William Henry Leonard Poe

Who was William Henry Leonard Poe?

William Henry Leonard Poe, often referred to as Henry Poe, 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".