Isaac N. Pearson

Isaac Newton Pearson (July 27, 1842 – February 27, 1908) was an American politician from Pennsylvania. Though born the son of a prominent politician, Newton's mother was soon widowed and moved the family to Illinois. Pearson started in politics as a clerk in the McDonough County, Illinois, circuit court. He was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives for one term, then to the Illinois Senate. In 1888, he was elected Illinois Secretary of State, a position he held for four years. He then returned to his business interests in Macomb, Illinois.

Biography Isaac Newton Pearson was born in Centerville, Butler County, Pennsylvania, on July 27, 1842. He was the youngest of seven children born to Isaac S. Pearson, who was active in Pennsylvania politics as a Whig. However, he died in 1845. Isaac's widowed mother first moved the family to New Castle, Pennsylvania, shortly after his death, then to Illinois in 1849. They first settled near La Harpe, Illinois, then moved to Macomb, Illinois in 1858. Pearson attended public schools in these two towns and helped to make ends meet by farming, chopping wood, and tending gardens.

By the time the Civil War broke out in 1861, Pearson was working in the office of the clerk of the circuit court. He lost the position for political reasons in 1864—Pearson was a Republican and the Democrats had just come to power—so then he worked in a banking house in Bushnell, Illinois. In 1868, the Republicans again came to power in McDonough County and he resumed work as deputy clerk.