View Full Version : Searching the Google News Archive for LGBTQ Past
So, I recently discovered the Google News Archive (http://news.google.com/archivesearch), which contains actual images of old newspaper articles - some from more than a hundred years ago.
I'm wondering if anybody would like to join me in scouring the archive for articles and newspaper items related to the LGBTQ past?
I'm really hoping that we might be able to recover more of our history now.
So, if you find yourself game, and you poke around the archives and find anything interesting, please post it. :)
link (http://news.google.com/archivesearch)
PS. Sadly a lot of the articles are only available for pay, but there are free ones mixed in. I hope this improves over time.
link (http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/708559062.html?dids=708559062:708559062&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Jul+22%2C+1915&author=Special+Dispatch+to+the+Globe&pub=Boston+Daily+Globe&desc=MASQUERADED+AS+BOY+FIVE+YEARS&pqatl=google)
Sadly, to read the article, one must pay. But, here's the part that shows for free:
Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922) - Boston, Mass.
Author: Special Dispatch to the Globe
Date: Jul 22, 1915
Start Page: 3
Pages: 1
Text Word Count: 347
MASQUERADED AS BOY FIVE YEARS
Puffer Girl Arrested at New Haven. Made Chum of Negro Sailor She Found on Cattleboat. Forced Into Skirts, She Says Life Loses Charm.
NEW HAVEN, July 21--After five years of roaming about the country and Europe as a boy, Edna Puffer, the 18years-old girl arrested in the railroad yards late last night just as she was about to hop a fright to New York...
Judge Kerr's Finding (http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=TS19080130.2.28)
Star , Issue 9147, 30 January 1908, Page 2
In delivering judgment at the first trial, Judge Kerr, President of the Court, dealt with the articles one by one, and declared they hinted at least that plaintiff was sexually abnormal...Taking into consideration the evidence given by the expert witness, the Court had come to the conclusion that plaintiff was actually homosexual. He had an aversion for women, was inclined to the society of men, and give [sic] every sign of homosexuality."
Day in Court is Little Too Much (http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XEMaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XCMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2637,3467405&dq=homosexual&hl=en)
LONDON - Thirteen high school girls visited a "typical" day in court Tuesday and got more than they bargained for. The girls, ages 16 to 18, listened to:
...
Four cases of men accused of homosexual offenses
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2738/4539173625_1893bfddd0_o.jpg
The Village Voice, July 3rd, 1969
Gay Power Comes to Sheridan Square (http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uuwjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K4wDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6710,4693&dq=stonewall+inn&hl=en)
NZ Truth , Issue 100, 18 May 1907, Page 5
Jesse Underwood Again, breaks forth into obscenity. The Court Awards him 14 Days (http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=NZTR19070518.2.28)
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/imageserver/imageserver.pl?oid=NZTR19070518.1.5&crop=3563,725,3615,872&width=436&color=32&ext=gif&key=
A Female Husband (http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ETwzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mDgHAAAAIBAJ&dq=hermaphrodite%20-flowers&pg=4126%2C3874672)
Reported for the N.Y. Express, Saturday August 13th
New-Orleans Commercial Bulletin - Aug 30, 1836
In our police report of Friday, was noticed the case of a person calling herself Jas. Walker, a male as her dress denoted. She said her real name was Jane Walker. She was examined by a surgeon and it was found that the statement as regards her sex was correct, when she removed for further examination.
...
She then stated that she had married the prisoner in 1821, in Scotland, thinking him at the time to be a male, but that she had been deceived. She did not discover the prisoner's real sex until some days after marriage, when they set sail for the United States. She has not told any one of the circumstance, not even her own relations, some of whom live in the same house with her.
...
During the examination, the prisoner was perpetually taking snuff, and seemed perfectly at ease. She was attired in striped pantaloons, a plaid stock and a grey roundabout. She on one occasion wished to persuade the magistrate that she was a hermaphrodite, but surgical examination proves her statement to be false.
