Charley Parkhurst

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

Charley Darkey Parkhurst, often Charlie/Charlene/Charlotte or Parkurst, born Mary Parkhurst (1812–1879), was an American stagecoach driver and early California settler. Born female, Parkhurst lived as a man for most of his life and may have been the first biological female to vote in California.^[1]

Life and career

Parkhurst, also known as One Eyed Charley or Six-Horse Charley, was born Mary Parkhurst in 1812 in Lebanon, New Hampshire, to Mary (Morehouse) Parkhurst and Ebenezer Parkhurst. Some reports say her first name was Charlene. She had two siblings, Charles D. and Maria. Charles was born in 1811 and died in 1813. Her mother died in 1812. Some time after Charles died and prior to her father's marriage to Lucy Cushing in 1817, Mary and Maria were taken to an orphanage in Lebanon, New Hampshire where they grew up owned by a man named Mr. Millshark. Upon leaving the orphanage she adopted the name Charley Darkey Parkhurst.

Parkhurst worked as a stable hand for Ebeneezer Balch first in Worcester, Massachusetts,^[2] then in Providence, Rhode Island, and later in the "What Cheer Stables" at the back of the Franklin House Inn in Providence for several years.

About 1849, James E. Birch and Frank Stevens went to California and consolidated several small stage lines into the California Stage Company. Parkhurst moved there and started to work for them. Shortly after arriving he lost the use of one eye after a kick from a horse. He had a reputation as one of the finest stage coach drivers on the west coast.

Parkhurst retired from driving some years later in Watsonville, California. After trying lumbering, cattle ranching, and raising chickens in Aptos, California, he moved into a small cabin near Watsonville. He died there on December 18, 1879, of cancer of the tongue.

1868 vote

A mural in the Soquel Post Office says Parkhurst was the first woman to vote in California.

A plaque on the fire station in Soquel, California, marks the site where Parkhurst might have voted.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel for October 17, 1868, lists Charles Darkey Parkurst on the official poll list for the election of 1868. There is no record that Parkhurst actually cast a vote.^[3] If a vote was cast, Parkhust may have been the first biological female to vote in California.

Local legend and Parkhurst's gravestone claim that Parkhurst was the first female in the United States to vote. This is incorrect, since a few states allowed women to vote before 1868.^[3] The fire station in Soquel, California, has a plaque that reads: "The first ballot by a woman in an American presidential election was cast on this site November 3, 1868, by Charlotte (Charlie) [sic] Parkhurst who masqueraded as a man for much of her life. She was a stagecoach driver in the mother lode country during the gold rush days and shot and killed at least one bandit. In her later years she drove a stagecoach in this area. She died in 1879. Not until then was she found to be a woman. She is buried in Watsonville at the pioneer cemetery."

Posthumous revelation

When Parkhurst died in 1879, neighbors came to the cabin to lay out the body for burial and discovered that Parkhurst was physically female. Rheumatism and cancer of the tongue were listed as causes of death. The examining doctor established that Parkhurst had given birth. A trunk in the house contained a baby's dress.^[4]

On December 28, 1879 the San Francisco Morning Call reported Parkhurst's death without mentioning the post-mortem discovery:^{[citation needed]}

He was in his day one of the most dexterous and celebrated of the famous California drivers ranking with Foss, Hank Monk, and George Gordon, and it was an honor to be striven for to occupy the spare end of the driver's seat when the fearless Charley Parkhurst held the reins of a four-or six-in hand...

In 1955 the Pajaro Valley Historical Association erected a monument at Parkhurst's grave which reads:^[5]

Charley Darkey Parkhurst (1812-1879) Noted whip of the gold rush days drove stage over Mt. Madonna in early days of Valley. Last run San Juan to Santa Cruz. Death in cabin near the 7 mile house. Revealed 'one eyed Charlie' a woman. First woman to vote in the U.S. November 3, 1868.

In 2007 the Santa Cruz County Redevelopment Agency^[6] oversaw the completion of the Parkhurst Terrace Apartments^[7] located a mile along the old stage route from the place of his death.

References

1. ^ Jones, Donna (July 17, 2005), "Infamous P.V. pioneer's name to grace new housing complex", Santa Cruz Sentinel, http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/story.php?sid=28023&storySection=Local, retrieved 2007-11-25 
2. ^ Pryor, Alton (2003), Fascinating Women in California History, Roseville, California: Stagecoach Pub., p. 86, ISBN 0966005392 
3. ^ ^{a b} Hall, Daniel M. (March 5, 2003), "The Strange Life and Times of Charley Parkhurst", Metro Santa Cruz, http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/03.05.03/charley-0310.html, retrieved 2009-02-08 
4. ^ Thrapp, Dan L. (1991), Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography: P-Z, University of Nebraska Press, p. 1115, ISBN 0803294204 
5. ^ Beal, Richard A. (1991), Highway 17: The Road to Santa Cruz, Aptos, California: Pacific Group, pp. 71–2, ISBN 0962997404 
6. ^ Current Housing Projects, 2006, http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/red/Hsg%20Curr%20Proj.htm#Parkhurst%20Terrace%20Apartments, retrieved 2009-05-24 
7. ^ Fajardo, Aldwin (May 13, 2008), "Fairy Tale Transformation for a Notorious Aptos Trailer Park", Mid-County Post, http://www.mcpost.com/article.php?id=1369, retrieved 2009-05-24 

• Hill, Fern J. (2008). Charley's Choice: The Life and Times of Charley Parkhurst. Infinity Publishing. ISBN 074144643X. 

External links

• Charley Darkey Parkhurst had a secret
• The Strange Life and Times of Charley Parkhurst
• Survival with Style: The Women of the Santa Cruz Mountains
• Short radio episode quoting news article of the day about Charley Parkhurst at California Legacy Project.

Persondata
Name	Parkhurst, Charley
Alternative names	Mary Parkhurst, Charlene Parkhurst
Short description
Date of birth	1812
Place of birth	Sharon, Vermont
Date of death	1879
Place of death	Watsonville, California