John Dougherty (Illinois politician)

John Dougherty (May 6, 1806 – September 7, 1879) was an American politician from Ohio. After a stint mining and teaching, Dougherty became an understudy of Alexander Pope Field and was admitted to the bar. He served several terms in both the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate over the next twenty years. In 1868, he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Illinois.

John Dougherty was born in Duck Creek, Ohio, near Marietta, on May 6, 1806. When he was two, his family moved to Cape Girardeau, Louisiana Territory. His mother was soon widowed, and she took the family to Union County, Illinois Territory, after the New Madrid earthquakes. Dougherty attended public schools there until reaching adulthood. He took a job in the lead mines of Washington County, Missouri. After a year, he started to teach a school in Fredericktown, Missouri, where he taught for two and a half years. Dougherty returned to Union County, Illinois, in 1829.

After struggling to find a job, Alexander Pope Field offered Dougherty the opportunity to study law in his office. Dougherty was admitted to the bar in 1831. The next year, He was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives for a two-year term. Dougherty was re-elected two years later, although he had to resign before the term was complete. However, he returned in 1836 for another term. Dougherty was elected again in 1840, then was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1842. He served in the upper house for six years. He advocated for free schools, financial reform, and canal funding.

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