Marcellus Lovejoy Stearns (April 29, 1839 – December 8, 1891) was an American politician who served as the 11th Governor of Florida from 1874 to 1877 during the

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

. Originally from Maine, he also served in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, losing an arm, and served in Florida's 1868 constitutional convention and in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

, including time as speaker. Born in Lovell in Oxford County in southwestern

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, he attended

Waterville College Colby College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the ...

in Waterville, Maine (which later became Colby College). In 1861, he joined the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

and lost an arm during the Battle of Opequon in

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

, after which the Army sent him to study law. He was assigned to Quincy in

Gadsden County Gadsden County is a county located in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,826. Its county seat is Quincy. Gadsden County is included in the Tallahassee, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. Ga ...

in the

Florida Panhandle The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long and wide, lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia (U. ...

, where he remained after his discharge from the military. Stearns was a member of the Florida Constitutional Convention of 1868 and the

from 1868 through 1872, of which he was the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

in 1869. He was elected the fifth Lieutenant Governor of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in 1872. He succeeded to the governorship on March 18, 1874 at age 34 when Governor

Ossian B. Hart Ossian Bingley Hart (January 17, 1821 – March 18, 1874) was the tenth Governor of the U.S. state of Florida, and the first governor of Florida who was born in the state. Born in Jacksonville to Isaiah Hart, one of the city's founders, he was ...

died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. He remains the state's youngest-serving governor. Stearns attempted to force

Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs, II (September 28, 1821 – August 14, 1874) was an American Presbyterian minister who served as Secretary of State and Superintendent of Public Instruction of Florida, and along with Josiah Thomas Walls, U.S. Congres ...

to resign his post as

Superintendent of Public Instruction A state education agency or state department of education is the state-level government organization within each U.S. state or territory responsible for education, including providing information, resources, and technical assistance on educationa ...

, but was unsuccessful due to Gibbs' immense popularity. After leaving office on January 2, 1877, he was appointed U. S. Commissioner in

Hot Springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, a post that he held until 1880. He died in

Palatine Bridge, New York Palatine Bridge is a village in Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 737 at the 2010 census. The basis of the name is the community's location in a region settled by Palatine Germans. The Village of Palatine Bridge is ...

, fifty miles from the capital city of Albany. He is interred in the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

of Center Lovell, Maine. After he left office on January 2, 1877, there was no Republican governor of Florida until 1967, when Claude Kirk was inaugurated.

External links

Official Governor's portrait and biography from the State of Florida
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stearns, Marcellus Lovejoy 1839 births 1891 deaths Governors of Florida Lieutenant Governors of Florida Speakers of the Florida House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Florida lawyers People of Maine in the American Civil War People from Lovell, Maine Republican Party governors of Florida Colby College alumni Politicians from Hot Springs, Arkansas People from Palatine Bridge, New York Arkansas Republicans 19th-century American politicians People from Quincy, Florida Burials in Maine American amputees 19th-century American lawyers New York (state) Republicans Union Army personnel