Marcellus Lovejoy Stearns (April 29, 1839 – December 8, 1891) was an American politician who served as the 11th Governor of Florida from 1874 to 1877 during the

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

. Originally from Maine, he also served in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, losing an arm, and served in Florida's 1868 constitutional convention and in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

, including time as speaker. Born in Lovell in Oxford County in southwestern

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, he attended Waterville College in Waterville, Maine (which later became Colby College). In 1861, he joined the Union Army and lost an arm during the Battle of Opequon in

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the northwesternmost Administrative divisions of Virginia#Independent cities, independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Frederick County, Virginia, Frederi ...

, after which the Army sent him to study law. He was assigned to Quincy in Gadsden County in the

Florida Panhandle The Florida panhandle (also known as West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long, bordered by Alabama on the west and north, Georgia (U.S. state ...

, where he remained after his discharge from the military. Stearns was a member of the Florida Constitutional Convention of 1868 and the

from 1868 through 1872, of which he was the Speaker in 1869. He was elected the fifth Lieutenant Governor of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in 1872. He succeeded to the governorship on March 18, 1874, at age 34 when Governor Ossian B. Hart died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. He remains the state's youngest-serving governor. Stearns attempted to force Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs to resign his post as Superintendent of Public Instruction, but was unsuccessful due to Gibbs' immense popularity. After leaving office on January 2, 1877, he was appointed U. S. Commissioner in

Hot Springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, a post that he held until 1880. He died in Palatine Bridge, New York, fifty miles from the capital city of Albany. He is interred in the

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

of Center Lovell, Maine. After he left office on January 2, 1877, there was no Republican governor of Florida until 1967, when Claude Kirk was inaugurated.

External links

Official Governor's portrait and biography from the State of Florida
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stearns, Marcellus Lovejoy 1839 births 1891 deaths Governors of Florida Lieutenant governors of Florida Speakers of the Florida House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Florida lawyers People of Maine in the American Civil War People from Lovell, Maine Republican Party governors of Florida Colby College alumni Politicians from Hot Springs, Arkansas People from Palatine Bridge, New York Arkansas Republicans People from Quincy, Florida American amputees 19th-century American lawyers New York (state) Republicans Union army personnel American lawyers with disabilities American politicians with disabilities 19th-century members of the Florida Legislature