Elizabeth Grierson facts for kids

Elizabeth Grierson (born around 1790 – died 1847) was an important Muscogee woman from the Hillabee town. This area is now part of Alabama.

Elizabeth was a smart businesswoman. She knew how to use the legal system to protect her family's property. As the relationship between Muscogee people and Black people changed, Elizabeth faced challenges. She owned many enslaved people. She also had a relationship with a man named Dick, who was formerly enslaved by her and whom she had freed.

In 1825, the Muscogee Nation made a law. This law made it difficult for Native American and African American people to marry. Even though Elizabeth was wealthy and important, she was eventually forced to leave Alabama because of her marriage. She moved to Indian Territory. However, she and Dick were forced to leave both Muscogee and Choctaw lands because of their marriage. After a short time in Arkansas, they found a safe home in the Chickasaw Nation.

Since the 1900s, some people have mistakenly said Elizabeth was the wife of William McIntosh. But records from her lifetime do not support this idea, according to historian Claudio Saunt.

Early Life and Family

Elizabeth Grierson, also known as Liza, was the daughter of Robert Grierson and his wife, Sinnugee. In the 1700s, Sinnugee, a woman of mixed heritage, came to the Muscogee Nation as a refugee. She was adopted into the tribe and became part of the Spanalgee (Spanish) clan.

Sinnugee lived in the town of Hillabee. This town was near a small waterway that flowed into the Tallapoosa River. It was about 50 miles from what is now Montgomery, Alabama. Around the time of the American Revolutionary War, Sinnugee married Robert Grierson, a Scottish trader.

Their marriage was very helpful for the family. Robert brought connections with colonial leaders. Sinnugee's ties within the Muscogee Nation brought safety and acceptance. The couple had eight children between 1780 and 1800. Elizabeth was one of the youngest. She learned to write and could sign her own name.

By the 1790s, the trade in deerskins was slowing down. So, Elizabeth's parents started a cotton farm on 30 acres of land. They also had about 300 cattle, 30 horses, and 40 enslaved people. They produced about 2,000 pounds of cotton each year.

During the Creek War (1813–1814), Elizabeth's family was very wealthy. This made them targets for a group called the Red Sticks. The Red Sticks were Muscogee people who did not want to adopt American ways of life. Elizabeth's younger relatives were attacked, and their home was robbed. Many of their enslaved people and animals were taken or harmed.

Despite these attacks, the family stayed until their home was completely destroyed in October. Without shelter, they went north to seek help from American troops and the Cherokee Nation. Robert Grierson wrote to General Andrew Jackson for help. He explained that his family had been attacked by Cherokee warriors. Their enslaved people, food, and clothes were stolen.

The family finally settled in what is now Jasper County, Georgia. In 1814, Elizabeth's brother William joined them there. Robert borrowed money to buy a new farm and rebuild his family's life in Georgia. They stayed there until the war ended.

In 1817, a man named Henry Walker sued Robert Grierson. Walker said Robert owed him money for supporting his family and many enslaved people. Robert argued that Walker had used his enslaved people's labor, so no money was owed. A court ruled against Robert.

To collect the money, Walker sold his claim to William McIntosh. McIntosh took about 20 enslaved people belonging to Robert. To protect her father's property, Elizabeth moved some of his enslaved people into American territory. This placed them outside the Muscogee Nation's control.

Business and Challenges

In 1817, Elizabeth was listed as a member of the Muscogee Nation. Her father, Robert, gave her several enslaved people. These included Amitto Jr. and Sr., Ben, Daniel, Diana, Dye, Grace and her child Rinn, Hope, Isaac, Lucy, Lumina, Molly, Nelly, and Rena and her children Dick, Ian, Lidia, Nero, and Polly. He also gave enslaved people to his other children to help them become financially secure.

In 1818, Elizabeth wrote a will. In it, she stated that Dick would be freed after her death. That same year, lands given up by the Muscogee Nation in the Treaty of Fort Jackson began to be sold. This loss of land made some Native traditionalists angry. In 1819, Elizabeth's farm was attacked. She lost a horse and some tools. The next year, during another raid, more farm equipment was stolen. In 1819, she went to court in Alabama to get her stolen property back.

