Joseph Israel Lobdell (December 02, 1829 - May 28, 1912; born ''Lucy Ann Lobdell'') was a 19th-century person who was

assigned female at birth Sex assignment (sometimes known as gender assignment) is the discernment of an infant's sex at or before birth. A relative, midwife, nurse or physician inspects the external genitalia when the baby is delivered and, in more than 99.95% of bi ...

and lived as a man for sixty years, and is usually regarded today as a

transgender man A trans man is a man who was assigned female at birth. The label of transgender man is not always interchangeable with that of transsexual man, although the two labels are often used in this way. ''Transgender'' is an umbrella term that inclu ...

.Sarah Boslaugh, ''Transgender Health Issues'' (2018, ), page 166 An 1877 ''New York Times'' article referred to Lobdell's life as "one of the most singular family histories ever recorded". Writer William Klaber wrote an historical novel, ''The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell'', 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.

Life

Joseph Lobdell was born December 2, 1829, to a working-class family living in

Westerlo Westerlo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises seven towns: * Westerlo centrum * * Tongerlo * Heultje * Voortkapel * Oosterwijk * In 2021, Westerlo had a total population of 25,288. The ...

Albany County, New York Albany County ( ) is a county in the state of New York, United States. Its northern border is formed by the Mohawk River, at its confluence with the Hudson River, which is to the east. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 3 ...

. Lobdell married George Washington Slater, who was reportedly mentally abusive and abandoned Lobdell shortly after the birth of their daughter, Helen. Lobdell was known for marksmanship and nicknamed "The Female Hunter of Delaware County". 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. He was also known to be an accomplished fiddle player and opened a singing school for a time. 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 Tarring and feathering is a form of public torture and punishment used to enforce unofficial justice or revenge. It was used in feudal Europe and its colonies in the early modern period, as well as the early American frontier, mostly as a t ...

him. Lobdell's fiancé warned him and he escaped. Lobdell received a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

pension when Slater was killed in the war. Lobdell entered the County Poor House in Delhi, New York, in 1860, where he met Marie Louise Perry. Perry was a poor but well-educated woman, whose husband left her shortly after they eloped. He later married Perry in 1861 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. Then they were arrested for vagrancy and sent to Stroudsburg jail where "discovery that the supposed man was a woman was made". 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. In 1879, Lobdell was taken away to the Willard Insane Asylum in Ovid, New York. 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". Newspapers published two premature obituaries for him, first in 1879, then in 1885. His wife had no reason to doubt the later ones, though he was presumed to have died on May 28, 1912, and is buried in the Binghamton State Hospital Cemetery.

References

External links

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Minnesota’s ‘Wild Woman’ charged with impersonating a man in 1858

Approved Pension File for Lucy A. L. Slater, Widow of Private George Slater, Company G, 128th New York Infantry Regiment (WC-259782)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lobdell, Joseph 1829 births 1912 deaths American transgender men People from Albany County, New York LGBT people from New York (state)