Bookcover: From Slave to Statesman: The Legacy of Joshua Houston, Servant to Sam Houston

From Slave to Statesman: The Legacy of Joshua Houston, Servant to Sam Houston

Contributors: Introduction by Dan Rather
  • East Texas Historical Association Ottis Lock Award for Best Book on East Texas History, 1995
  • Austin Writers' League Violet Crown Nonfiction Award, 1994
  • San Antonio Conservation Society Award, 1994

January, 1995

Published

292

Pages

60 b&w photos. 2 maps. Bib. Index.

Features

Open Access

Read Online

Recommended Text

Ideal for Classrooms

$16.95-$32.50

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Paperback, Hardcover

Available

About Prather and Monday's From Slave to Statesman

From Slave to Statesman: The Legacy of Joshua Houston, Servant to Sam Houston is now available as a free e-book at the UNT Digital Library and The Portal to Texas History.

“A fascinating… account of the life and legacy of… a slave… who became… one of the first black city aldermen and property owners during Reconstruction… A good example of history from the bottom up.” —Library Journal

“Imaginative biography… Of particular interest is the authors’ ingenious research: they assembled Joshua’s story from Margaret and Sam Houston’s correspondence and from the family stories of Joshua’s descendants.” —Booklist

This is the story of the “other” Houston, Joshua, the slave of Margaret Lea until she married Sam Houston and moved to Texas in 1840. Joshua was unique among slaves: he was taught to read and write, and was allowed to keep money he earned. The story is set in a background of historical details about southern social history before, during, and after the Civil War.

Sources include slave autobiographies and biographies; Houston family letters; oral histories of descendants of both Houston families; birth, marriage and death records; land records and deeds; church and school records.

“Joshua Houston’s story is absorbing and instructive by itself, but this book is more than the biography of one man… It provides nothing less than a detailed account of the emergence of a Black middle class… after the Civil War.” —Texas Review

Classroom Adoption

From Slave to Statesman: The Legacy of Joshua Houston, Servant to Sam Houston is a recommended text for use in classrooms where the following subjects are being studied: History, American.

This is the story of the “other” Houston, Joshua, the slave of Margaret Lea until she married Sam Houston and moved to Texas in 1840. Joshua was unique among slaves: he was taught to read and write, and was allowed to keep money he earned. The story is set in a background of historical details about southern social history before, during, and after the Civil War.

Adopted By

[“Central Texas College”, “Sam Houston State University for "History of American Slavery"”, “Texas A&M University for "Blacks in the U.S."”]

About the Authors

PATRICIA SMITH PRATHER is a freelance writer, co-editor of the Texas Trailblazer series, a member of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and a second-generation Tuskegee graduate. She is executive director of the Houston Place Association.

More from Patricia Smith Prather

PATRICIA SMITH PRATHER is a freelance writer, co-editor of the Texas Trailblazer series, a member of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and a second-generation Tuskegee graduate. She is executive director of the Houston Place Association.

More from Jane Clements Monday