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. Houston published over 20 novels, most of them set in Texas. Her work was also published in ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good House ...

'' and ''

McCalls ''McCall's'' was a monthly American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-for ...

'' in serial format.

Early life

Houston was born in

Cedar Bayou, Texas Cedar Bayou is an area in east central Harris County, Texas, United States. Some of the area is unincorporated; portions are within Baytown. Cedar Bayou has recently broken the record for the most rainfall in the continental United States durin ...

, in 1877, to Sam Houston Jr. and his wife Lucy Anderson. Her paternal grandparents were

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...

and

Margaret Lea Houston Margaret Lea Houston (April 11, 1819 – December 3, 1867) was First Lady of the Republic of Texas during her husband Sam Houston's second term as President of the Republic of Texas. They met following the first of his two non-consecutive terms ...

. She began writing at age eight. She was the sister of Dallas resident Harry Howard Houston (1883–1935).

Education

Houston attended St. Mary's College, the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. She was first published in the newspapers, the '' Brenham Banner'' and the ''

Dallas News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

''.

Personal life

Houston moved to

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

and married a businessman named Kauffman. In 1913, she was the first president of the

Dallas Equal Suffrage Association The Dallas Equal Suffrage Association (DESA) was an organization formed in Dallas, Texas in 1913 to support the cause of women's suffrage in Texas. DESA was different from many other suffrage organizations in the United States in that it adopted ...

(DESA). Under her tenure as president of DESA, the group grew to around 200 members. She also started writing her first novel, ''Little Straw Wife'' (1914), during that time. Houston moved to

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

, in 1953. ''Cottonwoods Grow Tall'' (1958), written after her move to Florida received "critical praise as a work of literary merit". ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' called it a "femininely accented story". Houston died in St. Petersburg on June 22, 1966. Her body was transported back to Dallas to be buried at Restland Cemetery.

Selected publications

* * * * * * * * * * * *

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, Margaret Bell Sam Houston 1877 births 1966 deaths Columbia University alumni American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni American women writers Suffragists from Texas People from St. Petersburg, Florida Writers from Dallas Writers from Florida