Thomas A. Pollock

THOMAS A. POLLOCK. - It has been given this well known and higlily esteemed citizen of Kansas City to gain prestige as one of the able and representative members of the bar of his native state, and he now controls a practice of extensive and important order. He is known as a versatile and resourceful advocate and as a conservative counselor, well fortified in his knowledge of law and precedent. He has held in Wyandotte county various official positions in line with the work of his profession and his civic loyalty and public spirit have been of the most pronounced order.

Thomas Allen Pollock was born on the old homestead farm of his father, in Lyon county, Kansas, and the date of his nativity was December 20, 1866. He is a son of Robert and Jane (Smiley) Pollock, the former of whom was born in Scotland and the latter in the north of Ireland, of Scotch ancestry. The mother was a child at the time of her parents' immigration to America and she was reared to matuity at Sparta, Illinois, where her marriage was solemnized. Robert Pollock was reared and educated in his native land, whence he came to the United States when eighteen years of age. For several years he here followed the vocation of stationary engineer and after his marriage, March 15, 1866, he came to Kansas and secured a tract of government land in Waterloo township, Lyon county, where he reclaimed a productive farm and became a valued and influential citizen of the community, as his strong mentality and inflexible integrity amply justified the unqualified popular confidence and esteem accorded to him. He continued to reside in Lyon county, one of its sterling pioneers, during virtually the residue of his life, and he was about seventy years of age at the time of his death, which occurred December 13, 1901. His widow now resides in the home of her son Thomas A., of this sketch, who is the elder of the two children; the other son, Robert B. resides upon the old homestead farm in Lyon county. Both of the parents were orginally members of the Presbyterian church, but at the time of his death the father held membership in the Methodist church and the mother is now identified with the Congregational church. Robert Pollock gave to his adopted country the loyal service of a soldier in the Civil war. In 1863 he enlisted in Company G, Eighteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he took part in a number of the important engagements marking the progress of the great conflict through which the integrity of the Union was perpetuated. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and his political allegiance was given to the Republican party.

Thomas A. Pollock found his boyhood and youth compassed by the benignant influences of the old homestead farm which was the place of his birth and to the work of which he early began to contribute his quota. After completing the curriculum of the district schools he attended the Kansas State Normal School at Emporia for two years, and thereafter he prosecuted his studies in both the academic and law departments of the University of Kansas, at Lawrence, in which institution he remained five years. He was graduated in the law department in 1889, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Admirably fortified for the work of his chosen profession, Mr. Pollock came to Kansas City in June, 1889, and here his novitiate was of brief duration, as he soon proved his powers and gained a practice that gradually but surely expanded in scope and importance. He has appeared in connection with much important litigation in both the state and federal courts and his success stands in the most effective evidence of his ability, his discrimination and his sterling personal characteristics, which have begotten objective confidence and regard of unequivocal order. He has served as city attorney and city counsellor for eight years and for a short term in 1890 he held the responsible office of county attorney. His careful observance of the unwritten ethical code has gained to him the respect and good will of his professional confreres, and as a citizen he is ever found ready to support all undertakings tending to foster and conserve the best interests of the community. In the time honored Masonic fraternity he has attained to the thirty-second degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, and he holds membership in the Kansas City Mercantile Club. His political opinions are conclusively shown by the zealous support given by him to the cause of the Republican party, and he is a valued factor in its local councils and work. He has one of the best private law libraries in his home city and continued to be an appreciative student along professional lines, the while he is well fortified in his opinions and convictions as to matters of public import.

The year 1890 witnessed the marriage of Mr. Pollock to Miss Melinda Yarnold, of Lawrence, Kansas, and she was summoned to eternal rest in 1905. In 1906 Mr. Pollock married Mrs. Amelia (Yarnold) Alexander, a sister of his first wife.