Nancy Cary (maiden name: Perkins) was born into slavery on December 23, 1837. Her owner was Colonel Jesse Perkins, who moved from Goochland County, Virginia, to Madison County, Mississippi, at some point before the Civil War. She married William Cary around 1858 or 1859 in Madison County, and they had four children together: Mary O. L., Annie B., Dolly Ann., and Ida L. Her husband enlisted in the Union army, and Nancy travelled along with him. After the war, the family probably spent some time in Vicksburg, Mississippi, before settling in Louisiana, where they worked as sharecroppers. They briefly returned to Jackson and then moved to Arapaho Township in the Oklahoma Territory. William died on March 8, 1902. Nancy secured a widow's pension soon afterward, even though justice of the peace William Howard made fraudulent statements in her claim. She died of senility and cerebral thrombosis, caused by diabetes, on February 25, 1939, in Watonga, Oklahoma. By the time of her death, she was receiving $50 a month.