Lafayette Pence, Colorado Congressman

Lafayette (Lafe) Pence (December 23, 1857 – October 22, 1923) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from Colorado from 1893 to 1895.

Biography

Born in Columbus, Indiana, Pence attended the common schools. He was graduated from Hanover (Indiana) College in 1877. He studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1878 and practiced in Columbus, Indiana, until September 1879, when he moved to Winfield, Kansas. He moved to Rico, Colorado, in 1881 and continued the practice of law until 1884.

Career

He served as member of the State house of representatives 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 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, and subsequently to Washington, D.C., and continued the practice of law. He also engaged in hydraulic mining in Breckenridge, Colorado, and Portland, Oregon.

Death and burial

He died in Washington, D.C., October 22, 1923. He was interred in Garland Brook Cemetery, Columbus, Indiana.

Electoral history

1892 United States House of Representatives elections, Colorado's 1st district[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Populist Lafayette Pence 20,004 49.11%
Republican Earl B. Coe 17,609 43.23%
Democratic John G. Taylor 2,240 5.50%
Prohibition W.G. Sprague 876 2.15%
Majority 2,395 5.88%
Total votes 40,729 100%
Populist gain from new seat
1894 United States House of Representatives elections, Colorado's 1st district[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John F. Shafroth 47,710 55.32%
Populist Lafayette Pence (incumbent) 34,223 39.68%
Prohibition Robert H. Rhodes 2,465 2.86%
Democratic John T. Bottom 1,847 2.14%
Majority 13,487 15.64%
Total votes 86,245 100%
Republican gain from Populist

References

  1. 1 2 "CO - District 01 - History". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2021.

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