Joseph Lobdell | |
---|---|
![]() Lobdell in braids, beads, and feathers,
c. 1853 | |
Born |
Westerlo, New York, U.S. | December 2, 1829
Died | May 28, 1912 Binghamton State Hospital, New York, United States | (aged 82)
Other names | Joe Lobdell |
Spouses |
|
Joseph Israel Lobdell (December 2, 1829 – May 28, 1912; born Lucy Ann Lobdell) was a 19th-century person who was assigned female at birth and lived as a man for sixty years, [1] and is usually regarded today as a transgender man. [2] An 1877 New York Times article referred to Lobdell's life as "one of the most singular family histories ever recorded". [3] Writer William Klaber wrote an historical novel, The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell, [4] which was based on Lobdell's life. An 1883 account by P. M. Wise, which cast Lobdell as a "lesbian", was the first use of that word in an American publication. [5] [2]
Joseph Lobdell was born December 2, 1829, to a working-class family living in Westerlo, [6] Albany County, New York. Lobdell married George Washington Slater, who was reportedly mentally abusive and abandoned Lobdell shortly after the birth of their daughter, Helen. [1] Lobdell was known for marksmanship and nicknamed "The Female Hunter of Delaware County". [7] He wrote a memoir about his hunting adventures, his disastrous marriage and his feelings about God, ending with a plea for equal employment for women. [1] He was also known to be an accomplished fiddle player and opened a singing school for a time. [8] While working at the singing school, he became engaged to a young woman. A rival for her affection learned Lobdell was assigned female at birth and threatened to tar and feather him. Lobdell's fiancé warned him and he escaped. [1] Lobdell received a Civil War pension [9] when Slater was killed in the war. [8] Lobdell entered the County Poor House in Delhi, New York, in 1860, where he met Marie Louise Perry. [8] Perry was a poor but well-educated woman, whose husband left her shortly after they eloped. [1] He later married Perry in 1861 [10] in Wayne County, Pennsylvania. They spent years roaming the woods together with their pet bear, living in nomadic poverty, surviving off hunting, gathering and charity. [11] Then they were arrested for vagrancy and sent to Stroudsburg jail where "discovery that the supposed man was a woman was made". [11] Joseph was later arrested again for wearing male clothes. Marie wrote a letter using a stick and pokeberry ink begging the jail to free her husband. [1]
In 1879, Lobdell was taken away to the Willard Insane Asylum in Ovid, New York. [8] While in the asylum, Lobdell became a patient of Dr. P. M. Wise, who published a brief article, "A Case of Sexual Perversion", in which the doctor noted Lobdell said "she considered herself a man in all that the name implies". [12] Newspapers published two premature obituaries for him, first in 1879, then in 1885. He was presumed to have died on May 28, 1912. [1]
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Joseph Lobdell | |
---|---|
![]() Lobdell in braids, beads, and feathers,
c. 1853 | |
Born |
Westerlo, New York, U.S. | December 2, 1829
Died | May 28, 1912 Binghamton State Hospital, New York, United States | (aged 82)
Other names | Joe Lobdell |
Spouses |
|
Joseph Israel Lobdell (December 2, 1829 – May 28, 1912; born Lucy Ann Lobdell) was a 19th-century person who was assigned female at birth and lived as a man for sixty years, [1] and is usually regarded today as a transgender man. [2] An 1877 New York Times article referred to Lobdell's life as "one of the most singular family histories ever recorded". [3] Writer William Klaber wrote an historical novel, The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell, [4] which was based on Lobdell's life. An 1883 account by P. M. Wise, which cast Lobdell as a "lesbian", was the first use of that word in an American publication. [5] [2]
Joseph Lobdell was born December 2, 1829, to a working-class family living in Westerlo, [6] Albany County, New York. Lobdell married George Washington Slater, who was reportedly mentally abusive and abandoned Lobdell shortly after the birth of their daughter, Helen. [1] Lobdell was known for marksmanship and nicknamed "The Female Hunter of Delaware County". [7] He wrote a memoir about his hunting adventures, his disastrous marriage and his feelings about God, ending with a plea for equal employment for women. [1] He was also known to be an accomplished fiddle player and opened a singing school for a time. [8] While working at the singing school, he became engaged to a young woman. A rival for her affection learned Lobdell was assigned female at birth and threatened to tar and feather him. Lobdell's fiancé warned him and he escaped. [1] Lobdell received a Civil War pension [9] when Slater was killed in the war. [8] Lobdell entered the County Poor House in Delhi, New York, in 1860, where he met Marie Louise Perry. [8] Perry was a poor but well-educated woman, whose husband left her shortly after they eloped. [1] He later married Perry in 1861 [10] in Wayne County, Pennsylvania. They spent years roaming the woods together with their pet bear, living in nomadic poverty, surviving off hunting, gathering and charity. [11] Then they were arrested for vagrancy and sent to Stroudsburg jail where "discovery that the supposed man was a woman was made". [11] Joseph was later arrested again for wearing male clothes. Marie wrote a letter using a stick and pokeberry ink begging the jail to free her husband. [1]
In 1879, Lobdell was taken away to the Willard Insane Asylum in Ovid, New York. [8] While in the asylum, Lobdell became a patient of Dr. P. M. Wise, who published a brief article, "A Case of Sexual Perversion", in which the doctor noted Lobdell said "she considered herself a man in all that the name implies". [12] Newspapers published two premature obituaries for him, first in 1879, then in 1885. He was presumed to have died on May 28, 1912. [1]
{{
cite book}}
: |website=
ignored (
help)