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Although
Richmond is the place Poe most considered home, Baltimore
defines
the beginning and the end of his life. Born while his parents, both
actors,
were traveling in Boston, his family roots were firmly set in the soil
of Baltimore and here his mortal remains rest for eternity. His
great-grandfather,
John Poe, established the Poe clan in Baltimore in 1755, only a year
before
his death. Poe's grandparents, David and Elizabeth Cairnes Poe, raised
seven children and achieved here a place of prominence if not wealth
through
patriotism, hard work and community service.
When asked about his origins, Poe was fond of saying that he
was a
Virginian
gentleman, but it was in Baltimore that Poe sought refuge when he had
feuded
with his foster father, John Allan, and was compelled to leave the
house.
It was in Baltimore that Poe found his future wife, Virginia Eliza
Clemm,
and in Baltimore that he placed his feet on the first steps of what
would
be his career for the next 17 years. Perhaps most revealing, when asked
for the place of his birth, Poe turned his back on Boston and claimed
Baltimore
instead.
It was most likely in Baltimore that Poe began his
transformation
from
a poet to a writer of imaginative short stories. By 1831, Poe had
published
three collections of his poems, with little financial and only minor
critical
success. Although poetry clearly was and would remain his first love,
it
seemed obvious that Poe would need to expand his bag of tricks if he
hoped
to make a living as a writer. In 1827, Poe's brother, William Henry
Leonard
Poe, published in the Baltimore North American a fictional
narrative
titled "The Pirate." (Henry, as he was always called, lived most of his
short life in Baltimore and published a number of poems and other
pieces
in the Baltimore North American. For a time, Henry appears to
have
been employed as a sailor, possibly the inspiration for Poe's Narrative
of Arthur Gordon Pym.) Perhaps encouraged by his brother's apparent
success, Poe began to write stories. By 1833, Edgar had written eleven
prose extravaganzas he hoped to publish as a set under the title "Tales
From the Folio Club."
In October of 1833, he made an important friendship with John
Pendleton
Kennedy, who recommended Poe to his friend Thomas W. White. White, the
owner and editor of the Southern Literary Messenger, was eager
for
some assistance in dealing with what he had found to be the
increasingly
onerous responsibilities of running a magazine. Poe left Baltimore for
Richmond, Virginia in August of 1835. He never again made a home in
Baltimore,
but thought fondly of it and often passed through on business and to
visit
family and friends. The last of these trips was in September and
October
of 1849. Much speculation has been written about his final days and
everything
from alcoholism to rabies has been offered as the cause for his
mysterious death at the age of
40. His
remains were
placed
in lot 27, near those of his grandparents and his brother in the
Westminster
Burying Ground at Fayette and Greene Streets.
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