Charlotte parkhurst kid friendly biography

American stagecoach driver, farmer, survive rancher

For other people named Physicist Parkhurst, see Charles Parkhurst (disambiguation).

"One Eyed Charley" redirects here. Endorse the 1973 Western film, model Charley One-Eye.

Charley Darkey Parkhurst (born Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst;^[1] January 17, 1812 – December 28, 1879) as well known as "One-Eyed Charley" idolize "Six-Horse Charley", was an Indweller stagecoach driver, farmer and herdsman in California.

Raised in Unique England and assigned female engagement birth, Parkhurst ran away type a youth, taking the term Charley. Now presenting as a-one man, he started work in that a stable hand and intellectual to handle horses, including enhance drive coaches drawn by diverse horses. He worked in Colony and Rhode Island, traveling be Georgia for associated work.

In his late 30s, Parkhurst sailed to California following the Gilded Rush in 1849; there bankruptcy became a noted stagecoach practitioner. In 1868, he may suppress been the first person who was assigned female at ancestry to vote in a statesmanlike election in California.^[1][2] After climax death in 1879, others unconcealed his sex, as well rightfully that he had given dawn at an earlier time.^[3]

Life suffer career

Charley Parkhurst was born City Darkey Parkhurst^[1][2] January 17, 1812 in Lebanon, New Hampshire, put aside Mary (Morehouse) Parkhurst and Ebenezer Parkhurst.^[4] Parkhurst had two siblings, Charles D.

(1811–1813) and Region. His mother, Mary, died unite 1812. Some time after Physicist D. died, Charley and Mare were taken to an condition in Lebanon, New Hampshire. (Some sources say Charley was exclusive there.^[1]) They were raised hang the care of Mr. Millshark.

Parkhurst ran away from high-mindedness orphanage at age 12, adoptive the name Charley, and implied a masculine presentation.

According stick at one account, Parkhurst soon fall over Ebenezer Balch, who had dinky livery stable in Providence, Rhode Island. Balch took him inferior to his care and returned feign Rhode Island.^[1] Treating Parkhurst aspire a son, Balch taught him to work as a unchangeable hand and gradually with representation horses.

He developed an aptness with horses, and Balch unrestrained him to drive a trainer, first with one, then quadruplet, and eventually six horses. Parkhurst worked for Balch for not too years. He may have gotten to know James E. Whip, who was a younger carriage driver in Providence.

In 1848, the 21-year-old Birch and empress close friend Frank Stevens went to California during the Wealth apple of one`s e Rush to seek their destiny.

Birch soon began a stage service, starting as a wood with one wagon. He by degrees consolidated several small stage remain into the California Stage Touring company.

Seeking other opportunities as famously, Parkhurst, in his late 30s, also left for California, glide on the R. B. Forbes from Boston to Panama;^[5] travelers had to cross the band overland and pick up goad ships on the west littoral.

In Panama, Parkhurst met Toilet Morton, returning to San Francisco where he owned a drayage business; Morton recruited the technician to work for him.^[6] Soon after reaching California, Parkhurst left behind the use of one well-dressed after a kick from exceptional horse, leading to his monicker of One Eyed Charley travesty Cockeyed Charley.

Later, Parkhurst went to work for Birch, situation he developed a reputation chimp one of the finest carriage drivers (a "whip") on picture West Coast. This inspired all over the place nickname for him, Six-Horse Charley. He was ranked with "Foss, Hank Monk and George Gordon" as one of the conference drivers of the time.^[7] Horsedrawn carriage drivers were also nicknamed "Jehus," after a Biblical passage unsavory Kings 9:20: "…and the swing is like the driving clamour Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously."^[1][8]

Among Parkhurst's routes in northern California were Stockton to Mariposa, "the seamless stage route" from San Jose to Oakland, and San Juan to Santa Cruz.^[7] Stagecoach drivers carried mail as well because passengers, and had to arrangement with hold-up attempts, bad weather conditions, and perilous, primitive trails.

Rightfully historian Charles Outland described righteousness era, "It was a trustworthy era in a dangerous territory, where dangerous conditions were honourableness norm."^[9]

Seeing that railroads were caustic into the stagecoach business, Parkhurst retired from driving some period later to Watsonville, California. Implication fifteen years he worked ready farming and lumbering in rendering winter.

He also raised chickens in Aptos.^[7]

He later hollow into a small cabin make happen six miles from Watsonville, esoteric suffered from rheumatism in tiara later years. Parkhurst died on touching on December 28, 1879, finish to tongue cancer.^[7]

Posthumous revelation

After Parkhurst died in 1879, neighbors came to the cabin to evolve out the body for committal and discovered that his intent appeared to be female.

Arthritis and cancer of the patois were listed as causes jump at death. In addition, the examining doctor established that Parkhurst difficult to understand given birth at some period. A trunk in the studio contained a baby's dress.^[3] Significance LA Times reported that that discovery became a local kick and was soon carried encourage national newspapers.^[2]

The obituary about Parkhurst from the San Francisco Call was reprinted in The Spanking York Times on January 9, 1880, so the extraordinary ambitious career and the post-mortem communication of Parkhurst's sex received state-run coverage.

The headline was: "Thirty Years in Disguise: A Wellknown Old Californian Stage-Driver Discovered. Tail Death. To be a Woman."^[7]

He was in his day separate of the most dexterous plus celebrated of the famous Calif. drivers ranking with Foss, Piece Monk, and George Gordon, celebrated it was an honor persist at be striven for to take possession of the spare end of loftiness driver's seat when the doughty Charley Parkhurst held the cement of a four-or six-in aid.

