| ![Show Contents]() Chaffee History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The ancient Anglo-Saxon culture once found in Britain is the soil from which the many generations of the Chaffee family have grown. The name Chaffee was given to a member of the family who was a bald headed man. Further research revealed that the name is derived from the French expression le chauve, which means "the bald one." Early Origins of the Chaffee familyThe surname Chaffee was first found in Dorset where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D. Early History of the Chaffee familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chaffee research. Another 50 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Chaffee History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Chaffee Spelling VariationsSound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Chaffee family name include Chafy, Chafe, Chafee, Chafey, Chaff, Chaffe, Chaffee and many more. Early Notables of the Chaffee familyMore information is included under the topic Early Chaffee Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Chaffee RankingIn the United States, the name Chaffee is the 6,928th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1  Migration of the Chaffee family to Ireland
Some of the Chaffee family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Chaffee migration to the United States | + |
For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Chaffee surname or a spelling variation of the name include :
Chaffee Settlers in United States in the 17th Century- Matthew Chaffee, who settled in Boston in 1630
- Thomas Chaffee who settled in Hingham Massachusetts in 1637 and moved to Swansea by 1660
| Contemporary Notables of the name Chaffee (post 1700) | + |
- Harold G. Chaffee (1925-2020), American college football player and head football coach at Nebraska Wesleyan University from 1969 to 1981
- Emory Leon Chaffee (1885-1975), American physicist and a former professor at Harvard University
- Calvin Clifford Chaffee (1811-1896), American doctor and politician
- Adna Romanza Chaffee Jr. (1884-1941), major general in the United States Army
- Jerome Bonaparte Chaffee (1825-1886), entrepreneur and United States Senator
- Douglas Stewart Chaffee (1936-2011), American artist
- Suzanne "Suzy" Chaffee (b. 1946), former American Olympic alpine ski racer and actress
- Adna Romanza Chaffee (1842-1914), Lieutenant General in the United States Army
- Lieutenant Commander Roger B. Chaffee (1935-1967), former NASA Astronaut killed during a pre-launch test for the Apollo 1 mission 2
| Historic Events for the Chaffee family | + |
- Mrs. Carrie Constance Chaffee, (née Toogood), aged 47, American First Class passenger from Amenia, North Dakota who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and survived the sinking escaping in life boat 4 3
- Mr. Hubert Fuller Chaffee (d. 1912), aged 46, American First Class passenger from Amenia, North Dakota who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 3
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Chaffee migration to the United States 
England
Ireland
