Mary Musgrove
Mary Musgrove, born in 1700, was a prominent figure in the Creek Confederacy, known by her Creek name, Consaponaheeso, and honored with the title "Beloved Woman." As a leader in the matrifocal societal structure of her people, she played a significant role in political affairs, including a notable march on Savannah regarding a land dispute, which foreshadowed the "Red Stick Revolt." Musgrove earned respect from Europeans, who referred to her as a "chief" and called her "Creek Mary." In addition to her political influence, Musgrove had a complex personal life, marrying three white men, including John Musgrove, Jr. and Reverend Thomas Bosomworth, all of whom were connected to the British military interests at the time. Despite her distrust of whites, she navigated intricate relationships between her Creek community and European settlers, often facing criticism for her actions. She was seen as both a symbol of Creek resistance to colonial encroachment and a controversial figure due to her interracial marriages and political maneuvers. Ultimately, Mary Musgrove represents a multifaceted legacy, embodying the complexities of her era and serving as an inspiration for native liberation movements.
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Subject Terms
Mary Musgrove
- Born: c. 1700
- Birthplace: Coweta, Georgia
- Died: c. 1763
- Place of death: St. Catharine's Island, Georgia
Tribal affiliation: Creek
Significance: Mary Musgrove was instrumental in the founding and development of the colony of Georgia
Mary Musgrove was born in 1700. She was a member of what was known as the Creek Confederacy. Her Creek name was Consaponaheeso, and she was given the significant title of “Beloved Woman” by her people. She was an active leader in the matrifocal spheres that influenced the politics in the traditional Creek society of her day. Her exploits included a march on Savannah over a Creek land dispute, which was a precursor to the “Red Stick Revolt.” Her political prowess distinguished her as a “chief” by the Europeans who had to deal with her; they also bestowed on her the name of “Creek Mary” in admiration.
It is often said that Mary had a mistrust of whites because of her Creek nationalism. This apparently did not prevent her from marrying three white men. Her first husband was John Musgrove, Jr., the son of a key British military commander in the Carolinas during the eighteenth century. The two had children while operating a trading post on Yamacraf Bluff in Georgia, but they moved to South Carolina to live near his father. After his death, her second marriage was to another Englishman, Jacob Matthews, but it was short-lived. In 1749, she was married for the third and last time, to the Reverend Thomas Bosomworth, a minister of the Church of England. He was also the chaplain to General James Edward Oglethorpe’s Highland Regiment, whose later military reign involved the expropriation of Creek lands in Georgia for the Crown of England. Bosomworth played an active role in assisting his general in obtaining Creek lands. The minister also transferred real estate to himself instead of the Crown.
As Carolyn Thomas Foreman implies in her treatise on Mary Musgrove, she was in a strategic position between her tribespeople, her husband’s private interests, and Oglethorpe’s competing claims. The plan fell through when Creek leaders denounced the enterprise and Mary and her spouse’s duplicitous natures. The enterprising couple were jailed, a situation which did not deter either one from continuing to expropriate Creek lands for the British Crown. On the other hand, it has also been written that she was an advocate for the early “pan-Indianism,” an intertribal movement that was espoused by the Shawnee leader Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa, the Prophet.
She was a complex individual with a dual nature, one who engaged in what others have referred to as “sexual politics” through her interracial marital liaisons. It has been asked whether she was a heroine or a pawn, a patriot or a traitor to her Creek Nation. It is most likely that she was a player in the politics of this period, which saw the development of American colonialism at the expense of her Creek homeland. Mary Musgrove has emerged in the historical literature as a symbol of Creek patriotism, despite her marital commitments. She was in the forefront of Creek resistance to European conquest and colonization, and she was an extraordinary role model to many native liberationists.
Bibliography
Brown, Dee. Creek Mary’s Blood. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980.
Churchill, Ward. “The Historical Novel and Creek Mary’s Blood.” Journal of Ethnic Studies 12, no. 3 (Fall, 1984): 119-128.
Foreman, Carolyn Thomas. Indian Women Chiefs. 1954. Reprint. Muskogee, Okla.: Hoffman Printing, 1966.
Green, Michael D. The Politics of Indian Removal: Creek Government and Society in Crisis. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1982.
Holm, Tom. “Indian Removal and Creek Government.” Journal of Ethnic Studies 12, no. 3 (Fall, 1984): 129-130.
Martin, Joel W. Sacred Revolt: The Muskogees’ Struggle for a New World. Boston: Beacon Press, 1991.