Fincher's Trades' Review: "A Curious Married Couple," 1863

"Thirty-four years of pretended matrimony"

by Jonathan Ned Katz. Copyright (c) by Jonathan Ned Katz. All rights protected.

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In 1863, Fincher's Trades' Review (subtitled An Advocate of the Rights of the Producing Crosses and published in Philadelphia) carries the first of several reports of transvestite women, some of whom are clearly indicated to have had close, meaningful relations with other females. Fincher's appealed especially to those white, Protestant, semiskilled workers of British origin then emigrating to America and becoming active in this country's growing trade-union movement. The English settings of two of these stories were, no doubt, of special interest to Fincher's readers. Reports of these English women are included here for their indications of American attitudes of the 1860s toward female intimacy and female cross-dressing.

The seeming innocence of these reports, there authors' apparent failure to recognize, even unconsciously, any sexual "irregularities " in these stories of, for instance, two women living together for thirty-four years as “man and wife,” suggests a consciousness very different from the sexualized awareness so prevalent in present day America. Lack of sexual innuendo in these old reports does not, of course, rule out the existence of overt sexual relations between the women described.

On July 25, 1863, Fincher's carries a feature story about Englishwoman Mary East and her "wife" of 34 years, a classic couple in the literature of female transvestism.

A Curious Married Couple

In 1731, a girl named Mary East was engaged to be married to a young man for whom she entertained the strongest affection; but upon his taking to evil courses, or, to tell the whole truth, being hanged for highway robbery, she determined to run no risk of any such disappointment from the opposite sex in future. A female friend of hers having suffered in some similar manner, and being of the like mind with herself, they agreed to pass for the rest of their days as man and wife, in some place where they were not known, The question of which should be the husband was decided by lot in favor of Mary East, who accordingly assumed the masculine habit, and under the name of James How, took a small public house at Epping for himself and consort. Here, and subsequently at other inns, they lived together in good repute with their neighbors for eighteen years-a-during which neither experienced the least pang of marital jealousy-and realized a considerable sum of money. The supposed James How served all the parish offices without discovery, and was several times a foreman of juries: While occupying the White Horse at Poplar, however, his secret was discovered by a woman who had known him in his youth; and from that time the happy couple became the victims of her extortion. First five, then ten, then one hundred pounds were demanded as the price of her silence. and even these bribes were found to be insufficient. At last, however, the persecutor pushed matters too far, and killed the goose that laid such golden eggs. James brought the whole matter before a magistrate, and attired, awkwardly enough, in the proper garments of her sex, herself witnessed against the offender, who was imprisoned for a considerable term. Exposure, however, of course followed upon the trial, and the White Horse had to be disposed of, and the landlord and landlady to retire from public life into retirement. After thirty-four years of pretended matrimony, Mrs. How died; the disconsolate widower survived long afterwards, but never again took to himself another spouse. Neither husband nor wife had ever been seen to dress a joint of meat; nor did they give entertainment to their friends like other couples; neither, although in excellent circumstances, (having acquired between three and four thousand pounds), did they keep man-servant or maid-servant, but Mary East served the customers and went on errands, while her wife attended solely to the affairs of the house.

In the next few months, Fincher's carries four features about American females who, dressed as men, had served as soldiers in the Civil War; the stories, however, mention nothing suggesting particularly close relations with other women.