Slander Action
Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLI, Issue 9428, 27 January 1921, Page 2
regarding Radclyffe Hall - 7 years prior to the scandal created by her novel "The Well of Loneliness"
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/imageserver/imageserver.pl?oid=AG19210127.1.2&crop=2955,3193,5422,911&width=456&color=32&ext=gif&key=
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/imageserver/imageserver.pl?oid=AG19210127.1.2&crop=3881,3012,4617,922&width=461&color=32&ext=gif&key=
link (http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fZQjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yDoDAAAAIBAJ&dq=female-husband&pg=5778%2C2165305)
The Yarmouth Herald, April 7, 1838
A Female Husband
From the Manchester (Eng.) Guardian
A few days ago a respectable female waited upon an attorney of this town and asked his advice in a case of a very peculiar nature. It seems that her husband, a master bricklayer, who had been in the habit of trusting her implicitly in his business, even leaving to her management the book-keeping requisite in his trade, had of late, for some cause or other, refused to allow her the usual weekly sum for house-keeping. Having also in other respects treated her as she conceived in an unkind manner, she came to take advice as to how she should proceed, under the circumstances, against her husband, whom to the astonishment of the professional gentleman she was then consulting, she declared to be not a man but a woman. The attorney thought it his duty under such singular circumstances, to bring the matter under the notice of Mr. Foster, the magistrate, who directed that Mr. Thomas should take the case under his management, and bring the parties for private examinationbefore him (Mr. Foster) at the police office. Mr. Thomas took the necessary steps, and on Thursday last, the parties were brought before Mr. Foster, in the deputy constable's room, at the police office, when the truh of the wife's averment to the attorney was corroborated in the most distinct and unqualified manner, by Mr. Oliver, surgeon to the police, who gave a certificate declaring the individual in question was a woman.
The woman-husband, we believe, did not make the least attempt to deny her sex, but contended herself with stating, that her wife had been only led to make this exposure because she had withheld from her the weekly allowance of money for house-keeping expenses. The wife replied this was not the only cause she had of complaint against her spouse; for that she (the husband) was occasionally intoxicated, and that, when in that state, the husband treated her very ill. The wife had also stated that she accidentally made the discovery of the sex of her husband as much as two or three years back, but she had kept the secret till the present time.
From what could be gleaned of the history of this female husband, it would seem that she had assumed the garb and character of a boy at an early age, and that in that character she was apprenticed, at the age of 16 or 17, to a master builder in one of the large towns of Yorkshire. Being of good exterior, with prepossessing appearance and manners, and features rather handsome, the supposed young man attracted the attention of many females in the same condition of life; and amongst others, was the one who afterwards became the wife. The attentions of the young bricklayer were acceptable and accepted, and the union took place shortly after the expiration of the apprenticeship. Soon afterwards, this couple came to Manchester, we are told, about the year 1829, where the husband commenced the business of a builder, and, by considerable skill, ability and attention to trade, was tolerably successful.
...
The assumed name of the master bricklayer is Henry Stoakes; her real name we believe to be Harriet Stokes, and, till the late exposture, the parties resided in Cumberland street, Deansgate.
...
She met with her present wife and they were married at the Old Parish Church of Sheffield, in the year 1816, when the wife was only 17 years of age. Since the investigation and disclosure of the circumstances, on Thursday week, the wife and husband have separated.
...
The habits of the latter, we believe, are much more in accordance with those of her assumed sex and occupation than of a woman: and no one, except, perchance, from her beardless cheeks and a certain shrillness of voice, could, for a moment suspect that the little broadset bricklayer was of the softer sex. At present, she employes in her business, besides being most industrious herself in its practical details andmanual operations, eight men anda boy who is apprenticed to her. In her business and dealings, she appears to have borne hitherto, a good character for punctuality and honesty in her payments, and we believe, she has stated, that she has made enough by her business to enable her to live in ease without labour; yet strange to say, with a degree of irritability which we should rather expect to find in the injuredthan the injurer, she vehemently refuses to consent that any sum should be set apart for her so called wife.
I wonder if the Stuart Enterprise would call me a "female husband" and how I would be charged for being "thoroughly immoral"...
Great articles. Thanks for sharing them!
link (http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9E05E5DD1330E433A25751C0A9679D94629FD7CF)
FRANK DUBOIS A WOMAN; GERTIE FULLER'S HUSBAND ADMITS SHE IS NOT A MAN.
