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 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).
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.