Early Years
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 older 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.
Read more about this topic: May Mann Jennings
Famous quotes related to early years:
“If there is a price to pay for the privilege of spending the early years of child rearing in the driver’s seat, it is our reluctance, our inability, to tolerate being demoted to the backseat. Spurred by our success in programming our children during the preschool years, we may find it difficult to forgo in later states the level of control that once afforded us so much satisfaction.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)