Lafayette (Lafe) PENCE, Congress, CO (1857-1923)

1857-1923

PENCE, Lafayette (Lafe), a Representative from Colorado; born in Columbus, Bartholomew County, Ind., December 23, 1857; attended the common schools; was graduated from Hanover (Ind.) College in 1877; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1878 and practiced in Columbus, Ind., until September 1879, when he moved to Winfield, Kans.; moved to Rico, Dolores County, Colo., in 1881 and continued the practice of law until 1884; member of the State house of representatives in 1885; settled in Denver in 1885 and continued the practice of law; prosecuting attorney for Arapahoe County in 1887 and 1888; elected as a Populist to the Fifty-third Congress (March 4, 1893-March 3, 1895); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1894 to the Fifty-fourth Congress; moved to New York City and engaged in railroad work; returned to Denver and from there moved to San Francisco, Calif., and subsequently to Washington, D.C., and continued the practice of law; also engaged in hydraulic mining in Breckenridge, Colo., and Portland, Oreg.; died in Washington, D.C., October 22, 1923; interment in Garland Brook Cemetery, Columbus, Ind.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present