Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America

Cleves (history, Univ. of Victoria, BC) offers a profoundly detailed study of the loving relationship between Charity Bryant (1777–1851) and Sylvia Drake (1784–1868); "spinsters" who acceptably shared a bed and ownership of a house in early Colonial America. Their union was able to survive without rebuke because the people of Weybridge, VT, were willing either to ignore or be silent about the idea that the women's relationship was most likely a sexual one. Both ladies were also very active in the public religious community, which helped them maintain their private profile without slander. Their communal life was even cherished by famous relatives such as poet William Cullen Bryant. Cleves delves deeply into primary sources to prove the possibility of the women's romantic involvement. Charity's earlier attachments and relations with other women are also detailed, based on passionate letters exchanged, and Sylvia's "disinterest" in men is explained.