Georgia Historical Society

Mary Musgrove

 
Born to a Creek woman and an English trader named Edward Griffin, the "half-breed" woman Coosaponakeesa knew both European and Native American cultures intimately. Upon her marriage to John Musgrove about 1725, Mary, as she was known in English, established a trading post with her husband near the Savannah River. When Oglethorpe met Mary, he quickly realized the advantages of Mary's linguistic skills, knowledge of native cultures, and her experience in trade with the Indians.
 
The encounter and exchange between Mary Musgrove and James Oglethorpe benefitted the broader exchange between the English and the Indians during the developmental years of the Georgia colony. Musgrove, as interpreter and negotiator, helped Oglethorpe secure treaties for land and trade, and she never failed to gather Creek allies against the Spanish. Unfortunately, this relationship was marred later, and Indian alliances threatened, when the Trustees failed to pay Musgrove for her services. Her place among the Creeks was demonstrated as they rallied around her in Savannah, marching through the streets, yelling and shooting into the air, and causing many to fear an Indian war against the settlers. Finally, after the Trustee period came to an end, the royal governors John Reynolds and Henry Ellis paid Musgrove from the sale of two of Georgia's islands, Ossabaw and Sapelo, and granted to her and her third husband, Thomas Bosomworth, the island of St. Catherines.

Mary Bosomworth Paper, 1759, MS 77 ordering the measuring and laying out of St. Catherine's Island for Mary Bosomworth.

Although the Trustees' Georgia did not meet two of their three primary goals, those of a haven and reformatory for debtors and a profitable venture, with Mary Musgrove's assistance, it excelled as a military buffer against the Spanish. The tensions and encounters between English and Spanish in the Southeast directly affected the settlement of Georgia and created opportunities for various European groups of differing economic and religious backgrounds to begin anew.
 
Teaching Tips

Mary Musgrove's place in history marks a good point to introduce the study of Georgia's women and their role in shaping the state. A previous GHS lecture series participant, Cokie Roberts, authored Founding Mothers: The Women who Raised our Nation, and briefly discussed two of Georgia's "founding mothers," Nancy Hart and Ann Gwinnett.

1. Discuss Mary Musgrove's unique position during the settlement of Georgia. What advantages did she have over other women in the colony?
2. How did she use both Native American and English customs and laws to her advantage?
3. Ask students to write a history of a woman in their family answering questions such as:

1. How did she shape the history of the family?
2. How does or did she compare to other women of the same period?
3. What were/are the historical events that shaped her life?

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