GRANDMA SAVAGE:
M IDWIFE , H EALER , N URSE
by C. W. (Bill) Smith
I
n early Sanderson there was not
always a doctor available to take
care of the local population. The
railroad often provided a doctor for its
employees, and they were allowed to
tend to the sick of the community, but
due to shortages, sometimes there were
periods when doctors were not present.
Thankfully, for many years there were
five ladies of the town who could be
called upon as nurse, midwife or doc-
tor, using patent medicines and curan-
dera folk remedies to heal the sick or
injured. Mrs. Antonia Maldonado,
“Granny” (Mrs. Joe) Nance, Mrs.
Margaret Savage, Mrs. Bartolo
(Pancha) Villegas, and Mrs. Joe Wolff
could be called to help in time of need.
They knew to sterilize bandages and
tools to keep down infection, and they
used folk remedies in their treatments.
Like good doctors everywhere, they all
carried their little black doctor bags.
According to the Terrell County histo-
ry book, the children of one family
firmly believed that Granny Nance
brought newborn babies to the house
in her little black bag.
All of these ladies selflessly served
and put their lives in danger for the sake
of their community, but Margaret
"Grandma" Savage probably was the
most celebrated of all. Her love for oth-
ers and devotion to duty not only served
as a shining example to her own chil-
Courtesy Terrell County Historical Society
dren, but to all who lived in this com-
munity and benefited from her care.
Margaret Kloszner Savage was a
very special person. Born in 1855 to
Swiss immigrant parents in Minnesota,
her family moved from Wisconsin to
Iowa to Nebraska, and finally, to
Luling, Texas. When Margaret was 11,
her mother passed away and her father
relied on her to take care of her four
brothers. It might be that her superior
abilities as a wife, mother and nurse
grew from having to take care of her
brothers at that early age.
J.W. Savage came to Sanderson
with the railroad as it passed through in
1883. He worked as a “dirt” man,
moving the earth with mule-drawn
fresnos, preparing the roadbed. Later,
he worked as a railroad section fore-
man in various places between here
and Del Rio.
He met and courted Margaret in
Seguin, Texas. They were married in
1875 and had 10 children. Concerned
that there were no educational oppor-
tunities in the small railroad settlements
where they lived, Mrs. Savage insisted
that they hire a tutor, making sure her
children were prepared for the future.
They kept special accommodations for
the "Professor" which doubled as a
classroom during the day. The
arrangement worked very well. In their
first days living by the railroad, Mrs.
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