Martha Coleman

BIOGRAPHY

Coleman was born in Travis County, Texas, USA, on 5 June 1905. She was the sixth of 14 children born to parents Archie Adams (1875–1963) and Maria Mariah Elizabeth Daniels (1875–1970). She attended Anderson High School, which was segregated at the time, until her father fell ill. At the age of 16, she left school to utilize her sewing skills to assist in supporting her family.

Around 1932, she married Andrew Coleman. The couple had two sons. She worked as a cook for various Austin doctors and lawyers. Over the years, she continued to create her quilts, and many of them have been exhibited at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center in the City of Austin. Her husband died in 1997, after 65 years of marriage.

When asked about the secret of her longevity, she replied: “Be nice to everybody. And I drink water, I never drank soda water until I was 90, and I read the Bible a lot. Live right and treat your neighbors right. Regardless of what a person does to you, always forgive.”

Her paternal grandfather, William Burrell Adams, allegedly died in 1929, aged 107, but the claim cannot be verified. One of her sisters, Susie Esther McDonald (1898–2000), lived to be 101, while another sister, Laura Hemphill (1902–2001), lived to be 98. Her niece and McDonald’s daughter, Willie Cleora Mercer (1919–2020), lived to be 100.

Coleman passed away in Austin, Texas, USA, on 18 June 2016, at the age of 111 years, 13 days.