Elizabeth Grierson (c. 1790 – 1847) was a prominent Muscogee businesswoman from Hillabee town in the Muscogee Nation, located in present-day Alabama. Known for her wealth and influence, she successfully utilized the local court system to protect her business interests during a period of intense social and political transition for her people.
As racial dynamics shifted within the Muscogee Nation, Grierson became a target of raids and retaliation. Although she enslaved multiple people, she entered into a relationship with one of her former bondsmen whom she had freed. This partnership violated an 1825 Muscogee law prohibiting marriages between Muscogee citizens and people of African descent. Consequently, Grierson and her partner were forced to flee Alabama.
The couple sought refuge in Indian Territory but faced ongoing displacement, being expelled from both Muscogee and Choctaw lands due to their marriage. After a brief period in Arkansas, they eventually settled in the Chickasaw Nation. While some 20th-century accounts mistakenly identify her as the wife of Muscogee leader William McIntosh, historical records do not support this claim.
