My Life as a Trader

In 1717, she married English trader John Musgrove, and they set up a trading post near the Savannah River. Musgrove helped her husband as an interpreter and probably used her family ties to attract business. John Musgrove became friends with Oglethorpe, and he accompanied James Oglethorpe on a trip to England. Trustees officially granted John Musgrove some land at Yamacraw Bluff on the Savannah River, four miles upriver from Savannah. John Musgrove died in 1735, and Mary Musgrove moved the trading post to Yamacraw Bluff. The post, known as the Cowpens, became a major store.