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Typed Letter from Irene Hester to Becky Hester (1951). The typed reproduction is housed in the "Pseudonym – Correspondence" Folder of the Greensboro Public Library's O. Henry Collection.
September 27, 1951
Dear Miss Hester,
The origin of the pen mate of Willian [Sydney] Porter caused quite a controversy in literary circles for some years after his death and various explanations are given in the books about him and in articles appearing in magazines.
More material is found on the subject in the clipping file in this library than in other sources. This material cannot be checked out of the library and I shall attempt to give you a summary of the material.
Dr. C. Alphonso Smith, his official biographer, did not give a lengthy explanation in his biography published in 1916 but years later wrote an article for the NATION giving more information about the origin of the pen name.
In the article Dr. Smith began by saying that the origin of Porter's pen name, O. Henry had not hitherto been established. Porter is reported to have said that he found it among the names of those listed in the TIMES-DEMOCRAT or the PICAYUNE of New Orleans as attending some of the Mardi Gras functions. Dr. Smith continued by saying that explanation was improbable, inasmuch as he did not begin to write stories from New Orleans but from Columbus, Ohio[,] and that it was in the latter place that he first used the now famous pseudonym.
Dr. Smith, with aid from Dr. Paul Barringer, former Chairman of the faculty of the University of Virginia and later President of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, felt that Porter had adopted the name from the name O.Henry signed to articles in the United States Dispensatory. O.Henry as used in the U.S. Dispensatory is an abbreviation of Etienne- Ossin Henry, a French chemist. William Sydney Porter as a drug clerk in Greensboro, Austin, Texas, and Columbus, Ohio, must have used the U.S. Dispensatory frequently and the unusual name caught his eye.
After William Sydney Porter served his prison term his natural reticence concerning his personal life was increased and this of course has led to more interest in regard to the origin of the pen name.
Others theories advanced by by various writers include the following:
The explantation referred to in Dr. Smith's article, i.e., Porter found it among the names of those listed in a New Orleans Daily as attending some of the Mardi-Gras functions.
- Name of a barkeeper in New Orleans
- From the stories of the French writer Balzac
- After Red Henerey, Port Supt. at Puerto Castilo, Honduras
- From a cowboy song, "Root, Hog or Die"
- From Captain Orrin Henry connected with the penitentary
Very truly yours,
Irene Hester
Reference Librarian
[Greensboro Public Library]
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