Martha Turner

Martha Turner was a half Native American, half Caucasian woman born circa 1843. Her life was recorded by Francis L. Harriss as an added compilation to the Federal Writers' Project. She worked in a cotton mill for over 50 years until retiring to live with her widowed granddaughter during the Great Depression.

Early life
Born in Bladen County, North Carolina to a “red indian” father and Scotch-Irish mother, Turner lived a very troubled and destitute life. Her mother married her father when she was 12 (he was 18) but died six years later. Turner described her father as a cruel and lazy man, recalling several events where he brutally beat her and her siblings. Her two older sisters died shortly after their mother, and she and her two brothers all ran away from home. She only received three months of schooling before dropping out to work full time.

Adult life
After fleeing to Wilmington, NC, she began to work in a cotton mill. She fell in love with a young white man named Joe Watson who abandoned her after she became pregnant, leaving her to raise her son, John Williams, alone. When John was of age, he too began to work in the mill. John lived a fairly short life however, and after he and his wife passed, they left behind a daughter named Lottie Mae for Turner to bring up. Turner moved in with Lottie and her husband during the start of the Great Depression but Lottie’s husband died soon afterwards. Turner and Lottie continued to live off of Turner’s pension check of $14 a month and tended a small garden to make ends meet.

Life of a cotton mill worker
Martha worked in a cotton mill in Wilmington, North Carolina for over fifty years. For the brief time she and her companion Joe Watson were together, he too found work in the mill. Subsequently, once Martha’s son John was 9 years old he worked with his mother in the mill for the next forty years until his death. Lottie Mae, Martha’s granddaughter was raised working the mill as well until she eventually married. When Martha first began working in the mill her pay was only 15 cents. It increased to 50 cents and eventually $1.20. However, her son’s highest wage was $3.00 despite her longer experience. When John was married he moved his mother and wife into a six bedroom tenement house. These homes usually cost 50 cents to a dollar per room each month.

Great Depression's impact on Native Americans
Martha was half Native American, and while she despised her father and was admittedly ashamed of being Native American, the struggles she faced throughout her life were those common to Native Americans at the time. “Poverty, poor education, and ill health characterized the existence of most Native Americans in the 1920s.” Martha and her siblings only received 3 months of education and eventually dropped out to chop logs as a source of income full time. She also recalls her great archery and hunting skills. She often killed deer, polecats and bears for her family to consume when she was a child. Because of such a high salty protein diet, she and her family suffered from high blood pressure. Martha fell into the economic status of over 98 percent of other Native Americans as well, making less than 500 dollars each year.

Changing roles of women in the 1930s
The onset of the Great Depression forced the roles and duties of women in the 1930s shift. Traditionally women were assumed to be the head of domestic chores, busying themselves in the home and the wellbeing of their spouse and children. However, due to loss of income, there was an extensive rise in women entering the work force. Turner, being in the targeted age group of 20-65 during the 1930s and 1940s, worked almost her entire life. She also felt the woes of a single mother during the Great Depression, having to completely take care of the home and be the only source of income for her family. Single mothers during this time, with two children in the labor force at a mill were only expected to make 5 dollars a week. Hence, Turner and John made substantially less.

Federal Writers Project
The Federal Writers Project was first initiated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the WPA (Works Progress Administration) leader, Harry Hopkins. The main drive behind the effort was the realization that individuals involved in the field of creative arts were also suffering and needed help during the Great Depression. Thousands of people were hired around the country to document and create narratives of everyday people who’d normally be overlooked in America’s history. As the movement progressed, a few issues began to arise; trouble with administration and the integrity of the mission gave way to complications in its internal progress. Only about 10 percent of the employees in FWP were actual writers, others were simply people whose former jobs were remotely tied to writing. Officials placed in executive positions or who served as editors were even further removed. Documents show that anyone from local politicians to contractors filled these titles. It became readily apparent that the ability to employ citizens rather than truly preserving the artistic intentions of the mission became more pertinent. A matter of validity and censorship also became an issue; editors were forced to edit and rewrite these narratives substantially, due to the present conservatism of the time that was often racist and uninterested in the stories of the ethnic and immigrant populations. Many times authors interviewing ethnic populations were pushed to write in a “combination of fact and vigorous language” by emphasizing their dialects. Several examples of attempts to illustrate Turner’s broken English are found in her biography written by Harriss; as well as her dismissal of Native Americans and embracement of whites.