The Personal Correspondence of Sam Houston

In the April, 1971, issue of Southwestern Historical Quarterly , historian Llerena Friend wrote that there was a ?need for a new editing of Houston correspondence? to complement the eight-volume collection compiled in the 1930s by Eugene C. Barker and Amelia Williams. When author Madge Roberts began research for her previous book, Star of Destiny: The Private Life of Sam and Margaret Houston, she began to collect just such a file of previously unpublished Houston correspondence, which soon consisted of nearly a thousand letters. Because most of these letters were until recently in the hands of Houston descendants, most of them are ?personal? rather than ?political.? Although a few have been excerpted in various books and historical articles, none have been published in their entirety. In comparing these letters to those published in the Barker and Williams volumes, Roberts found that ?the personal letters often take the historian one step further,? as Houston felt more free to discuss his analyses of people and events than he did in his official correspondence. Houston was an extraordinary writer, in terms of both quantity and quality. His letters to friends and family overflow with lively details about manners, dress, medical practices, farming, transportation, family dynamics, and many other topics of interest to social historians. In her footnotes, Roberts reveals the full names of the people mentioned and the historical events taking place at the time, thus placing the letters into the broader context of Houston's life and times.--Amazon.com. Volume II of Sam Houston?s personal correpondence continues the four-volume series of previously unpublished personal letters to and from Sam Houston. This volume begins March 6, 1846, as Houston leaves Texas to take his place in the U. S. Senate. Included in his letters are comments on national politics and life in Washington, D. C., descriptions of politicians and their wives, and his observations on generals of the Mexican War. New information sheds light on his feelings towards being a candidate for the presidency. Family letters give a picture of life on Texas plantations during the mid-1800s. The letters end August 10, 1848, after problems with Oregon have begun and the Mexican War has ended. Volume III of Sam Houston?s personal correspondence continues the projected four-volume series of previously unpublished personal letters to and from Sam Houston. This volume begins in the fall of 1848 as Houston return

First sentence: To day we got on well, and took our lunch.

Year

1996

Language

English

Publisher

University of North Texas Press

Editions

2

Pages

390

ISBN

9781574410310

Data source: Wikidata