One-eyed Charley Parkhurst was one of Wells Fargo's best and well known stagecoach drivers.
Charley was a rough-spoken, tobacco chewing, cigar smoking, card playing individual. Although sociable, Charley preferred sleeping in the stables with the horses rather than sharing quarters with the other drivers.
It wasn't until Charley Parkhurst died in 1879 that people discovered Charley was actually a woman.
"Charlene" Parkhurst was born in 1812 in Vermont, the same year that her mother died. Sometime prior to 1817 her father dropped her off at a New Hampshire orphanage.
She later escaped from the orphanage by wearing boys' clothing, and found work in a livery stable. She eventually made her way west, working in stables along the way.
She stayed in California after retiring from driving. It was here that she cast a ballot in the 1868 Presidential election; perhaps making her the first woman to vote in the United States.
So, did she vote for Ulysses Grant or Horatio Seymour?
Charley is now resting in the Watsonville, CA Pioneer Cemetery.
It wasn't until Charley Parkhurst died in 1879 that people discovered Charley was actually a woman.
She later escaped from the orphanage by wearing boys' clothing, and found work in a livery stable. She eventually made her way west, working in stables along the way.
She stayed in California after retiring from driving. It was here that she cast a ballot in the 1868 Presidential election; perhaps making her the first woman to vote in the United States.
So, did she vote for Ulysses Grant or Horatio Seymour?
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