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Charley Darkey Parkhurst, born Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst (1812–1879),〔 also known as ''One Eyed Charley'' or ''Six-Horse Charley'', was an American stagecoach driver, farmer and rancher in California. Born and reared as a girl in New England, mostly in an orphanage, Parkhurst ran away as a youth, taking the name Charley and living as a male. He started work as a stable hand and learned to handle horses, including to drive coaches drawn by multiple horses. He worked in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, traveling to Georgia for associated work. In his late 30s, Parkhurst sailed to California following the Gold Rush in 1849; there he became a noted stagecoach driver. In 1868, he may have been the first female (though passing as a man) to vote in a presidential election in California.〔〔 At his death, it was discovered that he was female, as was the fact that he had given birth at an earlier time.〔 ==Life and career== Charley Parkhurst was born Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst〔〔 in 1812 in Sharon, Vermont, to Mary (Morehouse) Parkhurst and an unknown father. Some reports say the father's first name was Charles. Parkhurst had two siblings, Charles D. and Maria. Charles D. was born in 1811 and died in 1813. The mother Mary died in 1812. Some time after Charley D. died, Charlotte and Maria were taken to an orphanage in Lebanon, New Hampshire. (Some sources say he was born there.〔) They were raised under the care of Mr. Millshark. Parkhurst ran away from the orphanage at age 12. He adopted the name Charley and assumed a more masculine self-presentation reflecting his gender identity. According to one account, Parkhurst soon met Ebenezer Balch, who had a livery stable in Providence, Rhode Island. He took what he thought was an orphaned boy under his care and returned to Rhode Island.〔 Treating Parkhurst like a son, Balch taught him to work as a stable hand and gradually with the horses. The boy developed an aptitude with horses, and Balch taught him to drive a coach, first with one, then four, and eventually six horses. Parkhurst worked for Balch for several years. He may have gotten to know James E. Birch, who was a younger stagecoach driver in Providence. In 1848, the 21-year-old Birch and his close friend Frank Stevens went to California during the Gold Rush to seek their fortunes. Birch soon began a stagecoach service, starting as a driver with one wagon. He gradually consolidated several small stage lines into the California Stage Company. Seeking other opportunities in California, Parkhurst in his late 30s also left Rhode Island, sailing on the ''R.B. Forbes'' from Boston to Panama;〔California’s Sesquicentennial Wagon Train Organization. "Reining a Team Through Yosemite," California: California Sesquicentennial Board of Directors; California: California’s Sesquicentennial Wagon Train, Mariposa Board of Directors, 1999, pp. 107-108〕 travelers had to cross the isthmus overland and pick up other ships on the west coast. In Panama, Parkhurst met John Morton, returning to San Francisco where he owned a drayage business; Morton recruited the driver to work for him.〔Craig MacDonald, ''Cockeyed Charley Parkhurst: The West’s Most Unusual Stage Whip,'' Colorado: Filter Press, 1973, p. 22〕 Shortly after reaching California, Parkhurst lost the use of one eye after a kick from a horse, leading to his nickname of ''One Eyed Charley'' or ''Cockeyed Charley''. Later Parkhurst went to work for Birch, where he developed a reputation as one of the finest stage coach drivers (a "whip") on the West Coast. This inspired another nickname for him, ''Six-Horse Charley.'' He was ranked with "Foss, Hank Monk and George Gordon" as one of the top drivers of his time.〔 Stagecoach drivers were also nicknamed "Jehus," after a Biblical passage in Kings 9:20: "…and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously."〔(Kathi Bristow, "Those Daring Stage Drivers" ), 2008, California Dept. of Parks and Recreation, accessed 13 August 2014〕〔Oscar Osburn Winthur, ''Via Western Express & Stagecoach,'' California: Stanford University Press, 1947〕 Among Parkhurst's routes in northern California were Stockton to Mariposa, "the great stage route" from San Jose to Oakland, and San Juan to Santa Cruz.〔("Thirty Years in Disguise" ), Correspondence of the ''San Francisco Call'', carried in ''New York Times'', 9 January 1880, accessed 12 August 2014〕 Stagecoach drivers carried mail as well as passengers, and had to deal with hold-up attempts, bad weather, and perilous, primitive trails. As historian Charles Outland described the era, "It was a dangerous era in a dangerous country, where dangerous conditions were the norm."〔(Ward McAfee, Review: Charles F. Outland, ''Stagecoaching on El Camino Real, Los Angeles to San Francisco: 1861-1901'' ), ''San Diego Historical Society Quarterly,'' Summer 1974, Volume 20, Number 3, accessed 13 August 2014〕 Seeing that railroads were cutting into the stagecoach business, Parkhurst retired from driving some years later to Watsonville, California. For fifteen years he worked at farming, doing lumbering in the winter. He also raised chickens in Aptos.〔 He later moved into a small cabin about six miles from Watsonville and suffered from rheumatism in his later years. Parkhurst died there on December 18, 1879, due to tongue cancer.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Charley Parkhurst」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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