The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-04-17 00:00:00

THE FEMALE HUSBAND

(From the Manchester Guardian of Wednesday.)

Itt the MaacitextereTimes of Saturday last is a paragraph to
the following effect

"Unbunded fiepoit—A silly report has been imiu‘striously
propagated this 'week, to the effect, that a respectable female
in this town has been married for about 17 years to a person
who, within the last few days, is discovered to he a woman. As
it was not impossible for such a circumstance to have occurred,
although very improbable, we had curiosity enough to make
inquiries on the subject, and found that the alleged "remarka-
ble discovery" was a gross fabrication."

We, too, had curiosity enough to make inquiries on the subject,
and find that the "unfounded report" of the "remarkable dis-
covery" which, though "not impossible," is "very improba-
ble," is really, in the main, true. All the circumstances corn.
municated to us relative to this singular case, we do not .feel
justified in publishing; but we may mention a few of the prin-
cipal facts connected with what is here known of the history of
this Chevalier D'Flon in humble life, of course, suppressing the
names of the parties. A few days awl, a respectable female
waited upon an attorney in this town, and asked his advice in
a case of a very peculiar nature. It seems that her husband,
a master bricklayer, who had been in the habit of trusting her
implicitly in his business, even leaving to h'er 'management the
boOk-keeping requisite in his trade, and of late, ror some cause
or other, refused to allow her the usual weekly sum for house-
keeping. Having, also, in other respects, treated her, as she
conceived, in as unkind manner, she came to take advice as to
how she should proceed, under the circumstances, against her
husband, whom, to the no small astonishment of the profes-
sional gentleman she was then consulting, she declared to be
nut a man, but a woman.—The attorney thought it his duty,
under such singular circumstances, to bring the matter under
the notice of Mr. Foster, the magistrate, who directed that Mr.
Thomas should take the case under his management, and
bring the parties fur private examination before him (Mr.
Foster), at the police-office. Mr. Thomas took the necessary
steps; and on Thursday last, the parties were brow ht before ,
Mr. Foster, in the deputy-constable's room, at the police-office,
when th truth of the wife's averment to the attorney was cor-
roborated in the most distinct and unqualified manner' bY Mr.
Oilier, surgeon to the police, who gave a certificate declaring
that the individual in question was a woman. The woman-hus-
band, we believe, did not make the least attempt to dehy her
sex, but contented herself with stating, that her wife had been
only led to make this exposure, because she had withheld from
her the weekly allowance of money for house-keeping expenses.
The wife replied, that this was not the only cause of complaint
she had against her spouse; for that she, (the husband) was
occasionally intoxicated, and that, when in that state, the hus-
band treated her very ill. The wife has also stated that she ac-
cidentally made the discovery of the sex of her husband'as much
as two or three years back; but that she had kept the secret
till the present time.—From what could be gleaned of the his-
tory of this female-husband, it would'seem that she had as-
sumed the garb and character of a boy at an early age,
and that in that character, she was apprenticed, at the age
of sixteeen or seventeen, to a muster builder, in one of the
large towns of Yorkshire. Being of good exterior, with
prepossessing appearance and manners, and of features rather
handsome, the supposed young man attracted the attention of
many females in the same condition of life ; and, amongst
others, was the one who afterwards became the wife. The at-
tentions of the young bricklayer were acceptable and accepted ;
and the union took place shortly after the expiration of the ap-
prenticeship. Soon afterwards, this couple came to Manches*
' ter, we are told, about the year 1827, where the husband corn.
menced the business of a builder, and, by considerable skill,
ability, and attem ion to trade, was tolerably successful. Amongst
other branches of the business, this builder became remarkable,
indeed almost to celebrity, for skill and success in the erection
of flues, ovens, &c.; and, we believe, is, at this moment, iu very
good business, employing several hands, and giving very gene-
ral satisfaction to those fur whom any work has been executed.
The wife had the entire management of the books and accounts
in the business: and, as far as we have heard, there was not the
slightest imputation on her character. We believe that nothing
was done in the way of legal proceedings. Several articles,
claimed by the wife as her property, have been sent to the po-
lice office, by the husband; who, so far as we have heard, has
not offered any reparation to the wife, for the cruel and painful
position in which she is now placed. One thing is tolerably
certain, that after the exposure which has taken place, and the
affair was currently talked of as early as Thursday or Friday
last, the woman who has ventured to assume the character of a
man will no longer be able to continue to carry on business in
this town, and that she must either lay aside her disguise, and
resume the appearance which most befits her sex ; or, if she
will retain her unfeminine appearance and character, she must
seek to hide her imposture in some place where she is not
known, and where she may hope for a while to escape detection.
We believe that many persons, who have employed her, join in
declaring, that they had not the slightest suspicion that she was
other than what she seemed. It is somewhat remarkable, that
this is not the first case of this nature which has been brought
under the notice of Mr. Thomas. In January 1829, a labourer
in the service of Mr. Crisp, ship-builder, at Dockhead, London,
while assisting in sawing a log of fir, was struck by the severed
part of the log with such force on the head, as to die of the in-
jury while being conveyed to St. Thomas's Hospital. On strip-
ping the body to prepare it for interment, it was discovered that
the deceased, who was about 38 years of age, was a woman.
She had been known for about twenty-two years to have filled
various situations as groom, shipwright's labourer, and other
subordinate occupations in dock-yards, vitriol works, &c. and
been twenty-one years married; and his wife declared in the
most solemn manner, on the inquest, and before the police ma-
gistrates at Bow-street, that during the whole of that period,
she had been in utter ignorance of the real sex of her supposed
husband.

