Help us find and improve this week's Connection Finder profiles: Pseudonyms [closed]

Question

This week we're featuring Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens) in the Connection Finder.

We're looking for profiles of others who used a nom de plume this week.

Here are a few of the people we're considering:

• George Sand (aka Aurore Dupin de Francueil)
• Geertruida Carelsen (aka Amij de Leeuw)
• George Eliot (aka Mary Anne Cross)

Can you help with these profiles, or expand their families? Adding relatives in any direction helps with connections. Every missing relative you add will make our connections to them closer.

Who else should we feature? Do they need a profile?

All profiles we feature need a good biography and a connection to the big tree. We also want each one to have an image, and the image needs to have proper source attribution explaining why it's in the public domain or why we have the right to display it.

We can't feature everyone mentioned (we only have room for eleven per week), but if we don't feature a profile you work on, we may use it sometime in the future. And, of course, all contributions help improve our shared tree.

We'll make a final decision on which ones to feature early next week.

Please reply here with what you're working on so that we don't duplicate our efforts. Thank you!

To help us plan future themes, see the 2021 Example Profile Plans post here.

Comments

Abby -- could you please clarify if it is ANYONE using a pseudonym, or people who WROTE under a nom de plume (name of the  pen /pen name)?

Because I thought the original focus - - and the three profiles linked in your post - - point to to those who wrote under a nom de plume.

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Sorry for the delay in a response, Melanie. It's a busy month here. We'll likely run with authors since that seems to be the bulk of what we've gotten for responses, but honestly the broader pseudonym theme works, too. We can always start a list for a future feature on a different group. Thanks :-)

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When are you NOT busy?!   

Thanks for taking the time to respond.   Having "general" type pseudonyms -- or perhaps "Stage Names" -- as a future feature would be great.  Then we could do John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Marilyn Monroe, and so on.

Answer 1

Sarah Payson Willis; pen name "Fanny Fern".   American.  Has pic, has bio, is Connected.

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Helen Lyndon Goff; pen name "P L Travers" (Pamela Lyndon).  Australian.  Has pic, has bio, is Connected.

Comments

Samuel Langhorne Clemens; pen name "Mark Twain".  American. Has pic, has bio, is Connected.  (Yes, I know he is the suggested feature profile, but now's a good time to check to see that all is a-ok with his bio and sources.)

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Edit to add :

Roman Kacew; pen name: "Romain Gary", also "Émile Ajar".  Lithuania-born French novelist  Has bio, is Connected, NEEDS pic.

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Edit the second :

Edith Mary Pargeter; pen names "Ellis Peters", "John Redfern", "Jolyon Carr", "Peter Benedict".  English.  Has pic, has bio, is Connected.

Edited to make a note re Mark Twain.

Answer 2

The profile of American comedienne Sophie Tucker  (1887-1966) could use some attention from WikiTreers with an interest in 20th century entertainment, and/or Ukraine genealogy.

She was born Sonia Kalish.  And she married three times so there should be ample opportunities to get her connected through a spouse.

I have linked to secondary sources on her profile, but haven't really put the time into her profile that she deserves.  Calling for any and all help with the profile of this fascinating Notable.

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Another profile to consider for the Connection Finder, my distant cousin:

William Sidney Porter; pen name "O. Henry". American.  Has pic, has bio, is connected.

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Alice Bradley, who wrote as James Tiptree Jr, would be perfect for this theme.  She and her parents are Notables, and not yet on WikiTree:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tiptree_Jr.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Hastings_Bradley

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Edwin_Bradley

Comments

I very much second O Henry!

Answer 3

Hans Gustav Bötticher aka Joachim Ringelnatz. He still needs a Bio, but is connected.

Comments

Nice -- banned as a "degenerate artist"!  What fun. 

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Well, the biography in German is done. I will create an English translation tomorrow. For the biography of his father and one of his maternal great grandfathers there is also enough material to write bios. You know where to find me the next few days. ;)

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Alright, now is the English bio also done. More bios to be done though. But at least Ringelnatz has his.

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The biography of Ringelnatz' father is bilingual now.

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Add to that also the bio of his ggrandfather.

