Mary Musgrove

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Mary Musgrove was a very influential woman of her time. Her heritage of both Native American and English blood gave her the perfect advantage for prosperity in the time period in which she lived. She had a great impact on the state of Georgia as an interpreter, a trading post owner, and a tribe member.
Musgrove was born in Coweta Town, Georgia, on the Ockmulgee River, to an Indian mother related to two leaders of the Creek, Chigelli and Brims, and a white trader father around the year 1700; Musgrove’s birth name was Coosaponakeesa.
As a member of the Creek tribe and the Wind Clan, Musgrove spent the first few years of her life learning her tribe language of Muskogee, as well as English, and the ways of the deerskin trade. Being of mixed heritage, she was acquainted with the cultures of both the Native Americans and the colonial people. When Musgrove was about ten years old, she was sent to live with a white family in Ponpon, South Carolina, just outside of Charles Towne. There, she was baptized, given the name Mary, and attended an English school. As a result, she became accustomed to both colonial and tribal life.
While living in South Carolina, a revolt by the Yamasees Indians took place against some trading practices used in the Carolinas. Musgrove left South Carolina for Coweta, Georgia when the revolt was put to an end in 1715.
When Mary was seventeen, she met and married John Musgrove, Jr., who was a colonel sent to visit the Creeks and set up a peace treaty with them by South Carolina's governor. He had a heritage much like Mary's; he had a Native American mother and a colonial landowner father. The Musgroves started out living on Creek land but ended up moving to Pomponne, where John's estate was located. In 1732, they...

... middle of paper ...

...land, where she is now buried. Today, the island is a wildlife preserve.
Mary Musgrove was a very powerful woman. She had influence in both the Indian and the Georgian colonist worlds. She kept the peace between the two groups and protested the unfair treatment towards those of Indian heritage. She also helped keep the Spaniards from overtaking Georgia by influencing the Indians to side with the colonists. Without her, things today could be quite different.

Works Cited

Frank, Andrew K. “Mary Musgrove (ca. 1700-ca. 1763).” New Georgia Encyclopedia. N.p. 8 Aug. 2013. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
“Georgia Women of Achievement.” Georgia Women. N.p. n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2013
Bois, Danuta. “Mary Musgrove (Cousaponokeesa).” Distinguished Women. N.p. 1998. Web. 13 Oct. 2013
Irby, Richard E., Jr. “Mary Musgrove, Queen of the Creeks.” About North Georgia. N.p. n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.

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