Martha Curnutt

This story has haunted my memory since I first heard it. I am fascinated by family history and while watching one of my favorite shows about celebrities doing their genealogy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen during one particular episode about Cynthia Nixon. She knew nothing about her father’s side of the family but would soon find out that there were skeletons in their closet that ultimately led to major prison reform around the country.

Cynthia’s 3 times great grandmother, Martha, lived a life in the shadows. Thanks to Coverture, living in Missouri in 1843 was not easy for a woman, let alone a married woman. She had no rights to her own money, to buy property, or even to vote, and was subject to legal physical punishment, if her husband fancied it. She needed her husband’s permission to do anything and was not seen as an individual but rather a baby breeding commodity with no claim to her children if a divorce was necessary.

Martha married a man in 1839 who does not deserve to be named, and every day was hell for her. She never knew if she was going to be beaten, raped, or both and was almost always stuck in their deserted country home looking after her 2 children. With her husband described as “unnatural” and “in the habit of treating his wife in a manner too brutal and shocking to think of”, bone-chilling fear constantly flowed through her veins. On July 10, 1843 (four days after their fourth wedding anniversary), Martha was woken up by the monster she was bound to and told that “she had better get up and get breakfast for himself and her two children and then to commence saying her prayers, for she should die, he swore, before sunset.” It then went back to bed and that’s when Martha noticed the ax in the corner. She had been chopping wood and realized she had one last hack to make. She slowly crept into the bedroom where he was passed out on the bed and “with one blow, sunk it deep into his head, just through the eyes.”

She then made her way over to her neighbor’s house and explained what happened, insisting it was self-defense, and “that it was his life for hers.” She was tried in court for murder but charged with first degree manslaughter, avoiding the death sentence. Little did she know that she would be praying for the death sentence during her incarceration.

Because of her sentence, Martha was sent to the Missouri State Penitentiary where she was the only female inmate and just the second ever female inmate to walk its halls. Although she was in a prison cell in the same hallway as all the men, she was alone all day, even while eating. She was again deserted and left to fend for herself and again subject to horrible abuse. As part of her punishment, she was forced to work the land of a local judge named Mr. Brown and his wife, who was awful to her. She decided to escape one afternoon but was caught and, for days, was left in her cell with almost no food or water.

The next winter, Martha became pregnant. There is no record of who fathered her child but it is believed that she was raped by a prison guard or warden while alone in her dark and cold cell, perhaps more than once. She had nothing and no one to protect her from violence and being that she was the only woman in the prison in a time where women weren’t seen as people, it was sadly inevitable. She could never escape the monsters.

After her water broke and contractions started, the doctor would not agree to come to her and Mrs. Brown didn’t allow anyone to give her supplies or to help her, except for one of the prisoners. Freezing and in agonizing pain, Martha gave birth to a daughter whom she named Sarah. There were no clothes for the baby and no fire was brought to her cell, most likely to kill them slowly so the investors would never know this had happened. But they had no idea who they were dealing with. Martha was tough and determined to keep her baby alive. Her 3 times great grand-daughter Cynthia had some profound words to say about her ancestor, “She must have felt that she couldn’t imagine anything worse than life with her husband until she got here. It’s so hard to imagine what Martha must have felt when she realized she was pregnant but I wonder if, in some way, that that baby also gave her something to fight for and someone to be with, someone that she could love in here.”

Several weeks passed as her condition worsened but Martha and Sarah held on and on November 28, 1844, their lives changed forever. A petition for pardoning was written and sent to the governor of Missouri. It outlined that she had had a baby who may not survive the winter and was signed by dozens of important people and politicians, which was unusual for the time. I’d like to believe that these people felt for them but there was also a worry about it getting out that a baby died in their prison. Whatever the motive, Martha and Sarah were blessed with a second chance. By December 7, Martha was pardoned after serving less than half of her sentence and they never had to see the inside of that hell hole again.

Martha’s story proved that there were changes that needed to be made in prisons around Missouri. Changes to sentencing, changes to security, and changes to physical well-being and access to medical care. Historian Gary R. Kramer said, “Missouri couldn’t ignore the fact that women were going to commit crimes and that (it) requires something different. Her experience becomes a launching point for a change for the better.” There are now women’s prisons in every state and many more prisons that separate men and women inmates. Martha is a heroine for what she endured and the lasting effects she had. She was just trying to survive her whole life but I’m sure is ecstatic to know that her trials have helped and inspired so many people.

Martha lived to the age of 75, mothered 3 children, and led a happy life outside of prison. She is buried with her children and grandchildren in Leasburg, Missouri.