Great Woman: Molly Brant

Native history is filled with brother-and-sister teams who band together to contribute as best they could to helping their people survive, Lozen and Victorio, Cornstalk and Nonhelema, or Joseph and Molly Brant.  Today, we'll look at Molly (1736-1796). 

Although women held a respected place in Iroquois society Molly was not from one of the Mohawk families given the right to chose a Sachem.  She was never a clan mother, except among her specific family.  Yet, like Joseph, she rose through a combination of connections, luck and the strength of her own mind and personality.  She was born at Canajoharie on the Mohawk River, near present-day Fort Plain, NY.  Her childhood name was a Mohawk word meaning "Someone Lends Her a Flower".  Her adult name, more commonly known, was Deganwodanti, meaning "Two Against One", which fit her relationship with Joseph and much of the rest of the world.  Both brother and sister garnered their fair share of jealousy from fellow Mohawk, who thought they were pretentious and getting above themselves.

Molly stepfather was a Mohawk Sachem, with the last name of Brant.  To more solidify their place in their society, she and Joseph took their stepfather's surname.  Like many Mohawk, the Brant family were Anglican, lived in a frame house, and spoke English in addition to their Native language.  As a young woman, Molly was described as being "very likely", which meant "quite pretty".  When British Superintendent for Indian Affairs Sir William Johnson came to Canajoharie, he stayed with the Brant family.  He and Molly became intimate before 1759, when her first son by him, Peter, was born.  She soon moved to Johnson Hall, where she would bear Johnson a further seven children.  She presided over his home, greeted his guests and, in every way, acted as his wife, though a formal marriage was out of the question.  Joseph also came to stay with his sister at Johnson Hall, bringing him further under Sir William's influence.  He and Molly were valuable assets to Johnson in furthering his influence with the Iroquois.

Sir William Johnson died in 1774, having provided generously for Molly and their children in his will.  She returned with her children to Canajoharie as the American Revolution loomed.  She was a staunch Loyalist who provided food and shelter to other Loyalists who were hiding from Patriot reprisals or fleeing to Canada.  She remained in Canajoharie until after the Battle of Oriskany, where she had tipped off the British, through Joseph, about Patriot efforts to relieve besieged Fort Stanwix.  Oneida and American forces retaliated against the Brants by burning Canajoharie and Molly had to flee to the Iroquois capital of Onondaga. 

Once at Onondaga, the Iroquois held several councils as to what to do about the Revolution, which side to back or to stay neutral.  Although some leaders were in favor of staying neutral, Molly persuaded most of the tribes to remain
in the fight, siding with the British.  She used her influence as Johnson's widow and the stepdaughter of a Sachem to carry her point and British observers realized that a word from her was often enough to get the Iroquois Grand Council to do whatever the British needed done.  Later in 1777, she moved to Fort Niagara at the request of Loyalist officer Maj. John Butler, to bolster Iroquois loyalty in that area.  Two years later, in 1779, after the Sullivan Expedition had driven the Iroquois from their homeland forever, she served as a mediator, negotiator and advocate for both British and Natives, dividing her time between Fort Niagara, Carleton Island, and Montreal, all of which were filled with Native refugees fleeing the havoc in New York.

In 1783, she moved to Cataraqui, near what is now Kingston, Ontario.  The government built her home and gave her a yearly pension.  Her eldest son, Peter, had been killed serving with a British regiment during the War and most of her daughters married British army or naval officers.  Hoping to make us of her influence with the remaining Iroquois in New York, the Americans offered her a larger pension if she would return to the Mohawk Valley.  She refused.  She lived out her life in Kingston and died there, though the exact location of her grave is unknown.  Her son, George, married a Mohawk woman and maintained some of her influence after her death. 

In 1994, she was named a Person of National Historic Significance in Canada.  She has been commemorated by a Canadian postage stamp and a bust in Kingston, among other honors.