Today in History—December 29: The “Wanderer in Man’s Apparel”

On December 29, 1852, 17-year-old Emma Snodgrass was arraigned in Boston for the heinous crime of—wait for it—wearing pants. Many people who encountered her reportedly assumed she was a regular lad about town—and this was precisely the problem, according to officials, as she was in fact born a woman. After one of her detainments, a Kentucky newspaper described her outfit to be a “frock coat, glazed cap, [and] striped pantaloons,” giving her the appearance of “quite a good looking young man.” However, this was one of very few articles that complimented Snodgrass. Most newspapers relentlessly mocked her, calling her an “eccentric female,” a “foolish girl…who goes around in virile toggery,” and a “wanderer in man’s apparel.”

Little is known about Snodgrass or the reasons behind her choice of attire; the only surviving information about the lawbreaker is a handful of newspaper clippings. What we do know is that Snodgrass was the daughter of a high-ranking New York City police officer, which may have been why she was never formally jailed. Rather, she was arrested each time she was discovered pants-clad (and there were many) and forced to return to New York.

Snodgrass was also known to have traveled about town with one Harriet French, who went by “Charley” and also enjoyed wearing trousers but sadly lacked the privileges enjoyed by Snodgrass. French spent about two months in jail (or by some accounts, a work house), which the Tribune cheekily attributed to the “difference between breeches without money, and breeches with.” When asked why she wore pants, French stated that she could make more money dressed as a man, and other news articles described Snodgrass as working as a clerk.

The saga ended anticlimactically, by all accounts. In July 1853 a Wisconsin newspaper reported that Snodgrass had “taken off her breeches, and sworn eternal attachment to petticoats and propriety.” After that, reports of Snodgrass all but disappeared from the public eye. But she had left her mark—and now, so many years later, we’re happy to report that women in most parts of the world are no longer arrested for slipping on a pair of trousers.