Houston-Lea Family Cemetery
Independence, Washington County, Texas
Marker Inscription
When the widow of Sam Houston died of yellow fever during the epidemic of 1867, the danger of contagion made it impossible to carry her to Huntsville for burial beside her husband. She lies here, with her mother, Mrs. Nancy Lea, near the sites of their last homes and the old church they both loved.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When Margaret Lea Houston, widow of Sam Houston, died in the yellow fever epidemic of 1867, fear of contagion made it impossible to carry her body to Huntsville to lie beside her famous husband. She was buried here instead, near her mother Nancy Lea and the church and homes both women loved. The little family cemetery preserves the resting place of a woman who quietly shaped one of Texas's towering figures.
Why it matters
The grave is a poignant reminder of how nineteenth-century epidemics dictated even the burials of the prominent, and of the influential women standing behind Texas's founding generation.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
Independence, in Washington County, was one of the important small towns of early Texas, in the heart of the region where the Texas Republic was born. In the mid-1800s it was a center of Baptist life and education; Baylor University was founded there in 1845 before later moving to Waco. For devout families, it was a place of church, school, and community.
The 1860s were a hard decade for Texas. The Civil War ended in defeat for the Confederacy, and Reconstruction brought upheaval. On top of that, epidemics were a constant threat. Yellow fever swept through Gulf Coast and Texas communities repeatedly in the nineteenth century, and the 1867 outbreak was especially deadly.
At the time, no one knew that yellow fever was spread by mosquitoes; that was not established until around 1900. People feared contagion from the sick and the dead, and that fear shaped everything, from quarantines to the handling of burials.
People & events
Margaret Lea Houston was the wife, and later the widow, of Sam Houston, the hero of San Jacinto, president of the Republic of Texas, and later a U.S. senator and governor. Margaret was deeply religious, and she is widely credited with shaping her husband's later life, including his turn toward faith; he was baptized as a Baptist near Independence in the 1850s.
After Sam Houston died in 1863, Margaret moved to Independence, where her mother, Nancy Lea, also lived and where both women were connected to the church. Nancy Lea was a strong, devout presence in her daughter's life and in the local community.
When Margaret died of yellow fever during the 1867 epidemic, the fear of contagion made it impossible to carry her body to Huntsville to be buried beside her husband. So she was laid to rest here instead, beside her mother, near the sites of their last homes and the old church they both loved. The separation of husband and wife in death was a direct result of the disease and the fear it caused.
Its place in the American story
This quiet grave tells a larger story about the women behind America's famous men. Histories often focus on the generals and statesmen, but figures like Margaret Lea Houston shaped their households, their faith, and sometimes their public choices. Her story is part of the growing recognition of women's roles in the nation's founding generations.
It also speaks to the power of epidemic disease in nineteenth-century America. Yellow fever terrified cities and towns across the South, and even the widow of one of the most famous men in Texas could not escape its reach or the rules it imposed on the living. The fact that she could not be buried beside her husband is a poignant human measure of that fear.
Finally, the cemetery links to the religious and educational history of Texas, reflected in Independence's role as an early center of Baptist life and learning.
If you visit
This is a place for quiet reflection. Family cemeteries like this one are small and personal, and it is worth taking your time to read the stones and imagine the women who lived nearby and worshipped at the old church.
Independence sits in pretty, rolling country in Washington County, an area rich in early Texas history. It pairs naturally with other historic sites in the region, and it makes a meaningful stop for anyone following the story of Sam Houston.
If you plan to continue to Huntsville, where Sam Houston is buried, you will be tracing, in a sense, the separation that the 1867 epidemic forced on this family. Please treat the cemetery with respect, as you would any burial ground.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Margaret Lea Houston
- · Nancy Lea
- · Sam Houston
Related events
- · 1867 yellow fever epidemic
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Margaret M. Lea Houston
Independence, TX
This marker honors Margaret Moffette Lea Houston, wife of General Sam Houston, and her mother Nancy Moffette Lea, remembered as women of character, culture, and deep devotion to family and church. Margaret's steadying influence is widely credited with shaping the later life and career of her famous husband. Both women rest near the Independence community they helped sustain.
The Nancy Lea Bell
Independence, TX
This bell tells a small, human story from the days of the Republic of Texas. In 1856 Nancy Moffette Lea gave it to Independence Baptist Church in gratitude for the religious conversion of her son-in-law, Sam Houston, hero of San Jacinto and the Republic's first president. Cast of copper and tin for a soft tone by New York's Meneely Foundry, it rang over the community until a fall from the belfry cracked it in 1969.
Margaret Lea Houston Home
Independence, TX
This Independence house, built in the 1830s, became the home of Margaret Lea Houston — widow of Sam Houston — who lived here with their eight children from 1863 to 1867 after the general's death. Margaret had long made Independence a family anchor, near her mother and her Baptist community. The modest dwelling reflects the quieter domestic side of one of Texas's most famous families.
Davis Family
Independence, TX
The Davis family were renowned educators whose roots ran back to the Rev. Abner Davis, founder of Shurtleff College in Illinois. Drawn to Texas by Baylor Female College, daughter Martha and her husband joined its staff in 1851, and in the following years much of the extended family followed to devote their talents to Baylor at Independence. One daughter, "Little Mary," even taught among Indians briefly before turning to the college.