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Now all of the relatives of Ringelnatz, for whom I had enough material to write a bio, have their bilingual biography. Next one is the guy mentioned in Ringelnatz' biography, when he stayed in Silesia.

Answer 4

Joe Hill? Born Joel Emanuel Hägglund.

Comments

First man who came to my mind! Great suggestion

Answer 5

David Cornwell - aka "John le Carré" - or has he already been featured?

Bio, pic, connected

Answer 6

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson known by his penname "Lewis Carroll". He has a very good biography and is connected. There are several more public domain photos of him that could be added, Also a page from his original manuscript of Alice's Adventures Under Ground, 1864, is public domain. 

Answer 7

Two with solid connected bios include George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair) and Maya Angelou (Marguerite Annie Johnson). Although I think Dr. Suess (Theodore Geisel) was profiled on another recent Connections Finder, he is also an obvious option (bio needs work but it is connected).       

Comments

Geisel was featured back in March, so maybe a little too recently.

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Also - -Eric Arthur Blair (You seem to have linked to Maya twice.)

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Thanks for catching that Melanie, I've fixed the link.

Answer 8

Do you want pseudonyms or just pen names? Pancho Villa, Red Baron, and Josef Stalin are all connected.

Conway Twitty is also connected. My favorite stage name--he had a normal name (Harold Lloyd Jenkins) and picked a silly (but memorable) name off a map.

Answer 9

Author Craig Rice, aka Georgianna Ann Randolph Craig Lipton:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Craig-10291

Captain Beefheart (Don Glen Vliet):

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Vliet-135

Slim Pickens (Louis Burton Lindley):

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lindley-664

Don the Beachcomber (Ernest Raymond Gantt):

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gantt-388

Answer 10

[[Scherer-784|Roy Harold Scherer]] aka Rock Hudson

Comments

Seconded!

Answer 11

Hymn writer Fanny Crosby https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Crosby-5138 had a bunch of pseudonyms, to get her hymns released. Apparently her writing of hymns was so prolific, that if the hymns were all released in her name, your hymn book would be overwhelmed by the number of hymns that she actually wrote. I think it may have been the same situation with Charles Wesley as well. The other thing was, it may not have been as readily acceptable, having a female hymn writer, contributing so much.

Her profile looks great, but could probably use some more work, in regard to some of the hymns she is very famous for, and the pseudonyms which she regularly used. Not connected yet.

I can't properly recall if Charles Wesley used pseydonyms as well or not, but he wrote so many hymns, that he averaged 2 hymns a day, from when he became a believer, to when he died, and all of that, while looking after a church. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wesley-156 Is connected.

We probably should have a Hymn Writer Category. I'd be surprised if there isn't actually. There is a category. Fanny just wasn't in it yet. She is now.

Comments

That profile for Fanny Crosby is a duplicate. Her other profile is connected. I'm not sure if it mentions any of her pseudonyms or not, but she is connected to the tree.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Crosby-3199 Yes. Her profile actually mentions that she operated under pseudonyms. Her profile is finished, and connected to the tree. But the duplicate should be merged.

Answer 12

I have to admit that the first people who came to mind after folksingers (Joe Hill- already suggested, Bob Dylan- currently featured this week, Dino Valenti- not on Wikitree), the next category that came to mind were communist revolutionaries: Lenin, Stalin (who is connected, with photo), Pol Pot, Aung San... etc.

Setting those aside, there's Peter Warlock, an English music scholar & composer, who is connected, has a bio & photo.

My cousin, Marilyn Monroe, who is connected with bio & photos.

& Margaret Dumont, comedic foil to the Marx Brothers. Dumont is not yet on WT, but I plan to rectify that. Will update.

Edit to add: George & Ira Gershwin

Comments

Margaret Dumont now has a profile:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Baker-52238

Will be working to connect her next.

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Margaret Dumont is now connected.

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Thank you for adding Margaret. It was on my mind a couple of months back when we worked on Harpo, and it slipped my mind that her profile didn't exist yet.

