[1] Martha Burton Woodhead was born March 6, 1843, in the English town of Rothwell, West Yorkshire, and emigrated with her family to Cincinnati, Ohio, the following year.

She was educated in Ohio and later in Iowa, attending Burlington College with an emphasis in philosophy, but never graduated.

In 1866 she married Civil War veteran Charles Wesley Williamson, and they had three daughters.

[2][1] Williamson's journalism career began in 1877, and she was a correspondent for James A. Garfield's 1880 presidential campaign.

In 1887 (at age 44) she and her family moved to Los Angeles, California and started collecting seashells.