(From the Manchester Guardian of Saturday.)

THE WoStAN-HUSBAND.—Subsequent inquiries confirm the
truth of the statements made in the Guardian of Wednesday
last, as to this singular case. And, as the circumstances of the
case, and the name of the husband, have now become pretty
generally known throughout the town, we see no longer any
necessity for concealing the latter. The assumed name of the
master bricklayer is Henry Stoakes; her real name we believe
to be Harriet Stoakes, and till the late exposure the parties re-
sided in Cumberland-street, Deansgate. This woman-man,
who, for probably more than five-and-twenty years, has suc-
ceeded in concealing her sex, and pursuing a trade of a inure
than ordinarily masculine and hazardous description, with a
degree of skill and ability which has led to her establishment in
a good business in this town, bound herself apprentice, at the
age, of 16 or 17 years, to a Mr. Peacock, a bricklayer and
builder at Bawtry, a small market town in the West lidding of
Yorkshire, on the river Idle, which separates the counties of
York and Nottingham. She did not remain with Mr. Peacock
during the whole period of her apprenticeship, but was "turned
over," as it is called, to another person in the same business.
It was during her apprenticeship that she met with her present
. wile; and they were married at the Old Parish Church of Shef-
field, in the year 1816, when the wife was only 17 years of age.
Since the investigation and disclosure of the circumstances on
Thursday week, the wife and husband have separated. We
believe that, although no legal proceedings have been, or in-
deed could be. taken in this extraordinary case, Mr. Thomas,
the deputy-constable, has had several interviews with the hus-
band, in which be has endeavoured to induce her to make some
provision for the woman whom she has so shamefully deceived ;
and %she, after having, for twenty-two years, filled the character
of a wife, greatly benefiting the interests of her supposed hus-
band, not only by her care of the household concerns, but of
the business, books, and accounts, had surely some claim to
compensation as a servant, if she were unable by law to demand
the maintenance of a wife. • We believe that Mr. Thomas so
far succeeded in this humane negotiation, as to induce the hus-
band to agree to give up to the wife the houSe in which they had
resided up to the time of the discovery, with all the furniture
that it contained. The wife is, therefore, still residing there;
and the husband has gene to lodge elsewhere. The habits of
the latter, we believe, are much more in accordance with those
of her assumed sex and occupation, than of a woman; and no
one, except perchance front her beardless cheeks, and a certain
shrillness of voice, could, for a moment, suspect that the
little broad-set bricklayer was of the softer sex. At present,
she employs in her business, besides being most industrious
herself in its practical details and manual operations, eight men,
and a boy who is apprenticed to her. In her business and deal-
ings, she appears to have borne, hitherto a good character for
attention to business, and honesty in her payments ; and
we believe that she has stated, that she has made enough by
her business to enable her to live in ease without labour. Yet,
strange to say, with a degree of irritability which we should
rather expect to find in the injured than the injurer, she vehe-
'newly refuses to consent that any sum shall be set apart as a
provision for her so-called wife. Among other solid! duties
which this female husband has performed during her residence
in this town, is one that certainly it might have been expected,
if the least feelings appertaining to her sex had remained, she
would have anxiously have endeavoured to evade. But, on the
contrary, there seems to have been a sort of perversity in her,
which carried her into all extremes. She was for many years a
special constable, in the 13th division of that body, acting for
this town; and we are assured that on all occasions, where
the services of the divisious were required, as at elections, orange
processions, and meetings of trades' unions, turn-outs, &c. ; so
far from absenting herself from what, as in the case of well-
grounded apprehensions of a riot, must have been, to a woman,
a post of some unpleasantness, she is remembered to have been
eue of the most punctual in attendance, and the most forward
volunteer iii actual duty, in that division. We understand that
she is only no longer a special constable, because she did not,
on the last annual special session, held for that purpose at the
New Bailey, present herself to be resworn. Sbe was not dis-
carded or discharged; there was no complaint against her; and
probably the extension of her own business was her only motive
for not resuming the duties of this office. Altogether, thi; is by
far the most singular case of the kind which has ever reached
our knowledge. The celebrated Chevalier D'Eon was net
married ; and James Davis (so called), the discovery of whose
sex took place only after death, had not been married for so
long a period as' the woman whose case is now under notice.
There, too, the discovery was made too late to obtain from the
party herself any clue to the motives' which led her to so un-
feminine a course of deception ; but here both parties to the
supposed marriage are alive; and the one' who assumed the
male sex is still alive to give, if she chooses, the true history of
her reasons or fancy, fur laying aside the garb and character of
her own, and' assuming the appearance, and undertaking the
toil, of the other sex, which would certainly be a very curious
chapter of biography.

