When Martha Shipman was born on 6 October 1723, in Old Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut, United States, her father, Joseph Shipman, was 21 and her mother, Ruth Hungerford, was 18. She married John Benson Pelton on 25 March 1756, in Saybrook Manor, Old Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 6 daughters. She died on 4 March 1784, in Old Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut, United States, at the age of 60.