The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 93, July 1989 - April, 1990 Page: 546

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Southwestern Historical Quarterly

fined by her husband's career, and she herself recognized that reality
(so, apparently, does the author, who devotes only eight pages to the
twenty-eight years of Mary's life that followed her husband's death).
Often left alone by a sometimes insensitive husband, who was monopo-
lized by public service and obsessive land-buying activities, Mary often
had to face family tragedies alone (four of her ten children died before
reaching adulthood). Yet, far from reproaching her husband, she ven-
erated him as "the gentlest of instructors, the most sympathizing of
friends" (p. 95).
Sam served in a wide variety of public capacities (such as mayor of
San Antonio, chief justice of Bexar County, and several terms in both
houses of the legislature), but most of his time was spent making sur-
veying forays into West Texas and in real estate speculation. He ac-
quired land holdings of over 3oo,ooo acres in Central and West Texas,
though the author never makes it clear where he obtained the capital to
quench his seemingly insatiable thirst for real estate. She does lay to
rest the myth that he was a great rancher; in fact, he never developed
his land, and the few hundred cattle that came with acreage that he
purchased near Matagorda were so poorly cared for that his name be-
came synonymous with unbranded calves. The author casts little light
on the origin of the other definition that came to be attached to Sam's
last name, that of a fiercely independent politician. In fact, Sam, as a
member of the legislature, was rarely outspoken, and he usually went
along with the majority.
East Texas State University DONALD E. REYNOLDS
Behold, Our Works Were Good. A Handbook of Arkansas Women's History.
Edited by Elizabeth Jacoway. (Little Rock: Arkansas Women's His-
tory Institute in Association with August House Publishers, 1988.
Pp. xiv+98. Preface, acknowledgments, illustrations, notes, bibli-
ography. $13.00, paper.)
This handsomely designed and illustrated book is a significant and
welcome addition to southern women's history. It chronicles the roles
and contributions made by Arkansas women to the development of
their state. Approximately one hundred photographs of women cover-
ing over one hundred years of history dramatize the variety of women's
roles and functions.
The perspective of the book is of social history; its goal is as "an
illuminator of the hidden, unseen, or forgotten dimensions of our-
selves" (p. 3). The goal is admirably achieved.
The book contains elements not usually combined in a single work.
In addition to an excellent narrative on the work of the Arkansas

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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 93, July 1989 - April, 1990, periodical, 1990; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101213/m1/616/ocr/: accessed March 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.

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