Jerome Bonaparte Chaffee (April 17, 1825 – March 9, 1886) was an entrepreneur and United States Senator from Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

. Chaffee County, Colorado

Chaffee County, Colorado

Chaffee County is one of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 16,242 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Salida.-History:...

 is named after him.

Biography

He was born in Cambria

Cambria, New York

Cambria is a town in Niagara County, New York, USA. The population was 5,839 at the 2010 census. Cambria is an early name for Wales.The Town of Cambria is in the center of Niagara County.New York State Route 93 passes through the town.- History :...

, Niagara County

Niagara County, New York

Niagara County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 216,469. The county seat is Lockport. The county name is from the Iroquois word Onguiaahra; meaning the strait or thunder of waters. It is the location of Niagara Falls and Fort Niagara, and...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. He moved to Adrian, Michigan

Adrian, Michigan

As of the 2010 census Adrian had a population of 21,133. The racial and ethnic makeup of the population was 84.1% white, 4.4% black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 5.9% from some other race and 4.0% from two or more races...

 in 1844 and worked as a teacher until starting a dry goods business in the late 1840s. In 1852 he moved to St. Joseph, Missouri, and later to Elmwood, Kansas Territory

Kansas Territory

The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Kansas....

 where he started banking businesses and engaged in land speculation.

In 1860 he moved to Colorado to invest in mining. He was one of the founders of the City of Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

, and founded the First National Bank of Denver in 1865. Chaffee entered politics and helped organize the Colorado Territory

Colorado Territory

The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado....

, serving in its first legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

 as speaker. He was the territorial delegate to the United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 starting in 1870.

In 1876, after Colorado was admitted to the Union, Chaffee was elected to the United States Senate. He served for the duration of his term, until 1879, but did not seek reelection due to poor health.

In 1884, Chaffee was elected state chairman of the Colorado Republican Party

Colorado Republican Party

The Colorado Republican Party is the state affiliate of the United States Republican Party in the U.S. state of Colorado. Since March 2011, the state party chair is Denver attorney and former legal counsel to the Colorado Republican Party, Ryan Call....

.

His sole surviving child, daughter Fannie Josephine (1857-1909), married Ulysses S. Grant, Jr., a son of U.S. President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

.

Chaffee died March 9, 1886 at the Grants' home in Salem Center, Westchester County, New York

Westchester County, New York

Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...

. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Adrian, Michigan http://www.findagrave.org/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7994123&pt=Jerome%20Chaffee.