Pseudonyms [1]
Pseudonyms
Pseudonyms have been used by North Carolinians since the eighteenth century to conceal identities for many reasons. Among those who used pseudonyms were creative writers [2] and authors in various fields, men who wrote poetry [3]in an age and place when that was considered a feminine occupation, politicians and public officials [4], lovers, the shy or modest, and women who lived in a time when they were deemed by many to be incapable of literary accomplishments.
It is reasonable to assume that only a small portion of pseudonyms can ever be identified or that their secret can be discovered without a good clue or other information. The following is a list of some known North Carolina pseudonyms.
True Name | Pseudonym |
Arrington, Alfred | Charles Summerfield |
Badger, J. Lawrence | Jemmy Critus |
Baker, Emma | Eugene Hall |
Brown, William | Hill Columbus |
Bruckner, Margaretta | Margaret Howe |
Bryant, H. E. C. [5] | Red Buck |
Byrd, William, II | Inamorato L’Oiseaux |
Caldwell, Joseph [6] | Carlton [7] |
Chapman, John & Mary | Maristan Chapman |
Clark, Charles Dunning | W. J. Hamilton |
Clarke, Mary Bayard [8] | Tenella |
Craven, Braxton [9] | Charlie Vernon |
Daniels, Jonathan | Nicholas Worth |
Daniels, Josephus [10] | Rhamkatte Rooster |
Dargan, Olive Tilford [11] | Fielding Burke |
Deal, Borden | Lee Borden |
Downing, Fanny Murdaugh | Viola |
Evans, Charles Napoleon Bonaparte [12] | Fool Killer [13] |
Fosdick, Charles Austin | Harry Castlemon |
Frayser, Lou H. | Zillah Raymond |
Fulton, David Bryant [14] | Jack Thorne |
Gale, Christopher [15] | Judge Jumble |
Gaston, William [16] | Anon. (1808) |
Gifford, James Noble | Carol Holliston |
Gilmore, James R. | Edmund Kirke |
Glascock, Harold | Robert Winfield |
Harwood, Dr. Edward | Spectator |
Hass, Ben | John Benteen, Ben Elliott, John M. Elliott |
Holman, Clarence Hugh [17] | Clarence Hunt |
Hooper, Johnson Jones [18] | Simon Suggs |
Housekeeper, Mrs. William G. | Rose Batterham |
Iredell, James [19] | A Man Who Despises Your Pardons, Marcus, A Planter, A Rioter [20] |
Jackson, Andrew | Anon. (1801) |
Jones, Calvin [21] | Anon. (1807) |
Jones, Joseph Seawell [22] | Schocco Jones |
Kaler, James Otis | James Otis |
Kelly, Jonathan F. | Falconbridge |
Korner, Jule Gilmer | Reuben Rink |
Little, William [23] | Puzzlecause |
Long, Virginia Love | Mariposa |
Lovick, John [24] | Shoebrush |
MacLaine, Archibald [25] | Publico |
Martin, Alexander [26] | Anon. (1798) |
Martin, John Sanford [27] | Santford Martin |
McCora, Patrick William | Daly Wise |
McEachern, Daniel Purcell | Synder |
McNair, Colin | Eddie McLean |
Miller, Helen Hill [28] | Helen Hill |
Mitchell, Elisha [29] | “N” |
Moore, Bertha Belle | Brenda Cannon, Betsy McCurry |
Moore, Maurice [30] | Atticus |
Moseley, Edward [31] | Judge Jumble |
Murfree, Mary Noailles | Charles Egbert Craddock |
Murphey, Archibald D. [32] | Florian, Philo-Florian |
Nelms, Henning | Hake Talbot |
Newell, Robert Henry | Orpheus C. Kerr |
Page, Walter Hines [33] | Nicholas Worth |
Parham, James A. | General Mecklenburg |
Petch, Allan J., Colonel | Jeremy North |
Pettigrew, Charles [34] | Flagillator Scurvarum |
Pettigrew, James Johnston [35] | A Carolinian |
Pollock, John Alfred [36] | Ronleigh de Conval |
Porter, William Sydney [37] | O. Henry |
Powell, Talmage | Jack McCready |
Pritchard, John W. | Ian Wallace |
Raymond, Rene | James JH. Chase |
Rhodes, William Henry [38] | Caxton |
Rivenbark, Mrs. Robert W. | Mita Leon |
Schaw, Janet [39] | Lady of Quality |
Simms, William Gilmore | Bachelor Knight |
Smith, Charles Henry | Bill Arp |
Smith, Leverette | Arthur Mann Kaye |
Spencer, Cornelia Philips [40] | Magnus |
Spencer, DeLeon G. | Jo Jo |
Steuart, Andrew [41] | Philanthropes |
Stickland, William Herman | Emmitt Lookabee |
Strange, Robert | An American |
Strother, David Hunter | Porte Crayon |
Swann, Samuel [42] | Bo-otes |
Taliaferro, Hardin E. [43] | Skitt |
Thompson, William | Major Jones |
Throop, George Higby [44] | Gregory Seaworthy |
Tiernan, Frances Christina Fisher [45] | Christian Reid |
Tourgée, Albion W. [46] | “C,” Henry Churton |
Vail, Abner | Viator |
Walz, Audrey | Francis Connamy |
Wellman, Frances | Frances Garfield |
Wicker, Tom | Paul Connolly |
Williamson, Hugh [47] | Sylvius |
Witherspoon, John Knox [48] | Knox |
Wright, Watkins Eppes | Allen Eppes |
Additional Resources:
Cushing, William. Initials and pseudonyms : a dictionary of literary disguises. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. 1886. https://archive.org/stream/initialspseudony1886cush#page/n5/mode/2up [49](accessed August 21, 2012).
Cushing, William. Initials and pseudonyms : a dictionary of literary disguises. Second Series. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. 1888. https://archive.org/stream/initialspseudony1888cush#page/n7/mode/2up [50] (accessed August 21, 2012).
1 January 2006 | Angley, Wilson; Cashion, Jerry C.; Cross, Jerry L.; Hill, Michael; McVaugh, Michael R.; Powell, William S. ; Sparrow, W. Keats; Stephenson, Shelby; Whichard, Willis P.