Martha was born in 1858. Even though every census record in which she appeared, from age 2, was in North Carolina, several documents give her birth location as Illinois. She was the daughter of David Wood and Ellen McCrary. She apparently had a hard life. In 1860, she was living with her mother in the Rowan County Poor House in Salisbury, NC. When she was 22 she married "William David Cox". They had five children together. By 1900 her husband had left, and she was the head of a household that included her mother-in-law. She spent the last 14 years of her life in the State Mental Hospital in Morganton, North Carolina. She passed away in 1920.
Sources
United States Census, 1860; Salisbury, Rowan, North Carolina; Roll: M653_912; Page: 439; listed as "Martha Wood", 2 yrs. (Rowan County Poor House)
United States Census, 1870; Franklin, Rowan, North Carolina; Roll: M593_1158; Page: 451A; listed as "Martha Wood", 12 years
United States Census, 1880; Franklin, Rowan, North Carolina; Roll: 980; Enumeration District: 236; Image: 0462; listed as "Martha J. Cox", 22 yrs.
United States Census, 1900; Kings Creek, Cabarrus, North Carolina; Roll: 1185; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 0024; listed as "Martha A Cox", 42 yrs. (listed as married, but husband not in household)
United States Census, 1910; Morganton, Burke, North Carolina; Roll: T624_1100; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 0009; listed as "Martha Cox", 48 yrs. (NC State Mental Hospital)
North Carolina Death Certificate, "Martha Cox", Death Place: Morganton, Burke, North Carolina , USA (NC State Mental Hospital); Death Date: 25 Apr 1920
North Carolina Marriage Index; Rowan County, "William David Cox" to "Martha Jane Wood", Date: 31 May 1879
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Martha by comparing test results with other carriers of her mitochondrial DNA.
However, there are no known mtDNA test-takers in her direct maternal line.
It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Martha: