Notes on the Collection of Sidis's Pseudonyms

Dan Mahony

"Perhaps some young researcher will come along and use the limited guidance herein to find some more works by Sidis buried in some archive."

Sidis apparently chose for pseudonyms names of persons who had contributed to society but who were mostly unknown.

When I asked his sister Helena if he used any pseudonyms she replied: "'Parker Greene'; 'Charles Edward Beals, Jr.'; 'Barry Mulligan'." I learned of a fourth, "John W. Shattuck," from his unpublished manuscript of The Tribes and the States which I found in a suitcase in the attic of a relative. (The suitcase, which Helena had directed me to, had her name-tag attached.) In the same suitcase were 89 copies of his "Meet Boston" articles written under "Jacob Marmor."

He may have invented one too. In the case of Notes on the Collection of Transfers, perhaps "Frank Folupa" was derived from: Frank (=French), and fallu-pas (wasn't practical or necessary).

The Library of Congress Online Catalog now acknowledges five Sidis pseudonyms:

DATABASE: Library of Congress Online Catalog

INFORMATION FOR: Sidis, William James, 1898-1944

Scope Note:

Search also	For works of this author entered under other names, search also under:
	Folupa, Frank, 1898-1944.
	Greene, Parker, 1898-1944.
	Marmor, Jacob, 1898-1944.
	Mulligan, Barry, 1898-1944.
	Shattuck, John W., 1898-1944.

Sidis's works sometimes provide clues.

Most important: perhaps some researcher will come along and use the limited guidance herein to find some more works by Sidis buried deep in some archive.

Collisions in Street and Highway Transportation "The numbers of people injured and killed by motor vehicles are said to be at rates which approximate the losses of a major war." Library of Congress Page re Sidis as Author (when there click: Scope Note)	The compilation and synthesis) required for this work is perhaps as great as that required for Notes on the Collection of Transfers. The book uses the same format as we find in Transfers and in The Tribes and the States: chapters consisting of numbered sections, and headings in italics. Julius Eichel's Bio referred to Sidis's "considerable interest in transportation research." Sidis's Geprodis project was devoted in good part to transportation research (see below). No government research grant is mentioned as funding this work, nor is any funding by a charitable organisation or foundation. The book was instead published by the same author-funded "vanity press" Sidis used for Notes on the Collection of Transfers. Such a large anonymous contribution would be typical of Sidis.	Barry Mulligan
The Tribes and the States	Two letters to Julius Eichel in August, 1935, refer to a pamphlet titled The Tribes and the States. In one letter Sidis says it was "... compiled by the Okamakammessets. I may have helped, but I certainly do not wish to be considered the author." letters Continuity News, Feb., 1939 mentions the pamphlet version. The New Yorker, July, 1937, describes Sidis's research on Native American history, and specifically mentions the Okamakammessets. Nowhere else will one find this tribe's name in print except in the early histories of the Massachusetts town of Marlborough, and in these the tribe name is spelled differently. Sidis again claims the book was written by them Introduction.	John W. Shattuck (Participant in the Shays Rebellion, 1787, an event Sidis considered to be very important in American history. Sidis mentions Job Shattuck in Chapter 26.)
America's Search for Liberty: In Song and Poem	Sidis again uses John W. Shattuck for this collection of songs, poems, and history. In it some of the poems of The Tribes and the States are also found. Sidis cites this work in Continuity News, Feb., 1939.	John W. Shattuck
Meet Boston	The Dictionary of American Biography says Boris was "the son of Moses and Mary Marmor Sidis." Another says the same (Boris Sidis bio). See also Meet Boston, March 7, 1941 in which WJ cites ". . . the small and obscure hobby of peridromophily―the collection of local transit transfers. . . " In Meet Boston, Feb. 20, 1942, he quotes from a poem he wrote in his unpublished America's Search for Liberty in Song and Poem. In the June 26, 1942 issue he mentions his unpublished transit and street guide books. (See links there.) Letter to Julius Eichel, Tues., Sept. 22, 1942, mentions What's New in Town giving his perpetual calendar " ... a bit of advertising (free) ... "	Jacob Marmor Letter mentions What's New in Town.
The Peridromophile	This newsletter is cited in the Geprodis Organisation News, Feb., 1930. No copies of it have been made available to the Archives so far.
Geprodis Organisation	Referred to on the Perpetual Calendar, and in a signed letter.
Penacook Courier	Continuity News, Oct., 1938 mentions the Penacook Courier.
Continuity News	This is his pseudonym for Continuity News. The February 1939 issue cites The Tribes and the States. Julius Eichel's bio of Sidis says Parker Greene was a pseudonym. Elsewhere, Sidis mentions this pseudonym in "Meet Boston" 032742, 041742.	Parker Greene Letter in which Sidis writes: "'Parker Greene' is myself―my regular pen name."
The Orarch	Refers to Continuity News as "ancestor" of The Orarch July 1943, and used the same mailing address.

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