The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-05-26
By VIII T. sheehan.

rich agrlcultural sectiol it ss .i5 en days of the South. over m the Probate office of the ante-beiium cour. house with the big white pillars tnere is an entry in the books which com memorates one of the great days In the history of Marion.
 It was red letter day when this ensrs eefned "ss sowm aof' of Mar,on, M @ for it was wealthy and refined as far back as Is40. The written record tells of the day when sam Houston the first ana nf Texas, and then the great popular hero of the country, came to Marion 10 wed the beautiful Margaret Lea bama family. The record of marriage license Is brief and formal. It certi- fies that on May of 1S40 a marriage license was issued to Samuel Houston of Texas and Margaret Lea of Perry county. Alabama. The record Is sign ed in due form by J. F. Nave, clerk of the County Court of Perry:
 by the officiating minister. The H. cense was either lost or the minister overlooked this detail.
 But this almost forgotten record m the dusty records of books of Perry county brings up an incident that but few Alabamians know, the fact that one of i the most importsnf cnapasrSie rnan4ie and picturesque character, General Sam Houston, was written in Marion and that the story of his last and his nsRpy aslRlp marriage began on Alabama
 The romance and mystery which clusters about the old warriors hrst ana mas sixfida Widespread pabiiety
 But few people in Alabama know that as President of the Republic of Tex as he came to Alabama and carried
 back as his bride one of her loveliest In the year of 1929, Houston was a great popular leader in Tennessee. His people had honored him repeated ly He had been district attorney, ad- jutant general and Congressman, and in the year of 1929 he was Governor year he was married to Miss Allen. a beautiful young woman of his State. His strange Disappearance. Governor Houston three months nor, left his young bride and, disap- peared from among the people who had honored him: It was the great
 snr Sf sas on eay and no clue as his destination. He disappeared sud-
 denly and without Ia word from the To his death, it is said, he never
 uttered word as to why he left the young woman to whom he had been welded. It was subject his best friends could not mention to him. i. | But those same friends who knew the circumstances were of the opinion that l he left his bride and abandoned his great public career in Tennessee ne inot loved him and either through choice or persuasion had married him | for his high public station. She later secured a divorce
 He re-appeared in civilization and | his re-appearance was as his disap- pearance. He came to Washington as chiefs of the Cherokee tribe. He. had gone among the Cherokees in Arkan- gas when he left the office of Cover & IT of Tennessee. and his bride of among them before he began his great public career. A Cherokee chief struck with the sagacity and strength of the
 lad had adopted him and gave him the n 2 | wanderer. Among them when he sought to lose himself from the white
 man he was strangely honored; i And | and leader to protest against the steal ing of the lands of the Indians by
 goWXnbrin1mepbt Wbi1s Int aEsiass EsiaEa.,on was in wash ington William R. Stansbury. rep
 resentative in Congres from Ohio. had | the misfortune to let his ardor run l away with his judgment sufficiently for him to accuse Houston of making an attempt to rob the Indians of their | lands. Houston attacked him publicly and gave him a severe beating. For which. he was fined and sent. to pris-- on. Gut through the firm influence of President Andrew Jackson, Houston's loyal and staunch friend, the fine was not paid nor was the sentence exc cuted. But the incident made a great stir in the old days.
 In the year of 1882 Houston paid a visit to the American colonists living These colonists were then forming the revolution which gave them ultimate ly a free government and which in time made Texas In some respects | the UrnatGSt Cfafn in ha Tnf
 The Texans knew well the fame and ability of Houston and at their in- | sistence he consented to go over and
 help. the min the struggle. which was inevitable. And with hls taking ser vice in the army of Texas. Houston began career which was even more one he had back In Tennessee
 He was soon in command of the whole army. In April General Hous- ton, in command of the Texan army. initiated the Mexican army of Santa Anna in the famous battle of San Jacinto. The Mexican army. although
 it was larger in numbers, was not himself made prisoner. The inde- pendence of Texas was recognized and Houston. the great popular idol, was made it's first president and that civil career which had for him two elections as president of the Texan Re- public, elections as United States sena- toT ana as governor began. But or these events this present story has but little to do. What Is written here is to inform those who may not know of Houston's romance and wedding on Alabama soil.
 It Is a far cry to the remote dear of lS4O. In the good town of Marion there is not one today who knows of his personal Knowledge incidents of the marriage of Margaret Lea and Gen. President Sam Houston. There are now perhaps two or three of the older resident of Marion who were nothing and cared nothing of the great wedding which made thes big stir in Marion.
 The Houston WeddIn.
 But the story of it is known with accuracy and definlteness. Probate years ago met President Burleson of the Baptist Female College of Waco Texas. and the incident of that day in May in lS40 when Margaret Lea and General Sam Houston stood up to be married was told at length. President Burleson was close personal friend of General Houston. He accompanied the hero on the trip when the daughter of Alabama first met the hero of San Jacinto and he accompanied President Houston when he came from Texas
 to Marion to his wedding. So what
 first hand information from Texas The romances leads back to the very
 field of San Jacinto.
 In the fight General Houston was
 wounded. The wound, while not a very serious one, was altogether per
 sistent and aggravating, General Hous- ton determined to go to New Orleans
 for expert medical treatment. The news of the coming of the great soldier
 and statesman spread and when his