Outing the Old West @ Autry Museum, CA

[3113]

The Autry Museum is having a series titled "Out West" about gays, lesbians and trangenders folk in the Old West if anyone is looking for new story ideas. The L.A. Times (follow link for full article on the series) related this one particular story from the exhibition:

...the tale of One-Eyed Charlie.

A stagecoach driver known for his hard drinking and itchy trigger finger, Charlie worked for the California Stage Co., where he earned his reputation as one of the best drivers in the wild West. He traveled between Oregon and California and, the story goes, got his nickname when he lost an eye while attempting to shoe a horse.

But Charlie kept a secret that was revealed only after his death in 1879. When his body was being prepared, a coroner discovered that One-Eyed Charlie was actually a woman. It turns out that Charlie, nee Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst, had passed much of her adult life as a man. The discovery of her true gender became a local sensation. And her story still fascinates U.S. historians, some of whom believe that she was the first woman to have voted in a presidential election, long before the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920.

Stories like One-Eyed Charlie's will be part of the Autry series titled "Out West," looking at the roles of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in frontier history.

 

[sr71plt]

Oh, I thought you had news about Gene.

 

[3113]

Oh, I thought you had news about Gene.

Hey, this might be the museum's way of slowly getting the news out....

 

[Handley_Page]

Hey, this might be the museum's way of slowly getting the news out....

you mean it might be. . . . . . . . . Jean ?

 

[Boxlicker101]

you mean it might be. . . . . . . . . Jean ?

Actually, it was Orvon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Autry

I doubt that he was gay, but I can't really say with any certainty.

 

[sr71plt]

I never know anymore when you are serious and playing it for a joke, Box.

 

[Boxlicker101]

I never know anymore when you are serious and playing it for a joke, Box.

In this case, I am going along with a joke.

 

[sr71plt]

As I posted, you run so close to the edge that it's hard to tell.

 

[Boxlicker101]

As I posted, you run so close to the edge that it's hard to tell.

What I did was to mention Gene Autrey's real name, which somebody had speculated about. Then, in keeping with the subject of the thread, pointed out that he might possibly have been gay. I doubt that he was, and we have no reason to think that he was, but who can say with certainty?

 

[voluptuary_manque]

What I did was to mention Gene Autrey's real name, which somebody had speculated about. Then, in keeping with the subject of the thread, pointed out that he might possibly have been gay. I doubt that he was, and we have no reason to think that he was, but who can say with certainty?

After all, many closeted gay men marry and father children. So Box is perfectly correct. The odds are against it but it is possible . . . barely.

 

[JackLuis]

Considering the way he dressed in the old days, he looked gay to me. Who tucks his pant into his boots, unless he shoveling horseshit?

 

[Boxlicker101]

Considering the way he dressed in the old days, he looked gay to me. Who tucks his pant into his boots, unless he shoveling horseshit?

I was never a big fan of Gene Autrey, but I did see some of his movies, and I remember a line from a song I heard him sing. It went something like: "What do I need with a woman, as long as I have my horse?"

 

[JackLuis]

I was never a big fan of Gene Autrey, but I did see some of his movies, and I remember a line from a song I heard him sing. It went something like: "What do I need with a woman, as long as I have my horse?"

First you imply he was gay , now you imply bestiality?

Poor Champion.

 

[JackLuis]

There is a novel "One Thousand White Women", by Jim Fergus supposedly an expansion on the Diary of Marry Dodd.

Mary was declared "crazy" by her father and tossed in an asylum in Chicago, 1875.

Mary gets out of the Asylum by joining a "Brides for Indians" program and gets shipped to Montana, where she is married to a Cheyenne, along with about a 100 others in the first shipment.

How does she fair? You need to read the book, but it is not porn. Apparently this actually happened, perhaps kind'a like the book says. You know Authors.

It reads well and Fergus is an accomplished writer.

There was a mule skinner in it that was female posing as a male, just for the job.

 

[Stella_Omega]

What I did was to mention Gene Autrey's real name, which somebody had speculated about. Then, in keeping with the subject of the thread, pointed out that he might possibly have been gay. I doubt that he was, and we have no reason to think that he was, but who can say with certainty?

I am so glad you've explained all of this!

 

[TE999]

This certainly gives the lyrics to one of Gene's songs 'I'm back in the saddle again' a whole different meaning.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Gene Autry was an interesting fellow. He was sorta fat but sang well. I saw a scene where he jumped from a balcony to his horse once. I felt sorry for the horse.

I met him in Portland when he bought a hotel there some years ago. I had no idea he was into museums.

The story about "one eye'd Charley" I saw on a rerun of Death Valley Days years ago. I read a book in College called "The Cowboys" written in the 1930's that also had a number of like stories. I haven't seen it in years.

 

[3113]

I am so glad you've explained all of this!

So, Stella, you (in a past life) and One-Eyed Charlie...it's time to tell the story!