Francis Philip Fleming was born in Panama Park, Florida in 1841. At age nineteen, he entered the Confederate Army and served with the Second Florida Regiment. He took part in numerous major battles of the Virginia theater and was made First Lieutenant in August, 1863. Fleming returned to Jacksonville after the war, where he studied law. Fleming gained a state-wide reputation for his legal work and for extolling the Confederate spirit. He served for many years as a member of the State Democratic Executive Committee.
In 1888, Democrat Fleming easily defeated Republican V. J. Shipman for Governor. Fleming's first act as governor was to call for a special legislative session to deal with the yellow fever crisis. This session authorized the creation of a much-needed State Board of Health. One of his last acts was to appoint a commission to oversee the granting of state lands for an Indian reservation. When Fleming left office, he returned to Jacksonville to practice law and died there in 1908.
From the description of Correspondence, 1889-1893. (Florida State Archive). WorldCat record id: 32414144