NARROW ESCAPE.—_A few days ago, an old man; residing in
the township of Oswaldswisle, had a very narrow escape from a
permaturegrave. His daughter, who is a straw-bonnet-maker,
had incautiously placed a cup, containing about two ounces of
oxalic acid, partially dissolved, (which is used by persons in her
business to clean bonnets with,) on the pot-shelf; and her fa-
ther being thirsty took the cup, filled it up with water, and drank
off the contents. Fortunately for him, Mr. Bradley, surgeon, of
Church, was on the spot in a few minutes after the accident,
and by the timely use of the stomach pump, and copious wash-
ings with lime water, the otherwise fatal catastrophe was pre-
vented, and the old man is now as well as usual.—Blackburn
Standard.

NEW PI:INTING MACHINE.—Mr. Thomas Trench, of Ithaca,
New York, is constructing his patent printing press, at the
Speedwell Works, near Morristown. The 'Arse: man mentions
that it is to be attached to one of the paper mills in that place,
and describes it as follows:—" The press takes the paper im-
mediately from the paper machine, prints it on both sides, and
passes it through cylinders, which presses it smooth; thus, in
one operation and within the space of three minutes, the pulp is
taken from the mill and a book of 350 pages is ready for the
binder. The paper is printed in one continuous sheet, thus, a
whole edition can readily be printed, rolled up, and sent to any
distance. Mr. Trench had on his press Cobb's Juvenile
Reader,' of 216 pages, of which he presented us a sheet of
about 7U feet, neatly printed, and which can be examined at
our office. This new printing machine will cause a complete
revolution in the art of printing, and generally diminish the
price of standard works and school books. Hereafter, we sus-
pect, orders will be given for bibles, spelling-books, &e., by the
mile, instead of the volume, as in former time; but, be that as
it may, a sheet of five wiles in length can be made with nearly
the same ease as one of fifty or a hundred feet."—National In-
idlligencer.