New York Times, November 2, 1883, Wednesday, page 1
The mystery regarding the sex of Frank Dubois, the female husband of the Waupun young lady, has at last been cleared up and all doubt set at rest by a statement made to the Time's correspondent by the person in question. The correspondent succeeded in tracing the couple from Waupun to Brandon, where Dubois went to avoid arrest, and last evening followed them seven miles into the country where they had taken refuge at the house of a farmer named Bristow, living on the Fond du Lao Road. There Dubois finally acknowledged herself to be a woman and the wife of S.J. Hudson, the Belvidere man.
After leaving Waupun on Monday afternoon, when the husband's sudden apearance had thrown consternation into the Fuller family, Dubois took the afternoon train for Brandon and went tothe residence of Joseph Irving, about a milefrom the place, with whom she had been acquainted since her appearance in Waupun. She said she expected to meet Mrs. Dubois soon, she intending to come to Brandon to pay a visit to the Irvings. On Tuesday afternoon, the wife arrived, the two meeting at the station and going directly to Mr. Irving's, accompanied by a sister of the young wife. The two took dinner together then left the house, ostensibly for a walk. They at once quit the town and all trace of them was lost.
The TIMES'S correspondent got a carriage and started on a search for the couple, finding them after much trouble at the Bristow farm-house. Repeated knocks brought Mr. Bristow to the door, who admitted the correspondent into the sitting-room. The couple were notified that company was awaiting their appearance below, but they refused to be seen. Arguments were brought to bear upon them, however, which finally resulted in their appearance. Dubois was without a coat, and appeared to be a slender, effeminate person. She is 4 feet 11 inches in height, weighs about 100 pounds, and has broad hips, a full chest, short arms and very small and slender hands and feet. The woman known as Mrs. Dubois - Gertie Fuller - is apparently about 17 years old, about Dubois's height, and is rather a pretty blonde with dark hair. She was in tears, and appeared greatly distressed when the question of her husband's sex was mentioned. Dubois was uneasy and cast nervous glances toward the door, and the small hands were worked and twisted in apparent mental agonry. Her features, small and delicate, and her face, smooth and beardless, appeared to be those of a lad of 19 years. Wrinkles under the eyes, teeth badly decayed, and one or two gray hairs suggested that she might be a woman of 40 years.
"Mr. Dubois," said the correspondent, "you, of course, know the stories which have been circulated concerning you."
"I do," was the hesitating answer in a voice which could not be mistaken for that of a man.
"You are married to Gertrude Fuller, are you not?"
"I am. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. H.L. Morrison, in Waupun."
"You insist that you are a man?"
"I do; I am. As long as my wife is satisfied, it is nobody's business."
"Mr. Dubois, you look like a woman and act like a woman, and there are dozens of reasons to supposeyou are not Frank Dubois, but Mrs. Hudson, a woman. Do you refuse to reveal yourself?"
"There is nothing to reveal."
"If you are caught in this disguise, you will be arrested. You should place yourself in your proper light at once, and thus avoid punishment."
"Oh, Frank, for God's sake, tell all, and have it over at this moment!" exclaimed the young and pretty wife, tears streaming down her face.
Dubois lookd toward her with trembling lip, and in a moment burst into tears. "It is true," she said at last and then endeavored to leave the room, but she was finally induced to tell her story. She said she was really Mrs. Hudson, and had tired of her husband and family, and determined to lose all identity as a wife and mother by assuming the guise of a man."
"My husband," said the female husband, "went to Illinois last Spring. I immediately assumed male attire and went to Waupun, where I had previously met and admired Gertie Fuller. I courted her and we were married, she not knowing me to be a woman until the night after the ceremony was performed. I then induced her to keep silent, which she has done. While living with my husband, I helped him support the family, peddling soaps and compounding extracts, which I disposed of. I was thus led to depend upon myself and when I took upon my shoulders the support of Gertie I felt fully able to carry the burden. I papered, painted, andmade and sould extracts, and we were happy. We were preparing to move to Elgin, Ill, when my husband came upon the scene. After he came to the house, I concealed myself for a atime and then took the train for Brandon. Gertie remaining at the house of a friend and following on Tuesday to Brandon, where we stopped at the house of an acquaintance, coming here on Tuesday evening. I will not return to live with Hudson and propose to wear pants, and smoke and earn my living as a man.
