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'''William Peyton Florence''' (June 17, 1872 &ndash; November 24, 1944),<ref name=ancestry>{{cite web|url=https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=60525&h=97883091&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=fML116&_phstart=successSource|title=William Peyton Florence|publisher=Ancestry.com|accessdate=February 13, 2019}}</ref> was among the first three [[cotton]] growers in the Llano Estacado of West [[Texas]]. He was also an [[author]] and an [[educator]], who became the first superintendent of public schools in Slaton, a small community in [[Lubbock|Lubbock County]].<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=https://www.lubbockonline.com/news/20190126/caprock-chronicles-william-p-florence-south-plains-pioneer|title=Caprock Chronicles: William P. Florence, South Plains pioneer|publisher=''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|date=January 25, 2019|author=Rob King|accessdate=February 13, 2019}}</ref>

'''William Peyton Florence''' (June 17, 1872 &ndash; November 24, 1944),<ref name=ancestry>{{cite web|url=https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=60525&h=97883091&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=fML116&_phstart=successSource|title=William Peyton Florence|publisher=Ancestry.com|accessdate=February 13, 2019}}</ref> was among the first three [[cotton]] growers in the Llano Estacado of West [[Texas]]. He was also an [[author]] and an [[educator]], who became the first superintendent of public schools in Slaton, a small community in [[Lubbock|Lubbock County]].<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=https://www.lubbockonline.com/news/20190126/caprock-chronicles-william-p-florence-south-plains-pioneer|title=Caprock Chronicles: William P. Florence, South Plains pioneer|publisher=''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|date=January 25, 2019|author=Rob King|accessdate=February 13, 2019}}</ref>

Florence was born in east Texas in Smith County, of which Tyler is the principal city, to Samuel Thomas and the former Levina Anne Ashley. When he arrived in Lubbock County, he was a land promoter in the Lubbock areas. His land promotions were printed  a decade after the founding of Lubbock in 1891. The other cotton pioneers were George Oliver "Boss"  Graves (1856-1932), who planted several acres in 1896 that failed because of frost, and Squire R. Rush (1857-1935), a native of Darke County, [[Ohio]], who planted ten acres in 1900, but lost a half bale to stray [[cattle]]. Florence picked two full bales of cotton, which he had ginned at Big Spring in Howard County, Texas.<ref name=bio/>

Florence was born in east Texas in Smith County, of which Tyler is the principal city, to Samuel Thomas Florence (1848-1931) and the former Levina Anne Ashley (1849-1931). When he arrived in Lubbock County, he was a land promoter in the Lubbock areas. His land promotions were printed  a decade after the founding of Lubbock in 1891. The other cotton pioneers were George Oliver "Boss"  Graves (1856-1932), who planted several acres in 1896 that failed because of frost, and Squire R. Rush (1857-1935), a native of Darke County, [[Ohio]], who planted ten acres in 1900, but lost a half bale to stray [[cattle]]. Florence picked two full bales of cotton, which he had ginned at Big Spring in Howard County, Texas.<ref name=bio/>

Florence's memoir of ninety-two pages, ''Hopeful Visions on Higher Ground,'' was published in 1936. In this work, Florence recalled that he attended school when he could, specifically Farmers' Alliance High School in Lingleville, Texas. When unable to attend school, he studied at home. By the age of twenty-three, he had earned a first-grade teacher’s certificate and began teaching in small country schools in Eastland, Comanche and Hamilton counties in central Texas. The ''Lynn County News'' stated in a 1906 article that Florence taught a class on physical [[geography]] in Tahoka in Lynn County. That same year he wrote a poem, "Troubles of a Homesteader", published in the ''Lubbock Avalanche''.<ref name=bio/>

Florence's memoir of ninety-two pages, ''Hopeful Visions on Higher Ground,'' was published in 1936. In this work, Florence recalled that he attended school when he could, specifically Farmers' Alliance High School in Lingleville, Texas. When unable to attend school, he studied at home. By the age of twenty-three, he had earned a first-grade teacher’s certificate and began teaching in small country schools in Eastland, Comanche and Hamilton counties in central Texas. The ''Lynn County News'' stated in a 1906 article that Florence taught a class on physical [[geography]] in Tahoka in Lynn County. That same year he wrote a poem, "Troubles of a Homesteader", published in the ''Lubbock Avalanche''.<ref name=bio/>