Mary Pelton was born around 1842 in New York to William and Ermena Pelton. Her father was a farmer who owned $3,600 of real estate and $800 of personal property. She grew up and attended school in Mina, New York. She married James Coveney around 1866, and their daughter Minnie was born around 1868. They lived in Sherman, New York, and her husband worked as a dry goods’ merchant and farmer. By 1870, they owned $1,000 of real estate and $2,500 of personal property. By 1900, they were living in Ripley, New York. Her husband died in the early 1900s, and by 1910, she was living in her daughter Minnie’s household in Chautauqua, New York. A decade later, they were living in Sherman, New York. She died sometime after 1920.