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May Mann Jennings


May Austin Elizabeth Mann Jennings (April 25, 1872 – April 25, 1963) was the First Lady of Florida as wife of Florida Governor William Sherman Jennings. She was one of Florida's most powerful and influential women.

May Mann was born in the Centerville section of Bayonne, New Jersey. Her parents moved to Crystal River, Florida in 1874 where her father, Austin Mann, was elected to the Florida Senate. Her mother died in 1882 when she was 9, and her father sent May and her younger sister away to St. Joseph Academy in St. Augustine, Florida. The children spent vacations with their father in Tallahassee when the Legislature was in session. May was very bright and learned everything she could about people, politics and the Capitol. She graduated valedictorian of her class in 1889. Austin Mann ran for the state House of Representatives and May assisted in the campaign, hosting teas and talking with people at rallies.

Mann met Hernando County Judge William Sherman Jennings at her father's home near Brooksville, and a courtship began. May's father won the election and when the legislative session began in January, 1891, May went to Tallahassee to serve as her father's aide, with responsibility for her father's appointments, correspondence and hosting social events. Williams Jennings came to Tallahassee and the courtship continued. Judge Jennings married May Mann on May 12, 1891 and they were escorted down the aisle by the full legislative membership.


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