Erminie M. and John T. Nave Papers

Erminie McKnight Nave (b.1923) and her husband John Thomas Nave (b.1921) were active leaders in Republican politics from the 1960s to the early 1990s, chiefly in Greenwood County but also at the district and state levels. Mrs. Nave, a Florence native, served as chair of the Greenwood County Republican Party from 1988 to 1989. Prior to that, she served as chair of the Third District Republican Party, 1984 to 1985 and 1986 to 1987. She is also the author of A History of the Republican Party in Greenwood County. Published in 1996, her book provides a detailed chronology of the development of the Republican Party in Greenwood County between 1958 and 1993. John T. Nave (b.1921), a Tennessee native and former pilot with Abney Mills, served as Mayor of Greenwood from 1967 to 1971 and 1986 to 1994, Greenwood County Republican Party chairman, 1964 to 1967 and 1976-1977, and as state executive committeeman, from 1978-1986. The Nave Papers chiefly reflect their involvement in local and state Party affairs.

The Naves became politically active in the early 1960s, when the Republican Party was developing across South Carolina. Their efforts focused on grass-roots activities aimed at building the Greenwood County Republican Party. In her acceptance remarks following her 1988 election as county chair, Mrs. Nave noted—“Much progress and growth has taken place in the Greenwood County Republican Party since the mid-60s when I first became an active participant. Credit is due to a number of persons who held the Party together when the ‘going was rough’ and to many others who through their persistence and perseverance over the years have constantly worked to build a viable two-party political system in Greenwood County.”