HARPER, John T. - John was born near Lafayette, Indiana, November 20, 1840, and died in El Paso on February 5, 1878 at the age of only 38. He came to Illinois in 1854 with his father, William W. Harper, pioneer of Harper's Grove west of Panola. He was a teacher, lawyer, and soldier member of Company G., 4th Illinois Cavalry, many of whose members were recruited by him. He was a Lieutenant, and was brevetted a Lieutenant Colonel after the battle of Shiloh. A graduate of Chicago Law School, he set up legal offices in El Paso in 1865 after the war, and for a time had a partnership with Robert G. Ingersoll of Peoria and J. J. Cassell of Metamora, who moved to El Paso. He was a prominent charter member of GAR Post named for S. T. Rogers. He founded the El Paso Journal on April 5, 1865, but soon sold it, devoting his time exclusively to his law practice. He was one of the defense counsels in the Kingston manslaughter trial.