A person sensitive to the Force existed during the closing years of the Galactic Republic. Before the Clone Wars began in 22 BBY, that person was chosen to be the Padawan of the Jedi named Roan Shryne. In that year, Jedi Master Mace Windu put together a strike team with the purpose of saving Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi from execution after he was captured by the Confederacy of Independent Systems on the planet called Geonosis. Shryne, this Padawan, and Shryne's previous master Nat-Sem were all members of this strike team.
The attempted rescue evolved into a large-scale battle against the Separatist Droid Army, and the Padawan died in the conflict, along with Nat-Sem and many other Jedi. Shryne lived through it, but the loss of both his apprentice and his former mentor, along with the later death of another student during the war, caused the Jedi Master to lose confidence in the Force and the Jedi Council.
James Luceno's 2005 novel Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader was the first time the Padawan was mentioned.