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Margaret Bell Houston
Margaret Bell Houston
Born	1877; Cedar Bayou, Texas
Died	June 22, 1966 (aged 88–89); St. Petersburg, Florida
Nationality	American
Education	St. Mary's College; American Academy of Dramatic Arts; Columbia University
Occupation(s)	Writer and suffragist

Margaret Bell Houston (also Margaret Bell Houston Kauffman, 1877 – June 22, 1966) was an American writer and suffragist who lived in Texas and New York.^[1] Houston published over 20 novels, most of them set in Texas.^[2] Her work was also published in Good Housekeeping and McCalls in serial format.^[1]

Early life

Houston was born in Cedar Bayou, Texas, in 1877, to Sam Houston Jr. and his wife Lucy Anderson. Her paternal grandparents were Sam Houston and Margaret Lea Houston.^[3] She began writing at age eight.^[1] She was the sister of Dallas resident Harry Howard Houston (1883–1935).^[4]

Education

Houston attended St. Mary's College, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and Columbia University.^[5] She was first published in the newspapers, the Brenham Banner and the Dallas News.^[1]

Personal life

Houston moved to Dallas and married a businessman named Kauffman.^[6] In 1913, she was the first president of the Dallas Equal Suffrage Association (DESA).^[7] Under her tenure as president of DESA, the group grew to around 200 members.^[6] She also started writing her first novel, Little Straw Wife (1914), during that time.^[8]

Houston moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1953.^[5] Cottonwoods Grow Tall (1958), written after her move to Florida received "critical praise as a work of literary merit".^[9] Kirkus Reviews called it a "femininely accented story".^[10]

Houston died in St. Petersburg on June 22, 1966.^[11] Her body was transported back to Dallas to be buried at Restland Cemetery.^[5]

Selected publications

Cottonwoods Grow Tall. New York: Crown Publishers. 1958. OCLC 1445014.
Yonder. New York: Crown Publishers. 1955. OCLC 6227307.
Bride's Island. New York: Crown Publishers. 1951. OCLC 285589.
Pilgrim in Manhattan. New York: D. Appleton-Century Co. 1940. OCLC 6629304.
Window in Heaven. New York: D. Appleton-Century Co. 1937. OCLC 7602976.
Hurdy-gurdy, a Novel. New York: D. Appleton. 1932. OCLC 2416057.
Moon of Delight. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. 1931. OCLC 3467236.
Lanterns in the Dusk. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. 1930. OCLC 2051973.
The Singing Heart, and Other Poems. Dallas: Cokesbury Press. 1926. OCLC 1617077.
The Witch Man. Boston: Small, Maynard & Company. 1922. OCLC 1817150.
Little Straw Wife. New York: H.K. Fly Company. 1914. OCLC 2416054.
Prairie Flowers. Boston: R.G. Badger. 1907. OCLC 18373036.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Glasscock, James W. (9 October 1938). "Sam Houston's Granddaughter, Noted Poet, Arrives in Valley". Harlingen Valley Sunday Star Monitor Herald. Retrieved 15 April 2016 – via Newspaper Archive.
^ "Houston Descendant to be Buried Today". Amarillo Globe Times. 15 July 1966. Retrieved 15 April 2016 – via Newspaper Archive.
^ "Sam Houston's Granddaughter Writes Monitor-Index Serial". Moberly Monitor Index. 13 July 1931. Retrieved 15 April 2016 – via Newspaper Archive.
^ "Obituary for Harry Howard Houston (Aged 52)". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 6 November 1935.
^ ^a ^b ^c Bard, William E. (15 June 2010). "Houston, Margaret Bell". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
^ ^a ^b Enstam 2001, p. 31.
^ Enstam 1998, p. 158.
^ Enstam 2001, p. 32.
^ Enstam 1998, p. 157.
^ "Cottonwoods Grow Tall". Kirkus Reviews. 25 September 1958. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
^ "Granddaughter of Sam Houston Dies; Rites Set". El Paso Herald Post. 15 July 1966. Retrieved 15 April 2016 – via Newspaper Archive.