Weybridge in Addison County, Vermont — The American Northeast (New England)
Charity and Sylvia
A Same-Sex Couple in Early America
Photographed by Dennis Gilkenson, July 12, 2026
1. Charity and Sylvia Marker
Charity Bryant (1777-1851) and Sylvia Drake (1784- 1868) met in 1807 in Weybridge, where they lived and were accepted as a couple. They had a cottage on Hagar farm. joined the local church and charities, and ran a tailoring business. Charity's nephew, poet William Cullen Bryant, wrote: "they took each other as companions for life... this union, no less sacred to them than the tie of marriage." Correspondence, poems, and business records document their 44 years together. Charity and Sylvia rest under a single headstone at Weybridge Hill Cemetery, forever marking their relationship. The only known image of them, a ca. 1810 double silhouette, is considered the earliest depiction of a same-sex couple in America.
Erected 2024 by Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and Henry Sheldon Museum.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1777.
Location. 44° 2.366′ N, 73° 12.777′ W. Marker is in Weybridge, Vermont, in Addison County. It is at the intersection of Weybridge Road and Quaker Village Road, on the right when traveling north on
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in the Champlain Valley and in Greater Burlington. It is also in the American Northeast and in New England. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France and also the Vermont Republic.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Silas Wright (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); The U.S. Government Morgan Horse Farm (approx. 1½ miles away); Weybridge Carleton's Raid Memorial (approx. 2.2 miles away); Chipman Hill (approx. 2.6 miles away); Proud Craftsmen from Many Lands (approx. 2.7 miles away); Middlebury Falls (approx. 2.8 miles away); Marble Works Memorial Bridge (approx. 2.8 miles away); Otter Creek Industrial Revolution (approx. 2.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Weybridge.
Also see . . .
1. Charity Bryant (Wikipedia).
Photographed by Dennis Gilkenson, July 12, 2026
2. Charity and Sylvia Marker
2. Sylvia Drake (Wikipedia). (Submitted on July 18, 2026, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut.)
Credits. This page was last revised on August 20, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 14, 2026, by Dennis Gilkenson of Saxtons River, Vermont. This page has been viewed 10 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 14, 2026, by Dennis Gilkenson of Saxtons River, Vermont. • Michael Herrick was the editor who published this page.
