William Henry Leonard Poe
| William Henry Leonard Poe | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 30, 1807 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Died | August 1, 1831 (aged 24) Baltimore, Maryland |
| Occupation | Sailor Clerk Amateur poet Writer |
William Henry Leonard Poe, often referred to as Henry Poe, (January 30, 1807 – August 1, 1831) was a sailor, amateur poet and the older brother of Edgar Allan Poe and Rosalie Poe.
After the death of their parents, the three Poe children were split up: Henry lived with family in Baltimore, Maryland, while Edgar and Rosalie were cared for by two different families in Richmond, Virginia. Before the age of 20, Henry traveled around the globe by sea before returning to Baltimore and becoming a published poet and author. One of his works, "The Pirate", was a fictionalized account of his brother's first relationship with Sarah Elmira Royster in Richmond. Henry died of tuberculosis in 1831 at the age of twenty-four.
Henry Poe was an inspiration to his brother's life and writings and the two had similar writing styles. Edgar Allan Poe for a time used the alias "Henri Le Rennet", a name inspired by Henry. Henry's influence on Edgar's writing include a character in the novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket and possibly the name of the title character in the poem "Lenore".
William Henry Leonard, who went by the name Henry, was born circa January 30, 1807, to traveling actors Eliza Poe and David Poe, Jr., four months after their troupe began performing in Boston. Their second son, Edgar, was born on January 19, 1809, and a daughter, Rosalie, was born in December 1810. Some time before July 1809, however, David Poe had deserted his family, though little is known about his disappearance. He may have died in Norfolk, Virginia on December 11, 1811. Eliza Poe died of tuberculosis on December 8, 1811, leaving her three children as orphans.
During their mother's illness, Henry had been left in the care of his paternal grandparents, while Edgar and Rosalie had been cared for by actor friends of their parents, namely Mr. and Mrs. Luke Usher. The children were likely at Eliza's side as she died. In one of his poems, Henry described her "long... last farewell" to them and was given a lock of her hair to remember her. After the death of Eliza, the three children were split up. Henry went back to his grandparents in Baltimore, Maryland while Edgar went to live with a foster family, the Allans of Richmond. Rosalie was adopted by the Mackenzies, also of Richmond.
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