Houston family

Margaret Moffette Lea Houston (1819-1867) grew up in and met her future husband Gen. Sam Houston in Marion, Alabama. They were originally introduced at a party hosted by her sister, Antoinette Bledsoe, and following a year of courtship, were married and moved to Texas. Margaret had a strong effect on her husband, convincing him to declare total abstinence from alcohol (a pledge he kept to with some difficulty) and to be baptized by the Baptist Church.

Because of her health issues, particularly chronic asthma, Margaret was unable to accompany her husband on the majority of his personal and professional travels as President of the Republic of Texas, United States senator, and Texas governor. Instead, she maintained their various residences, including their primary residence of Cedar Point on Trinity Bay, the Steamboat House and Raven Hill in Huntsville, their home in Independence (near old Baylor college), and the Governor’s Mansion in Austin. Margaret established a nurturing home atmosphere, which Houston came to greatly love and long for during his travels.

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