“Annie Hindle, the husband”: The marriages of a nineteenth century male impersonator

In 1886, newspapers proclaimed “Woman Marries Woman.” Annie Hindle (1847-1904), a famous performer and impersonator of male characters, had just married Annie Ryan, their dresser.[1] Their best man was a female impersonator named Gilbert Sarony, their witness a bank clerk, and their marriage was conducted by a Reverend E.H. Brooks.

What are we to make of this story? Many historians and legal scholars and judges argue that, before the 20th century, there was no such thing as queer marriage in the United States. In his dissent in Obergefell v. Hodges, Chief Justice Roberts stated that “[f]or all those millennia, across all those civilizations, ‘marriage’ referred to only one relationship: the union of a man and a woman.” Chief Justice Roberts argued that even the petitioners conceded that no societies before 2001 recognized same-sex marriage. Among queer activists, many people see queer marriage as a recent accomplishment, rather than part of a several centuries long history. However, as the example of Annie Hindle demonstrates, queer marriage is not some newfangled phenomenon, nor some modern “crisis of the family.” Queer marriage has always existed and has long been part of United States history.

Annie Hindle was a “striking person,” described as having a face that was “masculine in all its lines; her eyes were grey, but lit with a kindly expression; her mouth was firmly out.” They were about “5 feet 6 inches,” and blonde, with a deep voice. Born in England, they became famous for playing male characters in variety shows, performing songs and comedic routines. As part of their act they “w[ore] men's clothing, smoke[d] cigars, and otherwise conducted [themselves] in the manner of the sterner sex.” They were especially famous for the ability to move between gender — impersonating men, marrying women.

1886 is not the last time that Annie Hindle would hit the headlines. In 1891, Hindle’s first wife Annie Ryan died. Georgia’s Morning News proclaimed, “in life the lawful wife of the woman . . . now shed tears over her coffin. The wife of a woman! The expression sounds absurd, yet it is absolutely literally correct. Annie Ryan, the wife, was dead, and Annie Hindle, the husband was burying her.” Although the newspaper found Hindle’s life very odd, they nonetheless clarified that the two Annie’s were “lawful[ly]” married.

In 1892, Annie Hindle became “a bridegroom for the second time in her life.” The Pittsburg Dispatch proclaimed that Annie Hindle had “become not the wife, but the lawful husband of Miss Louise Spangehl,” in a ceremony led by Reverend G. C. Baldwin, who “believed Miss Hindle to be a man.” Although the newspapers displayed a certain shock and irony in their depiction of Hindle’s love life, they nonetheless proclaimed that Hindle was “lawfully” married to another woman. By the time Hindle died, they’d been married several times. As the Pittsburgh Dispatch wrote in 1892, “The oddity of her recent marriage is increased by the fact that Miss Hindle has three times been married. Once she was a bride, twice she has been a groom. Once she had a husband, twice she has had a wife.” Notably, although newspapers reported on Hindle with confusion and wonder and sometimes disdain, they rarely viewed the marriages as invalid or “not real.”

Newspapers often displayed a confusion around Annie Hindle’s gender, displaying a mix of wonder and transphobic fascination. An article from Chicago’s The Inter Ocean described Hindle as “Mr. or Miss,” and referred to them as “chang[ing] her sex.” It also explained, “She, he, or ‘it’ has always dressed in female attire off the stage, though her dress was always of that style affected by young women who wish to appear masculine.” The New North-West said about Hindle’s previous marriage to Charles Vivian, “[h]is ‘Wife’ Turns out to have been a Man.” Alexandria Gazette reported, “[a]t times there has been some talk about Annie Hindle not being a woman.” Even within the same article, Hindle would sometimes be described as a “wife” and sometimes as a “husband.” Their identity was also part of their draw as an actor: people flocked to see Hindle perform as a man.

Hindle reveals the possibility for nineteenth century genderqueer people to marry women, win fame, and move between gendered spheres. Although Annie Hindle might have been granted certain privileges through their celebrity status, they were not the only person assigned female at birth to form marriages with women. For example, female husbands — people assigned female at birth who married women and lived as men — were relatively common throughout the nineteenth century.[2]  Annie Hindle demonstrates that, despite the protestations of a few Supreme Court justices, the history of queer marriage reaches back much farther than 2001.

[1] Due to the ambiguity around Annie Hindle’s gender identity, and because I read them as a trans and queer figure, I used “they” pronouns to refer to Hindle.

[2] For further reading on this topic see: True Sex by Emily Skidmore, Black on Both Sides by C. Riley Snorton, Female Husbands by Jen Manion, and Charity and Sylvia by Rachel Hope Cleves