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My Master: The Inside Story of Sam Houston and His Times
Jeff Hamilton, only thirteen when purchased in 1853 by Sam Houston at a slave auction in Huntsville, Texas, was Houston's personal body servant during the period Houston was U.S. Senator, during both governorships, and was with Houston at his death. Originally published in 1940 shortly before Hamilton died at age 100, these memoirs contain Hamilton's fascinating and intimate viewpoints of the important issues during the last years of Houston's life.
Aware of Hamilton's narrative abilities and of the historical importance of his first-hand accounts of one of our nation's most prominent figures, the 1936 Centennial Association of Texas commissioned Lenoir Hunt, author of Bluebonnets and Blood to interview Hamilton to "save for posterity his rare recollections . . . one of the very few men now living who passed through the hates and passions of the 1850s and 1860s and who may give us an eyewitness picture of life and conditions in that eventful era." And what a picture! Hamilton saw "most of the meanness as well as the good things that were going on about me. . . . there are not many boys who have the distinction of being whipped by one of the great men of history."
Containing revealing and intimate anecdotes nowhere else published, My Master is a valuable contribution to American folklore and history. In Hamilton, Lenoir Hunt had found "a guileless old soul who could give me from an entirely new angle a simple account of the stirring times in which he lived . . . an aged Boswell anxious to tell the inside story of the colorful empire-maker who had liberated a people and who directly and indirectly had added over a million square miles to the area of the United States."
Aware of Hamilton's narrative abilities and of the historical importance of his first-hand accounts of one of our nation's most prominent figures, the 1936 Centennial Association of Texas commissioned Lenoir Hunt, author of Bluebonnets and Blood to interview Hamilton to "save for posterity his rare recollections . . . one of the very few men now living who passed through the hates and passions of the 1850s and 1860s and who may give us an eyewitness picture of life and conditions in that eventful era." And what a picture! Hamilton saw "most of the meanness as well as the good things that were going on about me. . . . there are not many boys who have the distinction of being whipped by one of the great men of history."
Containing revealing and intimate anecdotes nowhere else published, My Master is a valuable contribution to American folklore and history. In Hamilton, Lenoir Hunt had found "a guileless old soul who could give me from an entirely new angle a simple account of the stirring times in which he lived . . . an aged Boswell anxious to tell the inside story of the colorful empire-maker who had liberated a people and who directly and indirectly had added over a million square miles to the area of the United States."
- GenresNonfictionHistory
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 13, 2020
This book is a wonderful source of insight into Sam Houston, his plantation, and slave life. It’s not presented as a slave narrative but more of a ex-slave speaking on every aspect of his family, life, work, civil war, community relations, politics and the opportunity for self-education. The clarity and detail is exceptional. If you enjoy history and uncovering new “book gems” you will enjoy Jeff Hamilton’s life story.
December 12, 2025
Amazing perspective of a great man, by a man who led an interesting life himself. Jeff Hamilton, a former slave, previously freed by his master, was at Sam Houston’s bedside at his death, and had spent many years along the campaign and political trail of “Samjacinto,” the man who made Texas a country, a state in the Union, and desperately tried to keep from session. It’s a great tale of great servants, one public, one private. Masterfully documented by Lenoir Hunt with citation to align the storytelling with written history.
November 15, 2025
The story of a great man told through the eyes of another great man. I would have to loved to meet Jeff Hamilton. What a wonderful soul he was.
This book made me love Sam Houston even more.
This book made me love Sam Houston even more.
June 14, 2022
Books like these are why I can't give up my addiction, er habit, of library book sale book-buying. This book is a treasure; a memoir of life as a slave under Sam Houston. In the telling, anecdotes about life in Texas at that time go beyond any dry re-telling in textbooks, and historical leaders come to life. Not only did I finish the book believing Sam Houston to be as good or better as legend holds, but also came to love Jeff Hamilton himself. This is a positive book, uplifting, and I loved reading it. Jeff Hamilton has been honored with historical markers in Belton, and I was glad to see when I googled his name that several state archives have pictures of him at talks he gave, and at state anniversary gatherings.
As an aside, I also enjoyed reading the names of several early Texas leaders whose appellations were selected for many well-known towns, counties, and street names of today: Terrell, Lubbock, Hamilton, Pease, Williamson, and Burleson, to list a few.
As an aside, I also enjoyed reading the names of several early Texas leaders whose appellations were selected for many well-known towns, counties, and street names of today: Terrell, Lubbock, Hamilton, Pease, Williamson, and Burleson, to list a few.
February 22, 2014
The most Heartwarming book I have ever read.
January 20, 2019
Well done, could have been sitting right there listening to him tell his stories.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews