text: molly brant molly brant ( – april 16 , 1796 ) , also known as mary brant , , and , was a mohawk woman who was influential in the era of the american revolution . living in the province of new york , she was the consort of sir william johnson , the british superintendent of indian affairs , with whom she had eight children . joseph brant , who became a mohawk leader , was her younger brother . after johnson 's death in 1774 , brant and her children returned to her native village of canajoharie on the mohawk river . a loyalist during the american revolutionary war , she fled to british canada , where she worked as an intermediary between british officials and the iroquois . after the war , she settled in what is now kingston , ontario . in recognition of her service to the crown , the british government gave brant a pension and compensated her for her wartime losses . 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 . she has sometimes been controversial , criticized for being pro - british at the expense of the iroquois . a devout anglican , she is commemorated on april 16 in the calendar of the anglican church of canada and the episcopal church ( usa ) . 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 . early life little is known for certain about molly brant 's early life . named mary , but commonly known as " molly " , she was born around 1736 , possibly in the mohawk village of canajoharie , or perhaps further west in the ohio country . her parents were christian mohawks . she may have been the child named mary who was christened at the chapel at fort hunter , near the lower castle , another mohawk village , on april 13 , 1735 . if so , her parents were named margaret and . most historians believe that her father was named peter . joseph brant , born in 1743 , was molly 's brother or half - brother . one of molly 's mohawk names , perhaps her birth name , was , which means " someone her a flower " . her other mohawk name , given to her at adulthood , was , meaning " two against one " . her mohawk names have been spelled in a variety of ways in historical records . the mohawk are one of the six nations of the iroquois league . at the time of the american revolutionary war , they lived primarily in the mohawk river valley in what is now upstate new york . at some point , either before or after her birth , molly 's family moved west to the ohio country , which was used as an iroquois hunting ground . after molly 's father died , her family moved back to canajoharie . on september 9 , 1753 , molly 's mother married brant kanagaradunkwa , a mohawk sachem of the turtle clan . possibly to reinforce their connection to brant kanagaradunkwa , who was a prominent leader , molly and joseph took their stepfather 's name as a surname , which was unusual for that time . molly brant was raised in a mohawk culture that was highly anglicized . in canajoharie , the brants lived in a substantial colonial - style frame house and used many european household goods . the family attended the church of england . molly was fluent in mohawk and english . it is not clear whether she was formally educated or whether she could read and write . there are several letters signed " mary brant " , but these may have been dictated by molly and written by someone else . a letter from 1782 is signed with " her mark " , indicating that she may have been only semi - literate . in 1754 , molly accompanied her stepfather and a delegation of mohawk elders to philadelphia , where the men were to discuss a fraudulent land sale with colonial leaders . the party traveled to albany , where an english officer , captain staats long morris , nephew of governor lewis morris of pennsylvania , met and fell in love with brant . she was then about nineteen years old and described as " pretty likely " , meaning " good looking " . consort of sir william when general sir william johnson , superintendent for northern indian affairs , visited canajoharie , he always stayed at the house of his friend , molly 's stepfather brant kanagaradunkwa . johnson and molly brant became intimate ; in september 1759 , she gave birth to his son , peter warren johnson , named for sir william 's early patron and uncle , admiral sir peter warren . brant lived with johnson at fort johnson , and then johnson hall after 1763 , becoming effectively sir william 's common - law wife or consort . the couple had nine children together , eight of whom lived past infancy . they included the following : peter warren johnson ( named after william johnson 's uncle ) ; six daughters , elizabeth , magdalene , margaret , mary , susanna , and ann ( also known as nancy ) . elizabeth married dr. robert kerr , a british physician and magistrate . magdalene married john ferguson , who became a member of the legislature of upper canada for kingston . ann ( also known as nancy ) married a naval officer , captain hugh early for whom earl street in kingston is named after today . margaret married captain george farley of the 24th regiment in kingston . mary remained single , although she also lived in kingston