The Bee (Danville, Virginia) 22 December 1923
WEDDING RECEPTION
The reception given by Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Florance at their home in Yanceyville, N. C., Wednesday evening, December 19, to the bridal party attending the wedding of their daughter, Miss Helen Florance and Dr. Houston Gwynn, followed the rehearsal which was held in the first Presbyterian church of Yanceyville. Besides the bridal party who were the house guests of Mr. and Mrs. Florance were a hundred or more people from the community and surrounding towns in North Carolina and Virginia. The beautiful old colonial home was decorated throughout with Christmas evergreens handsome white chrysanthemums and myriads of white candles in silver and brass candelabra mingling their light with glow from the blazing yule logs, made a scene indescribably beautiful.
Mr. and Mrs. Florance assisted by their daughter, Mrs. Fred Harrelson, Mrs. R. L. Mitchell, Mrs. J. A. Covington and others, received in the large drawing room. In the living room the bride's presents, which were numerous and very handsome, were displayed. In the dining room the tables had a centerpiece of pink roses in a large silver basket. Above the table a wedding bell was suspended from which hung ropes of pink tulle caught at the corners of the table with fluffy bows of tulle caught with rosebuds. Pink candles were held in silver candle sticks. A delicious salad was served followed by frozen punch.
In the rear of the drawing room the bride's cake made in heart shape, was cut and each guest bore away, in a dainty box decorated and tied with orange blossoms, a piece to dream over. Both the ring and thimble fell to the lot of Miss Emma Mitchel, of Yanceyville.
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Dr. Houston Lafayette Gwynn (1896-1963) and Helen Tom Florance (1898-1977) were married 20 December 1923. He was the son of Littleton Ayers Gwynn and Martha Ann Cobb Blackwell. She was the daughter of Thomas Jefferson Florance and Nancy Kerr Lea.
The "beautiful old colonial home" referred to in the article is the Graves-Florance-Gatewood House on the Square in Yanceyville, North Carolina. Today it is owned by the Caswell County Historical Association and functions as the Richmond-Miles History Museum.
The Mrs. Fred Harrelson referred to is Maud Florance, who married Frederick Graves Harrelson. He was the son of Walter Nathaniel Harrelson and Fannie Delilah Lea. Walter Nathaniel Harrelson established what was to become "Watlington's on the Square."
Mrs. R. L. Mitchell is the wife of local Clerk of the Court Robert L. Mitchell (1865-1939). They had a daughter, Isla Mitchell, who taught first grade at Bartlett Yancey Elementary School. For a while Isla Mitchell and her sister Emma (also mentioned above) boarded with Zimmie and Dorothy Zimmerman in Yanceyville.
The Mrs. J. A. Covington mentioned above probably is Mrs. John Anderson Covington. Her maiden name was Bessie Gwynn, most likely a relative of the groom, Dr. Houston Lafayette Gwynn. Actually, it probably was his sister. However, as the various members of Gwynn/Gwyn family spelled their surname differently, research is made difficult. Census takers helped little, often using Guynn!
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