Francis Fontaine

Francis Fontaine (1845-1901) was an American Confederate soldier, plantation owner, newspaper editor, poet and novelist from the state of Georgia.

For the chief of the Miami tribe, see Francis La Fontaine. For the American entertainer, see Frank Fontaine. For the French cardiothoracic surgeon, see Francis Fontan.
Francis Fontaine
BornMay 7, 1845
Columbus, Georgia
DiedMay 3, 1901(1901-05-03) (aged 55)
Atlanta, Georgia
Resting placeLindwood Cemetery
EducationGeorgia Military Institute
Occupations
  • Planter
  • newspaper editor
  • poet
  • novelist
Spouses
  • Mary Flournoy
  • Nathalie Hamilton
Children1 son, 1 daughter
Parent(s)John Fontaine
Mary Ann Stewart

Early life

Francis Fontaine was born on May 7, 1845, in Columbus, Georgia.[1][2][3][4][5] His father, John Fontaine (1792-1866), had served as the Mayor of Columbus from 1836 to 1837, and he was a planter.[3][5] His mother was Mary Ann Stewart.[3][5] He was educated at the Georgia Military Institute in Marietta, Georgia.[5][6]

During the American Civil War of 1861-1865, he joined the Confederate States Army and served as a private and aide-de-camp.[6] He fought at the Battle of Peachtree Creek.[6]

Career

After the war, Fontaine inherited his father's plantations and managed them, becoming a planter in his own right.[3][4][5]

In 1874, Fontaine co-founded The Columbus Times, a newspaper in his hometown of Columbus, Georgia. He then served as a state diplomat, encouraging European immigration to the state of Georgia.[3] In 1877, he was elected to a convention to write the new state constitution.[5]

In 1878, his poem entitled The Exile: A Tale of St. Augustine was published by G.P. Putnam's Sons. The theme of the poem was the massacre of Huguenots by Spanish forces in Florida in 1565. The poem received negative reviews from The New York Times and the Evening Post. He went on to publish three novels, including Etowah: A Romance of the Confederacy, which received good reviews from critics.[3][4][5]

Personal life and death

Fontaine married Mary Flournoy in 1870, and they had a son and a daughter.[5][7] In 1885, he remarried to Nathalie Hamilton.[5][7] They resided in Atlanta, Georgia.[3][4]

Fontaine died on May 3, 1901, in Atlanta, Georgia.[1] He was buried at Lindwood Cemetery in Columbus, Georgia.[3][4][5]

Bibliography

Poetry
  • The Exile: A Tale of St. Augustine (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1878).[8]

Non-fiction
  • The State of Georgia: What It Offers to Immigrants, Capitalists, Producers and Manufacturers, and Those Desiring to Better their Condition (1881).[9]

Novels
  • Etowah: A Romance of the Confederacy (1887).[10][11]
  • Amanda, the Octoroon (J. P. Harrison, 1891).[12]
  • The Modern Pariah: A Story of the South (1892).

References
  1. Francis Fontaine (1845-1901), Digital Library of Georgia
  2. Francis Fontaine Archived 2018-07-14 at the Wayback Machine, Georgia Center for the Book
  3. Hubert H. McAlexander, 'Francis Fontaine (1945-1901)', in The New Georgia Encyclopedia Companion to Georgia Literature , Hugh Ruppersburg (ed.), John C. Inscoe (ed.), Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 2011, pp. 145-146
  4. McAlexander, Hubert H. "Francis Fontaine (1845-1901)." New Georgia Encyclopedia. 04 September 2013. Web. 08 October 2014.
  5. Francis Fontaine Diary (SMC 97), Columbus State University
  6. John C. Inscoe, The Civil War in Georgia: A New Georgia Encyclopedia Companion, Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 2011 p. 125
  7. James Edmonds Saunders, Early Settlers of Alabama, Genealogical Publishing Com, 2010, p. 297
  8. Google Books
  9. Google Books
  10. Etowah : a romance of the confederacy / by Francis Fontaine, Digital Library of Georgia
  11. Google Books
  12. Google Books
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