Richard Yates, Jr.

Governor of Illinois, 1901-1905 William A. Northcott, Lieutenant Governor Richard Yates was born in Jacksonville, Illinois, December 12, 1860, the son of Richard and Catherine Geers Yates. Richard Yates, the elder, was elected Governor in November, 1860, and his son...

John Riley Tanner

Governor of Illinois, 1897-1901 William A. Northcott, Lieutenant Governor John Riley Tanner was born in Warrick County, Indiana, April 4, 1844, and was brought to Southern Illinois in boyhood where he grew up on a farm in the vicinity of Carbondale, enjoying only such...

Joseph Wilson Fifer

Governor of Illinois, 1889-1893. Lyman B. Ray, Lieutenant Governor. Joseph W. Fifer was born at Staunton, Virginia, October 28, 1840; in 1857 he accompanied his father to McLean County, Illinois, and worked at the manufacture and laying of brick. At the outbreak of...

Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne

Governor of Illinois, 1913-1917 Barratt O’Hara, Lieutenant Governor. Edward F. Dunne was born at Waterville, Connecticut, October 12, 1853. He was one year old when his parents removed to Peoria, Illinois, where his father attained political and business prominence....

Charles Samuel Deneen

Governor of Illinois, 1905-1913. Lawrence Y. Sherman, Lieutenant Governor. John G. Oglesby, Lieutenant Governor.  Charles S. Deneen was born in Edwardsville, Illinois, May 4, 1863. He is a representative of one of the oldest families of Illinois. Governor Deneen...

John Peter Altgeld

John Peter Altgeld Governor of Illinois, 1893-1897. Joseph B. Gill, Lieutenant Governor. John Peter Altgeld was born in Felters, near Cologne, Germany, December 30, 1847, and in boyhood accompanied his parents to America, the family settling in Ohio. At the age of 16...