Born in Belmont County, Ohio, Pollock received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Franklin College in 1882 and read law to enter the bar in 1884.
He was in private practice in Newton, Iowa from 1884 to 1885, then in Hartsville, Missouri until 1886, and then in Winfield, Kansas until 1901.
He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 1, 1903, and received his commission the same day.
[1] On January 7, 1928, President Calvin Coolidge certified Pollock involuntarily as disabled in accordance with the act of February 25, 1919, 40 Stat.
[1] In the 2023 film Killers of the Flower Moon, directed by Martin Scorsese, Pollock was portrayed by actor Steve Eastin.