Archival panoramic view of Washington and Lee University and its surroundings

The names and lives behind a diary

The real lives
behind Jeb & Dash.

Two men. A remarkable diary. And a long search to restore the names, places, and people behind its pages.

Carter Newman Bealer at an apartment window; the original photograph also included John Zeigler.

A birthday remembrance

October 17, 2026 · 127 years since his birth

Remembering Carter Newman Bealer

Born on October 17, 1899, Carter left a remarkable record of his life in the diaries he kept for more than fifty years. On this anniversary, we remember the man behind the name “Jeb Alexander” — and the many lives his words brought into view.

Behind the pseudonyms

Every name
has a life behind it.

In 1993, Ina Russell published an edited selection of her uncle's diaries as Jeb and Dash: A Diary of a Gay Life, 1918–1945. Her uncle was Carter Newman Bealer. The man called Dash was Isham W. Perkins.

The book opened a window onto a largely hidden world. But its pseudonyms, altered details, and composite characters left questions. This site follows the evidence—diary entries, university and government records, photographs, and letters—to recover the lives behind the published names.

Meet Carter and Isham

Archival portrait of Carter Newman Bealer — Carter Newman Bealer (1899–1965)

The film

The story, in moving images.

Photographs, diary passages, and historical settings tell the story of Carter, Isham, and the search to recover their lives behind the published names.

Beyond the published names

Carter & Isham

Names restored through historical research. Each life deserves to be understood on its own terms, not only through its place in the published diary.

01 / JEB ALEXANDER

Carter Newman Bealer

1899–1965

A Washington, D.C., diarist whose written record of his life spanned more than half a century. His niece, Ina Russell, edited selections for publication in 1993.

02 / DASH

Isham W. Perkins

The man behind the pseudonym

Identified through research as the real-life Isham behind Dash. The published character also incorporates details from other people—one reason the historical evidence matters.

Further biographies, citations, and documentary details will be added as the archived research is reviewed.

The search

How the names came to light.

The discoveries matter. So do the questions, wrong turns, and records that made them possible.

Identifying Carter and Isham required years of comparing the published diary with university records, photographs, correspondence, and the lives that emerged beyond its pages. The search also uncovered an essential complication: some of the people in Ina Russell’s edited narrative were composites, and some clues could not all describe the same individual.

This site follows the investigation as well as its findings: the identifications established by the documents, the leads that proved mistaken, and the discoveries that continued to unfold after Carter and Isham were identified.

The photo journal

The world behind
the diary.

The Lexington railway station, Washington and Lee campus, North River, and the surrounding landscape illuminate the places Carter knew or described. These photographs come from the original website collection; they are not intended to suggest that Isham Perkins attended Washington and Lee.

Historic Lexington railway depot — ArrivalLexington railway depot

Historic view of North River — LandscapeNorth River, Virginia

Rock opening near Lexington — PlaceSaltpeter Cave, near Washington and Lee

Archival view of Washington and Lee campus — SettingWashington and Lee University and the surrounding countryside

About the project

An ongoing act
of restoration.

This site began with a fascination for the people hidden behind the names in Jeb and Dash. Its purpose is to document discoveries and make the lives of Carter Bealer, Isham Perkins, and the people around them more visible.

The research proceeded by following documentary clues and testing each possible identification against the historical record. The correspondence that followed became a meaningful part of the story, but the discoveries had to rest on evidence—not suggestions.

Research and site by Neal Cordan.

The real livesbehind Jeb & Dash.