Effie Smith’s story needs to be a movie. Seriously. She had one of the most adventurous and notable stories in the book. A few aspects of her story that I was not expecting to find: – A 13-year-old Effie living in a brothel specializing in trans women – A trans girl being arrested for wearing clothes designed for men (the police thought Effie was assigned female at birth at the time), leading to an entire town rallying to purchase her women’s clothing – An 1895 polyamorous queer relationship that led to a suicide attempt and citywide scandal – A 17-year-old trans girl outing St. Louis politicians and policemen to avoid jailtime
These are just a few highlights that don’t even touch the murder, blackmail, or jailbreaks (plural) Effie took part in.
I owe a special thanks to Ian Darnell at the St. Louis LGBT History Project for helping me locate more information on Effie.
The only known visual depiction of Effie Smith (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Thursday, Mar 7, 1895)
Effie’s metamour (partner’s partner), Tony Berner. An artist made this sketch from a photo of Tony as the “New Trilby” during what was called “Trilby-Mania” in the 1890s. This moral panic followed the publication of George du Maurier’s novel, also titled Trilby. Some papers also considered Tony a trans woman (“female mimic”) while others left their affinity for women’s clothing out of the discussion (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 21, 1895).
The McLean Building, where Effie took part in an underground queer club in the mid-1890s. Fourth Street and Market Streets, northeast corner. Photograph by Emil Boehl, 1876. Missouri History Museum Photographs and Prints Collections. Commercial Buildings. N10501.
The hotel where Effie waited for Frank Dacons before he fled St. Louis
As I researched Effie, her criminal record kept going back further in time (The Wichita Beacon, Nov 12, 1891)
One of the earliest mentions of Effie I could find. This event was briefly referenced in Jim Elledge’s The Boys of Fairy Town, although it misinterprets Effie as a drag queen rather than someone consistently living her life as a woman (The Chicago Tribune, Nov 22, 1892).
This has to be one of the most iconic quips in trans history (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Aug 14, 1893)
Effie’s arrests for wearing clothing designed for men were some of the most surprising elements of her story. She likely wove together this tall tale on the spot while being questioned by police (The Daily Times, Nov 17, 1893).
Effie went into hiding in 1894, but this letter mysteriously found its way into The Wichita Beacon on Jun 30, 1894. Could Effie have written it about herself?
The last definite record of Effie Smith is in the Missouri State Penitentiary database (Register No. 13423 at the top).