Answer 13

there is Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson (1870-1946) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree she wrote under the name of Henry Handel Richardson

see Henry Handel Richardson - Wikipedia

Comments

and all three of the Bronte sisters at one time

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Hi Will, thanks so much for recommending Henry Handel Richardson. She needs connecting up, but has a brief bio and an image. I'll see if I can connect her.

I see that Melanie added the image today. Thanks Melanie :)

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Henry Handel Richardson is connected now. She just needs a little more work on the bio.

Answer 14

Since George Sand was already part of the 19th century authors feature in April, here are a few other possibilities for French authors writing under a pen name:

• Marguerite Duras
• Marguerite Yourcenar (first woman ever elected to the Académie Française)
• Voltaire

Those three are all connected and have a portrait.

(This is assuming the feature is specifically about authors using a pseudonym).

Answer 15

How about Eleanor Alice Burford? She was not only the queen of gothic romance novels, but the queen of nom de plumes!  Her profile could use some sprucing up and connecting, though... She wrote as Victoria Holt, Jean Plaidy, Philipa Carr, and several other pen names. 

Comments

**drool* Jean Plaidy. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. 

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Edit to add --

She will need considerable work.  Needs an image, a biography, and to get Connected by the end of the weekend.

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yes! I am trying to upload an image right now, but experiencing technical difficulties (on my end, I'm sure)  Just creating a profile for her with a list of her literary output would take me to the weekend! 

edit: success! finally figured out the profile pic 

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Unfortunately, the image you uploaded is not public domain.  Wikipedia uses it with a fair use disclaimer.

I have uploaded an alternative, with a disclaimer, but will not remove the other image at this time.  ((It may require discussion regards retaining it or otherwise.)  Image usage can be very tricky.  

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Exactly! Glad you found an alternative... my fair use (non profit) assumption was wrong, I guess. Once a photo is uploaded, it is not easy to remove it. (as I'm finding out)

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We'll manage.  Now she just needs a bio, and to be Connected!

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She now has the basics of a biography - although I have not found a source for the marriage to Hibbert.  (One  online "tree" has her getting married some 23 years before she was even born (and not even a  twinkle in her father's eye!) -- in 1883.)

I'll see what I can find that may help Connect her.

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Eleanor Burford aka Jean Plaidy, Victoria Holt, and Philippa Carr (among others) should show as Connected sometime in the next 24 hours or so.   (I still need to do biographies for the profiles in the chain, but the Connection is done.)

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I'm going to keep looking for another Connection line for Eleanor, as my fears regards her "marriage" have been borne out (and the current Connection line runs through George Hibbert).  She and Hibbert lived together for about 30 years as though husband and wife, accepted by everyone as husband and wife, but without the blessing of the church, or the sanction of the state.  She adopted his last name as her own, but there was no legal marriage.

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Wow--well done! Looks like the mystery writer had a few mysteries of her own!

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I have tracked a different path to an existing Connected profile.  I have to create the profiles, but I hope to have that done by later today, or tomorrow.  After that, it won't matter about the marriage that wasn't, but that everyone believes was.

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After an initial "hitch" when I attached one of my chain to the incorrect parents by following the lineage on FS instead of seeking the actual documents, I now have the alternate line all done.  Well, "done" is relative (see wot I did thar?!) - as in, I still need to fill in some biographical details, and add more sources, but the profiles exist, and follow the documents.  It's longer (for me) than the chain using the Hibbert line, but it's good to have more than one way to go.  (I have also noticed a potential link to another line on which I have been working.  Tracking that possibility is something for my "to do" list.)

Answer 16

Just a note that British author Mo Hayder (born Clare Bastin) died recently, she doesn't appear to have a profile.

Answer 17

Charles Egbert Craddock aka Mary Noailles Murfree is connected to the tree. If you have Tennessee roots you might recognize this author and the Murfree name. For years her readers thought she was a man... she wrote in such a vigorous masculine style...her publishers were amazed when they finally met 'Charles' and 'he' was actually a frail, crippled young woman. 

Answer 18

I keep thinking of people with pseudonyms who would be tricky for me and my feeble skills to connect to the tree in a hurry...but here's one who would be fun and is already well connected: Benjamin Franklin; he wrote under a variety of pseudonyms but my favorite is Silence Dogood. (because of course, National Treasure!)