Martha Day [Nathaniel, Christopher] was born about 1741 in Plumstead, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Nathaniel Day and Susan Wylie. When Martha was thirteen her father is said to have served in the French & Indian Wars. Her father died in 1754. There is no record of the cause of his death.

Shortly after her father’s death her grandfather took the family to Frederick County, Virginia. Indian hostilities were terrifying. In 1756 her family was attacked. Her brother later told the story in detail when he applied for a military pension. Martha, her sister Sally and mother Susan were taken prisoners by the Shawnee Indians. A brother David was killed almost immediately. The first night they camped on a mountain between Cape Capen River and Cedar Creek where they killed Martha’s mother.

A troop of twenty men was raised, one of whom was John Day, brother of Martha who later told the story in his own words. They followed the Indians and on the second day "I raised my gun to shoot one of them and just as I was about to draw trigger, I saw one of my sisters rise up right before the muzzle of my gun between me and the Indians..." The girls were rescued.

Martha married Charles Kenison. They settled at Little Levels, White Pole in Augusta later Greenbrier County, Virginia where they had seven children, the first David born in 1767. In 1770 the family paid tithes in Botetourt County. Martha again faced adversity in 1774 when her husband, in military service was wounded at the Battle of Point Pleasant. In the Spring of 1779 he was a volunteer under Captain George Clendenan against the Indians at Stamping Creek a branch of the Greenbrier River then in Augusta County. Martha’s brother John was stationed with him as Indians continued to murder and take prisoners on neighboring farms.

By 1790 the family was paying tax in Bath County, Virginia. The continued to live in Bath until at least 1815. Between April 1815 and 1817 they migrated to Beaver Township, Pike County, Ohio with family members. Her husband died shortly after they arrived in 1817. Martha acted as administrator of the estate and received $30.00 for her dowry. She also collected two notes on behalf of her husband but it took two years to receive the money. It is not known how much longer Martha lived after 1820.