Mrs. Dubois, or more properly, Gertie Fuller, appeared utterly heartbroken, sobbing continuously during the recital of the story. She, however, confirmed the statement. She said her parents resided in Waupun, where her father and brother were engaged in the nursery business. She had married Frank Dubois, or Mrs. Hudson, and had on the night of their marriage discovered that her husband was of her own sex. They had agreed to live together and had done so. It was an affaire of their own, and nobody was concerned but themselves. They proposed to go to Fond du Lac and arrange to move to Illinois, as was intended, when the sensational story was started that the parties were both women.
Notwithstanding the apparent frankness of the statements made by both parties, ther eis evidently something concealed which they will not make public except when compelled to do so by the strong arm of the law. Mrs. Hudson, as the husband, wields a powerful influence over the young girl, who is wedded, but not a wife - an influence far more powerful than would be possible for one woman to wield over another unless stronger ties bound them together than those existing between the Hudson woman and Gertrude Fuller. The couple expressed determination to go to Fond du Lac to-day.
Mrs. Hughlitt, mother fo the wife of Frank Dubois, stated this morning that she would commence an action against Dubois for the return of her daughter. She has asked officers to arrest both parties when their wereabouts are discovered.
-------------------
Frank and Gertie did separate. Gertie did return to her mother's where she later bore a child whom she insisted was Frank's - then she married a cis-guy and moved ran off to Wisconsin. link (http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9802E1D7163AEF33A2575AC2A96F9C94659FD7CF)
The Story of Countess Sarolta Vay
Otago Witness , Issue 1891, 1 May 1890, Page 22
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I googled Sarolta Vay and found a pic:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xORg3JKr7v4/SElM98g5acI/AAAAAAAAAZg/XCyofmOa6qU/s320/SandorVay.jpg
and a link to more info (http://zagria.blogspot.com/2008/06/sndor-vay-1866-novelist.html)
SOME "FEMALE HUSBANDS."
Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume VXII, Issue 7221, 8 June 1901, Page 3
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a cute story of a straight? couple- the woman a crossdresser (http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9805EEDB123FE63BBC4852DFB366838C669FDE) - 1877
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=WCT18690616.2.20
A FEMALE GROOM AND BURGLAR.
West Coast Times , Issue 1164, 16 June 1869, Page 3
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/imageserver/imageserver.pl?oid=WCT18690616.1.3&crop=2809,305,3373,867&width=434&color=32&ext=gif&key=
THE MAN IN PETTICOATS.
Wanganui Herald, Rōrahi XXXVI, Putanga 10682, 28 Pipiri 1902, Page 3
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/imageserver/imageserver.pl?oid=WH19020628.1.3&crop=755,3399,2573,625&width=313&color=32&ext=gif&key=
A Man in Cleveland Personating a Woman for Fourteen Years. (http://www.nytimes.com/1865/07/02/news/a-man-in-cleveland-personating-a-woman-for-fourteen-years.html)
Published: July 2, 1865
About two months ago a young girl of pleasing looks and address arrived in Cleveland from New-York. At first she obtained a position as a waitress in a hotel, and afterward took charge of the cigar stand at the Varieties, a concert saloon of that name in Cleveland. There her good looks and winning ways obtained her numerous customers, and she drove a thriving business. In many cases her fascinated patrons refused to take any change, and thus "Miss ADDIE" for that was her name -- throve apace in her own right, and managed to pick up any amount of pin money. ADDIE's admirers, from the first, were numerous; but eventually they beseiged her in droves, so that often the cigar stand would prove more profitable than the stage itself. She was an accomplished coquette, and thus had a smile for each and every one of the crazy crew at her feet. Her smiles were by no means confined to the young, for gray hairs were found worshipping at her shrine as often as the fair locks of youth. Among those who wooed her were old bachelors, Young America, and men of family and widowers, and brainless fops, and boys whose chins had not even made the acquaintance of down. And the attentions to which she was treated were by no means confined to the wordy class. No, indeed; substantials in abundance fell to her lot. Old Mr. So-and-so gave her a now silk dress, and "old batch" So-and-so presented her with several dozen pairs of pocket-handkerchiefs, and fast Mr. So-and-so sent her two pairs of silk gaiters and a few pairs of Alexander's best, while Master So-and-so gave her an order for a new bonnet. Then, too, scarcely a day passed that she was not taken out to ride behind a pair offset nags, with all the usual accessories of ice cream, strawberries and cream, Roman punch, &c. Thus things west on -- from the time of her appearance at the Varieties -- in this roseate way, until a few days ago, when the astounding discovery was made that "Miss Addle" was a man! Of course, the manager and her crowd of admirers were both astounded and inclined to doubt their senses; but in spite of all, it turned out that she was not a woman, but that he was a man. The young man stated that, for fourteen years, he had worn the garb of a woman, in which guise his fair and pleasing looks had materially assisted him. In fact he looks as much like a woman when in male attire as when dressed in bonnet and gown. In New-York he played the part of a "pretty waiter girl" at a Broadway Varieties, remaining there till waiter girls were, "crushed,'' when he went to Cleveland. Since the discovery of his ruse, he has gone upon the stage, and appears each evening at the Varieties in "part first."
