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By Root 2760 0

John Ward Ostrom’s edition of Poe’s letters, and the compilation of the Poe Log by David K. Jackson and Dwight Thomas, as well as the definitive edition of Poe’s collected writings by T. O. Mabbott and Burton R. Pollin, have marked important milestones in scholarship, while critical studies of the past seventy-five years have enriched and complicated the appraisal of Poe’s work. Derogation of Poe’s achievements by such luminaries as Henry James, T. S. Eliot, and Aldous Huxley as well as Poe’s exclusion from several studies of the so-called American renaissance have underscored his problematic status. Yet he remains irresistibly compelling, the undying appeal of his strange tales and poems testifying to his enduring international significance.

Chronology

1809 Born in Boston to actors David Poe and Elizabeth Arnold Poe. Father born in Baltimore, son of Irish-born emigrant David Poe, Sr., American quartermaster during the Revolutionary War. English-born mother came to United States in 1796; wedded David Poe in 1805. Older brother William Henry Leonard Poe born in 1807.

1811 Mother dies of tuberculosis in Richmond, one year after birth of daughter, Rosalie. Father had abandoned family; likely died of tuberculosis in 1811. Richmond merchant John Allan and wife Frances become foster parents of Edgar; grandparents in Baltimore care for brother Henry, while Mackenzie family of Richmond welcomes Rosalie.

1815 Accompanies John and Frances Allan to England, where Allan opens a branch of his mercantile firm, Ellis and Allan, in London. Edgar visits Allan family relatives in Scotland and the following year enters boarding school in London as “Edgar Allan.”

1816 Paternal grandfather David Poe, Sr., dies in Baltimore.

1818 Enters Reverend Bransby’s Manor House School in Stoke Newington.

1820 Economic reverses compel Allan to close his London branch and return with family to Richmond, where Poe enrolls in Richmond Academy using his family name.

1822 Composes an ode for departing teacher, Joseph H. Clarke; cousin Virginia Clemm born in Baltimore.

1823 Enters William Burke’s school; meets Jane Stith Stanard, mother of a friend.

1824 Mourns death of Mrs. Stanard; makes six-mile swim in James River.

1825 Allan inherits a fortune, purchases a Richmond mansion; Poe becomes engaged to Sarah Elmira Royster.

1826 Enters University of Virginia; excels academically but incurs gambling debts; returns to Richmond, where Mr. Royster forbids daughter’s marriage to Poe.

1827 Quarrels with Allan and leaves home; sails to Boston under an alias; enlists in U.S. Army as Edgar A. Perry. Calvin F. S. Thomas publishes Tamerlane and Other Poems; Poe sails to South Carolina for duty at Fort Moultrie.

1828 Seeks release from army commitment; Elmira Royster marries Alexander Shelton; Poe and his unit relocate to Fortress Monroe, Virginia.

1829 Receives promotion to sergeant major and plans to seek appointment to West Point. Foster mother, Frances Allan, dies in Richmond. Poe hires military replacement and receives honorable discharge; moves to Baltimore, lodges at hotels and with relatives, seeks publisher for new poetry volume. Hatch and Dunning publish Poe’s Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems.

1830 Receives appointment to U.S. Military Academy; excels in French and mathematics. John Allan remarries, leaves New York without contacting Poe, forbids further communication.

1831 Devastated by Allan’s rejection, Poe neglects military duties, faces court-martial, receives dismissal. Finds New York publisher for third volume of verse; Elam Bliss issues Poems, purchased by 131 cadets. Poe moves to Baltimore, takes up residence with grandmother and aunt, writes tales in response to newspaper contest. Brother William Henry Leonard Poe dies of consumption. John Allan, Jr., born in Richmond. Baltimore beset by cholera epidemic; Poe experiences long illness. Delia S. Bacon wins Saturday Courier contest.

1832 Philadelphia Saturday Courier publishes “Metzengerstein” and four more tales by Poe. John Allan, in failing health, revises his will. Second Allan