Thomas Peter Chaires (March 12, 1847 - August 17, 1899) was a state legislator in Florida in both the Florida House of Representatives and Florida Senate.

Biography

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Chairs was born March 12, 1847 in Leon County, Florida to Green D. Chaires and Anna Maria Parkhill.[1] He received most of his education in a seminary in Tallahassee and enlisted in Robert H. Gamble's Artillery before transferring to Scott's Cavalry.[1][2] A few years after the war in 1868 he moved to Cedar Key, Florida and started farming and raising cattle, then moved to Old Town in 1870 to avoid an epidemic.[3][1]

He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1885 representing Lafayette County,[4] and then the Florida Senate in 1887 and again in 1899.[1]

Personal life

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Chaires died August 17, 1899[1] from issues with his liver and was survived by his wife and three sons.[5] One of his sons, McQueen Chaires, also became a state legislator in Florida.[3][6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Hon. Thomas Peter Chaires". The Weekly Tallahasseean. 23 May 1901. p. 1. Retrieved 24 February 2024.  
  2. ^ "Gamble's (Leon Light) Artillery". battleofolustee.org. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b "3 Oldest Of Old Town's Chaires Clan Know History Of State's Cattle Industry". The Tampa Tribune. 25 October 1953. p. 57. Retrieved 24 February 2024.  
  4. ^ "Florida Legislature". The Weekly Floridian. 2 December 1884. p. 2. Retrieved 24 February 2024.  
  5. ^ "Obituary for T. P. Chaires". The Ocala Evening Star. 21 August 1899. p. 2. Retrieved 24 February 2024.  
  6. ^ "The People of Lawmaking in Florida 1822 - 2019" (PDF). Florida Memory. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
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