Polk LAFFOON, Congress, KY (1844-1906)

LAFFOON, Polk, a Representative from Kentucky; born near Madisonville, Hopkins County, Ky., October 24, 1844; attended the common schools; during the Civil War entered the Confederate Army as a member of the Eighth Infantry; captured at Fort Donelson February 16, 1862, and exchanged at Vicksburg in September 1862; member of Morgan’s command during the remainder of his service; captured at Cheshire, Ohio; at the close of the war engaged in teaching for two years; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1867 and practiced in Madisonville, Ky.; prosecuting attorney of Hopkins County; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Congresses (March 4, 1885-March 3, 1889); chairman, Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War (Fiftieth Congress); was not a candidate for renomination in 1888; resumed the practice of law; died in Madisonville, Ky., October 22, 1906; interment in the Odd Fellows Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present