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Higher Office(s) Served: Senator

Military Service: Army

War(s) Served:  Civil War

ANSELM J. McLAURIN, the thirty-fourth governor of Mississippi, was born in Brandon, Mississippi on March 26, 1848. His education was attained in the Mississippi common schools and at the Summerville Institute. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1868, and then established his legal career in Raleigh, Mississippi. During the Civil War, he served in the 3rd Mississippi Cavalry, and rose to the rank of captain by the time of his discharge in 1865. McLaurin first entered politics as the district attorney of Smith County, a position he held from 1871 to 1875. He served as a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1879, and was a Democratic presidential elector in 1888. He also served as a delegate to the 1890 Mississippi Constitutional Convention, and was a member of the U.S. Senate from 1894 to 1895. McLaurin next secured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, and was elected governor by a popular vote on November 5, 1895. During his tenure, an increased tax millage bill was authorized; a yellow fever epidemic in Jackson was dealt with; and construction plans for a new state capitol were vetoed. After completing his term, McLaurin left office on January 16, 1900. He continued to stay politically active, serving again in the U.S. Senate, a position he held from 1901 to 1909. Governor Anselm J. McLaurin passed away on December 22, 1909, and was buried in the Brandon Cemetery in Brandon, Mississippi.

Resources:

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 2, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

Mississippi Historical Society

Biographical History of the U.S. Congress