page_title: William Henry Leonard Poe
section_title: Biography
hierarchical_section_title: William Henry Leonard Poe / Biography
context_page_description: William Henry Leonard Poe, often referred to as Henry Poe, was an American 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".
context_section_description: 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.
  Henry was raised by his grandparents, Elizabeth Cairnes Poe and David Poe, Sr. David Poe, Sr. had been a quartermaster in the American Revolutionary War and paid for supplies out of his own pocket, including $500 for clothing for the troops. His commitment had earned the respect and friendship of the Marquis de LaFayette and the honorary title of "General". David Poe, Sr. died in 1816, and his wife, Elizabeth Cairnes Poe, though sickly and bedridden, outlived her grandson and died on July 7, 1835.
  Henry kept in touch with his younger brother Edgar sporadically as they grew up, often through letters but once he even visited Edgar in Richmond in the 1820s. There, Edgar introduced his brother to his childhood sweetheart, Sarah Elmira Royster. Edgar's foster-father John Allan also corresponded with Henry. In one letter, dated November 1, 1824, Allan apologized that Edgar was slow in writing a letter to Henry, complaining that his foster-son "had little else to do, for he does nothing... The boy possesses not a Spark of affection for us, not a particle of gratitude for all my care and kindness towards him."
  Before the age of twenty, Henry served in South America and elsewhere on board the USS Macedonian. As a crewman aboard the Macedonian, a frigate, he also visited the West Indies, the Mediterranean, and Russia. In 1827, he returned to Baltimore to live with his grandmother, his aunt Maria Clemm, and his two cousins Henry Clemm and Virginia Clemm. Around this time, Henry was described as a "slim, feeble, young man with dark inexpressive eyes" who possessed a "singular personal beauty".
caption: Poe and Clemm family tree