Martin Frederick Ansel

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Martin Frederick Ansel

|image = Martin Frederick Ansel.jpg

|order = 89th Governor of South Carolina

|lieutenant = Thomas Gordon McLeod

|term_start = January 15, 1907

|term_end = January 17, 1911

|predecessor = Duncan Clinch Heyward

|successor = Coleman Livingston Blease

|office1 = Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from Greenville County

|term1 = November 28, 1882 – November 27, 1888

|birth_name = Martin Frederick Ansel

|birth_date = {{birth date|1850|12|12}}

|birth_place = Charleston, South Carolina, US

|death_date = {{death date and age|1945|8|23|1850|12|12}}

|death_place = Greenville, South Carolina, US

|party = Democratic

|alma_mater =

|spouse = Ophelia Anne Speights
Addie Hollingsworth Harris

|children = 3

|profession = Lawyer, politician

|signature =

}}

Martin Frederick Ansel (December 12, 1850{{spaced ndash}}August 23, 1945) was the 89th governor of South Carolina from 1907 to 1911.

Early life

Born in Charleston, South Carolina, to John Ansel who was an immigrant from Württemberg in Germany and Fredrika Bowers, also a German immigrant, Martin grew up in the German "colony" of Walhalla, South Carolina. He was admitted to the bar in 1870, first practicing law in Franklin, North Carolina, for four years, then in Greenville, South Carolina, where he became involved in politics. He served in the state legislature between 1882 and 1888, then was elected solicitor in the eighth Judicial Circuit, where he stayed until 1901.{{Cite book|last=|first=|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=90ITAAAAYAAJ|title=The South Carolina Encyclopedia|publisher=University of South Carolina Press|year=2006|isbn=9781570035982|editor-last=Edgar|editor-first=Walter|location=|pages=}}

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 was established.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Martin Frederick Ansel|url=https://www.nga.org/governor/martin-frederick-ansel/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125193321/https://www.nga.org/governor/martin-frederick-ansel/|archive-date=November 25, 2020|access-date=2021-02-10|website=National Governors Association}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=South Carolina - Martin Frederick Ansel - 1907-1911|url=https://www.sciway.net/hist/governors/ansel.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528210324/https://www.sciway.net/hist/governors/ansel.html|archive-date=May 28, 2018|access-date=2021-02-10|website=www.sciway.net}}

Marriages and children

He was first married to Ophelia Anne Speights, daughter of A.M. Speights, founder of The Greenville News, with whom he had two daughters and a son, but who died in 1894, then to Addie Hollingsworth Harris, who died in 1937.{{cite book|author=James Calvin Hemphill|title=Men of Mark in South Carolina: Ideals of American Life: a Collection of Biographies of Leading Men of the State|url=https://archive.org/details/menmarkinsouthc00hempgoog|accessdate=2 January 2013|year=1907|publisher=Men of Mark Publishing Company|pages=[https://archive.org/details/menmarkinsouthc00hempgoog/page/n16 3]–5}} One of his daughters, Frederica, christened the battleship USS South Carolina (BB-26) in 1908.