Martha Kingsley McNeill, born around 1777 in New Jersey, lived a life deeply rooted in early American history and family legacy. She was the daughter of Zephaniah Kingsley Sr., a merchant and Loyalist during the American Revolution, and Isabella Johnstone. Her brother, Zephaniah Kingsley Jr., became a notable and controversial figure in Florida history due to his involvement in slavery and his marriage to Anna Kingsley, a formerly enslaved African woman. Martha married Dr. Charles Daniel McNeill, a physician and plantation owner in North Carolina. Together, they had several children, including William Gibbs McNeill, a prominent civil engineer and U.S. Army officer, and Anna Matilda Whistler, best known as the mother of the artist James McNeill Whistler—immortalized in his famous painting Whistler's Mother.