Jonathan Chace

Jonathan Chace
United States Senator from Rhode Island
In office January 20, 1885 – April 9, 1889
Preceded by	William P. Sheffield
Succeeded by	Nathan F. Dixon, III
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Rhode Island's 2nd district
In office March 4, 1881 – January 26, 1885
Preceded by	Latimer Whipple Ballou
Succeeded by	Nathan F. Dixon, III
Member of the Rhode Island Senate
In office 1876-1877
Personal details
Born	(1829-07-22)July 22, 1829 Fall River, Massachusetts
Died	June 30, 1917(1917-06-30) (aged 87) Providence, Rhode Island
Resting place	North Burial Ground
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican

Jonathan Chace (July 22, 1829 – June 30, 1917) was a United States representative and Senator from Rhode Island.

Biography

Born at Fall River, Massachusetts, the son of Harvey Chace and the grandson of Oliver Chace. In 1854, he married Jane C. Moon, and they had three children: Anna H., Elizabeth M. and Susan A. (the latter deceased). He was also the nephew of famed 19th century abolitionist Elizabeth Buffum Chace and had himself been active in the Underground Railroad during his time in Philadelphia, where he operated a dry goods store.

He attended the public schools and Friends' School at Providence. He moved to Central Falls, Rhode Island and engaged in cotton manufacturing; he was a member of the Rhode Island Senate in 1876-1877 and was elected as a Republican to the Forty-seventh and Forty-eighth Congresses and served from March 4, 1881, to January 26, 1885, when he resigned.

Chace was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Henry B. Anthony; he was reelected in 1888 and served from January 20, 1885, to April 9, 1889, when he resigned. While in the Senate he was chairman of the Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment (Fiftieth and Fifty-first Congresses), and sponsored a bill presaging the International Copyright Act of 1891, sometimes referred to as the Chace Act. He was president of the Phoenix National Bank of Providence, Rhode Island, and was interested in several manufacturing enterprises.

Chace died in Providence in 1917, and was interred in the North Burial Ground.

See also

• Oliver Chace
• Elizabeth Buffum Chace

References

• United States Congress. "Jonathan Chace (id: C000267)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.