Family José Francisco Chaves was born on June 27, 1833, in Los Padillas, New Mexico (then in the
Departmento de Nuevo México of the
United Mexican States) in what is now Bernalillo County, near Albuquerque, New Mexico. His father was Don
Mariano Chaves and his mother Dolores Perea was the daughter of Don Pedro Jose Perea of Bernalillo. She later married Dr.
Henry Connelly, who became Territorial New Mexico governor during the Civil War. José's father, Don Mariano Chaves, was chief of staff under Governor
Manuel Armijo in the
revolution of 1837 and inspector general of all the military forces of New Mexico. Don Mariano later served as
pro-tem governor under Mexican rule in the absence of governor Armijo. José Francisco was a paternal grandson of Don
Francisco Xavier Chávez, the
first Governor (1822–1823) of the
Departmento de Nuevo México under the independent
First Mexican Empire shortly after
Mexican War of Independence from Spain ended in 1821. José was also a first cousin of
Francisco Perea and of
Pedro Perea. His daughter,
Dolores Elizabeth "Lola" Chávez de Armijo, is noted for her successful fight to keep her job as state librarian after Governor
William C. McDonald attempted to remove her on the basis that she was a woman.
Early life José Francisco Chaves attended schools in
St. Louis, Missouri, studied
medicine at the
New York College of Physicians and Surgeons and engaged in
livestock raising in the
New Mexico Territory. He married Mary Bowie in 1857, who died in 1874, leaving two children, Lola and Francesca. The former married Mariano Armijo, descendant of a prominent family of Bernalillo County, New Mexico. The latter died in 1895. Chaves served as a soldier in campaigns against the
Navajos prior to the Civil War. At the outbreak of the
Civil War, Governor Connelly commissioned Chaves as
major when the 1st Regiment NM Volunteers for the
Union Army formed. After
Ceran St. Vrain resigned his commission with the 1st,
Kit Carson was appointed colonel and Chaves was promoted to lt-colonel. In 1862 he took part in the
Battle of Valverde. He was recognized for gallant and meritorious services, and later helped establish
Fort Wingate, of which he was post commander for a long period. He was honorably mustered out of the service of the United States in 1865. Chaves owned an Indigenous girl named Maria in 1860 to "mark his social wealth". It is likely that he abducted the thirteen-year-old girl either during a raid on an Indigenous community or by purchasing her at a rescate (auction). Chavez's mother and step-father owned as many as four enslaved Indigenous children.
Political career Returning home he began to study law and in due course was admitted to the bar. In politics he was a staunch
Republican and in 1858, while absent campaigning against the Navajos, was elected a member of the House of Representatives of the territorial legislative assembly, taking his seat in 1860. In 1865 he was elected delegate from the New Mexico Territory to the
U.S. House of Representatives and served in the 39th and 40th Congresses from 1865 to 1867. He was elected back to the House of Representatives in 1868 and successfully contested the election of
Charles P. Clever in 1869, serving again until 1871, being unsuccessful for reelection in 1870. In 1875, he was elected a member of the legislative council from
Valencia County and was reelected to every succeeding legislature. Chaves was president of the New Mexico Territorial Council for eight sessions. Chaves continued in farming and
livestock raising. He was
district attorney of the second judicial district from 1875 to 1877 and was a member and president of the
New Mexico constitutional convention in 1889. He was
New Mexico Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1903 to 1904 and was appointed New Mexico State Historian in 1903.
Death Chaves career was cut short by an
assassination in Pinoswells, New Mexico on November 26, 1904, where he was shot through a window while dining in the home of a friend. The identity of his assassin remains a mystery. He was interred in
Santa Fe National Cemetery in
Santa Fe, New Mexico. ==See also==