Special to The New York Times. (http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9504EEDE153AE633A25752C3A9649D946596D6CF)
Man in Skirts Sent to Jail
December 31, 1914, Thursday
Page 5, 420 words
Norfolk Vigilante fatally shoots 4 in Virginia bar (http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Skins/BasicArch/Client.asp?Skin=BasicArch&&AppName=2&enter=true&BaseHref=DCG/1976/05/14&EntityId=Ar00801)
May 14, 1976
http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Repository/getimage.dll?path=DCG/1976/05/14/8/Img/Ar0080100.png
http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Repository/getimage.dll?path=DCG/1976/05/14/8/Img/Ar0080101.pnghttp://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Repository/getimage.dll?path=DCG/1976/05/14/8/Img/Ar0080102.pnghttp://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Repository/getimage.dll?path=DCG/1976/05/14/8/Img/Ar0080103.png
Impersonator Jailed for Attacking Officer (http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=e90jAAAAIBAJ&sjid=aycEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7270,1701163&dq=impersonating-a-woman&hl=en)
Milwaukee Journal, March 24, 1964
Richard C. Williams, 24, of 636 W. Juneau Av., was sentenced to one year in the house of correction Monday by County Judge Christ T Seraphim on a charge of resisting arrest. He also received a concurrent 30 day sentence for disorderly conduct. Police said Williams attacked a vice squad officer who was attempting to arrest him for allegedly impersonating a woman. Williams pleaded guilty to both charges.
Parlor attendant attacked (http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cuoNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dHkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3237,1675826&dq=impersonating-a-woman&hl=en)
St. Petersburg Times - April 26, 1975
Fort Lauderdale (UPI) - Two New York City youths severely beat and poured acid on a massage parlor attendent when they discovered he was a male, police reported Friday. The victim of the attack was Michael Gable, 20, listed in serious condition at Broward General Medical Center, where he is undergoing treatment for extensive face and shoulder burns. Police said Gable, who had been arrested recentlly for impersonating a woman, may be blinded permanently.
Police said Gable's assailants stripped him of his feminine clothing, tied him up, kicked and punched him at the "Pleasure Palace" massage parlor Thursday night. Then they poured on him several bottles of mouthwash, a bottle of insecticide, and an unlabeled bottle that was found to contain an unknown caustic cleaning fluid.
Police traced an automobile after the attack and arrested Steven A. Russell, 21, and Louis Ferone, 21, both of New York City on charges of aggravated battery.
Detectives said Russell and Ferone said they beat up Gable because the attendant, who told them his name was "Leslie," pretended he was a woman while he performed sexual acts with them. Russell had discovered Gable was actually male.
The youths said they did not know the unlabeled botle they poured on Gable contained an acid.
Police were called to the scene by employees of an adult book store adjoining the massage parlor, who said they scuffled with the assailants when they ran out of the parlor.
Court violates his rights as a woman, male stripper says (http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nqUlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=r_QFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6153,560300&dq=impersonating-a-woman&hl=en)
Washington Afro-American - Feb 9, 1965
Tampa, Fla - A 28 year old Jackson Heights man who wants to become a woman is planning for a $4000 operation to make him one, it was disclosed last week.
