MARY MUSGROVE

The Queen of Georgia

 

   Mary Musgrove, next to Nancy Hart, was the most famous woman of 18th Century Georgia.  Half Indian and half white, Mary served the people of Georgia before leading a revolt to destroy it.  Her personal life was often tragic. Mary, the largest landowner in the colony of Georgia when she died, established a trading post at the mouth of the Oconee River at its confluence with the Ocmulgee River, at a place known as “The Forks.”

     Mary, the daughter of a South Carolina trader and a niece of Mico Brin, the Chief of the Creek Nation, was born at the turn of the 18th Century in Old Coweta town in West Georgia.  When she was seven years old, Mary, who had been known until then by her given name Consaponakeeso, moved with her father back to South Carolina, where she was baptized into the Christian faith.  In 1716, Col. John Musgrove was commissioned to negotiate with the Creeks in Georgia in an effort to prevent the expansion of the Spanish empire north from Florida.   Mary was invited because of her ability to speak fluent English and Creek.  Mary fell in love with the Colonel’s son, John Musgrove, Jr.   The two were married and remained in the Indian nation.  Mary became fluent in various dialects of the Creek and Muscogee tribes.

     In 1732, with the influential aid of Col. Musgrove, John and Mary Musgrove purchased a lot of trading goods and livestock and set up a trading post at Yamacraw Bluff opposite South Carolina near the mouth of the Savannah River.  A year later, a party of British colonists led by Gen. James Oglethorpe landed at the bluff, where they established the Colony of Georgia.  Oglethorpe selected Mary to serve as an interpreter and liaison between the colonists and the Yamacraw Indians.  Mary’s influence with both of her people led to friendly relationships well into the 1750s. 

     Following the death of John Musgrove, Jr., Gen. Oglethorpe asked Mary to move inland, one hundred and fifty miles from the mouth of the Altamaha River at a place known as Fort Venture.  It was there that Mary met and married Captain Jacob Mathew, a British officer.  Mary accompanied Gen. Oglethorpe into the interior of Georgia to negotiate to a critical treaty with the Creeks . The treaty gave the English a permanent foothold in Georgia and led directly to the British victory over the Spanish at the Battle of Bloody Marsh.

     A storm of controversy surrounded Mary during her marriage to Captain Mathew.  Mary had been granted the islands of St. Catherines, Ossabaw, and Sapelo and a four thousand acre tract near Savannah  by her Indian people.  In addition, Mary claimed that the colony owed her for her services to Gen. Oglethorpe.   Capt. Mathew became ill and died in Savannah in 1742.

     Mary became acquainted with Rev. Thomas Bosomworth, Chaplain of Oglethorpe’s regiment at Fort Frederica on Saint Simons Island.  Thomas and Mary were married in 1744.  Rev. Bosomworth, a somewhat seedy character, took up his wife’s cause in her claims for land and money.  Bosomworth traveled to England to plead her case.  Following his return, the Bosomsworths moved inland to establish a trading business.

     The couple chose a strategic location at the confluence of the Oconee and Ocmulgee, the rivers which form the mighty Altamaha River.  While the exact location of the post is not known, it is likely that it was located in the southwestern corner of Montgomery County on the east side of the Oconee and the northern side of the Altamaha.  While at “The Forks,” the Bosomworths enjoyed a lucrative business.  Mary was able to maintain friendly relationships with the Indians and the Georgians along the coast.  The outpost allowed the British to maintain surveillance of Spanish military activities emanating out of Florida.  The Bosomworths were the first to bring slaves into the Oconee River basin.

     The Reverend enlisted Major William Horton in command of the British forces at Frederica to aid the Bosomworths.  After Horton was recalled, Rev. Bosomworth convinced his successor, Col. Heron to join with him.  Mary was proclaimed the Empress of the Creek Nation.  Bosomworth promised the leaders of the Creek tribes untold wealth if they would march against and attack the British in Savannah.   In July of 1749,  Mary, dressed in the attire of her mother’s family, led the advance.  Bosomworth wore his canonical robes.  Three or four hundred Indians, covered with war paint, followed.  Captain Noble Jones rode out to meet the oncoming band of angry Indians.  Jones was able to convince the Indians that the Bosomworths had lied to them.   The attackers laid down their arms and were treated to a feast.  The Bosomworths were secreted to jail.  Bosomworth’s brother rushed in from South Carolina and convinced the couple to relinquish their claims in exchange for their freedom.  Bosomworth reneged on his promise and continued to press Mary’s claims.  Finally he was successful when Governor Henry Ellis authorized the sale of Ossabaw and Sapelo and to pay the proceeds to Mary.  Mary was allowed to retain St. Catherine’s Island along with a stipend of twenty one hundred pounds.  Mary and Thomas lived on St. Catherine’s until her death in 1766.   Mary was buried near her island home.  Thomas married Mary’s chamber maid.  Later he sold the island to Button Gwinnett, who signed the Declaration of Independence on behalf of the Colony of Georgia.  Following Gwinett’s death in a duel with Lachlan McIntosh, title to the island reverted to Bosomworth, who lived there until his death several years later.