Margaret Clark was born on the Wyandot Indian Reserve near Lower Sandusky, Ohio in 1828. The daughter of Thomas Clark, one of the Chiefs of the Canada branch of the Wyandot Nation, she moved with her tribe to Kansas territory in 1843 when they ceded their lands to the United States government. It was in Kansas that Margaret met Hiram Northrup, a wealthy merchant from New York. They were married at the Methodist Mission in Wyandotte by Reverend Wheeler and it is said to have been the first recorded marriage in Wyandotte County.
When Margaret first met her future husband, she spoke very little English and they required a translator during their courtship. Hiram Northrup became an adopted member of the Wyandots. He had come to Kansas from Ohio and had been living on the Missouri side, engaged in banking and merchandising with Joseph S. Chick. After their marriage, he erected a log cabin near the present intersection of Eighth Street and Minnesota Avenue. It was there the young couple went to housekeeping, and it was there they lived during the remainder of their lives, although they soon replaced the old log structure with a more substantial residence. Margaret was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for nearly 45 years, and their family grew to include four sons.
Mr. Northrup was a friend and counselor of the Wyandots and made frequent trips to Washington in their interests. Northrup became a trusted member of the Nation, acting as their financial agent for many years. In 1858, he was selected to go to Washington and collect $53,000 - the balance of the $185,000 still due them from the Government. He was a banker in Kansas City, Kansas, up to the time of his death in the spring of 1893. Margaret Northrup died at their home in Wyandott in 1887 and was buried in the Wyandot National Burying Ground.