Frederick Cox, a "stripper," was given a suspended $500 fine or 100 day sentence after being booked for impersonating a woman.
Cox revealed that he is seeking an injunction in Circuit Court against the city to prevent further arrests. He charged that the city has "continuously taken my right as a woman through arrest and I am asking relief by declaration."
THE STARTLING PERSONATION CASE AT SANDHURST. (http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=HBH18791114.2.21)
Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5537, 14 November 1879, Page 3
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And here's more on the same person:
EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF CONCEALMENT OF SEX. (http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=WCT18790925.2.10)
West Coast Times , Issue 3272, 25 September 1879, Page 2
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AtLast
07-31-2010, 02:02 AM
Amazing thread! Thanks!
okay so today I searched the term bulldagger and I found most references from the late 1970s and beyond. But I did run across this from 1932 - which frustratingly costs money to actually read. This is the link and the abstract:
http://www.loislaw.com/gpc/index.htp?dockey=7514323@MSCASE
Pay-Per-View - Mississippi Reports - Loislaw - Apr 18, 1932
In this record, counsel did not explain to the court what type of woman is meant by the word "bull-dagger," but we assume from his statement that in that ...
------------------
Mississippi Reports
BURNS v. STATE, 163 Miss. 258 (1932)
No. 30028.
April 18, 1932.
Joe Burns, the appellant, was convicted of murder in the killing of Betty May Griffin. The jury having disagreed as to the punishment, the court sentenced the appellant to be confined for life in the state penitentiary.
The Ladies of Llangollen - ("romantic friendship")
I found reference to these two in a New York Times article dated Aug 26, 1867 here (http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=FB0914F83C551A7493C4AB1783D85F438684F9)
But it didn't have too much info so I went ahead and googled them directly.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/24/Lynch_Print_%282%29.JPG/220px-Lynch_Print_%282%29.JPG
From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladies_of_Llangollen):
The Ladies of Llangollen were two upper-class Anglo-Irish women whose relationship scandalised and fascinated their contemporaries. The Ladies are interesting today as an example of historical romantic friendship.
Eleanor Charlotte Butler (11 May 1739 - 2 June 1829) was considered an over-educated bookworm by her family, who occupied Kilkenny Castle. She spoke French and was educated in a convent in France. Her mother tried to make her join a convent because she was becoming a spinster.
Sarah Ponsonby (1755 – 9 December 1832) lived with relatives in Woodstock, Ireland. She was a second cousin of Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough, and thus a "second-cousin-once-removed" of his daughter the Lady Caroline Lamb. Her host, Sir William Fownes, tried to force himself on her on various occasions.
Their families lived only two miles (3 km) from each other. They met in 1768, and quickly became friends. Over the years they formulated a plan of a private rural retreat. Rather than face the possibility of being forced into unwanted marriages, they ran away together in April 1778. Their families hunted them down and forcefully tried to make them give up their plans – in vain.
They decided to move to England but ended up in Wales, and set up home at Plas Newydd, near the town of Llangollen in 1780. They proceeded to live according to their self-devised system though they could rely on only an annual £280 from intolerant relatives (equivalent to £28,739.20 in today's terms 2007).[1] Still, they overhauled Plas Newydd to the Gothic style with draperies, arches and glass windows.[2] They hired a gardener, a footman and two maids. This led to significant debt, and they had to rely on the generosity of a very few friends.
They devoted their time to seclusion, private studies of literature and languages and improving their estate. They did not actively socialise and were uninterested in fashion. Over the years they added a circular stone dairy and created a sumptuous garden. Eleanor kept a diary of their activities. Town-dwellers of Llangollen simply referred to them as "The Ladies".
After a couple of years, their life attracted the interest of the outside world. Their house became a haven for all manner of visitors, mostly writers such as Robert Southey, Wordsworth, Shelley, Byron and Scott, but also the military leader Duke of Wellington and industrialist Josiah Wedgwood; aristocratic novelist Caroline Lamb, who was born a Ponsonby, came to visit too. Even travellers from continental Europe had heard of the couple and came to visit them, for instance Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau, the German nobleman and landscape designer who wrote admiringly about them.
