Lafayette (Lafe) Pence (December 23, 1857 – October 22, 1923) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

from 1893 to 1895.

Biography

Born in

Columbus, Indiana Columbus () is a city in and the county seat of Bartholomew County, Indiana, United States. The population was 50,474 at the 2020 census. The city is known for its architectural significance, having commissioned noted works of modern architect ...

, Pence attended the common schools. He was graduated from

Hanover College Hanover College is a private college in Hanover, Indiana, United States, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Founded in 1827 by Reverend John Finley Crowe, it is Indiana's oldest private college. The Hanover athletic teams participat ...

in 1877. He studied law. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1878 and practiced in

, until September 1879, when he moved to

Winfield, Kansas Winfield is a city and county seat of Cowley County, Kansas, United States. It is situated along the Walnut River in South Central Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,777. It is home to Southwestern College. ...

. He moved to

Rico, Colorado Rico is a town in Dolores County, Colorado, United States. It was settled in 1879 as a silver mining center in the Pioneer Mining District; today it functions as a historic and tourism site. The population was 288 at the 2020 census. Its curr ...

, in 1881 and continued the practice of law until 1884.

Career

He served as a member of the

Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distri ...

in 1885. He settled in Denver in 1885 and continued the practice of law. He served as prosecuting attorney for Arapahoe County in 1887 and 1888.

Congress

Pence was elected as a Populist to the Fifty-third Congress (March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in

1894 Events January * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United States. * Ja ...

to the Fifty-fourth Congress.

Later career

He moved to New York City and engaged in railroad work. He returned to Denver and from there moved to

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, and subsequently to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and continued the practice of law. He also engaged in hydraulic mining in

Breckenridge, Colorado Breckenridge is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule town that is the county seat and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Summit County, Colorado, Summit County, Colorado, United ...

, and

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

Death and burial

He died in

, October 22, 1923. He was interred in Garland Brook Cemetery,

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pence, Lafayette (Lafe) 1857 births 1923 deaths People from Columbus, Indiana People's Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Colorado Hanover College alumni 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Colorado General Assembly