Martha McKethan Brickell (née Lane) was born in Wake County, North Carolina on February 19, 1778. Martha was twice widowed during her life, by Dugald McKethan in 1803 and by Jonathan Brickell in 1807. She was the daughter of Raleigh founder Joel Lane and his wife Mary Hinton. At least eight people were enslaved by Martha, including a man named Junius who worked on the building of the new state capitol in the 1830s. She died in Raleigh on May 20, 1852.