Martha Elizabeth Whitaker (née Cotten) Thompson was born in North Carolina during the 1810s. In 1832, while a resident of Tarboro, she married Noah Thompson. Their daughter, Eliza Thompson, was born in 1835. She died on June 28, 1835 was buried in Tarboro. Following her death, Eliza was cared for by Martha's sister-in-law Laura Placida Cotten.