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Harry Stokes
Harry Stokes (c. 1799 – 15 October 1859) was a master bricklayer, beerhouse manager and special constable in Manchester. Assigned female gender at birth but lived as a man. Harry had two long-term relationships with women, each lasting over 20 years. In 1838 and 1859, his gender variance became the subject of local and national newspaper articles, in which he was described as a 'man-woman' and a 'female husband'.
Today Harry Stokes's life can be seen within the framework of LGBT history — he can be viewed as a trans man, or as a cross dressing lesbian. "
Born in Doncaster around 1799, Harry Stokes was assigned female at birth. He assumed a male identity at a young age, and undertook a builder's apprenticeship in Bawtry. Newspaper articles published in 1838 report that Harry married his first wife in Sheffield around 1816. There is a record of a Henry Stoake marrying an Ann Hants at Sheffield Cathedral in January 1817.
In the 1820s and 30s, Harry Stokes built up a successful bricklaying firm in Manchester. At its peak he employed eight men and an apprentice, with his wife keeping the company accounts. He was a well-respected tradesman specialising in chimney and flue construction.
From 1824 he is listed in Manchester trade directories as a bricklayer. The 1824 Pigot & Dean's Manchester and Salford Directory lists Henry Stokes living at 13 Potter Street. From 1828 to 1830 he lived at 11 Cumberland Street, and from 1832 to 1838 at 21 Cumberland Street. The area where Harry and his wife lived is now Spinningfields– Cumberland Street was on the site where The Avenue is today.
In the late 1820s and early 1830s Harry worked shifts as a special constable policing events where there were large gatherings of people with the potential for trouble, such as protest marches and demonstrations.
In the Public Officials section of the 1829 Pigot's trade directory Harry is listed as a Special Constable for the 13th District of Manchester, the Old Quay District. Then in the 1832 Pigot's Manchester Directory, he is registered as a Special Constable for the 11th District, St. Peter's District.
In April 1838, after twenty-two years of marriage, Harry's wife approached a lawyer for advice on getting a formal separation and a maintenance settlement as he was withholding housekeeping money, getting drunk and ill-treating her. She advised the shocked lawyer that her husband was not a man, but a woman, and "also stated, that she accidentally 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." Harry Stokes was examined by a police surgeon who "gave a certificate declaring that the individual in question was a woman". The Manchester Guardian stated "This woman-man, who, for probably more than five-and-twenty years, has succeeded in concealing her sex, and in pursuing a trade of more than ordinarily masculine and hazardous description, with a degree of skill and ability which had led to her establishment of a good business in this town". Although news articles stated that "her real name is believed to be Harriet Stoakes", there is no evidence that Stokes ever confirmed his name assigned at birth to be Harriet.
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Harry Stokes
Harry Stokes (c. 1799 – 15 October 1859) was a master bricklayer, beerhouse manager and special constable in Manchester. Assigned female gender at birth but lived as a man. Harry had two long-term relationships with women, each lasting over 20 years. In 1838 and 1859, his gender variance became the subject of local and national newspaper articles, in which he was described as a 'man-woman' and a 'female husband'.
Today Harry Stokes's life can be seen within the framework of LGBT history — he can be viewed as a trans man, or as a cross dressing lesbian. "
Born in Doncaster around 1799, Harry Stokes was assigned female at birth. He assumed a male identity at a young age, and undertook a builder's apprenticeship in Bawtry. Newspaper articles published in 1838 report that Harry married his first wife in Sheffield around 1816. There is a record of a Henry Stoake marrying an Ann Hants at Sheffield Cathedral in January 1817.
In the 1820s and 30s, Harry Stokes built up a successful bricklaying firm in Manchester. At its peak he employed eight men and an apprentice, with his wife keeping the company accounts. He was a well-respected tradesman specialising in chimney and flue construction.
From 1824 he is listed in Manchester trade directories as a bricklayer. The 1824 Pigot & Dean's Manchester and Salford Directory lists Henry Stokes living at 13 Potter Street. From 1828 to 1830 he lived at 11 Cumberland Street, and from 1832 to 1838 at 21 Cumberland Street. The area where Harry and his wife lived is now Spinningfields– Cumberland Street was on the site where The Avenue is today.
In the late 1820s and early 1830s Harry worked shifts as a special constable policing events where there were large gatherings of people with the potential for trouble, such as protest marches and demonstrations.
In the Public Officials section of the 1829 Pigot's trade directory Harry is listed as a Special Constable for the 13th District of Manchester, the Old Quay District. Then in the 1832 Pigot's Manchester Directory, he is registered as a Special Constable for the 11th District, St. Peter's District.
In April 1838, after twenty-two years of marriage, Harry's wife approached a lawyer for advice on getting a formal separation and a maintenance settlement as he was withholding housekeeping money, getting drunk and ill-treating her. She advised the shocked lawyer that her husband was not a man, but a woman, and "also stated, that she accidentally 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." Harry Stokes was examined by a police surgeon who "gave a certificate declaring that the individual in question was a woman". The Manchester Guardian stated "This woman-man, who, for probably more than five-and-twenty years, has succeeded in concealing her sex, and in pursuing a trade of more than ordinarily masculine and hazardous description, with a degree of skill and ability which had led to her establishment of a good business in this town". Although news articles stated that "her real name is believed to be Harriet Stoakes", there is no evidence that Stokes ever confirmed his name assigned at birth to be Harriet.