Polk, L. L. (Leonidas La Fayette), 1837-1892

L.L. (Leonidas La Fayette) Polk (1837-1892) of Anson County, N.C., was a planter; editor; merchant; Confederate officer in the 26th and 43rd North Carolina infantry regiments; Democrat and Populist; first North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture, 1877-1880; founder of the "Progressive Farmer"; and vice president and president of the National Farmers' Alliance, 1887-1892.

L.L. (Leonidas La Fayette) Polk (1837-1892) of Anson County, N.C., was a planter; editor; merchant; Confederate officer in the 26th and 43rd North Carolina infantry regiments; Democrat and Populist; first North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture, 1877-1880; founder of the Progressive Farmer ; and vice president and president of the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, 1887-1892. He was influential in founding the North Carolina College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts at Raleigh (now North Carolina State University) and the Baptist Female College (now Meredith College). Polk was the son of Andrew and Serena Autry Polk. He married Sarah Pamela Gaddy of Anson County in 1857 and they had one son, who died in infancy, and six daughters.