In O. Henry's Memory Part: 1 of 2
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ART GRAVURE SECTION
THE HOUSTON CHRONICLn,
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sn, 0. HENRY'S wlemotf
Plans to perpetuate the memory of William Syd ney Porter, who, as O. Henry,
became one of the world's foremost short sVjry writers, tentatively have been
made at the University of Texas, where it is ... < intention to install documents,
letters, newspapers and even his personal belcngirgs in a special O. Henry room.
Examples of each are known to exist in Austin, where O. Henry was employed in
the land office and in a bank, and where he was fij'st married. O. Henry, a native
of Greensboro, N. C., was born in 1862. At 20 h came to Texas for his health,
and in 1884 became a resident of Austin. He fir "t-g-an to write in 1887. In the
late 90s, when a shadow fell over his life, he bega < to attract attention as a writer.
His fame as a short story writer widened during is eight years residence in New-
York, when his productivity was extraordinary. Ie died in 1ÍH0 and was buried
in Asheville, N. C. Posterity's verdict, according to an authority, is that he was
a man of "no talent, only genius," and that "the ¿ atrial magic of his fine imagina-
tion, humor and brilliant narrative skill triumph o er the occasional^ journalism of
his method, and he remains endlessly and enchan.ingly re-readable.' The photo-
graphs on this page and the material explaining ' \eir significance has been gath-
ered by Samuel E. Gideon, member of. the . niversity of Texas faculty.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1932
"The Hill City Quartette," as a group of singers, including O. Henry,
was known in Austin in 1886. Left to right, the hatted figures are R. H.
Edmondson and H. H. Long. In the foreground arc O. Henry and C.
E. Hillyer. At that time the man whom the world knows best as O.
Henry, the title under which he subsequently wrote, was merely William
Sydney Porter, a genial young citizen with a flair for drawing crude
cartoons, whose horizon then was not much wider than that of a clerk
or bookkeeper.
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The Harrell home in Austin, where "O. Henry c?.me often and stayed long.'
His room is in the upstairs bay, hidden by the overhanging tree branches.
The rock house at the right was the home of Thomas Watt Gregory of
Houston, attorney general of the United States in the Wilson administration.
O. Henry also "stopped" at the Gregory home when the Harrell house was
filled with euests.
A valentine drawn by O. Henry for his small daughter, Margaret. She did not trust it to the mails,
but tcok it herself with a note, threw it into the doorway at the home of her young friend, Arthur
Raatz. The boy treasured it. Subsequently it was fraried. Just recently, when Professor Gideon
took the valentine from its frame to photograph it, a rote written later by the girl to the boy fell
out. It had thus been hidden behind the valentine for many years.. It recalls a pathetic incident.
Margaret did not know until late in life of her father's imprisonment for three years ift a federal
penitentiary in Ohio on embezzlement charges growing out of O. Henry's employment in an Austin
bank. Many historians believe that he was the victim <,\ circumstances.- In prison, however, his
talent for short story writing <>egan to flower.
1
Mn-fer K a A **4 "2r M f n-f
OLD MAN With C-07 V Hrx,* •• fytl/fS
a REDDISH hio<se HE HAu A
t iny little Boy 0
A FU H U ft
BUTTHEY CALLED H/M Tom
BECAUSE it WAS nt HIJ l/AME
/VHST£R PVAATSMADE tom
VV0R.K every da Y while he
himself ovly smoked his pipe
and the rv/EWS PAPERS
towo/iked so hap.0
that he GrR-ew so fast thajl
he got SO blq that he became
So much la£$efi. thav hts
father that wy MRS
/Mats &ot a pair. of tom's
OID trousehs amd Cur thg-ty
Down To fit mr. r A A33&
the. Picture SHOWS tow's
cr^-ee rh£- 5a& face op-
mu RK/VT5 who seems to fee.u
KEE/Vi-V h-is SA 0
i_et all PA&E-^TS T/fKE-
WAR.NING amó mot make ttfeir.
r m • l.ppbn w"
should be placing'
P h o tostat of
an old photo-
graph of Joe
Harrell, the
chum and
room mate of
O. H e n r y in
the Harrell
home. =
Drafting room in the old land office
in Austin, now used as a lecture hall. O. Henry was employed there as
a clerk many years ago. It is said that clever pencil caricatures of per-
sons he knew are under the whitewash on the walls near his old desk.
Maps which he drew and decorated are on file in metal cases. Mr. Uuleon
savs they are suffering from the ravages of insects and arc deteriorating
under handling. (). Henry drew a map of Kent County, showing a ranch
with cowboys, cattle and cactus. Another of Jeff Davis County shows a
Confederate soldier with a Confederate flag. Another of Webb County
. shows a cowboy throwing a lariat, the top of the capítol dome, a listen-
1 ing rabbit and a coiled rattlesnake.
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The lines written by Margaret Porter which accompanied the valentine to
Arthur Raatz.
Cartoon drawn by O. Henry and outlined in ink by W. Grastv. It is in-
tended to depiet Judge Alex Watkins Terrell hurrying in Austin to catrh a
train for a Chicago convention. The ca rtoon has been presented to the Uni-
versity of Texas by Harvey Harrell oí Austin as the nucleus about which
an O. Henry collection might be gathe rod.' Doctor Griffith of the Wrenn
Library at the university would be gl-id to know of any documents and
articles pertaining to O. Henry's life.
p
Home of O. Henry on Eleventh Street, Am n, where his daughter Margaret was born
O. Henry s
h o m e i n
East Fourth
Street, Aus-
tin, with a
granite
m a r k er in
the fore-
ground.
■4-¿í
■ wim-
The letter which fell out of the frame co
entine. It was written by Margaret to A
girlhood friend. She, with her grandmo
grandfather, Mr. and Mrs. P. G. Roacl
Pittsburgh, Pa., awaiting the release of v
prison. The little girl at this time did not
shadow which had fallen over her father's life
mother, Athol, died July 25, 189
ning the val-
Raatz, her
nd foster-
then in
:nry from
%now of the
Margaret's
Few persons in Austin know of the existence of this
inscription scrawled on the window sill of an Austin
home. One morning O. Henry had called for Miss
Athol Estes at the home of a friend, where she had
spent the night. While he was waiting for her he
carved the name "Athol" on a stone sill in the liv-
ing room. Miss Estes later became O. Henry's wife.
It is hoped that the sill may be transferred to the
proposed O. Henry room at the university.
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Houston Chronicle. In O. Henry's Memory, clipping, February 18, 1932; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154586/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas General Land Office.