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Ann Smith Bedsole (born Margaret Anna Smith; January 7, 1930) is an American politician, businesswoman, community activist, and philanthropist. She was the first Republican woman to serve in the
Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...
and the first woman to serve in the
Alabama Senate The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, with each district con ...
. In 2002, she was inducted into the
Alabama Academy of Honor The Alabama Academy of Honor recognizes one hundred living Alabamians for outstanding accomplishments and services to Alabama and the United States. . By act of the Alabama Legislature, only one hundred living people may be members at any time. Up ...
.


Early life

Margaret Anna Smith was born on January 7, 1930, in
Selma, Alabama Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. Abou ...
, to Malcolm White Smith and Sybil Huey Smith. She has one sister. When she was five, her father moved the family to
Jackson, Alabama Jackson is a city in Clarke County, Alabama, Clarke County, Alabama, United States. The population was 4,748 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It was one of three wet settlements in an otherwise-dry county. Geography Jackson is lo ...
where he had bought a
sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
; she went on to work there as a teen. She graduated from Waynesboro High School in
Waynesboro, Virginia Waynesboro (; formerly Flack) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a principal city of the Staunton-Waynesboro micropolitan area, Staunton-Waynesboro Metropoli ...
, and later attended the
University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...
and the
University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...
.


Political career

During the 1964 Republican presidential primaries Smith served as an alternate delegate to the
Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...
. She served on the Alabama Republican State Executive Committee in 1966. During the 1972 Republican presidential primaries she served as a delegate to the
Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...
, vice-chair of the Alabama delegation to the Republican National Convention, and as one of two Republican at-large
presidential electors In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...
alongside state Representative Doug Hale. Smith later served as chair of the Republican Party in the 4th Ward in
Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...
.


Alabama state legislature

In 1978, Sonny Callahan, a member of the
Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...
from the 101st district, announced that he would seek election to the
Alabama Senate The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, with each district con ...
. Bedsole received the Republican nomination and defeated Democratic nominee Jim Johnston in the general election, becoming the first female Republican member of the Alabama House of Representatives. In 1982, Callahan, a member of the Alabama Senate from the 34th district, vacated his seat. Bedsole ran with the Republican nomination for his seat and defeated Democratic nominee John Saad in the general election, becoming the first woman to serve in the Alabama Senate. For her first Senate re-election campaign, she printed campaign flyers that included a timetable for the state's
hunting season A hunting season is the designated time in which certain game animals can be killed in certain designated areas. In the United States, each state determines and sets its own specific dates to hunt the certain game animal, such as California, in ...
on the back. She was re-elected to the Alabama Senate three times and served until 1995. Bedsole was appointed to serve on the Education Committee in the Alabama Senate in 1983. She was appointed to serve on the Judiciary, Education, and Health committees and as chair of the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry committee in 1987.


Gubernatorial campaign

On November 1, 1993, Bedsole announced that she would seek the Republican nomination for
Governor of Alabama A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
in
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
. She selected Rex Elsasse, the former executive director of the
Ohio Republican Party The Ohio Republican Party is the Ohio affiliate of the Republican Party. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1854. It currently holds the bulk of the state's political power, controlling 10 of Ohio's 15 U.S. House seats, both of its U.S. S ...
, to serve as her campaign manager. She placed second in the Republican primary, but was defeated in the primary runoff by
Fob James Forrest Hood "Fob" James Jr. (born September 15, 1934) is an American politician, civil engineer, entrepreneur, and former football player. He served as the 48th governor of Alabama, first as a Democrat from 1979–1983, and then as a Republ ...
. During Alabama's 1998 gubernatorial
election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
Bedsole endorsed Democratic nominee
Don Siegelman Donald Eugene Siegelman ( ; born February 24, 1946) is an American politician who was the 51st governor of Alabama from 1999 to 2003. To date, Siegelman is the last Democrat as well as the only Catholic to serve as Governor of Alabama. Siegelma ...
against Governor Fob James. In 2005, she unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Mobile.


