Riverside Cemetery (Part Two), Asheville, North Carolina - March 2021 (O'Henry)

Описание: Welcome to Part Two of my visit to Riverside Cemetery! If you want to catch up, here is Part One:    • Riverside Cemetery (Part One), Asheville, ...  

In this video we move from the top of the cemetery to darn near the base. We also visit the veteran's section and we also locate the resting place of O'Henry, author of one of my favorite books as a teenager, "Of Cabbages And Kings".

Intro Audio is: Chad & Jeremy - "Rest In Peace" (1967)
From the Album, 'Of Cabbages And Kings'
Columbia Records: CS 9471

Size: Massive
Access: 7:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Visitors: Medium-High
Safety Risk: Low
Uniqueness: Medium-High
Oldest Burial: 1885
Veteran Burials: Yes

Notable Residents:
William Sidney Porter (O'Henry) was born in Greensboro in 1862. At the age of three, Porter's mother died during child birth, and he and his father and siblings moved in with the paternal grandmother. At the age of nineteen, Porter developed a persistent cough, and when an opportunity arose to relocate to Austin, he hoped a change of climate would alleviate his symptoms. Not only did his health improve, he also picked up bits of Spanish and German from immigrant ranch hands; and learned the guitar and mandolin. While in Austin, Porter met Athol Estes, and the two married despite her family's objections and Athol suffering from tuberculosis. Their first child died within hours of birth, but the couple gave birth to their daughter, Margaret the following year. Porter began developing characters and submitting stories to magazines and newspapers. He took a job at the First National Bank of Austin, while simultaneously working on "The Rolling Stone" - a magazine featuring satire, humor, and short stories. Following a move to Houston, Porter was indicted on Federal Embezzlement charges stemming from tenure at the bank. While out on bail, Porter fled to New Orleans and then to Honduras where he befriended notorious train robber, Al Jennings. While holed up in Honduras, Porter wrote "Cabbages And Kings", and coined the term, "banana republic". Athol became too ill to join Porter in Honduras, and when she was on her death bed, Porter returned to Austin to be with his wife and turn himself in to the courts. In July 1897, his wife succumbed to tuberculosis, and in February 1898, Porter was sentenced to five years in prison. He served his time in Columbus, Ohio. While incarcerated, Porter adopted the pen name O' Henry and sent his material to a friend in New Orleans, who would then submit the works to publishers, to avoid connecting the material with a criminal. Upon release, he relocated to New York City and entered his most prolific writing period. He remarried a childhood sweetheart in 1907, Sarah (Sallie) Lindsey Coleman. Within two years, she left the writer due to alcoholism and effects it was having on his health. The following year, O' Henry was gone, the result of cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes and an enlarged heart. His daughter, Margaret died of tuberculosis in 1927 and buried next to her father.

Thomas Wolfe: The American novelist was born in Asheville on 3 October, 1900. Ironically, Thomas' father was a stone carver, and ran a successful business from the family home as a gravestone crafter. His mother owned and operated several boarding houses. A teenage Wolfe exhibited talent as a playwright, and several of his plays were performed by classmates at UNC at Chapel Hill. In 1920, Wolfe graduated with a Bacherlor of Arts, and entered Harvard the same year. While at Harvard, the play, "The Mountains" was performed by the George Pierce Baker troupe, Baker's 47 Workshop. He left Harvard in 1922 with a Master's Degree. Wolfe struggled to sell his plays, and took teaching jobs while he continued to write. While returning from Europe, he met the married and wealthy, Aline Bernstein, and the two developed a tumultuous affair. She would finance his writing talent, and Wolfe began writing "Look Homeward, Angel", a fictionalized chronicle of friends, family, and boarders that filled his early life. Residents of Asheville, initially proud of their hometown author, quickly realized themselves in the novel and response was unpleasant. Wolfe's submitted novels were immense, and editors found themselves with a monumental task of trimming the stories; Wolfe attested that this was the source for misrepresentations of residents. The author soon became frustrated with his publisher, and sought a new editor. World remained in Europe until 1937, at which point, he returned to Asheville for the first time since the publishing of "Look Homeward, Angel". The following year, Wolfe gave a lecture tour in Western U.S., but soon became ill with pneumonia. The diagnosis evolved into tuberculosis and Wolfe was scheduled for surgery in Baltimore. During the operation, it was determined that the entire right side of Wolfe's brain was overrun with the disease and he lapsed into a coma from which he did not regain consciousness. Wolfe died 18 days before his 38th birthday.