Martha's death certificate lists her date of birth as October 3, 1871

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First husband George Adamson, they married in England, he came to the U.S. by himself, then, in 1895, Martha paid for a ticket on the S.S. Kensington, leaving Liverpool 29th May, arriving in Philadelphia 9th June, with their 2 year old daughter, Ida Alice Adamson. The passenger list states she was joining her husband, George Adamson, in Pittsburgh. However, it looks as if George had married here in the U.S., not mentioning his wife back in England on his marriage license application. Not sure if Martha and George ever divorced officially or simply agreed to go their separate ways, but George and his second wife, Catherine, raised Ida Alice Adamson in their household. Martha then married James Bovill and they had a daughter, Margaret Elizabeth Bovill Hailstone. A newspaper article in Dec 1897 stated Martha slit the throat of two day old Margaret, then stabbed herself in the throat in an attempt to kill both of them while her husband was out of the house. They were taken to Allegheny General Hospital and both fortunately survived. About five years later James and Martha had a son, George Glover Bovill. James Bovill died in 1913 when he fell down a set of stairs, crushing the base of his skull. About a year and a half after James died, Martha married William Simpson, who died in 1924. In 1938, in Pittsburgh, at the age of 70, Martha filed her Declaration of Intent to become a U.S. citizen, stating she had been born in "Black Horse, England" on 23 Oct 1868. 1867 would be her birth year according to the age she gave on the passenger list, so the headstone birth date is probably off a bit.

Contributed by Riann, Find a Grave member 47564075