Downtown in Greensboro in Guilford County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
O Henry's Family
Photographed by Michael C. Wilcox, March 31, 2012
1. O Henry's Family Marker
Inscription.
William Sydney Porter, 1862-1910, better known by his pen name O Henry, gained fame as a gifted short story writer. O Henry's parents, Dr. Algernon Sidney Porter and Mary Jane Virginia Swaim Porter, his grandparents, Sidney and Ruth Worth Porter, and three uncles, Oscar, Henry, and Charles have gravestones in the cemetery. O Henry's father, affectionately called Dr. Al, was a doctor, pharmacist, and an inventor. O Henry's mother, Mary, a talented writer, met an early death from tuberculosis. His grandfather, Sidney, was traveling through North Carolina as a clock salesperson when he met his bride, Ruth, a daughter of Dr. David and Eunice Worth. Ruth practiced medicine in addition to serving the community as a midwife. O Henry lost his mother, Mary, when he was only three, but he felt her influence the rest of his life. He feared tuberculosis and credited his mother, Mary and her father, William Swaim, a writer and editor of the Greensboro Patriot Newspaper, as the source of his writing Talent.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Arts, Letters, Music.
Location. 36° 4.53′ N,
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79° 47.27′ W. Marker is in Greensboro, North Carolina, in Guilford County. It is in Downtown. It can be reached from the intersection of East Lindsay Street and Summit Avenue, on the right when traveling east. Located in the First Presbyterian Cemetery, accessed via the Greensboro Historical Museum. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Greensboro NC 27401, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in North Carolina’s Piedmont and specifically in Piedmont Triad. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Francis McNairy House (within shouting distance of this marker); Richardson Civic Center (within shouting distance of this marker); Confederate
Also see . . . Greensboro Historical Museum. (Submitted on April 3, 2012, by Michael C. Wilcox of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.)
Photographed by Michael C. Wilcox, March 31, 2012
3. O Henry's Family Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 2, 2012, by Michael C. Wilcox of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This page has been viewed 2,936 times since then and 78 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on April 2, 2012, by Michael C. Wilcox of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
