An intriguing question about sexuality and gender in the "Wild West" settles on the characters of Mark Twain and Artemus Ward. Ward, born Charles Farrar Browne (1834-1867) was only a year older than Samuel Clemens (1835-1910), but his career began several years earlier: he was a well-known national comic writer and performer in the early 1860s, when Clemens had barely settled upon a career as a local journalist in Virginia City, Nevada (he took the name, "Mark Twain," in early 1863).

The two met for about a week over the Christmas season in 1863, and this has raised questions about Twain's sexuality.

Ward has long been looked at as a potential, prominent gay figure in the nineteenth century. He stood out in many ways besides his remarkable humor: he was considered to be Lincoln's favorite comic and if Ward did not invent the concept of the standup comic, he certainly codified the concept and made it famous.

There is no clear evidence that Ward was gay, but his personal life was regarded as unconventional. He had close relationships with a few women, but it was never clear that he was the lover of any of them, and in most ways, he seemed asexually. Proponents of the idea that he was gay point to his exaggerated stage presence and the fact that he curled his hair and other aspects of the way he carried himself, but none of that is convincing. Indeed, it is possible that Ward was unclear on the subject and he may have never consummated a gay life in what amounted to his short time on earth (he died of tuberculosis at 32 years).

When Ward visited (and lectured) in the Nevada Territory, he was immediately taken with Twain, who he regarded as a unique talent. He stayed with Twain - who was at the time living with his close friend and colleague, William Wright (a.k.a. Dan De Quille).

Consistent with the time, De Quille and Twain shared a bed in their small apartment, and it appears that Ward joined them in bed during his week-long stay. This has provided a clue for some recent writers who have suggested that Twain himself may have had a gay encounter during this period in his early life (Twain was 28; Ward 29).

In addition, Ward promised to help Twain with his career, promising to publish a work by Twain in his next book, should the journalist send it to Ward in time (he did not, although Ward did help place Twain's jumping frog story into a prominent New York magazine). Ward sent letters to Twain referring to him as "dearest" and "my love," which has further bolstered the "gay hypothesis" of Twain - and Ward.

There is no question that Ward had a profound influence on Twain. Ward had discovered that writing for newspapers was a dead-end, so he started publishing books, but he found that even that was not enough, so he took to the stage, traveling and hawking his books along the way. It was a pattern that Twain would take up, making him one of America's most famous authors.

Ward's humor relied on misspellings and puns, while Twain struck a chord that drove more to the humorous nature of humanity. The national memory of Ward has faded and he had the good graces to die, abandoning the stage to Twain. Since then the nation can't seem to get enough of Twain.

For the decade following Ward's death, Twain was frequently compared to Ward, which apparently irritated him, but there can be little question that Ward influenced him. Here is Ward as he appeared in the 1860s. And here is Twain when he met Ward. Within months of meeting Ward, Twain changed his appearance to something that looks like Ward, the Twain the world knows.

Did Ward and Twain have a gay encounter in 1863? Anything is possible, but I don't see adequate evidence. The wording in the letters could have been taken as humorous, and sharing a bed was simply what people did at the time. We can't even be sure if Ward was gay (I suspect he was) or if he understood that to be the case (I suspect he didn't).

It is easy to impose today's understanding of sexuality and gender onto the past. This can yield amazing insights into what was going on. There were gay relationships in the "Wild West" and we can see clear evidence of this thanks to a modern lens crafted with today's understanding of humanity. But not all close relationships were sexual and what may seem to be "obvious clues" by today's standards must be understood within the context of their time.

edited for a few clunks.

Late 18th century

A polish horsewoman became a man legally to inherit the family fortune all the sons were dead and this was a thing then and there.

He then was involved in trying to kill the Russian puppet king and needed to grab his gobag and run

Where did he run. No one knows

A polish exile of the same name saved general washingon and became a major general in charge of calvary. His training methods and doctrine partly live on as in first cav.

The woman become male would not have run east toward the Russians or south toward the ottomans. So west. Avoid the Spanish who would have unhappy just on the gender thing Avoid the French. Maybe but no king likes king killers And he was very aggressive on horse and in romance.

I don't have time to write anything today, but I do have some links to past answers!

Why do people claim that Leonardo da Vinci was gay, despite their being no evidence?

In the Tudor times in England, would a male servant to a wealthy household have any sort of "male privilege" over the patriarch of the family's wife, or would she be higher and better regarded than him on all levels despite him being a man and her being a woman?

On 19th century same-sex romantic friendship

What are the origins of the "fabulous" gay stereotype?

How much autonomy did a woman have in late 18th Century American Taverns?

Did men and women have distinguishable penmanship styles in the western world before the 20th century?

And there are plenty more on these topics in my profile.