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08 July 2015

John Hathaway (1892–?) fraudster.

One-time student nurse at Carney Hospital, Boston, Ethel Kimball was arrested several times after 1904 on forgery charges.

By 1919 he had become John Hathaway. He posed as the nephew of a wealthy manufacturer, and another time as the Boston manager of financier J.P. Morgan. Otherwise he posed as a technology graduate.

For two years he lived opposite a family in Somerville. He courted Louise of that family, and they were wed in November 1921 at Boston's Union Congregational Church.

Just over two weeks later Hathaway approached an automobile salesman about a purchase. The salesman became suspicious and reported the matter to the police, who arrested him.

Further examination determined that Hathaway was female-bodied. He was offered women's clothing, which he refused. An alienist who examined him found that he was sane but abnormal. The 'disillusioned bride' disappeared quickly. The accused was quoted:
'I wore men's clothes because I wanted to approach life's problems from a man's viewpoint, especially the problem of unemployment'.
Hathaway told the court that the bride knew well what she was doing, but he pleaded guilty to 'falsifying the record' when applying for a marriage license.
  • "Girl posed as man 2 years and married". The New York Times, Dec 15, 1921. PDF
  • Jonathan Ned Katz. Gay/Lesbian Almanac: A New Documentary, Harper & Row Publishers, Inc. 1983, Carrol & Graf Publishers, Inc. 1994: 404.

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