From Proud Heritage, Vol. 1 by DCPA, not currently in print.
On Barnes Bridge Road near Galloway in Mesquite stands the ranch home built in 1871 by David Walker Florence. On the front wall near the entrance is a Texas Historical Marker detailing the age of the house and a short history of the Florence families of the area.
David Walker Florence was born on 28 October 1848, in St. Clair County, Alabama, the fifth of ten children. At the age of eight he came with his parents, John H. and Martha Florence, other family members and friends to Texas. The trip by ox cart took 52 days to reach Rusk County on Christmas Day, The long journey was delayed by the death of an aunt along the way. In 1860 they moved on to Smith County and then to Van Zandt County in 1866. Here David met and married Julie Savannah Beaty that same year. Miss Beaty, born in 1850 in Arkansas, was orphaned at the age of four and reared by a family in Grand Saline, Texas.
The Florence families moved to Dallas County in 1871, two years before Mesquite, Texas was platted in 187 3 and the Texas & Pacific Railroad came through.
John Hicks Florence donated the first land to be used as a school site in Eastern Dallas County. He served one term as a Dallas County Commissioner, and he brought lumber from east Texas to build the first church house in Mesquite, which served all faiths. There are today a Mesquite Elementary School and a community center named for John Hicks Florence.
John H. Florence was born in Lincoln County, Georgia, on 13 August 1817, the son of David Florence and his wife Julia Bond. He married Martha Walker on Christmas Eve, 1837, and they had eleven children. One of these was David, father of Emet D. Florence and grandfather of Mrs. Florence Florence Schulz, now living in Mesquite. Other descendants still live in the area also. John H. died 29 March, 1896.
While John Florence built his homestead behind where Town East Shopping Center now stands, David and Julie Florence bought a total of 207 1/2 acres where the old homestead still stands. Julie Florence stepped off the acres and planted a hedge row of bois d’arc trees surrounding 160 acres of their property. That hedge row is still in evidence today. David Florence was able to add to his Mesquite farm, and by 1892 it comprised 750 acres, 300 of which were in cultivation. He was affectionately known as “Uncle Davy” and was one of the most successful farmers in Dallas County. In 1894 he purchased 1,000 acres near Cedar Hill and dedicated part of it for a school. This community and school are known today as Florence Hill. He also had a 1,360 acre ranch in Taylor County.
David and Julie Florence retired from farming and bought a house in Mesquite’s first subdivision in 1908. Both had played a vital role in the development of Mesquite. They had three children: John Hicks Florence, “II”, M.D., born in Van Zandt County in 1868; Martha born in the Barnes Bridge homestead in 1872; and Emet David Florence, born in 1885, also in the old homestead. Emet David married Perle Curtis on 23 December 1906, and they spent their wedding night in the second story of the old homestead.
He took over the farming operations and raised horses, mules, short horn cattle, sheep, and feed crops. He was nationally known as a leading breeder and exhibitor of fine Percheron horses and Hampshire sheep.
Emet and Perle Florence had two children – a daughter, Florence, who was born in the old homestead, and a son, who died at birth. The Florence Family has left a profound mark on the Mesquite Community.
By Mrs. Florence Florence Schulz, Mesquite and Mrs. Julie S. Harris, Mesquite
