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ANSEL, МАRTIN FREDERICK, governor of South Carolina, was
born in the city of Charleston, South Carolina, December 12, 1850. His
father, John J. Ansel, of Wurtemburg, Germany, came of a good and
prosperous family, and when quite a young man sought his fortune in
America. He was a skilful master mechanic, having received his degree in a
celebrated technical institute of that country. He married, in
Philadelphia, Fredrika Bowers, of Germany. They settled first in
Charleston and later went, with a colony of friends and countrymen,
to Walhalla, where the old home is still occupied by members of the
family. Mrs. Ansel was a woman of great force of character and exerted a
most potent influence in directing the energies and efforts of her
children, who reflect great credit on the careful home training they
received. Martin F. Ansel inherited a strong constitution, which was
developed and strengthened in his youth by outdoor sports and a fondness
for riding and driving horses. He was about four years of age when his
parents removed to Walhalla, and his early life was spent in that
village, engaged in the usual home tasks.
Later the discipline of
the workshop developed strength and gave ideas of precision, exactness and
regularity. He afterwards clerked in a village store and here had the
opportunity of studying human nature and learning something of people. His
educational advantages were limited to attendance at the village school,
reading, and the privileges of the literary society in Newberry college,
which was, for a time, located in Walhalla.
Mr. Ansel studied law
under Major James H. Whitner, was admitted to the bar before he was
twenty-one years of age, practiced nearly four years in Franklin, North
Carolina, and went to Greenville, South Carolina, in January, 1876. He
took an active part in the exciting Hampton campaign of that year. In 1882
he was elected a member of the legislature from Greenville county and was
reelected in 1884 and in 1886, each time heading the ticket in the
Democratic primary election. In 1888 he was elected solicitor of the
eighth judicial circuit, which office he held for twelve years,
voluntarily retiring at the expiration of his third term, January, 1901.
Mr. Ansel has always enjoyed a large and lucrative practice at the
bar. He has been associated from time to time with some of the most
prominent lawyers in the upper part of the state; among them, James S.
Cothran, George G. Welk, and Thomas P. Cothran. He is a fluent, forcible
speaker, and is learned in the law. As solicitor of the eighth judicial
circuit, and as the state's prosecuting attorney, he was fearless,
impartial and faithful in the discharge of his duties.
Mr. Ansel
is a member of the Masonic fraternity, including Blue Lodge, Royal Arch,
and Knights Templar, and is also an Odd Fellow. He is an elder in the
First Presbyterian church of Greenville. In politics he has always been a
Democrat, and has taken an active part in political affairs. In 1902 he
made the canvass for governor before the Democratic primary and received a
very handsome vote. So much strength did he develop that his friends
persuaded him to make the canvass again in the summer of 1906, and he
received the nomination in the primary election, leading his competitor,
Honorable R. I. Manning, by over ten thousand majority. One of the main
issues in the campaign was the state dispensary for the sale of liquors.
Mr. Ansel's platform was in opposition to the state dispensary,
and in advocacy of county local option, as between prohibition and county
dispensaries. His nomination was followed by his election, and he entered
upon the duties of his office in January, 1907, for a term of two years.
The vote he received was very flattering and clearly showed that he had a
large place in the esteem and confidence of the people.
Mr. Ansel
is a man of high ideals, is deeply interested in young men, and is cordial
and courteous to all. He is a strong supporter of the schools and of all
benevolent and charitable institutions. He is eminently a man of the
people, and is frequently called upon to address public gatherings in all
parts of the state. Able and conscientious, and having the courage of his
convictions, he is proving himself worthy of the high honor conferred upon
him by the people of his state.
Mr. Ansel has been twice married. His
first wife was Ophelia Speights, daughter of the late Mr. A. M. Speights,
for many years editor and proprietor of the Greenville "Daily News."
Mrs. Ansel died, leaving three children, of whom two daughters are
(1907) living. The present Mrs. Ansel was Mrs. Addie Hollingsworth Harris,
daughter of Mr. C. L. Hollingsworth, a leading attorney of Pickens, South
Carolina, and a man of influence and unusual strength of character. Mr.
Ansel has a most delightful home in Greenville, South Carolina, to which
he is strongly attached, and he also has large interests in Pickens
county. He is interested in agriculture, and is frequently in the field
and on the farm. By close attention to business, careful management and
economy, he has accumulated a good property. He has always taken an active
interest in the material development of his city and state, has been a
recognized factor in the industrial development of upper South Carolina,
and is directly interested, as stockholder and director, in a number of
enterprises. |
