Record #:

8584

Author(s):

Spach, John Thom

Abstract:

William Sydney Porter, also known as O. Henry, grew up in Greensboro. It was there as a young child that he befriended John Thom, who was the grandfather of John Thom Spach, the author of this article. The friendship appeared years later in the character of John Tom, in O. Henry's story “The Atavism of John Tom Little Bear.” At age nineteen, Porter moved to Texas seeking a cure for his tuberculosis. There, Porter lived on the ranch of Dr. James K. Hall, another native North Carolinian who had moved to Texas. Hall's son, Lee Hall, was a famous lawman and a captain in the Texas Rangers. O. Henry based the characters Ranger Lieutenant Sandridge and Ranger Lieutenant Bob Buckley on Lee Hall. Porter never became a tough lawman like Hall and he left the ranch for Austin, Texas. In Austin, Porter worked in several different jobs, including a bank teller's job at the First National Bank of Austin, where Porter was later accused of embezzling bank funds. He was convicted of the charge and spent almost two years in prison.

Source:

The State (NoCar F 251 S77), Vol. 51 Issue 4, Sept 1983, p10-13, por

Subject(s):

Henry, O. (William Sydney Porter), 1862-1910