Florida. Governor (1901-1905 : Jennings)

William Sherman Jennings was born March 24, 1863 at Walnut Hill, Illinois. He attended Southern Illinois Normal and Union Law School in Chicago. He moved to Brooksville, Florida in 1885 to complete his legal studies, and began practicing law there in May, 1886. He was appointed Circuit Court Commissioner in 1887. The following year he became County Judge of Hernando County. He resigned as Judge in 1893 to serve in the House of Representatives from Hernando County and was Speaker of the House in 1895. Jennings received the Democratic nomination for Governor at the State Party Convention (the last one to be held) in Jacksonville, 1900.

As governor, Jennings advocated the primary election system to displace the convention method of selecting candidates. The first statewide primary was held in 1902. He saved 3,000,000 acres of public land, and laid the groundwork for other reclamation projects, including the Everglades. After leaving office, he was appointed by Governor Broward as General Counsel of the state's Internal Improvement Fund, which oversaw the reclamation of the Everglades. He was Chairman of the federal Reclamation and Drainage Commission. He died on February 28, 1920 in St. Augustine, Florida.