Mann, Austin Shuey, 1847-1914

Austin Shuey Mann was born in Ohio on January 14, 1847. He attended law school and worked at his cousin's law firm until 1873 when he moved to Ocala, Florida. He bought an orange grove on Crystal River and continued to practice law. In 1883, Mann was elected to the Florida State Senate and represented Hernando County from 1883-1887. He was present at the 1885 Constitutional Convention. In 1887 he was instrumental in the division of Hernando County into Citrus, Pasco, and Hernando Counties. Also during this year he moved to Brooksville and bought a newspaper business.

In 1891 he was elected into the Florida House of Representatives on the Farmers' Alliance ticket. In 1892 he became involved in the Peoples' Party of Florida. He moved to Jacksonville in 1900. Mann was President of the Florida Homeland Company and the Florida State Agriculture Association. He was Vice-President and a national organizer for the Good Roads Association. He also was a manager for the Florida Home Market. Mann died on September 19, 1914.

Sources: May Mann Jennings: Florida's Genteel Activist by Linda D. Vance, University of Florida Press, c1985. Also, "Senator Austin S. Mann," a student paper by John Q. Langford, Jr., circa 1950 (available in the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History).

From the guide to the Austin Shuey Mann Papers, 1892-1912, (Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida)