Murray Hall
Successful Politician was Married Two Times
Murray Hall was
a bail bondsman and successful politician. He was a member of the General
Committee of Tammany Hall and the Iroquois Club where he became a personal
friend to the State Senator ”Barney” Martin. According to the Senator, “during
the seven year I knew him, I never once suspected that he was anything else
than what he appeared to be. “ After his death in 1901, it was revealed that
Hall had been born Mary Anderson, and he was a female-bodied person who was
living as a man for 25 years.
Murray is an
excellent example of Serano’s description of trans people. Serano states, “Trans
people-who transition from male to female or female to male and often live
completely unnoticed as the sex “opposite” to that which they were born-have
the potential to transform the gender class system as we know it.”
Murray’s
‘secret’ was not discovered until his death. He was well-like within the
community and had a reputation as an all-around “good fellow.” A
lawyer friend said he would “play poker or pinochle and was sweet on women.
I’ve known him for a number of years. He could drink his weight in beer and
stand up under it.”
His first wife
left him after three years saying he was making her life miserable because he
flirted with his clients and paid too much attention to other women. Fifteen
years later, he married his second wife who lived with him until his death. She
later revealed that she kept his secret as carefully guarded as he did.
Murray Hall
Website references:
http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/magic/news/hall.html
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