By this time, Elizabeth was a successful businesswoman. She often traveled to Montgomery for business. She knew how to protect her property in court. In October 1821, her farm was raided again. Hogs, chains, and soap were stolen, worth about $400. In December, raiders returned and took cotton, wool, hogs, sheep, and tools. In 1823, nine of her enslaved people were robbed of their belongings, including clothes and jewelry. Robbing her enslaved people was another way to show anger towards Elizabeth.

In 1823, Elizabeth's father died. William McIntosh was put in charge of his estate. Elizabeth received her share of the estate, which included enslaved people. Among them were her brother William's wife and son. William had been disinherited, meaning he did not receive a share.

In 1825, McIntosh made a deal to give up all Muscogee lands in Georgia. This deal also meant moving the Muscogee people west of the Mississippi River. The leaders who signed this Treaty of Indian Springs did not have the authority to do so. The Muscogee National Council said that McIntosh and others had committed treason. They decided these individuals should be executed.

That same year, the Muscogee Nation passed a new law. This law stated that Muscogee people with Black spouses or children could not own property. Any property they owned could be given to other family members. This law changed the position of Black people within Muscogee society. It treated anyone with Black heritage as if they were enslaved. This was a problem for families like the Griersons, who had mixed heritage.

In 1828, Thomas Grierson, one of Robert's sons, filed a claim for the enslaved people McIntosh had taken in 1817. The Montgomery County Court ruled that the enslaved people belonged to Robert's heirs, after Elizabeth filed a lawsuit. Thomas then sold his share of his father's enslaved people. Elizabeth got other family members to agree to the sale.

White settlers began moving into the Hillabee area. This made the Grierson family want to move. However, a Muscogee law in 1828 said that anyone who signed up to leave would be executed. As white settlers became more numerous and aggressive, Elizabeth planned to leave in 1830. She signed up 26 family members, including enslaved people, to move to Indian Territory. She also filed papers in Shelby County, Alabama, to free Dick. An Alabama law confirmed his freedom in 1831.

Their move was delayed by a new treaty in 1832. This treaty allowed each tribal member to receive land. Within five years, they could sell their land if they wished. Elizabeth received land near her mother and brothers. She also bought two nearby land parcels from neighbors who wanted to sell. In 1834, she sent her brother William's wife and children to him. William and his wife moved to Indian Territory in 1835.

Because Elizabeth and Dick lived together as husband and wife, their union was not allowed. They were eventually forced to leave Alabama. They moved to the Muscogee lands in Indian Territory. But they found that the law against their type of marriage was also enforced there. They left the Muscogee Nation and settled in the Choctaw Nation. However, the Choctaw also had a similar ban. In 1840, they moved again to Poteau Valley, Arkansas. They did not stay long in Arkansas, moving to the Chickasaw Nation.

Later Life and Legacy

Elizabeth likely died in the Chickasaw Nation in 1847. Her will was settled on October 7, 1847, by the Muscogee Nation's General Council. They decided to divide the enslaved Black people in her estate fairly among her siblings.

After her death, a disagreement arose over the ownership of an enslaved woman named Dinah. It was said that Dick had sold her to someone else. During the court case, it was noted that Elizabeth and Dick had no children. Under Muscogee law, a husband did not inherit his wife's property. Instead, it went to her closest relatives.

Because Elizabeth and Dick had lived in Arkansas when Dinah was bought, the question was which law should apply. Should it be Arkansas law, where the husband inherited? Or Muscogee law, where property went to the wife's family? The Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, George C. Watkins, ruled that Elizabeth and Dick were Native Americans. They were only temporary residents in Arkansas and had not become citizens there. He ruled that they were Muscogee, and Muscogee law should apply.

Historian Claudio Saunt says that the history of the Grierson family shows how important race was in Native American history. Changes in the 1800s caused families to be separated. People with African ancestry had to find different ways to survive as racial differences became more strict.

Common Misunderstandings

Historian Claudio Saunt wrote in his book Black, White, and Indian that in the 1900s, many family researchers claimed Elizabeth Grierson was the main wife of William McIntosh. However, Saunt noted that there are no historical documents that prove they were married.

He pointed out that a letter from 1826 said that Eliza McIntosh was the daughter of Stephen Hawkins. This idea that McIntosh's wife's maiden name was Hawkins was also accepted by Oklahoma historian, John Bartlett Meserve. Texas historian and professor Judith McArthur also studied the life of McIntosh's daughter, Rebecca Hagerty. She also concluded that McIntosh's main wife was Eliza Hawkins.