Older brother of writer Edgar Poe, "Henry Poe," as he was called, was himself a published poet. Orphaned as a child, he was taken in by his grandparents in Baltimore (his brother and sister were taken in by unrelated families in Richmond). He became a professional sailor on the USS Macedonian, which took him to the West Indies, the Mediterranean, and Russia. After a short, unsuccessful career as a law clerk, he began publishing poems in 1827 as well as a short story, "The Pirate," based on his younger brother's failed teenage romance with a woman named Sarah Elmira Royster. The two Poe brothers maintained a casual correspondence while growing up. For a time, they may have lived together with family in Baltimore as Edgar prepared for a stint at West Point. It is speculated that Henry struggled with alcoholism. He died of tuberculosis at age 24 and was buried in a family-owned plot near his grandfather. It remains unmarked.
Older brother of writer Edgar Poe, "Henry Poe," as he was called, was himself a published poet. Orphaned as a child, he was taken in by his grandparents in Baltimore (his brother and sister were taken in by unrelated families in Richmond). He became a professional sailor on the USS Macedonian, which took him to the West Indies, the Mediterranean, and Russia. After a short, unsuccessful career as a law clerk, he began publishing poems in 1827 as well as a short story, "The Pirate," based on his younger brother's failed teenage romance with a woman named Sarah Elmira Royster. The two Poe brothers maintained a casual correspondence while growing up. For a time, they may have lived together with family in Baltimore as Edgar prepared for a stint at West Point. It is speculated that Henry struggled with alcoholism. He died of tuberculosis at age 24 and was buried in a family-owned plot near his grandfather. It remains unmarked.
