Lafayette Head

Lafayette Head (born April 9, 1825 in Howard County , Missouri , †  March 8, 1897 in Denver , Colorado ) was an American politician . Between 1877 and 1879 he was lieutenant governor of the state of Colorado.

Career

Nothing is known about Lafayette Head's youth and schooling. During the Mexican-American War he was a soldier in a volunteer unit out of Missouri. He took part in several battles. After the war, he settled in Abiquiú in the New Mexico Territory , where he worked in commerce. There he was also US Marshal for the northern part of the territory for three years . He also served as a sheriff in Rio Arriba County .

In 1854 he and 50 Mexican families moved to Guadalupe in what was to become the Colorado Territory , where he worked as a sheep farmer. He became an expert on irrigation and founded one of the first flour mills in what is now the state of Colorado. His sheep ranch in Guadalupe was built almost like a fortress. In 1855 he took part in some Indian campaigns as a lieutenant colonel in the militia. A year later he became a member of the territorial legislature. From 1859 Lafayette was also the federal government's Indian commissioner. He held this office from his ranch. In this capacity, he traveled to Washington, DC in 1863 and 1868 , where he negotiated treaties between the government and the Ute Indians. In 1861, his home fell to the then established Colorado Territory. As a result, he was also elected to the new territorial state legislature. In 1875 he was a delegate to the constituent assembly of the future state of Colorado. There he had a great influence on agricultural issues. Politically, he was a member of the Republican Party .

In 1876, Head was elected the first lieutenant governor of Colorado, alongside John Long Routt . He held this office between 1877 and 1879. He was not only Deputy Governor , but also Chairman of the State Senate . In June 1880 he took part as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in Chicago , at which James A. Garfield was nominated as a candidate for president. Lafayette Head died in Denver on March 8, 1897.

Web links

• Lafayette Head in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• The Political Graveyard