Published January 30, 2024
In this episode, our host Kathleen Barker will introduce two fascinating people who expand our understanding of the possible motivations people may have had to venture into the Wild West.
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This History UnErased podcast is funded by the New York City Council. It was developed by History UnErased and produced and edited by Dinah Mack; Kathleen Barker; and Deb Fowler.
TRANSCRIPT
Deb Fowler: Hello, and welcome to UnErasing LGBTQ History and Identities — A Podcast for Teachers. I’m Deb Fowler, co-founder of History UnErased.
When you hear - or read - “Westward expansion,” what comes to mind? What do you associate with “The Wild West?” Cowboys and gunslingers? Stagecoaches and prairie towns? Or the injustices imposed on Indigenous Peoples? In this episode, you will meet two people who can expand our understanding of the possible motivations people may have had to venture into the Wild West! Welcome to the fluid frontier. Take it away, Kathleen!
Kathleen Barker: The mythical west was a site of reinvention and reimagination: a chance to live beyond the gender binary and experience new, and sometimes authentic, identities. Westward migration provided people of all backgrounds with the freedom to be whoever and whatever they wanted to be. Many historians argue that the phenomenon we learn and teach about called “Westward Expansion” began with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. We’d like to introduce you to a couple of individuals who found acceptance, and even fame, in the West a bit later in the nineteenth century. As we shall see, we can find many examples of the ways in which people played with gender norms on the American frontier. Let’s meet our first frontier trailblazer!
Although born in Vermont in 1812, Charley Parkhurst became legendary in California around the mid-nineteenth century. Assigned female at birth, Charley was orphaned at a young age and placed in an institution with his siblings. When he was about 12, Charley allegedly stole some boys' clothing, ran away from the orphanage, and was taken in by a man in Massachusetts who gave Charley a job in his stables. He eventually became a very skilled horseman. Fast forward to 1848, when gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in California. Charley began to hear tales of the exciting opportunities available to those willing to brave the trip to California. Given Charley's skills can you guess the job that made him famous?
Although Charley did a number of things in order to support himself like raising chickens, mining, and even working as a lumberjack, Charley Parkhurst actually became well known as a stagecoach driver. Upon his arrival in California, he took a job with the new California Stage Company, which had been started by some of his former co-workers in New England. If you think about it, it was a pretty lucrative opportunity. At the time the only way to reach the California gold fields was by foot or with the assistance of an animal like a horse or a mule. Obviously a stagecoach would have been the most efficient choice. Charley's stagecoach activities took him around the San Francisco Bay area as well as the roads and paths of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He transported all sorts of passengers including prospectors, politicians, and even a few prisoners.
Charley was so well known for his stagecoach driving that he was even featured in an article in Harper’s Monthly Magazine in 1865. The author, John Ross Brown, traveled throughout Northern California with Charley. In Brown’s riveting portrait, Charley was described as “one of the boys,” who drank, smoked, and played cards, often in exchange for alcohol. Brown writes…
Danny Roberts: “Imagine yourself seated in front of the stage by the side of that genial old whipster, Charlie, who knows every foot of the way, and upon whom you can implicitly rely for the safety of your life and limbs. Holding the reins with a firm hand and casting a penetrating eye ahead, he cracks his whip and away go the horses with inspiring velocity - six magnificent chestnuts superbly adorned with flowing manes and tails.”
KB: The work was hard, and not without danger. Rough roads led to many accidents, and robbers were a constant threat. Charley, however, was a professional, as he explained to Brown:
DR: “Fact is I’ve traveled over these mountains so often I can tell where the road is by the sound of the wheels. When they rattle, I’m on hard ground; when they don’t rattle, I generally look over the side to see where she’s a going…. I calculate to quit the business next trip…. I’m no better now than when I commenced. Pay’s small and work’s heavy. I’m getting old. Rheumatism in my bones – nobody to look out for old, used‐up stage drivers. I’ll kick the bucket one of these days and that’ll be the last of old Charlie.”
