State House, House Chamber with Ransome Williams and Lieutenant Governor George Timmerman with the House of Representatives Mace

Late 1940s Photograph of Ransome Williams (left) and George Bell Timmerman, Jr. (right) standing in the House Chamber in front of the House of Representatives Mace. Williams had been Lieutenant Governor from 1943 to 1945, when he succeeded Olin D. Johnson to the governorship upon Johnson's election to the US Senate. The position of Lieutenant Governor remained empty until 1947, when Timmerman was elected as Lt. Governor to Strom Thurmond, who severed as Governor from 1947-1951. The photograph appears to be from a hand-off ceremony, when Ransome, as previous Lt. Governor, gives over symbolic control of the House to incoming Lt. Governor Timmerman.