Mary Musgrove facts for kids

Mary Musgrove (her Muscogee name was Coosaponakeesa, born around 1700, died 1765) was a very important person in the early history of Georgia. She was the daughter of Edward Griffin, an English trader from Charles Town, and a Creek mother. Mary helped a lot with the growth of colonial Georgia. She became a key link between the Creek people and the Georgia colonists. She tried to live a life that blended both cultures. She also fought for her own rights in both the Creek and English worlds.

Mary Musgrove: A Bridge Between Cultures

Her Early Life and Family

Mary Musgrove was born with the Creek name Coosaponakeesa. She was part of the Creek Indian "Wind Clan." Her birthplace was Coweta Town, near the Ockmulgee River. Her mother was a Creek woman. Her father, Edward Griffin, was an English trader from Charles Town.

When Mary was about three years old, her mother passed away. Her grandmother then took care of her. Later, Mary became known by her Christian name, Mary, and her married names: Musgrove, Matthews, and Bosomworth.

Coweta was linked by a trading path to another Creek town called Tuckabatchee. Mary's family likely traveled and traded between these towns. When she was about seven, her father took her to Pon Pon in South Carolina. There, she was baptized and learned about Christianity. After this, her Christian name became Mary. She lived in Pon Pon until the Yamasee War began in 1715. Then, she returned to her Creek family in Coweta.

Colonel John Musgrove Sr. was a soldier and trader from South Carolina. He worked to make peace between the Creeks and the Carolina colonists. His teenage son, John Musgrove, Jr., came with him to Coweta. The Musgrove party was welcomed by "Chieftainess Qua." She was likely Mary's aunt. Colonel Musgrove met with Brims, the Coweta headman. The colonists had called Brims "Emperor." This was so he could speak for other chiefs.

During their talks, they decided that a young niece from Brims' family would marry Musgrove's son. This was to follow native rules of family and sharing. It also helped to strengthen the peace treaty. Colonel Musgrove was married to a Creek woman. So, his son, John Musgrove, Jr., was also of "mixed blood," like Mary.

Mary and John Musgrove, Jr. married and lived with her Coweta relatives. This was a common practice in Creek culture, which traced family through the mother. In 1725, the couple moved to Pon Pon. This area is now in Colleton County. Mary's father had also lived there. By the 1730s, they had three sons, but sadly, none lived to be adults.

In 1732, the Carolina governor asked Mary and John to start a trading post. This was near the Savannah River. Their trading post, Cowpen, was doing well. It was ready when James Oglethorpe and his colonists arrived in Georgia.

Helping the New Colony

Tomochichi, chief of the Yamacraw

James Oglethorpe and a group of trustees received a Royal charter from King George II. They wanted to start a new colony in Georgia. Oglethorpe and 114 colonists arrived in Charles Town in January 1733. They then went south to find a good spot.

Oglethorpe met Tomochichi (died 1739), the chief of the Yamacraws, on February 1, 1733. After several weeks of building trust, they formed a strong bond. Tomochichi gave land to Oglethorpe. This went against earlier Creek treaties with South Carolina. These treaties said colonists could not settle south of the Savannah River.

They held a three-day meeting. This led to the Articles of Peace and Commerce. It allowed Oglethorpe to settle "upon the river Savannah as far as the tide flowed and along the Sea Coast." Three islands were not included: Sapalo, St. Catherine's, and Ossabaw.

John Musgrove traveled as an interpreter for Tomochichi. Tomochichi, his wife, and other Creeks sailed with Oglethorpe to England. They met King George II in 1734.

On June 12, 1735, John Musgrove died from a fever. In the spring of 1737, Mary married Jacob Matthews. He was her former English indentured servant. An indentured servant was someone who worked for another person for a set time to pay off a debt.

Between 1737 and 1738, Mary helped Oglethorpe get land from the Creeks. At his request, she set up trading posts along the Altamaha. These posts helped watch the Creeks' loyalty and Spanish activities. Both trading posts had to be closed later. This caused Mary to lose money. For ten years, Mary kept working as an interpreter, mediator, and advisor for Oglethorpe. She helped him make treaties and get land.

The minister John Wesley also visited her. He wrote that "Tomochichi's interpreter was one Mrs. Musgrove. She understands both languages. She was educated among the colonists. She can read and write, and is a well-civilized woman. She is also to teach us the Indian tongue."

Mary became a widow again in 1742. The next year, Oglethorpe left for London and never came back to Georgia. He left Mary £100. He had also promised her £100 a year, but this promise was not kept. He also gave her a diamond ring. Oglethorpe had relied on Mary a lot. She entertained important leaders and helped keep the Creeks on the British side. But the other leaders did not value her as much.

Fighting for Her Rights

Mary Musgrove Matthews met Reverend Thomas Bosomworth. They married in July 1744. Bosomworth stopped his church duties. He focused on helping Mary with her many businesses.

Back in 1738, Oglethorpe had met with Lower Creek town leaders. Mary was there as his interpreter. But she was also there to receive land from the Yamacraws. Giving Indian lands to Mary while Oglethorpe was there seemed to mean the colonists approved. This started legal fights that lasted for twenty years. Bosomworth now tried to help his wife get legal ownership of the land.

While waiting for a reply, Mary sent a letter to Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Heron in Georgia. She asked for payment for her past help to the Georgia colony. Colonel Heron wrote that he "had personal knowledge of her merit." He also said he was "highly sensible of the singular service she has done the country." He noted she used "a great part of her own private fortune" to keep the Creek Indians friendly with the English.

While waiting for answers from London, Mary received three islands from Brims' successor, Malatchi. These were St. Catherine, Sapelo, and Ossabaw. On St. Catherines Island, she moved cattle. She also started farming and building.

