"The governor simply felt it was the right thing to do," Sanford's spokesman Will Folks said Monday.

Williams came forward last year, a few months after the former governor and U.S. senator died, and announced she was his biracial daughter. She said she was the child of Thurmond and a woman who once worked for his family. Williams knew Thurmond was her father for decades but said she kept silent until after his death out of respect for his high-profile career.

Williams, who lives in California, "is gratified to the people of South Carolina for providing the overwhelming support from Day One with regard to her announcement and, in fact, her kinship to the former Gov. Strom Thurmond," her attorney Frank Wheaton said Monday. "We are extremely delighted."

The monument lists the names of the four children Thurmond had with his second wife, Nancy. He had no children from his first marriage. State Sen. Robert Ford, who sponsored the resolution, said he expects the addition of Williams' name will cost less than $5,000 and could be placed on the monument as early as next month. It will be funded privately.

"When I introduced the bill, I didn't know what to expect," he said. "Thurmond was recognized across the world as 'Mr. Dixiecrat." '

Ford, a Charleston Democrat, credited the legislation's passage to Thurmond's family and their acceptance of Williams. He said he hopes that a celebration is organized to accompany the addition of the name, as early as next month.

Wheaton said Williams probably would travel to Columbia if an event is planned.

The monument, showing Thurmond around age 60 as he reached the peak of his political career, was built in the late 1990s with $850,000 in private donations.

There's enough space to put Williams' name below the other children, but it won't be in order of birth and the spacing could be a little off.

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