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This article is from the Encyclopedia of North Carolina edited by William S. Powell. Copyright © 2006 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.

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Pseudonyms

by William S. Powell, 2006; Revised by SLNC Government & Heritage Library, June 2023
Additional research provided by Wilson Angley, Jerry C. Cashion, Jerry L. Cross, Michael Hill, Michael R. McVaugh, W. Keats Sparrow, Shelby Stephenson, and Willis P. Whichard.

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 and authors in various fields, men who wrote poetry in an age and place when that was considered a feminine occupation, politicians and public officials, 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
Chapman, John & Mary Maristan Chapman
Clark, Charles Dunning W. J. Hamilton
Clarke, Mary Bayard Tenella
Craven, Braxton Charlie Vernon
Daniels, Jonathan Nicholas Worth
Daniels, Josephus Rhamkatte Rooster
Dargan, Olive Tilford Fielding Burke
Deal, Borden Lee Borden
Downing, Fanny Murdaugh Viola
Evans, Charles Napoleon Bonaparte Fool Killer
Fosdick, Charles Austin Harry Castlemon
Frayser, Lou H. Zillah Raymond
Fulton, David Bryant 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 A Man Who Despises Your Pardons, Marcus, A Planter, A Rioter
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 Helen Hill
Mitchell, Elisha “N”
Moore, Bertha Belle Brenda Cannon, Betsy McCurry
Moore, Maurice Atticus
Moseley, Edward Judge Jumble
Murfree, Mary Noailles Charles Egbert Craddock
Murphey, Archibald D. 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 A Carolinian
Pollock, John Alfred Ronleigh de Conval
Porter, William Sydney 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 Bo-otes
Taliaferro, Hardin E. Skitt
Thompson, William Major Jones
Throop, George Higby Gregory Seaworthy
Tiernan, Frances Christina Fisher Christian Reid
Tourgée, Albion W. “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. https://archive.org/stream/initialspseudony1886cush#page/n5/mode/2up (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 (accessed August 21, 2012).