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Life of Molly Brant (Mary, Konwatsi'tsiaienni, Degonwadonti)
Details of Molly Brant's birth, parentage, and early years are obscure. Historians disagree on her place of birth, which could be at her family's home in the Upper Mohawk Castle of Canajoharie or in the Ohio region where her parents may have been living at the time. Whatever the case, she settled into Canajoharie shortly before the outbreak of the French and Indian War. She died on April 16, 1796, at about the age of 60, in what is now Kingston, Ontario. -
The French and Indian War Begins
Following a dispute over control of an area known as the Forks of the Ohio, where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers converge, and the site of the French Fort Duquesne in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, violence erupted in the Battle of Jumonville Glen, in which Virginia militiamen under the command of a 22-year-old George Washington ambushed a French patrol. -
Molly Accompanies a Delegation of 12 Mohawk Elders to Philadelphia
The delegation was sent to discuss with Pennsylvania colonial officials the recent fraudulent land sales in the Wyoming valley to a group of Connecticut speculators. -
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, and the Birth of Molly and Sir William Johnson's First Child
In a pivotal battle during the French and Indian War on September 13, 1759, the British achieved victory and captured the city of Quebec, a major French stronghold in New France. Also in September, exact date unknown, Molly gave birth to her first child by Sir William Johnson, Peter Warren Johnson, following reports of the two becoming intimate after the death of Sir Johnson's first wife, Catherine Weissenberg, that same year. The couple would have eight more children together. -
George III Crowned King of Great Britain
On October 25, 1760, George III, Prince of Wales, succeeded to the throne of Great Britain after the death of his grandfather, George II. His unusually long reign (1760-1820) would be characterized by constant warfare and a series of military conflicts, most notably the American Revolution. -
The Treaty of Paris (1763) and Molly's Move to Johnson Hall
On February 10, 1763, the Treaty of Paris was signed by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France, and Spain, with Portugal in agreement, effectively ending the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War). Sometime after, Molly moves to Johnson Hall with Sir William Johnson and, as Sir Johnson's common-law wife or consort, quickly establishes a prominent role for herself within the household. She would remain here until Sir Johnson's death in 1774. -
The Stamp Act of 1765
The Stamp Act introduced into the American colonies by the British Parliament meets with strong resistance from a majority of the colonists, who consider it a violation of their rights as Englishmen to be taxed without their consent (i.e. "No taxation without representation"). Colonial assemblies sent petitions and protests, and the Stamp Act Congress held in New York City was the first significant joint colonial response to any British measure when it petitioned Parliament and the King. -
Boston Massacre
The confrontation known as the Boston Massacre, in which British soldiers fired upon and killed several people while being harassed by a mob in Boston, resulted in leading patriots such as Paul Revere and Samuel Adams heavily publicizing the event. British troops had been stationed in Massachusetts and surrounding areas since 1768 in order to support crown-appointed officials and to enforce unpopular Parliamentary legislation. -
Boston Tea Party
A political and mercantile protest targeted at the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, the Boston Tea Party was the culmination of a resistance movement that had been steadily growing throughout the Thirteen Colonies against continued taxation without representation by the British Parliament. -
The Death of Sir William Johnson
Upon Sir William Johnson's death in July 1774, Molly moved back to Canajoharie with her children, slaves, and personal belongings. In his will, Sir Johnson had left Johnson Hall to his white son, John Johnson, along with 25,000 acres of land, a lump sum of money, and several slaves to Molly and their children. -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Beginning of the American Revolutionary War
As the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War, the Battles of Lexington and Concord marked the outbreak of armed conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and its thirteen colonies in America. Molly supported the British during the war, providing food and assistance from her home in Canajoharie to fellow Loyalists fleeing to Canada from New York. -
Declaration of Independence
Ratified by all of the Thirteen Colonies, the unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America was the pronouncement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With the purpose of announcing and explaining the separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain, the Declaration was the collective first step of these independent new states towards forming the United States of America. -
Molly Loses Her Eldest
In November of 1777 during the Philadelphia campaign, Peter Johnson, Molly's eldest child, was killed while serving in the British 26th Regiment of Foot. Also around this time, and after a retaliatory raid on Canajoharie by the Oneida for the part that she played in the ambush at Oriskany forced her to flee to Onondaga with her children, Molly relocated to Fort Niagara at the behest of Major John Butler, who sought to make use of her influence among the Iroquois. -
The Battle of Oriskany
In what would become one of her most noteworthy achievements, Molly learned of a large body of Patriot militia marching to relieve their besieged comrades at Fort Stanwix and dispatched Mohawk runners to alert the British commander, Barrimore Matthew St. Leger, of the danger. The information she provided enabled a combined force of British, Mohawks, and Senecas to ambush the Patriots and their Oneida allies in the Battle of Oriskany. -
Molly Arrives in Montreal
In July of 1779, Molly moved with her family to Montreal, where she placed some of her children in school. When she tried to return to Fort Niagara later that same year, however, she was only able to go as far as Carleton Island, New York, where she remained until 1783. -
Treaty of Paris (1783)
Signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States of America, the Treaty of Paris (1783) officially ended the American Revolutionary War. After the war ended, Molly moved once more to what is now Kingston, Ontario, but was known at the time as Cataraqui. She lived here for the remainder of her life as a respected member of the community and a charter member of the local Anglican Church. -
Creation of the U.S. Constitution
The supreme law of the United States of America, the Constitution of the United States was ratified on June 21, 1788, and came into effect on March 4, 1789. Regarded as the oldest written and codified national constitution in force, it replaced the outdated and ineffective Articles of Confederation, which was the first constitution of the United States. -
First President of the United States
George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States after he won the nation's first quadrennial presidential election in 1788-1789. Elected again in 1792, his presidency lasted until 1797 when he chose to retire after two terms. -
The French Revolution Begins
The storming of the Bastille in Paris -
Molly Brant Dies
She was buried in St. Paul's Churchyard, Kingston's first burial ground, which is later developed as the site of St. Paul's Anglican Church. The exact location of her grave is unknown.
