Muskogee Yargee Ross (1840s – March 14, 1913) was a

Creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: People * Creek people, also known as Muscogee, Native Americans ...

(or Muscogee) woman, a prominent pioneer resident of

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the thirteenth-largest city in Oklahoma and the county seat of Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of the 2020 census, a 6.0 percent decrease ...

Biography

Muskogee Yargee was born along the

Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

(present day

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

), the daughter of Captain Checartah Yargee and Millie McQueen. Her father was a Creek planter. After the

Indian Removal Act The Indian Removal Act was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States President Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for ...

, he was relocated with his large enslaved workforce from Alabama to Indian Territory, before her birth. She learned to speak and read English when she went to school. Muskogee Yargee married Joshua Ross, a successful businessman and a member of a prominent

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

family, in 1864. They raised nine children, including her niece and nephew. The Rosses were considered pioneers of Muskogee, Oklahoma, and founding members of the First United Methodist Church of Muskogee. Muskogee Street in the town was, in part, named for her. She was active in church work and was known for her home remedies. She died in Muskogee in 1913, when she was about 70 years old.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Muskogee Yargee 1840s births Year of birth uncertain 1913 deaths People from Muskogee, Oklahoma Muscogee people 19th-century Methodists 20th-century Methodists 19th-century Native American women 19th-century Native Americans 20th-century Native American women 20th-century Native Americans Methodists from Oklahoma