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]
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]
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]
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]
margaret bell houston.