The Ladies were known throughout Britain, but in fact led a rather unexciting life. Queen Charlotte wanted to see their cottage and persuaded the King to grant them a pension. Eventually their families came to tolerate them.
Butler and Ponsonby lived together for the rest of their lives, over 50 years. Their books and glassware had both sets of initials and their letters were jointly signed.
Eleanor Butler died in 1829. Sarah Ponsonby died two years later. Their house is now a museum run by Denbighshire County Council. Both of the ladies are buried at St Collen's Church in Llangollen.
Butler's Hill, near Plas Newydd, is named in honour of Eleanor Butler. The Ponsonby Arms public house in Llangollen takes its name from Sarah Ponsonby.
FEMALE HUSBAND MAKES HER TIRED (http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/ajc_historic/access/547074682.html?dids=547074682:547074682&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Jun+28%2C+1902&author=&pub=The+Atlanta+Constitution&desc=FEMALE+HUSBAND+MAKES+HER+TIRED&pqatl=google)
Mrs. Ernestine L. Rauck, who was married last week to Lydia Cotta Sawyer, who had masqueraded as a man for several years, applied to the courts today to have the marriage annulled. Judge Wright signed
Mrs. Rauck Is Suing for a Divorce from Lydia Lotta Sawyer. WOMAN HUSBAND TO HIDE The Manly Lydia Says That She Is Going To Hide Herself from All Who Might Recognize Her--Text of Bill. Dressed as a Man, She Kept Bar.http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/art/null.gifThe Manly Lydia Says That She Is Going To Hide Herself from All Who Might Recognize Her--Text of Bill. Dressed as a Man, She Kept Bar.
The Atlanta Constitution
June 28, 1902
(rest is pay-per-view)
FEMALE HUSBAND MAKES HER TIRED (http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/ajc_historic/access/547074682.html?dids=547074682:547074682&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Jun+28%2C+1902&author=&pub=The+Atlanta+Constitution&desc=FEMALE+HUSBAND+MAKES+HER+TIRED&pqatl=google)
Mrs. Ernestine L. Rauck, who was married last week to Lydia Cotta Sawyer, who had masqueraded as a man for several years, applied to the courts today to have the marriage annulled. Judge Wright signed
Mrs. Rauck Is Suing for a Divorce from Lydia Lotta Sawyer. WOMAN HUSBAND TO HIDE The Manly Lydia Says That She Is Going To Hide Herself from All Who Might Recognize Her--Text of Bill. Dressed as a Man, She Kept Bar.http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/art/null.gifThe Manly Lydia Says That She Is Going To Hide Herself from All Who Might Recognize Her--Text of Bill. Dressed as a Man, She Kept Bar.
The Atlanta Constitution
June 28, 1902
(rest is pay-per-view)
I googled Lydia's name and found a free copy of an article about her (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024441/1902-06-26/ed-1/seq-3/). Transcribed below:
Alleged Man Turns Out to be a Woman
Mr. H. C. Wood in Name, Miss Sawyer in Reality
Drinks, Chews, and Smokes
Husband of Mrs. Rauck, of Baltimore, Discovered to be a Wayward North Carolina Girl - Will require Court Decree to Annul Marriage
Baltimore, MD., June 26 - All doubts as to the sex of Lydia Lotta Sawyer, alias "Herman G. wood," who married Mrs. ernestine L. Rauck, 719 North Eutaw Street, last week, have been set at rest by Dr. John T. McCarthy, one of the police surgeons.
At the request of Captain McGee, Dr. McCarthy visited Miss Sawyer and later told Captain McGee that she had answered all of his questions clearly and frankly and that there was no further question as to her sex.
Pleads to be Let Alone
Still clad in the well-fitting suit, in every detail the garb of a man, Lotta Sawyer is confined at the Northwestern station. She shrinkks from the gaze of everyone, and pleads pideously to be left to herself until the time arives for her to be sent to her home in North Carolina. The woman sent a telegram yesterday morning to Belcross, N.C. to one of her relatives, asking that funds last night. It is said, during the time that Captain McGee spent at the Rauck home awaiting her return.
