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Edgar Poe (the Allan came later) was born 19 January 1809 in Boston to Elizabeth Arnold Poe and David Poe, Jr. His parents were traveling actors. The family was dirt poor. (Shmoop.)
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The family was dirt poor. By 1811, his father had abandoned the family, leaving Elizabeth Poe alone with two-year-old Edgar, his elder brother Henry, and his infant sister Rosalie.
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Edgar was taken in by the family of John and Frances Allan, a well-to-do Richmond couple unable to have children of their own. He added his foster family's name to his own, becoming Edgar Allan Poe.
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Poe penned his first poem: "Last night, with many cares & toils oppres'd,/ Weary, I laid me on a couch to rest."
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In 1827, Poe enlisted in the U.S. Army under the name "Edgar A. Perry."
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Poe published his second book of poetry, Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems.
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Poe got the answer he wanted; the two cousins were married in Richmond, Virginia on 16 May 1836. Some have speculated that Edgar and Virginia Poe had an unusual relationship that was more like brother and sister than a married couple, even that their marriage was never consummated. But everyone who saw them together noted that they seemed loving and affectionate with one another. happy one.
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In 1837, Poe moved his family (which consisted of Virginia and her mother Maria Clemm, who lived with the couple) to Philadelphia.
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He was taken to a hospital, where he spent four delirious days before perishing on 7 October 1849. He was 40 years old.
(Shmoop.)
