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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.