Sam Houston Memorial Museum Blog

The Making of Margaret Lea Houston's Trousseau

By Jude' Routh, Curator of Exhibits 

The museum's spring newsletter was going to introduce this project by Jude’, who at the time was a historical interpreter.  Due to COVID, that newsletter was canceled.  The project has since been completed, and Jude’ has moved into the role of Exhibits Curator.

Sketch by Jude' Routh.

Margaret Moffette Lea met Sam Houston in May of 1839 at the residence of her sister, Antoinette and brother-in-law William Bledsoe, during a strawberry festival garden party hosted by Antionette. Margaret captured Sam's heart while on a walk in the Bledsoe garden.

In the next weeks they began corresponding with each other and soon Sam asked her to marry him. Margaret and Sam were married in May of 1840.

During the previous nine months, as Margaret prepared for her wedding day, she resided at the home of her brother and sister-in-law, Henry and Serena Lea where she worked on her trousseau. Margaret's trousseau included all the important things she would need to set up a respectable household as well as her clothing, which were her wedding dress made with white satin, her blue muslin day dress as well as her traveling outfit, a bodice (upper body portion) and skirt fashioned from purple silk. According to William Seale, author of Sam Houston's Wife, Margaret sewed the dresses by hand while sitting in the shade of Serena's wisteria. If that is true, then the time period would have included March, since that is when wisteria blooms in the south. We have no other information except the mention of Eliza, Margaret's slave and life-long companion, who helped Margaret tackle all the sewing, although needle working was one of Margaret's preferred pastimes.

Sam and Margaret never had a wedding portrait done nor was the day dress ever photographed, so one can only imagine what they must have looked like. However, the oval shaped portrait photograph used to reproduce Margaret's traveling outfit was taken in Galveston, where Margaret first set foot on Texas soil shortly after their wedding. This is the only glimpse we have of any of her trousseau creations. The photograph was originally black and white and was colorized with someone's interpretation of what the original shade of purple was. It is cropped from the waist up as she was seated in a chair, so the entire skirt cannot be seen, however the portrait does reveal quite a few details. The fan-front seams on the front of the bodice are clearly visible. This was a new concept for the time and shows Margaret was somewhat fashion conscious. The drop-shoulder, three-tiered sleeves are obvious as well. Upon close examination, one can barely make out a "V" neckline. Excess fabric gathered in her lap indicates a bodice with a peplum, which is a short section of fabric attached to the waistline. As for the skirt, I was forced to deduce the design. Since the skirt seemed fluffed up in her lap and not falling flat as would a heavy, full-length skirt, it made since that Margaret would have made a three-tiered skirt to match the sleeves. 

The choice was made to stitch the entire outfit completely by hand, instead of using a sewing machine, because that is how Margaret and Eliza did it. While I have made several period dresses, never have I ever constructed one without the aid of modern equipment. It was excruciatingly slow work, but it gave me plenty of time to think. As I stitched, I would think about the amount of times I stuck my finger with the needle and wondered, if Margaret's or Eliza's fingers got as sore as mine. I'm sure Margaret was thinking of her true love while she sewed, but I wondered too, if either of their arms got as tired as mine, going up and down, over and over in the same repetitive motion. Things as simple as tying a knot in the thread made me wonder, had they tied as many as I did? Did they feel the same frustrations as I did when their thread would accidently get knotted in the wrong place? Let's just say I am very good at getting out knots, now. 

The project took 10 weeks, approximately 385 hours from start to finish. The first three weeks were used to crochet the undersleeves and collar. Then, the design and the mock-up were completed. After an estimated 63,000 stitches, the bodice, skirt and bonnet were finished. I found it to be a very rewarding experience and it helped me relate a little more closely to the life and times of Margaret Moffette Lea Houston.  The dress is on display in the west gallery of the museum for all to see.  Its addition provides another dimension to our exhibits!