Daughter of Jeppe Bendtsen and Maren Kirstine Hansdatter. Martha was born in Denmark on the island of Bornholm, 75 miles east of the mainland of Denmark. Martha was baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1852, when she was 15. Her parents and siblings were also baptized. Their house was burned and the persecutions were so intense they decided to immigrate to Zion. They took the steamer "Obotrite" from Copenhagen to Kiel (Germany), the train to Hamburg (Germany), a steamship "Lion" from Hamburg to Hull (England), the train to Liverpool where they sailed on the ship,"Forest Monarch" to New Orleans arriving 16 Jan 1853. They joined the wagon trains and walked to Utah, arriving in Salt Lake City 30 September 1853. The family settled in Lehi, Utah. Martha went to work in Salt Lake City. She struggled to learn a new language and new customs. She married Johnathan Pugmire as a plural wife and was mistreated. Her father and brother had the marriage annulled. While working in Lehi she met and married William Milton Bell and they were married 9 April 1859 and were sealed in the Endowment House, the same day her parents were sealed to each other. They moved to Logan for a year and a half, then returned to Lehi. In 1869 they went to Clarkston and helped settle Newton, Utah. They lived in a wagon box until William got enough logs for a house. William operated a sawmill. Their house was the meeting place for the community and church meetings. Martha washed clothes, sewed, wove on the hand loom, cooked and helped with burials. She was the counselor in the Relief Society. They experienced crickets, storms, drought and hardships but enjoyed being with their family and community. She died 1 Oct 1878 of inflammation of the bowels (appendicitis) leaving her husband and eight children.