Other activities

In the late 1980s, Bedsole was one of the co-founders of the
Alabama School of Mathematics and Science The Alabama School of Mathematics and Science (ASMS) is a Boarding school, public residential high school in the Midtown Historic District (Mobile, Alabama), Midtown neighborhood of Mobile, Alabama. ASMS is a member of the National Consortium ...
, which was approved by the Alabama state legislature in 1989. The school later added a library named in her honor. This institution remains the "only fully public residential high school for sophomores, juniors, and seniors seeking advanced studies in mathematics, science, and the humanities" in the state. Bedsole also founded Bedsole Farms in Perdue Hill in 2008.


Memberships and affiliations

Bedsole has been involved in numerous educational and philanthropic initiatives. She served on the board of directors of the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science as president and vice president. She was a trustee for
Spring Hill College Spring Hill College is a private Jesuit college in Mobile, Alabama. It was founded in 1830 by Bishop Michael Portier of Mobile. Along with being the oldest private college or university in the state of Alabama, it was the first Catholic college ...
and
Huntingdon College Huntingdon College is a private Methodist college in Montgomery, Alabama. It was founded in 1854 as a women's college. History Huntingdon College was chartered on February 2, 1854, as " Tuskegee Female College" by the Alabama State Legislature a ...
. She chaired the distribution committee for the Sybil H. Smith Charitable Trust (later renamed the Sybil and White Smith Foundation), and was also a board member of the J. L. Bedsole Foundation, which awarded grants for projects benefiting post-secondary education, the arts, and economic development in southwest Alabama. Bedsole is also dedicated to promoting local history, preservation, and conservation. She established Mobile Historic Home Tours and served as a member of the Alabama Historical Commission, the Mobile Historic Development Commission, and the Mobile Bay Lighthouse Committee. In 1999 she became president of the Mobile Tricentennial, working for three years with hundreds of volunteers to produce programming for the event. Additionally, she is the founder and president of the Alabama Forest Resources Center.


Awards and honors

Bedsole was recognized for her business and philanthropic activity by being named First Lady of Mobile in 1972, Mobilian of the Year in 1993, and Philanthropist of the Year in 1998. She received a Meritorious Public Service Award from the ''
Montgomery Advertiser The ''Montgomery Advertiser'' is a daily newspaper and news website located in Montgomery, Alabama. It was founded in 1829. History The newspaper began publication in 1829 as ''The Planter's Gazette.'' Its first editor was Moseley Baker. It be ...
'' and the ''
Alabama Journal ''Alabama Journal'', formerly the ''Evening Journal'', ''Montgomery Journal'', and ''Alabama Journal and the Times'', was a newspaper in Montgomery, Alabama founded in 1889. It ceased publication in 1993. History There was an ''Alabama Journal'' ...
''. In 2002, she was inducted into the
Alabama Academy of Honor The Alabama Academy of Honor recognizes one hundred living Alabamians for outstanding accomplishments and services to Alabama and the United States. . By act of the Alabama Legislature, only one hundred living people may be members at any time. Up ...
, which recognizes living persons for their achievements and contributions to the state. She is also the recipient of honorary Doctor of Law degrees from Spring Hill College and Huntingdon College.


Personal life

In 1949, she married John Henry ("Rod") Martin, Jr. and they had two children, Mary and John Henry III. In 1958, she married Massey Palmer Bedsole Jr., with whom she had one child, Loraine Massey Demmas Bedsole. Bedsole Jr. died in 2006. In 2014, she remarried to Nicholas Hanson Holmes Jr., who died in 2016. Bedsole is a
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
and a member of the
Junior League The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (Junior League or JL) is a private, nonprofit educational women's volunteer organization aimed at improving communities and the social, cultural, and political fabric of civil society. With ...
. She was feted with a 90th birthday party by students at the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science in January 2020.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedsole, Ann 1930 births 20th-century American women politicians Alabama state senators Living people Republican Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives Politicians from Selma, Alabama Women state legislators in Alabama 1972 United States presidential electors Members of the Junior League 20th-century members of the Alabama Legislature Spring Hill College faculty