"John Jones"(1817-1879)

Apprentice tailor,writer,and politician was born in Green City,North Carolina to a German father and an African American mother.Born a free man,he taught himself to read and white.John started his own tailoring business and eventually became one of the wealthiest African Americans in the antebellum United States.After moving to Chicago in 1845,he used his house and his office,both located on Dearborn Street,as stops on the underground railroad through Chicago.His home was known as a meeting place for local and national abolitionalist leaders including Frederick Doouglass and John Brown.He also authored a number of influential anti slaverly pamplets.Although a dedicated abolitionist,John also actively campaigned against racial discrimination as expressed in the black laws of Illinois.These laws denied voting rights to black men and banned them from testifying in court.John dedicated a considerable amount of his wealth to the effort to overturn these measures.His efforts were successful in 1865 when the Illinois Legislature repealed the Black Laws restricting civil rights.Five years later, in 1870,after ratifcation of the 15th Amendment John and other black men also voted for the first time.In 1871,in the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire,Paul was elected to the cook County Commission on the Union Fire Proof ticket,becoming the first African American officeholider in the state's history.While holding this post,he helped enact the law that abolished (local)  segregated schools.