KB: Charley retired in 1879, and passed away on December 28, from cancer of the tongue and throat. It wasn't until after Charley's death, while his body was being prepared for burial, that Charley's colleagues discovered that Charley was biologically female. This revelation only added to the legend of Charley Parkhurst. Their gravestone reads:
DR: “Noted whip of the Gold Rush days. Drove a stage over Mt. Madonna in early days of valley. Last run San Juan to Santa Cruz. Death in a cabin near the 7 mile house, revealed "One Eyed Charlie", a woman. The first woman to vote in the U.S. Nov. 3, 1868”
KB: Did you catch that? Charley allegedly voted in the 1868 election! If this is indeed true, it was quite a remarkable feat, given the fact that women in the United States did not have the legal right to vote until 1920.
Regardless of his voting record, John Ross Brown aimed to ensure that Charley’s name was never forgotten:
DR: “All hail to thee, old Charlie! … Here, in the pages of this magazine, your name shall be rescued from oblivion. Sweet and gentle ladies shall pay the tribute of admiration to your manly features; and honest men shall award you honor, to whom honor is due. For in the vicissitudes of my career have I not found Brave and Sterling qualities in all classes of men; Heroes whose names are never known; hearts and souls, human affections, and the fear of God and the bodies of stage drivers?”
KB: Our next story also takes place in the 1860s and 70s, when this intrepid entrepreneur was described by her contemporaries as a “super laundress,” as well as an invaluable midwife and nurse, and cook extraordinaire. Originally from Mexico, Mrs. Noonan was employed as a laundress in George Armstrong Custer’s 7th Cavalry in the years after the Civil War. She was known as a fine seamstress, often attending garrison dances wearing lavish garments that she herself created. Unfortunately, we only know her as Mrs. Noonan – we have no record of her first name.
Mrs. Noonan was a woman of many talents, and in addition to her official role, she was praised for her delicious tamales, pies, cakes, and donuts, which provided her with additional income from sales to enlisted men and even civilians living around her home base of Fort Lincoln, just outside Bismarck in North Dakota. Although she made it clear that she was not a big fan of children, she earned income as a midwife, explaining that she had learned the ropes from her mother in Mexico. Once again, these skills came in very handy at the fort, not just for Army wives but for nearby civilians as well.
While serving with the 7th Cavalry, Mrs. Noonan was married three times. We don't know much about her previous husbands, but we know that one had the surname of Clifton, and the other had the surname of Nash. Apparently, her first two marriages were short-lived, after her husbands stole her money and deserted her. But her third husband, John Noonan, sounds like a keeper. Noonan was described by fellow army wives as being quite handsome. He had an excellent military record, and was quite popular with the other men in the Cavalry. At one point he served as George Armstrong Custer's right hand man, and favorite hunting partner. Unfortunately, the Noonans’ union would only last a few years.
On October 1, 1878, while Noonan was patrolling in the Black Hills with other members of the 7th Cavalry, his wife took ill with appendicitis back at Fort Lincoln. Feeling like she wouldn't survive much longer, Mrs. Noonan called for a Catholic priest from Bismarck to hear her confession. She died the following day, October 30, 1878. During her illness, she instructed one of her fellow laundresses that she wished to be buried immediately after her death, in whatever clothing she had on at the time. Of course, her fellow laundresses wouldn't hear of this. They felt that Mrs. Noonan deserved a much more dignified burial. One of Mrs. Noonan’s colleagues offered to prepare her body for burial, and it was during this process that they discovered that Mrs. Noonan was a biological male. According to an article that appeared in the Bismarck Tribune the day of her death:
DR: “A singular development transpired at Fort Lincoln today. Mrs. Sergeant Noonan, who died last night, turns out to be a man….there is no explanation of the unnatural union except that the supposed Mexican woman was worth $10,000 and was able to buy her husband’s silence. She has been with the 7th Cavalry nine years.”
