgment. The judge on the bench fails more frequently, 
perhaps, from a deficiency in that broad-mindedness which not only 
comprehends the details of a situation quickly but also insures a 
complete self-control under even the most exasperating conditions than 
from any other cause, and the judge who makes a success in the 
discharge of his multitudinous delicate duties is a man of well rounded 
character, finely balanced mind and of splendid intellectual 
attainments. That Judge Polley is regarded as such a jurist is a 
uniformly accepted fact.  

	Judge Polley has filled other public offices, all of which have 
been largely in the line of his profession. He was states attorney for 
Lawrence county for the years 1901 and 1902. In 1908 he was elected 
secretary of state for a term of two years, being reelected in 1910, 
while in 1908 he was also a member of the Capitol Commission that had 
charge of the building, finishing and furnishing of the new capitol at 
Pierre. During that period he was likewise a member of the state board 
of pardons and a member of the state board of assessment and 
equalization. His political allegiance has always been given to the 
republican party, while his religious faith is indicated by his 
membership in the Episcopal church. In the line of his profession he is 
connected with the South Dakota State Bar Association and the American 
Bar Association.  

	On the 15th of November, 1899, at Deadwood, Judge Polley was 
married to Miss Lenore V. McConnell, a daughter of Alexander S. 
McConnell. They have three children: Catherine Louise, born March 27, 
1901; Cleland Alexander, born February 6, 1904; and Chalmers, born June 
12, 1906. Such in brief is the history of one of the eminent jurists of 
the northwest, a man to whom duty has been the watchword of activity 
and who through lout his professional and political career has held to 
the highest standards of legal practice and of citizenship.