Martha married Ransom Petray, 3 Feb 1859, in Russian River, CA. They had 2 children before her untimely death:

-Henry Calvin Petray (1859-1933)
-William Jackson Petray (1863-1917)

Martha moved with her family from her native Russellville, AR to Valcano, CA in 1857 as part of the gold rush. By early 1859 they had relocated to Sonoma Co., CA where she married Ransom in her father's home.

Targedy struck late in 1862 when Martha became ill. In a letter she wrote to her mother, 5 Aug 1862, Martha said, "My health is improving, though very slowly. I can not do my house work, neither my washing or ironing. I don't suppose that I will be able to do my work for some time. Get for when I do my thing I get worse every time, so I just let things go. Mr. Petray (Ransom) does the cooking. I can sew a little at a time. There is considerable sickness around. I suppose it increased from the warm weather. I fear my health will not admit of us coming to pay you a visit this Summer, but I still live in hope if I die in dispair."

Martha was pregnant through her illness and was able to bring her son William into the world just 12 days before she passed away.

There were several spelling permutations of Martha's maiden name. The most common variations were Darnul, Darnell, and Darneal. Land records and her father's headstone (which was made of wood) list the spelling as Darnul.
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Healdsburg Tribune, Enterprise and Scimitar 9 Mar 1889:
"On motion of Mr. Clark, permission was granted R. A. Petray to remove the remains of his wife from their present burial place in Shiloh Cemetery to Oak Mound Cemetery near Healdsburg."

*It should be noted that Shiloh Cemetery is where her husband Ransom's parents were buried, though they were both still alive when Martha passed.
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