The outside of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum has several pioneer cabins and buildings from the 1800s. Some were on the property originally, as it was owned by the Houston family, and some were moved there. Naturally, we toured the outside area. Here is a photo of the beginning of the path you follow:
I love this time in the history of the United States. The forming of our country and the process leading up to the modern day is fascinating.
As mentioned in my previous post, Texas was a slave holding state at this time. When he married his third wife, Margaret, she brought a long-time family slave named Eliza with her. Eliza is the third from the left in the front row in the picture below. According to the museum, she was beloved by the family and treated like family. Of course, that is to a point, as was typical at the time in this terrible point in our history.
Eliza was the family cook and known to be very good at it. In those days, among the wealthier people, kitchens were often separate buildings, which helped keep the main living quarters cool in the summertime. The actual cabin Eliza cooked in is on the museum property. I looked in many of the buildings. They are blocked off with iron frames so nothing inside is disturbed.
First, I want to let you know there are feral cats on the property as well as roosters. In fact, as you cross the bridge over a small creek, you see this sign:
Growing up in the country, I can tell you roosters do not only crow in the morning. They crow all day long, and these roosters were no different:
I could go on about roosters, but let’s move back to Eliza and her actual kitchen cabin on the property. As I approached the cabin, Jay was perhaps five paces behind me. I put my right hand up by my eye to block the sun and put my face up to the iron frame. I immediately jumped back in shock! Jay rushed up to me and asked if I was okay as I was looking back inside the building to see what had caused the thing that made me jump. Here is the kitchen cabin looking to the right, exactly where I looked first:
Notice the bowl on the table with the pitcher behind it? Now let me tell you what made me jump back. The moment I looked inside, that bowl moved! I kid you not! I both heard it and saw it move very, very slightly toward the edge of the table. It couldn’t have been more than an eighth of an inch, if that. As Jay asked me if I was okay, I looked in again in the same manner and quickly scanned the room for a rooster, or a cat, or even a mouse. Nothing. Nothing was in there…that I could see, anyway. So I took an overall photo of the room:
No animals were in there that I could see. And believe me, I looked. I looked for a long time and asked my husband to look. Neither of us saw anything that could have made that noise or moved that bowl. Neither did the photo show anything. Crazy. So, just in case….
As I walked away, I said, “Thank you, Eliza, for allowing me to see your kitchen and letting me know you are there, ma’am.”
Was it a ghost? You have to decide. But I was a believer before this happened. I’ve had a few things happen to me involving those who have left our earthly plane. However, I also believe we go on to a better place after death, and I would hope and pray that Eliza was in that better place – not remaining in the kitchen she toiled in until she no longer could. As for me, Eliza wanted to let me know she was there, for whatever reason, and that’s okay with me.
On Hummingbirds Wings 