Florida J. Wolfe (c.1867 – May 20, 1913), also known as "Lady Flo",[1] was an African-American socialite, cattle rancher and philanthropist in El Paso, Texas,[1] and Ciudad Juárez.[2]
Wolfe was born in Illinois around 1867.[2] Wolfe may have arrived in El Paso in 1882 along with Henry O. Flipper.[3] She was fluent in Spanish.[2]
Wolfe was responsible for helping her common-law husband, Irish Lord Delaval James Beresford, regain his lost fortune and help build up his cattle ranches in Juarez.[4] They met while she was working as a nurse in the American consul in Mexico.[5] Their relationship was less of a problem in Mexico than it was in Texas.[5] It was illegal at the time for interracial couples to marry or live together.[2] The couple would go to El Paso to give parties and donated money to the El Paso Fire and Police departments.[2] In 1899, Wolfe was listed as Bereford's housekeeper at their home in El Paso.[6]
In December 1906, Beresford died in a train wreck in Minnesota and Wolfe inherited his property.[2] Beresford's family contested the will, leading to a long court battle.[2] In 1911, she filed a suit over the title of a tract of land in El Paso.[7] At the end of the court battles, she received $15,000 and a few hundred cattle.[2]
Wolfe lived in El Paso at 417 South Ochoa Street in downtown El Paso towards the end of her life.[2][8] She attended church regularly at the Second Baptist Church.[2] She died in El Paso on May 20, 1913, after she contracted tuberculosis.[2][9] Her real estate property was appraised at $5,150 and her personal items were worth $120.65 at the time of her death.[9] She is buried in the Concordia Cemetery.[10] People visiting the cemetery claim to see her moving across the grounds in a white dress.[11]
