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Charlie Parkhurst (1812 - 1879)
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 Out
in All Directions : A Treasury of Gay and Lesbian America by
Lynn Witt (Editor), Sherry Thomas (Editor), Eric Marcus (Editor)
A collection of articles, anecdotes, facts and
figures, trivia, and more--from more than two hundred contributors
across the country--provides a detailed reference on gay and
lesbian life, covering such topics as politics, celebrities,
relationships, and gay identity.
...takes the mystery out of gay and lesbian
history, lifts the lid off pink politics, and paints the town
lavender with hundreds of lively articles and intriguing facts
covering every aspect of gay life, culture, and community. From
debunking myths to creating family, from fighting for rights to
battling AIDS, from showbiz superstars to military heroes, dozens
of notable contributors come Out in All Directions --
providing both a useful guide to issues and resources and an
entertaining and informative mirror of the American lesbian and
gay experience.
This book covers the life of Charlie Parkhurst.
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© M. Constance Guardino III and Reverend
Marilyn A. Riedel
Excerpt:
One-Eyed Charlie was really Charlotte Darkey
Parkhurst...
Shock waves reverberated up and down the West
Coast at the realization that a woman had been best at what was
considered exclusively a man's domain. The discovery of
Parkhurst's true identity made much newspaper copy. The San
Francisco Call remarked that "No doubt he was not like
other men, indeed, it was generally said among his acquaintances
that he was a hermaphrodite" and that "the discoveries
of the successful concealment for protracted periods of the female
sex are not infrequent." (Out In All Directions, p.
166) Elizabeth Levy, disputing the claims of the Call,
advised the authors that "the 'hermaphrodite' comment is
ludicrous. A medical exam found her to be a well endowed female,
who had at one time in her life given birth."
Levy further claims that Parkhurst "lived
her final days with a male bachelor friend named Frank Woodward,
who may or may not have known her true identity. Several local
historians think there may have been several people who knew
Charlie's secret, even up to ten years before her death, but that
the newspapers were inclined to make a big deal about it after her
death."
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By Ed Sams, curiouschapbooks.com
Excerpt:
Charley Darkey Parkhurst, known in life as
Cockeyed Charley and in death as Mountain Charley, was one of the
greatest stagecoach drivers of the Old West -- who just happened
to be a woman. Weighing close to 175 pounds and just five feet in
height, Charley had big arms, but a thin voice and preferred
sleeping in stables with the horses rather than going out with the
boys. Nevertheless, Thomas Edwin Farish, who rode with Parkhurst
in 1870, called Charley, "as good a driver as could be found
anywhere." According to well-known western writer Joseph
Henry Jackson, Charley was "as skillful, as resourceful and
as hard-boiled as any driver in the Sierras..."
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Names Index:
A B
C D
E F
G H
I J
K L
M N
O P
Q R
S T
U V
W X
Y Z
| Authors
Index | Scholars
Index |
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