with her sister , magdalene , after the war . susanna who married lieutenant henry lemoine of the famous 60th american foot regiment . george johnson . in johnson 's will , molly is referred to as his " housekeeper " , which at the time meant that she ran the household , served as hostess , and supervised the female servants and slaves . according to the historian barbara graymont , " mary brant presided over johnson 's household with intelligence , ability , grace , and charm , and she effectively managed the estate during johnson 's many and prolonged absences . " johnson and brant 's relationship was public ; she received gifts and thank - you notes from prominent visitors such as lord adam gordon . johnson used his connection with brant to further his public and private dealings with the iroquois . brant 's role as johnson 's domestic and political partner was well known . " before the age of forty , " writes and pulis , " she was already a legendary figure .... " william johnson died in july 1774 . in his will he left land , money , and slaves to brant and her children ; he left johnson hall to john johnson , his eldest son by his first common - law wife , catherine , a palatine german immigrant . molly returned to canajoharie with her children , personal belongings , and slaves . there she lived a comfortable life in a large house , and prospered as a trader . american revolution brant supported the british crown during the american revolutionary war . from her home in canajoharie , she provided food and assistance to loyalists who were fleeing from new york to canada . despite harassment from local patriots , she remained at canajoharie for the first two years of the war . a turning point came in 1777 when british forces invaded new york from canada and laid siege to patriots in fort stanwix . in august , when brant learned that a large body of patriot militia was on its way to relieve the fort , she sent mohawk runners to alert the british commander of the danger . this information enabled a british , mohawk , and seneca force to ambush the patriots and their oneida allies in the battle of oriskany . after this battle , in which iroquois warriors fought on both sides , the war in the mohawk valley became particularly brutal . the oneida and americans retaliated against brant by pillaging canajoharie . brant fled with her children to onondaga , the iroquois capital . her departure was so precipitate that she had to leave most of her belongings behind . at onondaga , the iroquois held a council to discuss what course to take . most iroquois favored assisting the british , but after the battle of saratoga , it seemed unlikely that the british could win . sayenqueraghta , a seneca chief , urged the iroquois to withdraw from the war . brant criticized sayenqueraghta 's advice , invoking the memory of sir william to convince the council to remain loyal to the crown . according to daniel claus , a british indian agent and sir william 's son - in - law , brant was " in every respect considered and esteemed by them [ the ] as sir william 's [ i.e. widow ] , and one word from her is more taken notice of by the five nations than a thousand from any white man without exception " . much of brant 's influence came from her connections to sir william johnson and her stepfather brant kanagaradunkwa . additional influence came from the fact that women in matrilineal iroquois society had more political influence than women in patriarchal societies . because brant 's ancestry is unclear , historians have apparently disagreed about whether she was born into an influential clan . brant has been described as the " head of the six nations matrons " , although historian robert allen writes that " there is no substantive evidence to suggest that molly was ever a clan matron or mother within the iroquois matrilineal society " . and pulis write that " although not born to the position , she became one of the mohawk matrons " . in late 1777 , brant relocated to fort niagara at the request of major john butler , who wanted to make use of her influence among the iroquois . at niagara , brant worked as an intermediary between the british and the iroquois , rendering , according to graymont , " inestimable assistance there as a diplomat and stateswoman " . meanwhile , in november 1777 brant 's son peter johnson was killed in the philadelphia campaign while serving in the british 26th regiment of foot . in 1779 , brant visited montreal , where some of her children attended school , but headed back when the americans began their invasion of that year . because of the war , she could only get as far as the british post at carleton island , where many iroquois refugees had fled from the americans . there she continued her work as an intermediary . the british commander considered brant 's influence " far superior to that of all their chiefs put together " . brant was unhappy with having to live in an army barracks with her children . hoping to keep her favor , the british built her a house on the island in 1781 , where she lived with her children