“This is Progress:” A 19th Century Queer History in South Bend
Item
- Description
- South Bend residents Catherine Esmay and Agnes Farrand lived together on Colfax Avenue, worked together as social reformers, and died one month apart in 1920. They took a ride together in an electric vehicle, traveled to California together, and wintered in the South. Yet no photographs of them, letters, or diary entries exist to explain their thoughts and portray them as a couple. While newspapers referred to Catherine as a “spinster,” secondary scholarship tells us that this was a queer Midwestern couple in the late 19th century, which is why we honor them today during Pride month.
- Project created for HIST 353: U.S. Queer History
- list of authors
- Jamie Wagman, Katie Clem, Caroline Dutton, Ella Eitniear, Maggie Hansen, Abigayle Martinez, Meghan Martinez, Phoenix McClellan, Sarai Perez, and Ariane Urayeneza-Akimana
-
Dr. Jamie Wagman
- Contributor
- The community collaborator for this project was the Civil Rights Heritage Center.
- Civil Rights Heritage Center
- Resource class
- Interactive Resource
