James McHenry (novelist)
James McHenry (December 20, 1785 – July 21, 1845) was an Irish-American writer, medical doctor, and diplomat.[1]
Biography
[edit]He was born at Larne, Ireland and was educated in Dublin and Glasgow. He studied theology and medicine and practised as a doctor in Larne.[1]
He published his first book of poetry in 1808 and married in 1811.[1]
In 1817 he emigrated to the United States and lived in Baltimore and Pennsylvania, where he practiced medicine and continued to write.[1] The family settled in Philadelphia in 1823.[2]
He published under his own name, and as ‘Solomon Secondsight’; he wrote popular novels as well as poetry, reviews, and a play.[3] He also edited the American Monthly Magazine.[4]
In 1825, he and his wife opened a shop which sold Irish fabrics, such as linen and silk.[2]
On 28 October 1828, he became a nationalised citizen of the United States.[2] He was involved in politics and supported Andrew Jackson on his first presidential campaign, but campaigned against his re-election.[2] He was appointed in 1842 as United States counsel at Derry, and he returned to Ireland in this role.[1]
He died at Larne, on 21 July 1845.[5] He is buried at St. Cedma’s graveyard, Larne.[1]
Family
[edit]In 1811 he married Jane Robinson and they had five children.[3]
His son James, who died in 1891 at Kensington, was a well-known financier.[2] His daughter Mary married Mr. J. Bellargee Cox of Philadelphia.[5]
A historical plaque was unveiled in Larne in 2023.[6]
Works
[edit]- 1808. The Bard of Erin and Other Poems Mostly National. [3]
- 1810. Patrick: A Poetical Tale Founded on Incidents Which Took Place in Ireland During the Unhappy Period of 1793. [3]
- 1822. The Pleasures of Friendship: A Poem in Two Parts. [3]
- 1823. Waltham: An American Revolutionary Tale in Three Cantos. [3]
- 1823. The Wilderness; or, Braddock's Times: A Tale of the West. (as Solomon Secondsight) [1]
- 1823. The Spectre of the Forest; or, Annals of the Housatonic, A New-England Romance. (as Solomon Secondsight) [1]
- 1824. O'Halloran; or, the Insurgent Chief: An Irish Historical Tale of 1798. [1]
- 1825. The Hearts of Steel: An Irish Historical Tale of the Last Century. [1]
- 1829. The Usurper: An Historical Tragedy in Five Acts. [3]
- 1830. The Betrothed of Wyoming: An Historical Tale. [2]
- 1831. Meredith; or, The Mystery of the Meschianza: A Tale of the American Revolution. [2]
- 1839. To Britannia.
- 1839. The Antediluvians; or, The World Destroyed: A Narrative Poem in Ten Books. [1]
Notes
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Chamberlain-King, Reggie (2020). "Dr. James McHenry (1785-1845)". JStor. The Green Book: Writings on Irish Gothic, Supernatural and Fantastic Literature, no. 16, pp. 15–26. Retrieved September 13, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Jones, Stefanie P. (October 2009). "McHenry, James". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved August 20, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Jackson, Heather. "McHenry, James (1785-1845)". University of Toronto. Retrieved September 13, 2026.
- ↑ "McHenry, J". Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
- 1 2 Hamilton 1893.
- ↑ "Dr. James McHenry (1785-1845)". Ulster History Circle. Retrieved September 13, 2026.
References
[edit]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Hamilton, Thomas (1893). "McHenry, James". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 35. London: Smith, Elder & Co. - Blanc, Robert E. (1939). James McHenry (1785–1845) Playwright and novelist. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania.
- Sullivan, Maureen Ann. (1999). "James McHenry (20 December 1785-21 July 1845)." In K. P. Ljungquist (Ed.), Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 202. Nineteenth-Century American Fiction Writers (Vol. 202, pp. 185–190). Detroit, MI: Gale.
External links
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