Martha Jr. Caudill Conley was born July 15, 1954, in Memphis, Tennessee, and lived in Milligan Ridge, Mississippi County, Arkansas.
After her marriage to Hershel Conley, she attended Arkansas State College in Jonesboro and majored in speech. The Conleys helped operate the Caudill Brothers Gin in Milligan Ridge. They later moved to Cherokee Village and bought the Ford dealership in Hardy, during which time Martha opened a women's fitness center. In 2006 the Conleys moved to Mountain Home, where Hershel later became the pastor at Bridge Baptist Church.
Martha is the mother of Garrard Conley, author of Boy Erased: A Memoir. She is an advocate for acceptance of LGBTQ people. Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe portrayed Martha and Hershel in the 2018 movie Boy Erased.
#1: Composite image of early photo of Martha Jr. Caudill Conley and still frame from Pryor Center video interview
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: Martha Jr. Caudill (Conley), age 2; October 14, 1956
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: Martha Jr. Caudill (Conley), with her sister, Mary
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: Martha Jr. Caudill (Conley), ca. 1970
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#5: Hershel Conley Jr., 18 years old, 1970
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#6: Hershel Conley Jr. and Martha Jr. Caudill Conley
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#7: Hershel Conley Jr. and Martha Jr. Caudill Conley
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#8: Martha Jr. Caudill Conley
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#9: Martha Jr. Caudill Conley
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#10: Martha and Hershel Conley on their wedding day; December 19, 1970
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#11: Garrard Conley
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#12: Garrard Conley
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#13: Martha Jr. Caudill Conley
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#14: Murray cotton gin machine owned by Garrard Caudill; Milligan Ridge, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#15: Garrard Conley with his father, Hershel Conley Jr.
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#16: Garrard Conley with his father, Hershel Conley Jr.
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#17: Garrard Conley, age 6, 1991
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#18: Garrard Conley
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#19: Garrard Conley
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#20: Garrard Conley with his father, Hershel Conley Jr.
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#21: Garrard Conley
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#22: Garrard Conley's high school senior portrait, 2003
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#23: Martha Jr. and Hershel Conley Jr., at Norfork Lake Baptist Mission, Mountain Home, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#24: Martha Jr. Conley (right) with Barbara Pryor at the Pryor Center; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2018
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#25: Martha Jr. Conley (right) with Barbara Pryor at the Pryor Center; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2018
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#26: Martha Jr. Conley speaking to Barbara Pryor with (from left) David Pryor, Dan Ferritor, and Pate Felts in the background; Pryor Center, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2018
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#27: Martha Jr. Conley with Pate Felts (left) and David Pryor at the Pryor Center; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2018
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#28: GarrardConley and Martha Jr. Conley on stage at the Pryor Center Presents event; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2018
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#29: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Martha Jr. Conley; Fayetteville Arkansas, 2018
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#30: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Martha Jr. Conley; Fayetteville Arkansas, 2018
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
