Chaves, J. Francisco, 1833-1904

José Francisco Chaves (June 27, 1833 – November 26, 1904) was a nineteenth-century military leader, politician, lawyer and rancher from the New Mexico Territory.

Born in Los Padillas, Nuévo Mexico (now Bernalillo County, New Mexico), he attended schools in St. Louis, Missouri and studied medicine at the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons before engaging in livestock raising in the New Mexico Territory. Chaves’s career in local politics began at the same time he became active in territorial military affairs. In 1859 and 1860, he took part in military expeditions against hostile Navajos, whose attacks on U.S. settlements resulted in approximately 300 deaths and $1.5 million in stolen property. Chaves had been elected to the Ninth Legislative Assembly (1859–1860) as a representative of Valencia County, but because of his military commitment, he served just one term. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Chaves served as a major in a volunteer regiment of the First New Mexico Infantry to defend the territory against a Confederate army led by General Henry Sibley. During the war, Chaves served at Fort Union, near Santa Fe, and at Fort Craig. He also fought in the Battle of Valverde and in skirmishes near Albuquerque. Chaves was promoted to a lieutenant colonel for his service.

After his discharge, Chaves entered the legal profession and became involved in territorial politics full-time.He challenged his first cousin, Francisco Perea, for the Republican nomination to represent New Mexico as a Delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives. After besting Perea, he was elected to the 39th Congress (1865-1867). 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, but his career was cut short by an assassination in Pinos Wells, New Mexico Territory (now Torrance County, New Mexico) on November 26, 1904, where he was shot through a window while dining in the home of a friend. He was interred in Santa Fe National Cemetery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.