Francis Lyman Wing – Mayor of Tampa

Francis Lyman Wing, born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1868, was the third son of Lyman Wing and Hannah Howland.  Francis “Frank” Wing moved to Tampa in 1889 where he opened a furniture store and laundry. Later, he became a successful real estate developer and served as the director of the Lyons Fertilizer Company. He also constructed and sold homes, and built and owned the Puritan Hotel in Tampa, Florida.

Wing married Annie Hale of Dayport, Florida in 1892.  Following their marriage, they purchased a house on North Morgan Street where the couple raised several children, of which only two lived until adulthood. Their two surviving children were Margaret (Wing) Foster and Albert Sayward Wing, my father. I am told by my father that Poppa Wing met Annie Hale when the merchant ship that he captained put into the bay at Cedar Key, Florida.  Apparently, Frank was captain on one of the ships owned by the J. and W.R. Wing Company out of New Bedford, Massachusetts.  Likely, young Frank transported oysters picked up at the deep-water port at Cedar Key and cedar lumber to merchants in New Orleans and Havana, Cuba. 

Politically active, Frank Wing ran unopposed as the Citizens’ League candidate for the June 1900 mayoral election. During his first administration, Tampa enjoyed a steady population growth due to the economic prosperity from Ybor City’s cigar industry and the burgeoning Port of Tampa.

 During his second term (June 1908 – June 1910), Wing was instrumental in the construction of the Gordon Keller Hospital and began to increase the police, fire and other departments. He also initiated an expansion in public works projects such as sewers and water drainage. He made substantial improvements to the Port of Tampa.

As Mayor elect of Tampa, Francis “Frank” L. Wing (in top-hat) hosts former President Theodore Roosevelt (center) and presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan (far right).

Francis “Frank” L. Wing was gregarious and outgoing, and energetically pursued the development of his businesses, having a deep commitment to making the City of Tampa into one of the finest cities in the south.  However, it is interesting to observe that all the pictures of Frank show him stern faced with little emotion. Too bad he is not around to share his true personality.  Likely, his real-life charisma would have offset his stern-faced photographic profile.

Frank truly enjoyed living in Florida which he called the land of Sunshine and Skeeters. In a speech he gave at a 1900s WFA reunion he said, “Nobody who lives an entire year in Florida would live anywhere else. The reason why the summer birds you people have in the north that come annually to nest in the trees and sing about your homes is because they stay only south in the winter. As a matter of fact, I have always considered them members of the Wing family, and, no doubt, they would stay in Florida longer but for their desire to be present at the Reunion.” The speech goes on in this fashion and shows Frank’s engaging personality.  He died in Tampa in 1941.

Lineage: Lyman Wing; John Jr; John II; John; Stephen; Rev John