In August 1843, Margaret married a man named Harrison Dunbar. In the 1840 census, Harrison Dunbar was listed as having 30 head of cattle, which would have set Margaret up for the beginning of her own career in cattle. Margaret gave birth to their daughter Mary in 1844, but Harrison died shortly after her birth from wounds he received in a
pistol duel. Margaret was only 20 years old at the time. Shortly after, in October 1845, Margaret was remarried to a man named Milton Hardy. In the same 1840 census that showed the cattle count for Margaret's first husband, the census showed her second husband had 2,912 acres of land, as well as having five additional lots in town. They had two children together in the following two years. Two girls, Eliza who did not survive infancy, and Julia. The couple owned
slaves and in Milton's 1847 will he made note that a slave he owned named Louisa and her children were to be freed upon his death. In 1852, Margaret gave birth to another healthy daughter named Rosa. That same year Milton contracted
cholera during an epidemic that also killed their young son William, and he died on August 24. Milton had 1200 heads of cattle at the time of his death. Louisa was not freed according to Milton's will and she was forced to continue to care for Margaret's children, and future children, where she was known to them as 'Mammy'. Margaret was married for the third and final time to a man named Alexander Borland on February 11, 1856. In 1858, Alexander participated in Victoria's first annual live stock exhibition. By the 1860 census, the couple had amassed the largest herd of cattle in Victoria, a number of 8,000. Additionally, they had twelve slaves, multiple properties, and personal wealth they had gained. They had four children together, 3 boys and a girl named Nellie. The Civil War gave the Borlands access to millions of cattle that were free roaming in Texas due to many ranchers leaving their farms to fight for the
Confederate States Army. By 1867, the Borlands opened their own store but Alexander was not well. Since he had the money, Alexander spent it to see a surgeon in
New Orleans, LA hoping to receive the best medical care. Alexander never returned to Victoria, and died in New Orleans, leaving Margaret a widow for the third time in her life. For Margaret, the tragedy did not stop there for her or her family. In the summer of the same year of Alexander's death,
yellow fever was spreading across Texas. The town of Victoria was not spared during this time, and the first casualty for the family was Margaret's daughter Rosa, who was only 15 at the time of her death. Margaret's firstborn Mary was next and, shortly after Mary died, her infant son died as well. Margaret's daughter Julia, who was 19 and a new mom herself, also succumbed to the illness. Julia's husband,
Victor Rose, who almost perished himself during the epidemic, left their daughter named Julia Rose with Margaret so she could raise her. With all of her children from her first two marriages now dead, Margaret began to bury her children from her most recent marriage. William was only 6 years old when he died in the same epidemic. By the time the epidemic ended with the cooler winter temperatures setting in, Margaret only had three surviving children out of the nine she birthed. Her son-in-law, Victor Rose, went on to become a writer, editor, and historian where he wrote about Margaret from an intimate perspective so we are able to gain some insight as to who she was from someone who knew her personally. Victor said this of Margaret in the local newspaper
The Victoria Advocate, "a woman of resolute will, and self-reliance, yet was she not one of the kindest mothers. She had, unaided, acquired a good education, her manners were lady-like, and when fortune smiled upon her at last in a pecuniary sense, she was as perfectly at home in the drawing room of the cultured as if refinement had engulfed its polishing touches upon her mind in maidenhood." == Cattlewoman ==