Background
Polk, Trusten was born on May 29, 1811 in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. Son of William Nutter and Lavenia (Causey) Polk.
governor of Missouri lawyer politician United States senator
Polk, Trusten was born on May 29, 1811 in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. Son of William Nutter and Lavenia (Causey) Polk.
Graduated from Yale, 1831, postgraduate in law 1832-1834.
A Democrat, he was elected Governor of Missouri in 1856 and served from January 5, 1857, until February 27 when he resigned to become a U.S. Senator. Hancock Lee Jackson succeeded him as governor until the election of Robert Marcellus Stewart. Polk was expelled from the U.S. Senate January 10, 1862, for his support of the South in the American Civil War.
He was appointed as a colonel in the Confederate States Army, and later served as a judge in the military courts of the Department of Mississippi in 1864 and 1865. After the war, Polk was a lawyer in St. Louis, Missouri. He is buried there in Bellefontaine Cemetery.
Member United States Senate from Missouri, 1857-1862.
Married Elizabeth Skinner, December 26, 1837, 5 children.