Martha E. Eccles was born on December 8, 1848, in North Carolina to Harrison and Christina Eccles. Her father was a farmer who owned $3,000 of real estate and $7,000 of personal property by 1860. She grew up in Davidson County, North Carolina, and she married George W. Pridgen on June 11, 1873. They had at least nine children: Harrison, born around 1874; Robert, born around 1876; Margaret, born around 1878; George, born around 1879; John, born around 1882; Mary, born around 1885; Mattie, born around 1888; Adolphus, born around 1891; and Christine, born around 1893. They lived in Faison, North Carolina, and her husband worked as a farmer. She died of a brain hemorrhage in Faison on July 9, 1925.