After many letters and requests, Mary invited Creek leaders to Savannah. She wanted them to get gifts and help convince the colonists to accept her Creek land grants.

Malatchi and others arrived in the summer of 1749. But Mary was not allowed to be a translator. She had to wait outside the meeting. After several hours, an angry Mary interrupted the meeting. She started to speak to the men. One white person who saw this was upset by her actions.

Her angry outburst made the colonial leaders arrest her. Thomas Bosomworth had to apologize for her in public. He promised she would not have any more outbursts. Mary's actions also made her male relatives upset. She spent the next year in the Creek Nation trying to regain their respect.

By 1752, the Bosomworths were in Charles Town. They were waiting to sail to England to argue their case in person. They were delayed for two years. They helped the South Carolina governor make peace between the Creek and the Cherokee. After a year in England, the Bosomworths came back to Savannah without success.

When Henry Ellis became the new governor of Georgia in 1757, the problem was finally settled. Mary and Thomas were given legal ownership of St. Catherines Island. They gave up the other two islands and the Yamacraw lands. These lands were to be sold. The money from the sale was given to Mary for her past salary and losses. The issue was finally resolved in 1759. Mary accepted £2100.00. Governor Ellis used Mary's skills a few more times. She then settled quietly on St. Catherines Island. Mary Musgrove Matthews Bosomworth died in the summer of 1765.

Understanding Creek Culture

The name "Creek" was given to the Muskogee people by European settlers. Those living along the Tallapoosa River were called the Upper Creeks. Those along the Chattahoochee River and to the east were called the Lower Creeks. Mary Musgrove was a Lower Creek. She said she was born along the Ocmulgee River.

What is a Matrilineal Society?

Creek society was matrilineal. This means a person's status and identity came from their mother. Fathers were not seen as blood relatives. They were only related by marriage. Both males and females traced their family history through their mother. Social connections were based on family ties through the mother's side.

Several groups of relatives, called clans, shared the same mythical ancestor. Examples include the Wind, Bear, or Turtle clans. The Creeks had many clans. More than thirty to forty different clans were known to exist within the Creek nation.

The Creeks, like many societies based on family ties, did not know how to act with people not connected by family. So, Creeks created family ties through adoption or marriage. They also used rituals to create pretend family relationships. Mary Musgrove's first marriage was one example of using marriage to create family ties with white people. Tomochichi's first meetings with James Oglethorpe were meant to create fake family ties. This helped them share and trade.

Creek women could own land and things separate from their husbands. Mothers had control over their children. They also watched over their upbringing. Benjamin Hawkins, an Indian agent, felt "that a white man by marrying an Indian woman of the Creek nation so far from bettering his condition becomes a slave of her family."

A more understanding person was the naturalist William Bartram. He noted that "the traders are fully sensible how greatly it is to their advantage to gain their [Creek women's] affections and friendship in matters of trade and commerce." White traders married Creek women to gain family ties. These mixed marriages had children who were part of two cultures. Coosaponakeesa was one of these children.

Being "Mixed Blood" in Creek Society

The term "half breed" was a disrespectful word made up by Europeans. Creeks did not see children from mixed marriages as white or "mixed blood." They saw them as fully Creek. If a child had a Creek mother, they were Creek. They had all the rights of any clan member. Even white women who were captured and then adopted into a clan had full rights as any Creek. When they married Creek men, their children were also seen as fully Creek. This was because their white mother was considered a full Creek after being adopted into a clan.

In Creek society, the only blood relatives were from the mother's side. Fathers were not seen as blood relatives. They were only related by marriage and the rules of kinship. So, a child's closest and most important male relatives were their maternal uncles. This is why Brims arranged his niece's marriage. It is also why she referred to him when she demanded to be seen as an important Creek woman.

"Mixed blood" Indians in white society were important helpers. They helped with European goals of colonization, trade, and getting land. But they were still not seen as white. So, they had a lower status in the white world. "Mixed blood" children connected two cultures. But because of the matrilineal customs, women like Mary Musgrove had no lower status in Creek society.

Important Dates in Mary's Life

• c.1700 - Coosaponakeesa (later Mary Musgrove) born in Coweta, Creek Nation. This is now near Newnan, Georgia, USA.
• c.1703 - Mary's mother dies. Her maternal grandmother raises her in the Creek Nation.
• c.1707 - Mary's father, Edward Griffin, takes her to Pon Pon, SC. This is now Colleton County, SC. She is baptized as Mary Griffin.
• 1715 - The Yamasee War begins. Coosaponakeesa/Mary moves back to her Creek family in Coweta.
• c.1716 - Mary and John Musgrove, Jr. meet in Coweta and later marry.
• 1732 – John and Mary Musgrove start a successful trading post, Cowpen. It is near present-day Savannah, GA.
• 1733 – General James Oglethorpe arrives to find a place to settle.
• 1733 – Oglethorpe hires Mary as a go-between and interpreter for talks with Indians.
• 1735 – John Musgrove dies of fever.
• 1737 – Mary marries Jacob Matthews.
• 1738 – Mary receives land from the Yamacraws.
• 1742 – Jacob Matthews dies.
• 1743 – Oglethorpe leaves Georgia and goes back to England.
• 1744 – Mary marries Reverend Thomas Bosomworth.
• 1747 – Mary receives a grant of St. Catherine, Sapelo, and Ossabaw Islands from the Creeks.
• 1760 – Mary settles claims for back-pay. She also gets clear ownership of St. Catherine's Island from the British courts.
• 1765 – Mary dies in her sleep on St. Catherine's Island. She was 65 years old.

Learn More

• Savannah Women of Vision
• Creek language
• Creek mythology
• Creek people
• History of Savannah, Georgia