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This article is from the Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, 6 volumes, edited by William S. Powell. Copyright ©1979-1996 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.

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Floyd, Dolphin Ward

by R. H. Detrick, 1986

1807–6 Mar. 1836

Large metallic marker that reads: "Dolphin Ward Floyd, When this county was created by the Texas Legislature in 1876, it was named in honor of Dolphin Ward Floyd (1804-1836). A native of North Carolina, Floyd left his home in 1825 and arrived in Gonzales, Texas, about 1832. He married Esther Berry House and they had two children. In February 1836, Floyd, along with 31 other Gonzales residents, answered Lt. Col. William B. Travis' call for help at the Alamo in San Antonio. During the battle that ensued Floyd and his comrades were killed fighting for Texas' independence from Mexico."Dolphin Ward Floyd, defender of the Alamo, was born in North Carolina. As a young man, he migrated to Texas and settled in the town of Gonzales. He was a private in the Texas army and, like many men in Gonzales, was active in the Texas independence movement. On 23 Feb. 1836, the Committee of Safety of Gonzales comandeered his horse for military use. Six days later, he joined thirty-one other men from Gonzales who were going to the relief of the Alamo in San Antonio de Béxar. They slipped into the Alamo on the night of 1–2 Mar. 1836. Floyd perished when the Alamo fell five days later. In 1876, Floyd County, Tex., was named in his honor.

References:

Houston Telegraph and Texas Register, 24 Mar. 1836.

Lon Tinkle, The Alamo (1958).

W. P. Webb, ed., The Handbook of Texas, vol. 1 (1952).

Amelia W. Williams, "A Critical Study of the Alamo and the Personnel of Its Defenders," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 37 (1933–34).

Additional Resources:

Bill Groneman, "FLOYD, DOLPHIN WARD," Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ffl23 (accessed January 24, 2014).

"Frances Berry." Daughters of Republic of Texas Patriot Ancestor Album vol. 1. Turner Publishing Company. 1995. 34. http://books.google.com/books?id=9xhKe6Zc__EC&pg=PA34#v=onepage&q&f=false (accessed January 24, 2014).

Henderson, Nicolas. "Dolphin Ward Floyd, Floydada, Texas Historical Marker." Photograph. Floydada, Texas, US, September 17, 2011. Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/texasmarkers/6255468080/ (accessed January 24, 2014).

McKeehan, Wallace L. "The Immortal 32 Gonzales Rangers." The DeWitt Colony Alamo Defenders.  http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/gonzalesrangersf-k.htm (accessed January 24, 2014).

Image Credits:

Henderson, Nicolas. "Dolphin Ward Floyd, Floydada, Texas Historical Marker." Photograph. Floydada, Texas, US, September 17, 2011. Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/texasmarkers/6255468080/ (accessed January 24, 2014).

Subjects: 
Biographies
Military personnel
Authors: 
Detrick, Robert H.
From: 
Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.

1 January 1986 | Detrick, Robert H.