MADISON, MARY (ca.1820–?). Mary Madison, a free black nurse in antebellum Texas, was born in Virginia about 1820. She arrived in Galveston around 1841. In 1851 the Texas legislature approved a petition from Galveston citizens who requested that she be allowed to remain in Galveston County. The petition noted the "age, and the length of time she has resided in the State, during which time she has demeaned herself with becoming propriety."
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Hans Peter Nielsen Gammel, comp., Laws of Texas, 1822–1897 (10 vols., Austin: Gammel, 1898). Ruthe Winegarten, Finder's Guide to the`Texas Women: A Celebration of History' Exhibit Archives (Denton: Texas Woman's University Library, 1984).
