Mark Sanford

official U.S. Congress photo of Mark Sanford c. 2013

Birth Name: Marshall Clement Sanford, Jr.

Place of Birth: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.

Date of Birth: May 28, 1960

Ethnicity: English, German, some Scottish, distant Irish and Welsh, remote Dutch, Swiss-German, and Cornish

Mark Sanford is an American politician and author. A Republican, he was a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina, from January 3, 1995 to January 3, 2001, and again from May 15, 2013 to January 3, 2019, and Governor of South Carolina, from January 15, 2003 to January 12, 2011.

He was a candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination for President of The United States in 2020.

Mark is the son of Peggy and Marshall Clement Sanford, a cardiothoracic surgeon. During his teen years, his family moved to Beaufort, South Carolina. He has four children with his former wife, heiress and investment banker Jenny Sanford. Jenny’s great-grandfather co-founded Skil Power Tools. Jenny’s uncle by marriage was the brother of Ethel (Skakel), the wife of politician Robert F. Kennedy.

Mark’s paternal grandfather was Rufus Brown Sanford (the son of Calvin Cowles Sanford and Mary Denny Brown). Rufus was born in North Carolina. Calvin was the son of Amos Baker Sanford and Mary Cornelia Lunn. Mary was the daughter of Thomas Brown and Margaret/Margret Brinegar/Brineger.

Mark’s paternal grandmother was Adelaide Gaither (the daughter of Ephraim Lash Gaither and Florence Adelaide Clement). Mark’s grandmother Adelaide was born in North Carolina. Ephraim was the son of Ephraim Gaither and Sarah Hall Johnston/Johnson. Florence was the daughter of John Marshall Clement and Mary Jane Haden.

Mark’s maternal grandfather was Col. Otto Godfrey Pitz (the son of Ludovicus Kassuth “Louis” Pitz and Henriette Elise Rettinghaus). Otto was born in Wisconsin, to German parents. Kassuth was the son of Gottfridus Puetz and Anna Maria Fetzer, who were from Ingelheim am Rhein, Mainz-Bingen, Rhineland-Palatinate. Henriette was the daughter of Hermann Rettinghaus and Friederica Henrietta Weinreich, who was from Evangelisch, Kettwig Werden, Rheinland, Prussia.

Mark’s maternal grandmother was Blanche Newman (the daughter of William Araldo Newman and Margaret Helen Burleson). Blanche was born in Texas. William was the son of Andrew Brown Newman and Sarah Emaline Campbell. Margaret was the daughter of John LaFayette Burleson and Albina Dionecia Pope.

Sources: Genealogy of Mark Sanford – http://www.wargs.com

Genealogy of Mark Sanford (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.geni.com

Mark’s mother on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Mark’s maternal grandmother, Blanche Newman, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org