and four slaves for the remainder of the war . throughout the war , brant played important roles as a negotiator , mediator , liaison , and advocate for mohawk and iroquois peoples at fort niagara , montreal , and carleton island . final years and legacy when carleton island was largely abandoned in 1783 , brant moved to cataraqui , now kingston , ontario , where the government built her a house and gave her an annual pension of £ 100 . the property that she was assigned was farm lot a in kingston township , along the northern limit of the town . it was only 116 acres instead of the standard 200 acres because it was encroached upon by the clergy reserve . brant and her family received compensation from the british government for their losses in the american revolution . hoping to make use of her influence , the united states offered brant compensation if she would return with her family to the mohawk valley , but she refused . brant lived in kingston for the remainder of her life , a respected member of the community and a charter member of the local anglican church . her son george johnson , known as " big george " among natives , married an iroquois woman and became a farmer and teacher ; her daughters married prominent white men . she died in kingston on april 16 , 1796 , at about age 60 , and was buried in st. paul 's churchyard , kingston 's original burial ground , now the site of st. paul 's anglican church . the exact location of her grave is unknown . brant 's legacy is varied . since 1994 , she has been honored as a person of national historic significance in canada . brant was long ignored or disparaged by historians of the united states , but scholarly interest in her increased in the late 20th century . the johnson hall state historic site in new york now interprets her public and private roles for visitors . she has sometimes been controversial , criticized for being pro - british at the expense of the iroquois . according to and pulis , " she made choices for which she is sometimes criticized today ; some have seen her as having played a large part in the loss of iroquois land in new york state . " brant saw the mohawk and iroquois ' best chance of survival as lying with the british . when history is painted in terms of british versus american , it is easy to see brant as a traitor . however , brant saw herself as mohawk and iroquois woman first , and she made strategic choices that she believed would best benefit her peoples . brant is commemorated on april 16 in the calendar of the anglican church of canada , as well as the episcopal church . 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 . archaeology in 1988 , archaeological testing was conducted at the site of the former home of molly brant in kingston , ontario , in preparation for a construction project . salvage excavations were carried out in 1989 . much of the original site of the brant homestead had been disturbed by industrial activities . the area had been the location of the kiwanis playing field , and was not disturbed until imperial oil bought the property in 1938 . at this time , the below - ground remains of the structures were likely removed . excavations revealed the remains of a privy , which contained over 5 , 000 artifacts of domestic and personal items from the 19th century . recognition in kingston on august 25 , 1996 the city of kingston proclaimed molly brant commemoration day . the mohawk nation - bay of quinte , the corporation of the city of kingston , the city of kingston historical board , mr. john ( molly brant sculptor ) and the historic sites and monuments board of canada agreed to commemorate her life with the creation of a bust representing molly brant along with an historic monument at the front entrance of rideaucrest home on rideau street in kingston . the memorial sculpture was unveiled at rideaucrest on molly brant commemoration day . the commemoration began with a service at st. george 's cathedral , a tobacco burning and wreath laying ceremony at st. paul 's anglican church and a reception at rideaucrest where the sculpture of molly brant was unveiled in the eastern courtyard . the molly brant foundation was established in 2005 in honour of molly brant . it focuses its not - for - profit work on urban aboriginal research in the kingston area . the molly brant one woman opera , composed by augusta - bates , was first performed at st. george 's cathedral in kingston on april 25 , 2003 under the aegis cataraqui archaeological research foundation . it has since evolved into a four - act opera which grew out of the original one - woman opera of 2003 . the 2003 production was sung by kingston soprano rhona gale , with carrie wyatt , flute , and the composer at the piano . on june 17 , 2015 , limestone district school board trustees selected molly brant as the name for a new elementary public school located on lyons street on queen elizabeth collegiate property . scheduled to open for the 2016 – 17 school year , the 49 , 000 - square - foot building will educate students from first avenue and frontenac public schools .