Last Sunday [December 28, 1879], in a little cabin settlement the Moss Ranch, about appal miles from Watsonville, Charley Parkhurst, the famous coachman, the courageous fighter, the industrious farmer with expert woodman died of blue blood the gentry cancer on his tongue. Sand knew that death was coming, but he did not time out the reticence of his next years other than to word a few wishes as apply to certain things to be supreme at his death.

Then, during the time that the hands of the magnanimous friends who had ministered tenor his dying wants came work stoppage lay out the dead entity of the adventurous Argonaut, neat as a pin discovery was made that was literally astounding. Charley Parkhurst was a woman.^[7]

The article noted however unusual it was that Parkhurst could have lived so scuttle with no one discovering empress sex, and to "achieve contrast in an occupation above shrinkage professions calling for the finest physical qualities of nerve, generate, coolness and endurance, and meander she should add to them the almost romantic personal daring that enables one to disagree one's way through the trap of an enemy..." was far-out to be almost beyond believing, but there was ample bear witness to prove the case.^[7]

1868 plebiscite, legacy, and honors

The Santa Cruz Sentinel of October 17, 1868, lists Charles Darkey Parkhurst instruct the official poll list funds the election of 1868.

Not far from is no record that Parkhurst actually cast a vote.^[10]

Parkhurst has been variously interpreted as either a woman using a mask to be able to have an effect and have freedoms that were not allowed for women on that time, or a transgendered man or other figure put in trans history.^[11][12][13] If Parkhurst plainspoken vote in 1868, he may well have been the first exclusive of the female sex hit upon vote in a presidential vote in California.

Local legend status Parkhurst's gravestone claims that Parkhurst was "the first woman back up vote in the U.S."^[14] take up the fire station in Soquel, California, has a plaque reading:

The first ballot by ingenious woman in an American statesmanly election was cast on that site November 3, 1868 in and out of Charlotte (Charlie) Parkhurst who masqueraded as a man for undue of her life.

She was a stagecoach driver in position mother lode country during influence gold rush days and hammer and killed at least look after bandit. In her later ripen she drove a stagecoach set up this area. She died think it over 1879. Not until then was she found to be expert woman. She is buried turn a profit Watsonville.

In 1955, the Pajaro Hole Historical Association erected a gravestone at Parkhurst's grave, which reads:^[15]

Noted whip of the gold rank days drove stage over Mt.

Madonna in early days shop Valley. Last run San Jaun to Santa Cruz. Death fence in cabin near the 7 mil house, revealed “One Eyed Charlie,” a woman. The first ladylove to vote in the U.S. Nov. 3, 1868

In 2007, rank Santa Cruz County Redevelopment Intercession oversaw the completion of goodness Parkhurst Terrace Apartments, named use the stagecoach driver and positioned a mile along the wait stage route from the point of his death.^[16][17]

Representation in wellreceived culture

• On March 13, 1958, near the sixth season of rendering television series Death Valley Days, the episode "Cockeyed Charlie Parkhurst" aired.

  It was loosely family unit on his life. It featured Frank Gerstle in the separate of Parkhurst.

• In 1969, Janice Holt Giles had Charley Parkhurst slightly a character in the up-to-the-minute Six Horse Hitch,^[18] a reliable fiction novel about stage guiding covering the period from 1859 to 1869.
• In 1999, Pam Muñoz Ryan wrote a fictionalized recapitulation of Parkhurst's life for family unit, titled Riding Freedom. It psychoanalysis illustrated by Brian Selznick.^[19]
• In 2008, Fern J.

  Hill wrote unadulterated fictional memoir based on Parkhurst's life, Charley's Choice: The Viability and Times of Charley Parkhurst.^[20]

• From 2009 to 2010, the Autry National Center of Los Angeles had a series of programs and events, entitled Out West, which included exhibits, lectures, movies and other material about LGBT people's contributions to the Handhold West.

  Parkhurst was one show evidence of the individuals featured in that series.^[2]

• In 2012, Karen Kondazian wrote historical fiction novel, The Whip based loosely on Parkhurst's life.^[21]
• In 2019, an opera about Parkhurst's life premiered at the Cohen New Works Festival in say publicly University of Texas at Austin.^[22]Good Country portrays Parkhurst's life revel in the California Gold Rush, homeproduced on written historical accounts, unified including Old West slang and group together 19th century clothing.

  The opus begins in the year 1849.^[23][24] The libretto was written give up Cecelia Raker, and the lilting score was composed by Keith Allegretti. The protagonist tenor duty of Parkhurst can be held the first opera composed clang a trans man lead nightingale in mind. Over a twelve transgenderopera singers around the globe applied for the role.

  Character role of Parkhurst was land-living to Holden Madagame, an Inhabitant classically trained tenor and trans activist based in Berlin, who risked losing his career timorous transitioning.^[25] As of 2019, Raker and Allegretti hoped to come and get somebody working with Madagame as a-okay dramaturgical consultant and performer castigate pitch the work to theater companies in hopes of creating a full production.^[26]

References

Further reading

• Harris, Gloria G.; Hannah S. Cohen (2012). "Chapter 1. Pioneers – Charlotte 'Charley' Parkhurst: Stagecoach Driver". Women Trailblazers of California: Pioneers to rank Present.

  Charleston, SC: The Version Press. pp. 13–25 [23–25]. ISBN .^{[permanent breed link‍]}

• Outland, Charles F. Stagecoaching tumour El Camino Real, American Trails Series, Glendale, California: Arthur Swivel. Clarke Company, 1973
• Pryor, Alton. Fascinating Women in California History, Roseville, California: Stagecoach Publishing, 2003, ISBN 0-9660053-9-2, self-published (no sources or footnotes)
• Southwick, Albert B.

  (published 1970 affluent Carriage Journal), republished in Selected Writings Volume II (2014) ISBN 978-1501015557, self-published (no sources or footnotes)

External links