George French Ecton

George French Ecton was a civil rights activist and Illinois' second black state legislator. He was born a slave in Winchester, Kentucky in 1846 to Antonio Ecton and Martha George. In June, 1865, after the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery, George and a friend received free papers in the mail and set off to escape slavery, as they were still being held in bondage. When they arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio they were hired as deck hands on the steam packet, Sherman, working a route between Cincinnati and Wheeling, West Virginia. Later, in Cincinnati, George took a job at a number of hotels, including the Broadway House, Walnut Street House, Burnett House, and Spencer House. He became ill with small-pox while at the Walnut Street House, but recovered. He also began to attend night school taught by Luella Brown. He was reported to be a college graduate.

On October 28, 1873 he moved to Chicago and took charge of the dining room at the Hotel Woodruff. In 1877 he married Patti R. Allen, also from Winchester. In Chicago, Ecton became active in Republican politics. He held his job as a waitor until being elected to the Illinois General Assembly, serving from 1887 to 1889. Ecton was elected from the third district to the Illinois House of Representatives, and replaced John W. E. Thomas, Illinois' first black state senator. He introduced legislation that protected former slaves. After his term, he became owner of a baseball league. He continued to be a leader in Chicago Republican politics into the 1910s.

In Chicago, he was a member of Bethesda Baptist Church and was a freemason. He died on September 19, 1929 in Chicago.