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Molly Brant, also known as Koñwatsi-tsiaiéñni, is a Canadian heroine, but she is not widely known. She is most often recognized with reference to her brother Joseph Brant, war chief of the Mohawk people and founder of Brantford. She was, however, famous in her own right.

Historical records and recent writings paint Molly Brant as a strong individual who retained her native heritage, often to the disdain of her European contemporaries. She had a unique way of blending two cultures together: as the consort of the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Sir William Johnson, and the and the mother of seven of his children, she lived in European society; however, she argued on behalf of the Iroquois before, during, and after the American Revolution. She insisted on speaking Mohawk, and dressed in Mohawk style and encouraged her children to do the same. It has been said that Molly lamented the decline of Iroquois power and reluctantly watched her daughters wearing their formal ball gowns to social occasions, while she remained in Mohawk frocks, leggings and moccasins.

Molly was raised in Canajoharie in the Mohawk Valley, in what is now New York State. She was exposed to European influences through her probable stepfather, Nickus Brant. It is also likely that she attended an English Mission school where she learned to speak and write English. It was in Canajoharie where Molly met, and later married, Sir William Johnson, a close friend of her stepfather.

During the American Revolution, 1776-1783, the Brant family remained loyal to the British Crown. Molly and her family were forced to leave their home in the Mohawk Valley in 1777 when Molly was suspected of being a British informant. She first settled in Niagara, and then on Carleton Island. However, Carleton Island was abandoned by the British at the conclusion of the war in 1783. Molly requested to settle at Cataraqui (Kingston), when she learned that her brother Joseph had agreed to go there. Their loyalty to the British Crown was rewarded with a land grant, which also served to compensate for the losses they had endured as a result of the war. The property assigned to the Brants was Farm Lot A in Kingston Township, along the northern limit of the town, on the Cataraqui River. A house was built there for Joseph Brant and a second for Molly.

During her life in Cataraqui, Molly participated actively in the Kingston community. For example, in 1792, when the Churchwarden ordered the erection of a church, Molly was the only female benefactor, contributing 1.00.

Although Joseph did not remain in Kingston long, Molly stayed with her family until her death on April 16th, 1796. She was laid to rest in the burial ground of St. George's Church, located on what was to become the corner of Queen and Montreal Streets in Kingston. Sadly, the exact location of her plot is unknown.

After Molly's death, her property passed to her daughter Magdalene Ferguson. John Ferguson, Magdalene's husband, sold the entire lot to Margaret Farley, his sister-in-law, who occupied the property until her death around 1844. Jemima Farley, Margaret's daughter-in-law, then took over management of the Brant property on behalf of her children, who were the heirs and great grandchildren of Molly Brant. Jemima Farley's death, around 1875, marks the end of the Brant ownership on the property.

Molly Brant played an important role advocating for the Mohawk people and helping to steer their course during the American Revolutionary War, and she served the British government devotedly before, during, and after the war. However, despite her prominence in her time as an embodiment of the cultural interaction between the British and the First Nations, there is now scant notable evidence in south-eastern Canada of Molly Brant's presence as a leader and advocate of Native interests.

Excerpted from:

Bazely, Susan M. "Molly Brant: Koñwatsi-tsiaiéñni: Who Was She, Really?". Historic Kingston v 45 1997:9-21.