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		A Catalogue of Female Cross-Dressers
		Below is a list of female cross-dressers who actually concealed their sex from the general population, rather than those who openly wore men's clothes.

		Ellen Craft - the story of Ellen Craft, a light-skinned black woman who posed as a white plantation owner to travel out of slavery with her husband, who posed as her slave, is told in the book Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom: Or, the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery. "Unlike countless other slaves who fled through forests and swamps, the Crafts traveled publicly and in style; the fair skinned Ellen was disguised as a young white southern planter, with her husband William as her slave and body servant. They escaped in 1848 by train, journeyed to Philadelphia and later to Boston where they stayed until the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 imperiled their freedom. They fled to England, and eventually returned as free citizens to Georgia where they set up a school for black children. Despite the outward comfort of their situation, their story is as filled with courage and ingenuity, with narrow escapes and near discovery as any of the more usual slave narratives." I have read the book and it is truly great. [Contributed by Susan Parker] Billy Tipton - a biography of Billy Tipton, who lived as a male saxophonist and bandleader, married to five women (not at once), has recently appeared. It's by Diane Middlebrook, who also wrote a biography of Anne Sexton. "Dorothy returned to Oklahoma City in 1933 and tried to find work as a musician. In 1935 she apparently decided that to play the saxophone she would have to play a man. She began dressing in men's clothes, calling herself Billy, and began living with a former marathon "horse" named Non Earl, who was known as Mrs. Tipton. Throughout the 1930s Billy made a living playing the kind of jazz-inflected country swing popularized by the Tulsa bandleader Bob Wills. Fellow musicians knew that Billy was female. Around 1939 Billy moved to Joplin and found work as a jazz musician, playing swing. From this time on, all the people around Billy thought that Billy was a man. He formed a partnership with the clarinetist George Mayer, and spent the wartime playing dance music in Joplin night clubs. He fell in love with a vocalist named June; they presented themselves as a married couple and spent a year playing at the Palmero Club in Corpus Christi, Texas, before returning to Joplin. Billy and Betty, his third wife, left Joplin in 1949 to join George Mayer in the Pacific Northwest. In 1951, Billy formed the first Billy Tipton Trio, and in 1954, Billy met his fourth wife, Maryann. In 1962, Billy left Maryann for a night club stripper named Kitty Kelly. They married and began adopting a family: John in 1963, Scott in 1966, William in 1969. Then Billy, at the height of his career, surprised everyone by taking a day job at a talent agency, which he eventually owned. Billy and Kitty split up in the early 80s, and Billy died in 1989 of a bleeding ulcer at age 74." [Contributed by Susan Parker of Asheville in the U.S] Nadezhda Durova. (From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Erica Bauermeister) In the early nineteenth century, Nadezhda Durova ran away from home dressed as a man and joined the Russian calvary, where she maintained the secret of her gender and served with distinction as an officer for more than nine years. Her diary, published as The Cavalry Maiden, was one of Russia's first autobiographical works, making this book noteworthy both for its content and its place in literary history. Not every reader will enjoy the disjointed and occasionally impersonal style; nor will everyone be interested in Nadezhda Durova's recounting of Russian geography and military history that comprises much of the middle portion of the book. Yet you don't have to be from the nineteenth century to sympathize when she writes: "I jump for joy as I realize that I will never again in my entire life hear the words: You, girl, sit still! It's not proper for you to go wandering out alone." Nor need you be a Russian scholar to appreciate her descriptions of officers, horses, local citizens, and dress balls. Mary Fleming Zirin's introduction illuminates those areas where Nadezhda Durova was not exactly truthful (she was not sixteen and single when she ran away, but twenty-three, married and a mother), and brings further understanding to this headstrong woman who, as a child, refused to knit shoelaces but "ran and galloped around the room in all directions, shouting at the top of my voice: 'Squadron! To the Right, face! From your places, charge - CHARGE!'" [Contributed by Brian Smith] Jane Meace. The following comes from "Britain's Sea-Soldiers" by Cyril Field, The Lyceum Press, Liverpool 1924: Jane Meace, another lady who attempted to enlist for a Marine in 1762, was not so fortunate as Hannah Snell in evading discovery of her sex as will be seen by the following account published in "Lloyd's Evening Post and British Chronicle," of 1st of December that year:- "Uttoxeter, Nov. 25.--On Thursday, the 12th instant, in the evening, a young girl in men's cloaths, came to a recruiting party of Marines at the Plume of Feathers, and inlisted; she wanted the whole bounty-money in hand, but being in want of cloathing and other necessaries, they would give her only one shilling till morning, but had the bowl of punch in, and the point of war beat; the party lay that night in one bed with her; and in the morning, one of the men laying hold of her coat over the breast, to see how it fitted, her sex was discovered. She inlisted by the name of John Meace, but her proper name is Jane Meace, and is well known in this country." This lady may very likely have heard of Hannah Snell and wished to emulate her military and naval performances, but from the fact that she was anxious to get the bounty paid over at once, it is just as probable that she intended to make off with it at the first opportunity, and