Savage told of seeing Indian stragglers
passing by, although hostiles had been
eliminated by 1881. Earlier conflicts
had made everyone nervous, even
though the threat was gone.
Young David Duke once asked her
if the Indians were bad when she came
to Sanderson. She answered, “No,
Honey, they were almost human
beings, at times. They would come on
our back porch where I always had
plenty of fresh honey and cold water.
They would eat the honey, drink cold
water and usually go on about their
business. But, I was always behind a
locked door with a loaded shotgun and
a big dog by my side while the Indians
were on the back porch! Usually, they
would eat the honey and drink the cold
water and leave, so I never had to kill
any human beings."
Margaret could take care of herself
and her family when her husband was
at work. Adept with rifle and pistol, she
often dispatched snakes and hawks
with one shot. She was fearless in the
face of danger. Once a gray wolf got
into her chickens. She set her two dogs
on the wolf and while they held him at
bay, she used a fireplace poker to beat
him to death!
After their move to Sanderson in
1899, Mrs. Savage found no doctor
there. She began to offer her services as
a midwife and nurse. When a doctor
finally arrived, she became his “right
hand,” as he put it. Her natural com-
passion and “mothering” spirit put her
on call at all hours of the day and night.
And she always went one step beyond
in performing her duties.
Once, she got a call to tend a sick
woman on Hominy Hill, near the pres-
ent-day Church of Christ. She found
that the woman was living in a wagon
with her children and was sick and
pregnant. Seeing their desperate cir-
cumstances, Mrs. Savage arranged for
food for the family and moved them
into a barn where they could stay
warm. The woman safely gave birth in
the manger of the barn, and her little
boys tried to trade the baby for Mrs.
Savage’s dog! Of course, as often hap-
pened, Mrs. Savage did not receive
compensation for her work. She often
gave her services freely from the good-
ness of her heart.
Mrs. Savage did not fear to face
mortal danger by exposing herself to
serious epidemics as a nurse to the
afflicted. Sanderson suffered at least
three small pox epidemics, and also
outbreaks of typhoid and scarlet fever.
Quarantine camps were set up west
of town near the present-day intersec-
tion of Cargile and U.S. Highway 90.
Guards were hired to enforce the quar-
antine and the sick were moved there
to prevent the spread of disease. At
great risk to herself, Mrs. Savage
moved to the camp to care for the
invalids. In a 1903 letter to his brother,
Fred, John Savage was thankful that his
mother was home, safe from the quar-
antine camp, without being infected.
He worried that, no matter how serious
the disease or the danger to her well
being, she refused no one.
More than just a good nurse,
Margaret was a good-hearted person
who was always ready to lend a hand
or give a word of encouragement or
cheer. As charter members of the
Methodist Church in Sanderson, the
Savages were ever-faithful and ever-
present in attendance. Visiting minis-
ters often had meals or spent the night
at their residence. Margaret and her
husband treated strangers the same as
friends, always willing to help or extend
the hand of friendship to old or young.
Her cookie jar always brimmed with
homemade cookies and her kitchen
brimmed with neighborhood children.
Because she loved everyone and always
treated others as her own family, she
soon became known as ”Grandma”
Savage to the town. She accepted that
name with good-hearted grace, for she
truly was grandmother to all that she
touched. She was spiritual adviser and
mentor to many young mothers in
town, and quite a few remarked that
they could not have reared their fami-
lies without Grandma Savage’s help.
After many long years of service to
her community, Grandma Savage
passed away at age 83 on March 26,
1938, after a short illness. Her obituary
in the Sanderson Times spoke for
many: “The death last Saturday of
Mrs. J.W. "Grandma" Savage, marked
the passing of one of the real pioneers
of Texas and this section. She was a
resident of Sanderson for more than 37
years, a familiar character, very kind
and thoughtful, and beloved by all. Her
passing leaves a vacancy that will be
hard to fill for, even at her advanced
age, she was neighborly and always
ready to help those in need. With her
passed a great store of lore about the
early days, the trials of those who
fought to advance the western frontier
farther westward.”
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