Valodja Stokes was the daughter of Theodosia Stokes and Johnathan Stokes. Born in 1839, she was the second child of the newlywed couple. She was named after her grandmother.
In 1843, a bounty hunter found the family homestead, seeking Valodja Molina, unaware that she had died several years ago. The encounter did not go well, and Valodja Stokes witnessed the murder of her father, brother and mother.
Due to the trauma of the incident, she has not spoken since.