William Henry Poole (1820 – August 7, 1896) was an Irish-born Methodist minister and proponent of

British Israelism British Israelism (also called Anglo-Israelism) is the British nationalist, pseudoarchaeological, pseudohistorical and pseudoreligious belief that the people of Great Britain are "genetically, racially, and linguistically the direct descendant ...

known for his 1889 book ''Anglo-Israel: or the Saxon Race Proved to be the Lost Tribes of Israel''.

Biography

Poole was born in Ireland and moved to Canada. His book was originally presented as the first in a series of nine lectures and later published in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada beginning in 1879 under the title ''Anglo-Israel; or, The British Nation the Lost Tribes of Israel''. It was republished in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

during 1880 with the new title replacing "British nation" with "Saxon Race". The book drew on earlier arguments published by

Edward Hine Edward Hine (10 February 1825 – 15 October 1891) was an influential proponent of British Israelism in the 1870s and 1880s, drawing on the earlier work of Richard Brothers (1794) and John Wilson (1840). Hine went as far as to conclude that "It i ...

, adding new arguments on linguistic grounds that the original

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

were among the

lost tribes of Israel The ten lost tribes were the ten of the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel after its conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire BCE. These are the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Ashe ...

. The work was widely circulated. In reaction to his speculations, which also suggested that the Irish Catholics were the remnants of the Canaanites, Dr Poole was expelled from the Methodist Church in Canada. He relocated to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

where he became a Methodist Episcopalian.''Michigan, Wills and Probate Records, 1784-1980'' He died from apoplexy on August 7, 1896. He was buried in Albury Cemetery in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada.

References

Canadian Christian religious leaders British Israelism 1896 deaths 1820 births {{Canada-writer-stub