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 an effeminate 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. | Red Buck |
| Byrd, William, II | Inamorato L’Oiseaux |
| Caldwell, Joseph | Carlton [5] |
| Chapman, John & Mary | Maristan Chapman |
| Clark, Charles Dunning | W. J. Hamilton |
| Clarke, Mary Bayard [6] | Tenella |
| Craven, Braxton [7] | Charlie Vernon |
| Daniels, Jonathan | Nicholas Worth |
| Daniels, Josephus [8] | Rhamkatte Rooster |
| Dargan, Olive Tilford [9] | Fielding Burke |
| Deal, Borden | Lee Borden |
| Downing, Fanny Murdaugh | Viola |
| Evans, Charles Napoleon Bonaparte | Fool Killer [10] |
| Fosdick, Charles Austin | Harry Castlemon |
| Frayser, Lou H. | Zillah Raymond |
| Fulton, David Bryant [11] | Jack Thorne |
| Gale, Christopher | Judge Jumble |
| Gaston, William | 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 | Clarence Hunt |
| Hooper, Johnson Jones | Simon Suggs |
| Housekeeper, Mrs. William G. | Rose Batterham |
| Iredell, James [12] | A Man Who Despises Your Pardons, Marcus, A Planter, A Rioter [13] |
| Jackson, Andrew | Anon. (1801) |
| Jones, Calvin | Anon. (1807) |
| Jones, Joseph Seawell | Schocco Jones |
| Kaler, James Otis | James Otis |
| Kelly, Jonathan F. | Falconbridge |
| Korner, Jule Gilmer | Reuben Rink |
| Little, William | Puzzlecause |
| Long, Virginia Love | Mariposa |
| Lovick, John | Shoebrush |
| MacLaine, Archibald | Publico |
| Martin, Alexander | Anon. (1798) |
| Martin, John Sanford | Santford Martin |
| McCora, Patrick William | Daly Wise |
| McEachern, Daniel Purcell | Synder |
| McNair, Colin | Eddie McLean |
| Miller, Helen Hill [14] | Helen Hill |
| Mitchell, Elisha | “N” |
| Moore, Bertha Belle | Brenda Cannon, Betsy McCurry |
| Moore, Maurice | Atticus |
| Moseley, Edward [15] | Judge Jumble |
| Murfree, Mary Noailles | Charles Egbert Craddock |
| Murphey, Archibald D. [16] | Florian, Philo-Florian |
| Nelms, Henning | Hake Talbot |
| Newell, Robert Henry | Orpheus C. Kerr |
| Page, Walter Hines | Nicholas Worth |
| Parham, James A. | General Mecklenburg |
| Petch, Allan J., Colonel | Jeremy North |
| Pettigrew, Charles | Flagillator Scurvarum |
| Pettigrew, James Johnston [17] | A Carolinian |
| Pollock, John Alfred | Ronleigh de Conval |
| Porter, William Sydney [18] | O. Henry |
| Powell, Talmage | Jack McCready |
| Pritchard, John W. | Ian Wallace |
| Raymond, Rene | James JH. Chase |
| Rhodes, William Henry | Caxton |
| Rivenbark, Mrs. Robert W. | Mita Leon |
| Schaw, Janet | Lady of Quality |
| Simms, William Gilmore | Bachelor Knight |
| Smith, Charles Henry | Bill Arp |
| Smith, Leverette | Arthur Mann Kaye |
| Spencer, Cornelia Philips | Magnus |
| Spencer, DeLeon G. | Jo Jo |
| Steuart, Andrew | Philanthropes |
| Stickland, William Herman | Emmitt Lookabee |
| Strange, Robert | An American |
| Strother, David Hunter | Porte Crayon |
| Swann, Samuel [19] | Bo-otes |
| Taliaferro, Hardin E. | Skitt |
| Thompson, William | Major Jones |
| Throop, George Higby | Gregory Seaworthy |
| Tiernan, Frances Christina Fisher [20] | Christian Reid |
| Tourgée, Albion W. [21] | “C,” Henry Churton |
| Vail, Abner | Viator |
| Walz, Audrey | Francis Connamy |
| Wellman, Frances | Frances Garfield |
| Wicker, Tom | Paul Connolly |
| Williamson, Hugh | Sylvius |
| Witherspoon, John Knox | 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. http://archive.org/stream/initialspseudony1886cush#page/n5/mode/2up [22](accessed August 21, 2012).
Cushing, William. Initials and pseudonyms : a dictionary of literary disguises. Second Series. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. 1888. http://archive.org/stream/initialspseudony1888cush#page/n7/mode/2up [23] (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.
