John Early (Illinois politician)

John Early was born in Essex County, Ontario, on March 17, 1828. He attended public schools and helped his family on the farm. When he was eighteen, he came with his family to Caledonia, Illinois, United States. In 1852, he moved to Rockford to work as a carpenter. He became a noted architectural draftsman and the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company hired him as a general agent. Early became active in politics, led by his abolitionist views, supporting the Free Soil Party. He joined the Republican Party when it formed a few years later.^[1]

Early was elected assessor of the City of Rockford three times. In 1869, Illinois Governor John M. Palmer appointed early one of the original trustees of the Reform School at Pontiac, a position he held for one year. In 1870, he was elected to the Illinois Senate for a two-year term. He was re-elected in the next three elections. Shortly after his election as governor in 1873, Richard J. Oglesby was appointed to the United States Senate, making Lieutenant Governor of Illinois John Lourie Beveridge the acting governor. Early was elected to replace Beveridge as acting lieutenant governor (thus President of the Illinois Senate), holding the position from January 23, 1873, to January 8, 1875. Early died from complications of tuberculosis on September 2, 1877, before his fourth Senate term ended. He was buried in Cedar Bluff Cemetery in Rockford.^[1]