Martin Frederick Ansel (December 12, 1850August 23, 1945) was the 89th

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

from 1907 to 1911.

Early life

Born in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, to John Ansel who was an immigrant from

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and Fredrika Bowers, also a German immigrant, Martin grew up in the German "colony" of

Walhalla, South Carolina Walhalla is a city in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Oconee County, South Carolina, United States. Designated in 1868 as the county seat, it lies within the area of the Blue Ridge Escarpment, an area of transition between mountains ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1870, first practicing law in

Franklin, North Carolina Franklin is a town in and the county seat of Macon County, North Carolina, United States. It is situated within the Nantahala National Forest. The population was reported to be 4,175 in the 2020 census, an increase from the total of 3,845 tabula ...

, for four years, then in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...

, where he became involved in politics. He served in the state legislature between 1882 and 1888, then was elected

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

in the eighth Judicial Circuit, where he stayed until 1901.

Term as governor

He explored a run for governor in 1902, but did not actually run until 1906. He was re-elected in 1908. During his term, statewide

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

was established.

Marriages and children

He was first married to Ophelia Anne Speights, daughter of A.M. Speights, founder of ''

The Greenville News ''The Greenville News'' is a daily morning newspaper published in Greenville, South Carolina. After ''The State'' in Columbia and Charleston's ''The Post and Courier'', it is the third largest paper in South Carolina. History ''The Greenville N ...

'', with whom he had two daughters and a son, but who died in 1894, then to Addie Hollingsworth Harris, who died in 1937. One of his daughters, Frederica, christened the

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

USS ''South Carolina'' (BB-26) in 1908.

Death

He served as an elder at First Presbyterian church of Greenville. He was interred in

Springwood Cemetery Springwood Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Greenville, South Carolina, listed on thNational Register of Historic Places It is the oldest municipal cemetery in the state and has approximately 7,700 marked, and 2,600 unmarked, graves. The firs ...

in Greenville.

References

1850 births 1945 deaths 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians American people of German descent Democratic Party governors of South Carolina University of South Carolina trustees South Carolina state solicitors Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina People from Walhalla, South Carolina Burials at Springwood Cemetery {{SouthCarolina-politician-stub