NEWS

Davidson’s first female postmaster, Martha Jane Brady, was appointed in 1874. Born in Rowan County in 1837, she was still living there with her parents, Samuel and Frances Booker Hart, in 1850. Census records reveal that she had attended school.

She married Rufus A. Brady in Rowan County on June 24, 1856. By 1860, she was living with Rufus, who was a prosperous coach and wagon maker, in the Western Division of Mecklenburg County. Their post office was listed as Charlotte. They had one child, Ida. By 1870, they were in Davidson with their four children, Ida, John Everett, Archibald, and Fannie.

Rufus was still working as a carriage maker and Martha was keeping house. Martha was named postmaster in 1874, and probably served in a small wooden building located where the Soda Shop is now. At that time, it was adjacent to the Brady home.

Davidson College Postmark, 1877

In 1880, the family remained in Davidson, where their two sons were attending college. Interestingly, although Martha had been the postmaster since 1874, her husband’s occupation was listed as “postmaster” and hers as “keeping house.”

According to census records, apparently only one other employed woman in Davidson was not keeping house or doing menial labor. This was 21-year-old Susan Mebane, who was working as a teacher. In 1882, Martha was replaced as postmaster by Henry A. Gillespie. Rufus Brady died in 1891 and was buried in the Davidson College Cemetery. By 1897, Martha was living in Charlotte with her son Archibald and his family.

Martha is not listed in the 1900 census, and her entry for 1910 is rather confusing. Although white, she was listed as the mother-in-law of an African American woman named Emma Payler. They were living in Graham in Alamance County, North Carolina, and Emma’s husband was not living with them. I could find little other information on Emma Payler and have no idea what their connection was.

She was still living in Alamance County in 1920 with her daughter, Fannie, and Fannie’s husband, John L. Scott. She died there in 1925 and is buried beside Rufus in the Davidson College Cemetery.