Calvin C. Chaffee | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's10th district | |
| In office March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1859 | |
| Preceded by | Edward Dickinson |
| Succeeded by | Charles Delano |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1811-08-28)August 28, 1811 |
| Died | August 8, 1896(1896-08-08) (aged 84) |
| Political party | Know Nothing Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Clara Nourse Eliza Irene Sanford |
| Children | Emma Lovetta Wilder (Chaffee) (daughter) Clemens Clifford Chaffee (son) Henrietta Sanford King (Emerson) (stepdaughter) |
| Parent(s) | Calvin Chaffee Elizabeth Hall |
| Alma mater | Middlebury College |
| Occupation | Physician |
Calvin Clifford Chaffee (August 28, 1811 – August 8, 1896) was an American medical doctor and politician. He was an outspoken opponent of slavery.
Born inSaratoga Springs, New York, Chaffee graduated from the medical school ofMiddlebury College,Middlebury, Vermont, in 1835. He settled inSpringfield, Massachusetts, where he began his medical practice.
In 1854, he was elected on theAmerican Party ticket to theThirty-fourth Congress as part of theKnow Nothing party sweep of the Massachusetts congressional delegation that year. An abolitionist who received an honorary degree from Amherst in the same ceremony asCharles Sumner, he became aRepublican and was reelected to Congress as such in 1856.
He was married to Clara Nourse (1813 – 1848) until her death in 1848.[1] They had two children: a daughter, Emma Lovetta Wilder (Chaffee) (1838 – 1910), and a son, Clemens Clifford Chaffee (1841 – 1867).
In 1850, Chaffee married Eliza Irene Emerson (née Sanford) (1815 – 1903). Irene Emerson was the widow of Dr. John Emerson, the owner of the slaveDred Scott. She had a daughter, Henrietta Sanford King (Emerson) (1843 – 1919), from her first marriage. There is speculation[2] that Chaffee advanced theDred Scott case as a test for slavery. However, contemporary reports have him discover from theSpringfield Argus that his new wife owned the most famous slave in the world in February 1857, only a month before theSupreme Court handed down the infamousDred Scott decision. Criticized nationwide for apparent hypocrisy, Chaffee immediately arranged for the return of Scott to his original owners, the Blow family, for emancipation.
Because of negative publicity from the Scott case, Chaffee did not seek reelection in 1858 and became Librarian of theHouse of Representatives from 1860-1862. He then practiced medicine in Washington, D.C., until 1876, when he returned to Springfield. He died there in 1896 at age 84.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's 10th congressional district March 4, 1855–March 3, 1859 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
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