John P. Poe, Sr.

Who was John P. Poe, Sr.?

John Prentiss Poe, Sr. was Attorney General of the State of Maryland from 1891 to 1895. He was born in Baltimore, the son of Neilson Poe and wife Josephine Emily Clemm. Poe was the nephew of the poet Edgar Allan Poe through his mother, as well as a second cousin once removed. Poe's father was considered an enemy by Edgar Allan Poe, but contacted Poe after his sickness and helped with his burial.

John P. Poe attended Princeton University, graduating with the class of 1854. He married Anne Johnson Hough and had six sons and three daughters. All six sons played football for Princeton. Son Edgar Allan Poe served as state Attorney General from 1907 to 1911. Another son, John Prentiss "Johnny" Poe, Jr. coached at Navy and Virginia, and was killed in the Battle of Loos in World War I. Art Poe was selected to the College Football Hall of Fame, and Gresham Poe was head coach at Virginia.

John Poe, Sr. was a lawyer as well as a leading member of the Maryland Democratic Party, and served as Dean of the University of Maryland School of Law. He died in Ruxton, Baltimore County, October 14, 1909, and was buried in Baltimore's Green Mount Cemetery.