had no intention of actually serving. Emilie Plater-Zyberk. Born in Wilno (now Vilnius) in Lithuania in 1806. To her mother's despair, the young Emilie became fascinated by history and military matters at a young age and shunned more 'female interests'. On frequent visits to Poland Emilie was inspired by the Polish nationalist cause and, in 1830, led a rabble of armed peasants against the Russian occupiers and took possession of the fort at Dünaberg. Although soon overwhelmed, Emilie escaped to join the rebel army under General Gulud. Her bravery in battle was rewarded with a promotion to Captain of the 1st regiment of Lithuania. Caught in a Russian ambush in 1831, Emilie was badly wounded and died on 23 December in a forest in Samogitie. Emilie's exploits have been immortalised in Hickiewicz's poem 'Death of a Colonel', and her portrait appears on the 20 Zlotis bill. [Information provided by Vytlacilova Lenka of the Czech Republic] Anna Henryka Pustowojtowna (1843-1881). Daughter of a tsarist general of Hungarian origin and a polish mother. She was educated as a Polish nationalist. Her parents divorced and her father died in 1858. She was arrested in 1861, but escaped with the help of friends. She lived in with a soldier family, where she was taught to fight. She took the name Michal Smok, returned to Poland and fought under Marian Langiwicz. Whether people knew she was a woman is uncertain. She was arrested by Austrians and then after her release traveled to Switzerland. She later settled in Paris in 1865. Here she sold artificial flowers, taught music in a monastery and, in 1871, worked as a nurse. She married, had four children of her own as well as rearing the children of her dead sister-in-law. [Information provided by Vytlacilova Lenka of the Czech Republic] Teresinha Gomes (b. 1942). An Article in the Sydney Morning Herald reported this extraordinary story in 1993: Gender-Bender ''General' Guilty of Fraud. LISBON, Friday: A woman who posed as a male general of the Portuguese Army for almost 20 years got a three-year suspended prison sentence yesterday. Passing sentence, judge Silveira Antunes said Teresinha Gomes, 51, who frequently dressed in military uniform, had abused confidence by claiming to be a male general and a lawyer. Police discovered Gomes was a woman when investigating complaints about her failure to pay back large personal debts. Gomes, who appeared in court dressed in trousers, shirt and tie, frequently wore a full army uniform on ceremonial occasions. Neighbours knew the beefy woman with short grey hair as General Tito Anibal Gomes, the husband of retired nurse Joaquina Costa. Costa, who lived with Gomes for more than 15 years, told the court that she never suspected her "husband" was a woman. Gomes moved to the Portugese mainland from the Atlantic island of Madeira in 1974 and began living with Costa two years later. The couple set up house together in the small town of Alenquer, 60 kilometres north-east of Lisbon, but split up in 1991. Costa was cleared of any wrongdoing. Gomes, who never served in the army, was seen by neighbours in uniform and being driven around by a chauffeur. Sydney Morning Herald, May 1, 1993, p.17. Below are examples of masquerading women in Australia, Cuba, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, North America, Peru and Portugal. AUSTRALIA 19th-20th Century Falleni, Eugenia (1875-1938) CUBA Velasquez, Loreta Janeta (b. 1842) FRANCE 17th Century Mlle. de Maupin, (1670-1707) 18th Century Bordereau, Renée (1770-1828) Houssaye de Bannes, Louise (enlisted 1792) Brulon, Angélique (1772-1859) Figueur, Thérèse (1774-1861) 19th Century Chesnières, Virginie (died 1873) Wisson, Ferdinand (born 1836) GERMANY 18th Century Detzlerin, Anne Sophia (born ca. 1738) Krüger, Augusta Linck, Catharine Margaretha GREAT BRITAIN 9th Century Pope Joan (born 855) 17th Century 'Barber, Thomas' (died 1658) Clark, Thomasina (discovered ca. 1665), England Owen, Jane (discovered 1684) 18th Century Bowling, Tom (enlisted ca. 1787) Charke, Charlotte (1713-1760), England Clark, Jean (discovered 1794) 'Daniel, Paul' (enlisted 1761) Davies, Christian (1667-1739), Ireland 'Douglas, Arthur' (discovered 1757) East, Mary Gunn, Isabelle (1781-1861), Orkney's Hamilton, Mary (born 1721), England Hessel, Phoebe (1713-1821), England Lacy, Mary (born 1740), England Meace, Jane (enlisted 1762) Mills, Anne (enlisted ca. 1740) Ralphson, Mary (b. 1698), Scotland Snell, Hannah (1723-1792), England Talbot, Mary Anne (1778-1808), England ITALY 18th Century Scanagatti, Francesca (b. 1780s) Vizzani, Catherine 19th Century Giuliani, Marietta (fought under Garibaldi in 1868) Manelli, Herminia (fought under Garibaldi in 1868) Mariotti, Sylvia (enlisted 1866) LITHUANIA 19th Century Emilie Plater-Zyberk (1806-1831) NETHERLANDS Most of the entries in this section have come from "The Tradition of Female Transvestism in Early Modern Europe" by Rudolf M. Dekker and Lotte C. van de Pol (MacMillan Press, 1989). This is one of the most important books written on female cross-dressers and is essential reading. The dates following the names of these Dutch women refer to the year of discovery, or the year of occurrence. 16th Century Dircxdr, Sara (1550) 17th Century Adriaens, Barbara Pieters (1632) Albertsz, Hendrick (1666) Alders, Anna (1653) Barents, Annetje (1663) Bernsen, Claus (1643) Blomme, Maeyken (1611) Claas, Grietje (1659) Croon, Cornelia Margriete (1671) De Tamboer, Aagt (1653) De Turenne, Maria Jacobse (ca. 1689) Dirckse, Joonas (1696) Dirx, Engeltje (1667) Everts, Jenneke (1644) Fiool, Catarin (1691) Frans, Vrouwjte (1641) Geelvinck, Isabella Clara (1673) Gerrits, Willempje (1665) Hooghmeester, Geesje (1694) NORTH AMERICA 18th Century Sampson, Deborah (1760-1827), USA 19th Century Edmonds, Sarah Emma (1842-1898), USA Guerin, Elsa Jane (born. ca. 1837), USA Wakeman, Sarah Rosetta (1843-1864), USA PERU 19th Century Rodriguez, Dolores POLAND 19th Century Anna Henryka Pustowojtowna (1843-1881) PORTUGAL 20th Century Gomes, Teresinha (born 1942)

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