Milly Francis facts for kids

Milly Francis (around 1803–1848) was a brave Native American woman. She was the daughter of a Creek leader named Josiah Francis. Milly was born near what is now Montgomery, Alabama, around 1803. Her name, Milly, is believed to be her birth name. She was part of the Red Stick group within the Creek tribe.

A Heroic Rescue in Florida

In 1818, Milly Francis was living with her father. They were near the Wakulla River in Florida. This was close to a fort called San Marcos de Apalache. One day, a U.S. soldier named Duncan McCrimmon got lost while fishing. Two Creek warriors captured him. They were going to execute him. Milly bravely stepped in. She convinced the warriors not to harm him.

Milly's Fame Spreads

This act of kindness became very famous. News of Milly's bravery spread across the United States. It showed people that not all Native Americans were "savages," as some stories claimed. Later, McCrimmon found Milly. He brought her a gift of money from people in Milledgeville, Georgia. He also asked her to marry him. Milly accepted the money but politely declined his marriage proposal.

This story made Milly even more famous. People started calling her "the Creek Pocahontas." She became one of the most well-known Native American women of her time, after Sacagawea. Many baby girls were even named Milly in her honor.

Life After the Rescue

Milly likely saw her father executed in 1818. This happened after McCrimmon told Andrew Jackson where her father was. Milly and others from her father's village were then ordered to walk to Fort Gadsden. From there, they had to return to the Creek nation in Alabama. Milly was already famous when she arrived at Fort Gadsden. This is where McCrimmon found her.

Family Life and Relocation

According to a Creek census from 1832, Milly married a man named Cochar Hoboithley. They had three children at that time. Later, they had five more children. Milly was among the many Native Americans forced to move. This journey was known as the Trail of Tears. She moved to what is now Oklahoma. There, she built a small cabin on land that is now part of Bacone College. Her husband, a warrior, died in 1837 while traveling to join her.

A Fight for Justice and a Pension

Many years later, in 1842, a U.S. Army officer named Lieutenant Colonel Ethan Allen Hitchcock was sent to the Indian Territory. He was investigating problems faced by Native Americans who had recently moved there. Hitchcock had heard about Milly Francis. He sought her out, looking into her family's needs.

He found Milly living in great poverty. Only three of her eight children were still alive. She was dressed simply, "something like a white woman." Hitchcock was moved by her situation. He wrote to the Secretary of War, J. C. Spencer. He asked that the U.S. government give Milly a pension.

The Pension and Milly's Legacy

Congress approved Hitchcock's proposal. The law was signed in 1844. Milly was supposed to receive $96 each year. This payment was to be retroactive, starting from September 1843. She was also to receive a special medal. However, Milly did not learn about this pension until just before she died in 1848. She passed away from tuberculosis, still living in poverty. She never received any money. The pension money due to her was meant to go to an Indian agent for her children's benefit. A warrant for $20 for the medal was issued in March 1848. Milly died in May without ever seeing the medal.

Milly Francis's burial place is unknown. It is thought to be somewhere on the grounds of Bacone College, where her cabin once stood. There is a monument there in her honor. Historical markers also stand at Fort Gadsden (now Prospect Bluff Historic Sites) and San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park.