Jerome B. Chaffee

Jerome Bunty Chaffee was born on April 17, 1825, in Cambria, New York. In 1844, he relocated to Adrian, Michigan, where he initially worked as a teacher. During the late 1840s, Chaffee established a dry goods business. In 1852, he moved to St. Joseph, Missouri, and subsequently to Elmwood in the Kansas Territory. There, he engaged in banking and land speculation activities.

In 1860, Chaffee relocated to Colorado to invest in mining enterprises. He was among the founders of Denver, Colorado, and in 1865, established the First National Bank of Denver. As a political figure, he was instrumental in organizing the Colorado Territory and served as the speaker of its first legislature. In 1870, he was elected as the territorial delegate to the United States Congress.

Following Colorado's admission to the Union in 1876, Chaffee was elected to the United States Senate. His term lasted until 1879, after which he did not seek reelection owing to health issues. In 1884, he was elected as the state chairman of the Colorado Republican Party.

Chaffee's family included his daughter, Fannie Josephine (1857–1909), who married Ulysses S. Grant, Jr., the son of U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant. They had five children, including Ulysses S. Grant IV.

Jerome Bunty Chaffee died on March 9, 1886, at the home of the Grants in Salem Center, New York. He was interred at the Adrian Cemetery in Adrian, Michigan.