Samuel Moffett Ralston (December 1, 1857 – October 14, 1925) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the 28th governor of the U.S. state of Indiana and a United States senator from Indiana. Born into a large impoverished family, he took many jobs as a child including working in a coal mine. He taught school and studied law, becoming a prominent state lawyer before becoming active in his local politics. Because he served during the state's 100th anniversary he is sometimes called the Indiana's "Centennial Governor". During his tenure as governor, he was responsible for implementing many progressive era reforms in the state and put down a riot in Indianapolis. He gained the support of the Indiana Ku Klux Klan for his anti-Catholic political positions, and with their support was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1922. Ralston had become popular among the national Democratic Party as an early front-runner for the presidential nomination in 1924, but he dropped out of the race because of his failing health, and died the next year. Early life Family and background Samuel Ralston was born near New Cumberland, Ohio, on December 1, 1857 the second child of John and Sarah Ralston. He was of Scottish descent, his great-grandparents immigrated to Pennsylvania in about 1760. His older brother John had died at age three, shortly before Samuel's birth. In 1865 the Ralston family moved to Owen County, Indiana where John purchased a large farm and began to raise livestock. His boyhood home, the Moffett-Ralston House, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Ralston, and his three brothers and four sisters, worked on the family farm to help the family subsist. The family suffered from financial difficulty and lost their farm in 1873, they then moved to Fontanet, Indiana. He took up employment in a butcher shop and later worked in a coal mine to help provide income for the family. His father later opened a butcher shop of his own returning the family to prosperity. Education As a boy he attended public school in Owen County, Indiana. As he grew older, he began working as a school teacher during the winter months while attending college during the summer. After completing high school he married Mary Josephine Backous on December 26, 1881; she died six months later. Ralston graduated from Central Indiana Normal College in Danville, Indiana