Mary (Molly) Brant was the consort, or common-law wife of Sir William Johnson, superintendent of Indian Affairs for the northern colonies. Mary bore him nine children, who he referred to in his will as "natural" children by his housekeeper. It was rumored, however, that they were married in an Indian marriage ceremony. Sir William Johnson died in 1774. His will was generous to Mary and her children, and she returned to her native village of Canajoharie on the Mohawk River.
During the American Revolution, Mary informed the British of patriot movements before the battle of Oriskany.
Mary's brother, Joseph, was one of the most notorious Iroquois warriors of the Revolution, and her
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son, Peter Johnson, captured Ethan Allen during the fighting at Montreal, Canada.
After her spying was discovered, Mary went to live with relatives among the Six Nations and used her political connections to keep the Cayugas and Senecas loyal to the British.
After the war, Mary moved to Canada, where she lived on an annual pension from the British government in recognition of her assistance during the war, until her death in 1783.
Since 1994, Brant has been honored as a "Person of National Historic Significance" in Canada. She was long ignored or disparaged by historians of the United States, but scholarly interest in her increased in the late 20th century. No portraits of her are known to exist; an idealized likeness is featured on a statue in Kingston and on a Canadian stamp issued in 1986.
With all colonial women had to do taking care of their families and homes, one would think they could never get out of the home. It wasn't usual for women to work outside of the home in the 1600s but many did, especially poor women who needed the money. According to Plymouth Colony records of 1644, one woman, "Mistress Jenny," was identified as the person who promised to do the grinding at the mill and to keep bags of corn from sprouting. There wee a few other women who were allowed to earn money by being nurses, midwifes, cleaners of
the meeting house and tavern keepers.
The tavern keeper positions happened most often when a woman's husband was the tavern keeper and died and she would be allowed to keep the position so she would have an income.
Some earned money while never leaving the home by baking, sewing, spinning, weaving and knitting.
Of course, in the 1700s,women were employed more regularly outside the home in printing shops, newspaper and publishing companies and in mills.
Today we sit back and gripe about our political system and corrupt politicians and say it isn't worth the bother to vote. We must not forget the long hard battle fought by courageous women to ascertain the right to vote for us. Margaret Brent immigrated from Gloucester, England to Maryland in 1638. She purchased 70 acres of land. This was not the usual case for immigrating women. Margaret happened to be the wealthy niece of Lord Baltimore. Margaret was named executor for Gov. Leonard Calvert in 1647. She applied to the state assembly of Maryland, demanding two votes -- one as a freeholder of land, the
other as an executor or landowner's attorney.
They said no to the freeholder vote, even though a male freeholder would be allowed to vote, but gave her a vote as Gov. Calvert's attorney. They did not, however seat her in the assembly.
In 1651 Margaret moved to Virginia and helped develop that colony by being the ruling woman of a large manor, speculating on land and acting as agent and attorney for her brothers.
By then Maryland had ended the right of female attorneys to represent clients, which might have been the reason behind her move.
Anne Hutchinson came to New England in 1634 and became a thorn in the side of the Puritan leadership. Anne was the first woman in this country to start a religious sect (Antinomian Party). She held meetings and lectured on secular and theological matters which the Puritan leadership did not allow a woman to do. She attacked the basic tenet of Puritanism: the doctrine of salvation through works. Hutchinson was tried and convicted of heresy and sedition before the
General Court of the Massachusetts Colony. She was excommunicated. The judge said she had assumed postured to which only men were entitled.
She settled in Rhode Island after being thrown out of Massachusetts but there too an outspoken woman was not to be tolerated.
She next moved to New York, where today the Hutchinson River and the Hutchinson River Parkway are named after her.
She and all but one of her children were killed by Native Peoples in 1643.
As the women in my book, Female Adventurers, were among the first women to set foot in New England in the seventeenth century, other women came behind them to accomplish many other first. The Townsend Act of 1767 by Great Britain taxed tea with the intent of using revenues accrued to maintain British troops in America and to pay the salaries of some Royal officials who were appointed to work in the American colonies.
Of course, this did not go over very well with the colonists. New England colonists were strongly opposed to taxes imposed by the British parliament, complained that these taxes represented "Taxation without representation!" In 1770 the Daughter of Liberty of the New England Colonies joined many others around the colonies and vowed not to drink tea imported from Great Britain until after the Revenue Act was repealed.
It’s easy to look at the Puritan migration to New England just from a religion point of view but that’s a mistake. Yes, they came to New England to worship without persecution but many also came for other reasons. The ships were full of individuals looking for economic gain. This was a new country with new opportunities.
Mary Blott and Thomas Woodford
Mary, the eldest of 10 children, came from Bedfordshire, England in 1632 as a servant. Her parents and siblings followed a couple of years later. Thomas Woodford, a servant, came to New England on
theWilliam and Francis ship in 1632. I haven’t proven yet if Mary was on the same ship. Maybe we have a shipboard romance.
Looking at the Gains
From the Hampshire County Probate Records we find that upon his death Thomas Woodford’s inventory was valued at more than 197 pounds and included “a dwelling house, barn, orchard, garden” with land adjoining, 4 acres over the swamp, 8 acres in the third square, “5 acres of mowing land in the Great Rainbow” and discusses three more acres. This is a nice accumulation of wealth for someone who started out a servant.