JOEL ALDRICH MATTESON, Illinois' 10th governor was born in Watertown, New York, on August 2, 1808. His education was limited and earned in the common schools of New York. Before…

WILLIAM HENRY BISSELL, Illinois' 11th governor was born in Hartwick, New York, on April 25, 1811. He attended the public school system in Hartwick, and graduated from Jefferson Medical College in…

JOHN WOOD, Illinois' 12th governor was born in Moravia, New York, on December 20, 1798. At the age of 20, Wood left home and headed west. He settled in Quincy,…

RICHARD YATES, Illinois' 13th governor was born in Warsaw, Kentucky, on January 18, 1818. After moving to Illinois in 1831, Yates attended and graduated from Illinois College in 1835. He…

RICHARD JAMES OGLESBY, Illinois' 14th, 16th, and 20th governor was born in Floydsburg, Kentucky, on July 25, 1824. After being orphaned at an early age, Oglesby moved with his uncle…

JOHN MCCAULEY PALMER, Illinois' 15th governor, was born in Eagle Creek, Kentucky, on September 13, 1817. His early education was limited and attained in the common schools of Illinois. He…

JOHN L. BEVERIDGE, Illinois' seventeenth governor, was born in Greenwich, New York, on July 6, 1824. After attending the Rock River Seminary in Mount Morris, Illinois, Beveridge moved south to…

SHELBY M. CULLOM, Illinois' eighteenth governor, was born in Monticello, Kentucky, on November 22, 1829. His early education was attained in the common schools in Illinois. He attended Mount Morris…

JOHN M. HAMILTON, Illinois' nineteenth governor, was born near Richwood in Union County, Ohio, on May 28, 1847. In 1854, his family moved to Illinois, and settled near Wenona, where Hamilton…

JOSEPH W. FIFER, Illinois' twenty-first governor, was born in Staunton, Virginia, on October 28, 1840. His early education was limited and attained in the common schools of Illinois. During the…

John P. Altgeld, Illinois' twenty-second governor, was born in Niedersellers, Germany, on December 30, 1847. His family emigrated to the United States, settling in Richland County, Ohio, where Altgeld attained a…

JOHN R. TANNER, Illinois' twenty-third governor, was born near Booneville, Indiana, on April 4, 1844. His education was limited and attained in the common schools of Indiana. During the Civil…