In 1719, Catherine Jones appeared before the criminal court of the Old Bailey in London charged with bigamy for making a second marriage when her husband of six years, John Rowland, was abroad. Her defence was that her marriage to Constantine Boone was no real marriage as Boone was a hermaphrodite.
According to the less-than-reliable record of the Newgate Calendar, a witness told the court that Constantine Boone had been raised as a girl and taught needlework until she ran away to sea as a 12-year-old boy. Catherine Jones said in her defence that Constantine Boone had been exhibited as a hermaphrodite at Bartholomew Fair and other places. Constantine Boone confirmed that this was true, and other witnesses said that Constantine Boone tended to be more female than male. The jury accepted the defence – that there was no marriage since Constantine Boone was a hermaphrodite, and released Catherine Jones from the charge of bigamy.
"Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History" - Philippa Gregory
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