KB: Upon hearing the news of his wife’s death, John Noonan returned to Fort Lincoln, a grieving man. According to newspaper accounts, the death, accompanied by spirited teasing, incessant questions, and rude comments from his fellow soldiers, led him to take drastic action. On November 30, 1878, Noonan took his own life.
Speculation and gossip about Mrs. Noonans’s hidden identity began immediately after her death, and continued for months. The Bismarck Tribune ran a story one week after Mrs. Noonan’s death noting the community’s intrigue:
DR: “Death proved Mrs. Noonan a man, and all Lincoln with Bismarck thrown in was plunged into a pleasurable curiosity to know the particulars. It was a surprise and may be to some people a shock…. Mrs. Noonan has worn his disguise for fourteen years. For what reason nobody knows.”
KB: Libbie Custer, wife of General George Armstrong Custer, who revealed in her memoirs that she was quite fond of Mrs. Noonan believed that she was simply “weary of the laborious life of a man, and so had assumed the disguise of a woman.” Given all of Mrs. Noonan’s hard work in and around Fort Lincoln, however, this seems like a rather simplistic explanation.
Inquiring minds, however, needed answers! In December 1878, a special visitor arrived in Bismarck, North Dakota, and attempted to sort out the situation. Madam Le Secher, a medium, held a series of seances in collaboration with local spiritualists. Le Secher claims to have channeled Mrs. Noonan’s spirit. A reporter from the Bismarck Tribune was present at the seance and reported the following:
DR: “The first spirit that answered the call was that of the complicated laundress. Her manifestations were bold and her manner imperious, while her communication was filled with horror and despair…. ‘I am in reality Joseph Drummond,’ was the impetuous announcement. ‘That is my right name, but on Earth I was known as Mrs. Noonan. My reason for changing my sex, that is in garb, was to secure immunity from detection for a MURDER I committed in the city of Washington 15 years ago last March. I killed the Grosser family there. I drugged them and then burned the house. Escaping from Washington I went to New Orleans where I practiced as a physician.’ Hence the voice became low and indistinct. Soon it commenced again: Oh! This is Hell! The dead stare me in the face….’”
KB: The incorporeal Mrs. Noonan confirmed that her husband was not with her in Hell, but she reaffirmed that he had always believed her to be a woman. As she explained through the medium:
DR: “I believed he loved me; all of his actions indicated that he did, and I had a strong respect for him. He was always kind and generous to me, and I know that he never suspected me…. I am surrounded by the Damned but I have a faith that someday–though days and nights are all the same to me here–that I shall rise above this condition and leave my suffering behind me.”
KB: Was Mrs. Noonan a criminal? Or was she a woman looking for love, adventure, and opportunity on the frontier? We may never know for sure, but that doesn’t have to stop us from appreciating the talents of this hardworking, and well-liked pioneer.
These are only two examples of westward migrants who played with gender norms on the frontier. But the West was full of interesting characters, including teachers, gold thieves, and men and women seeking physical and spiritual freedom. We hope you will tune in to future episodes to learn more about the wild and queer West.
DF: Kathleen Barker is History UnErased’s program director and is a library and information specialist and public historian with 20 years of experience as a museum and library educator.
This podcast is funded by the New York City Council. It was developed by History UnErased and produced and edited by Dinah Mack, our youth equity program director and podcaster. And special thanks to our colleague Danny Roberts for being the voice of John Ross Brown!
Our theme music is “1986” by BrothaD via Tribe of Noise.
I’m Deb Fowler. Thanks for listening.
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Primary Sources:
Bismarck Tribune, 4 Nov. 1878. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042331/1878-11-04/ed-1/seq-1/
Bismarck Tribune, 30 Dec. 1878. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042331/1878-12-30/ed-1/seq-1/
Charley Parkhurst grave marker: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3818/charley-parkhurst
Brown, John Ross. “Washoe Revisited,” Harper’s Monthly Magazine, 1865. https://archive.org/details/washoerevisited00browrich/page/n7/mode/2up