Author: McHenry, James
Biography:
MCHENRY, James (1785-1845: ANBO)
He published sometimes under other names or variant spellings of McHenry--M'Henry, MacHenry, Solomon Second-Sight--and frequently as "Dr" McHenry though his medical training appears to have been mostly practical and there is no evidence of his ever having taken a degree. Born to Mary (Smiley) and George McHenry in Larne in Ireland, he suffered from a spinal deformity that made him hump-backed, but he had versatile talents. He published poetry on Irish themes from both Belfast and Glasgow early on. In 1811 he married Jane Robinson; they lived at first in Belfast, where he practised medicine, and eventually had a family of five children. In 1816 they emigrated to America. By 1823 they were settled in Philadelphia, where McHenry worked as a draper, doctor, and politician. He produced popular novels as well as poetry and reviews, founded a short-lived literary magazine, and flirted with writing for the stage. An epic poem on the Flood (Antediluvians, 1839) was condemned by critics on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1843 he returned to Ireland where he served in the Londonderry consulate. He died in Larne. (ANBO 28 Dec. 2019; WorldCat)