Commemoration
Born about 1736, Molly Brant (Degonwadonti) was a member of a prominent Mohawk family. About 1759 she became the wife of Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Province of New York and powerful figure in that colony.Well-educated and a persuasive speaker, Molly Brant wielded great influence amon the Iroquois and was responsible for much of Johnson’s success in dealing with them. Following the outbreak of the American Revolution she and her younger brother, Joseph, played a leading role in persuading the Confederacy to support Britain. In 1777 she fled to Canada and after the war, in recognition of her services, was granted a pension by the government. She settled in Cataraqui (Kingston) where she died in 1796.
Background
Molly was a leader of the Mohawk people in New York at the time of the Revolution. She had a long relationship with Sir William Johnson, father of Sir John, and bore him eight children. Highly respected by her fellow Mohawks as well as by governing officials, Molly Brant (Degonwadonti), who was born about 1736 allegedly in the Ohio Valley, played a leading role in persuading the Iroquois Confederacy to support Britain during the American Revolution. She fled to Canada in 1777, living first at Niagara and later on land granted to her at Cataraqui (Kingston), where she died in 1796.
Her brother was Joseph Brant who was a war leader of the Mohawk on the side of the British. He led his people to land granted to him on the Grand River around what is now Brantford, Ontario.
She is buried in this churchyard.