"Mr. Wood" spent much of his time at saloons on Lexington Street, betweeen Paca and Eutaw Streets, and was well known by the frequenters of these places. Last night, "he" appeared there, but, according to several of "his" friends, "he" was in a greatly agitated frame of mind.
"For some time 'he' has been talking of opening a saloon," one of "his" friends said yesterday, "and when 'he' appeared on the block last night 'he' was asked where 'he' would locate, but only evasive replies could be got from 'him.'"
Wife was to furnish money
It was stated on good authority last night that yesterday was the day upon which Mrs. Rauck was to have given her "husband" $1,500 with which to buy the saloon on Lexington Street, which the Sawyer woman had negotiated for.
About three weeks ago Mrs. Rauck sold the store on Eutaw Street directly opposite No. 7 engine house, where she conducted a dyeing and scouring establishment for many years, for $3,500.
It was said that it was a portion of the proceeds of this sale with which Mrs. Rauck intended backing her "husband" in the saloon business.
Court Must Annul Marriage
A well-known Baltimore lawyer said yesterday that when two persons of the same sex are married in accordance with the requirements of the law it will be necessary to invoke the aid of the courts to have the marriage annulled. Therefore, he said, Mrs. ernestine L. Rauck, if she wishes to free herself legally from Lydia Lotta Sawyer, must apply to the courts to annul their marriage.
A dispatch from Elizabeth City, N.C., says:
"Lotta Sawyer, the young woman who in the disguise of a man married another woman in Baltimore, is the daughter of the late Edward Sawyer, who was a prominent and wealthy farmer in Cmden county, aout five miles north of this place. He died in 1880, leaving a widow and four children, three of whom were daughters. The family was highly respected and was among the first families of Camden county.
"In 1885 the widow, with her four children, moved to Norfolk, Va., where they resided for three or four years. But they afterward returned and took their home again in Camden county. Mrs. Sawyer soon after her return from Norfolk married john C. Whitehurst, who died in 1892.
Caused Mother Much Trouble.
"The girl Lotta was very wild and caused her family much trouble. She gave birth to a child. When this disgrace had fallen upon her, she quietly left the house one night, when her child was only a week old, and walked to Norfolk, where she donned man's apparel. In this disguise she went to Baltimore, where she has since resided. She has visited Norfolk on several ocasions, but always in the disguise of a man.
"Her child is still living and in the care of her mother, Mrs. Whitehurst. The wayward girl has never visited her mother since the night she took her leave, but the mother has received several letters from her during the time she has been away. It is understood that her letters were not of a pleasant character. Notwithsanding the grieved and heartbroken mother has made every effort to reclaim the girl, her efforts in that direction have failed."
Found another article (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1902-06-28/ed-1/seq-4.pdf)
TO ANNUL MARRIAGE OF TWO WOMEN
WIDOW WANTS TO BE LEGALLY FREE FROM HER MASQUERADING "''HUSBAND.'"
Baltimore, June 27 1902. - Mrs. ernestine L. Rauck, who was married last week to Lydia Lotta Sawyer, who had masqueraded as a man for several years, applied to the courts to-day to have the marriage annulled. Judge Wright signed an order for a hearing in the case.
The bill filed by Mrs. Rauck states that the petitioner, a widow and the mother of children, was married to the defendant by the Rev. Anthony Bilkovsky at the minister's home on June 16 last, and that two days subsequent to the ceremony she discovered that her "husband" was a woman. the bill further declares that the defendant has confessed the deception.
The bill is filed against Lotta A. sawyer, or Lydia Lotta Sawyer, known as Herman G. Wood.
If the suite to procure the annulment of the strange marriage is not defended a decree pro confesso will be signed as a preliminary. The proceedings will then be suspended for thirty days in order to give the defendant an opportunity to answer, and if at the end of that time no answer is made the court will order testimony to be taken before a commissioner. This testimony will then be submitted to the court, and a final decree will be signed in accordance with the juge's opinion in the matter.
Such a case as this one, of course, was never contemplated by the lawmakers, and there is no statute on the books governing a marriage between two persons of the same sex.
Miss Sawyer is in seclusion, probably in the city. Before leaving the police station last night she said to the matron, "I want to thank you for your kindness to me while I was a prisoner. I am going to hide myself from all who might recognize me."
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