Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-10-08


luton. and was a resident Of Baltimore
at the time OF the birth of his son,
David Poe. Jr.. father Of tho poet. His
mother. whose maiden name was Eliza
beth Arnold. was probably native Of
England. as her mother, an Engllsh
actress. made her first appearance on the
American stage at Boston in 1926. she
was a widow at the time Of her mar
rage 20 David Poe. Jr.. her first husband
having been an actor named HcpHiuss,
David Poe, Jr.. was a lawyers clerk IN
Baltimore at the time Of his elopement
and marriage with the young woo"
actress. the ceremony having beeh per
formed probably either at NortolK or
Charleston about 1875 lie thereafter fol-
lowed the stage
BORN IN BOSTON.
Edgar. their second child. was born at
Boston January 49, 1893. where his parents
were then playing with the STOCK COM
pany at the Fedcral-Sireet Iheatre. lhey
we're both members OF hr. PIac,ae toil,
pany PLAYING at the Richmond Theatre ~
1911 His father Is said 10 have qled OF
oonsumption at Richmond early IN oil
and his mother died there on SUNDAY De
cember g. 1911. little more than iOrI-
night before the fearfully ialai ilrs Mi, ncI
dostroved the theatre building. when oc-
cupied the site of the present Monument
TAI church. She left three orphan emil
dren-William. the eldest, was caIeu ipI
by relatives at Baltimore; Rosahe: ult
YOUNGEST was taken into the family OF
William Mactensie. a Scotch merchant,
who then resided in small frame over
snp- house on the south side OF Main
street about sixty feet west OF lhe III
tersection Of Seventh street; Edsa, thsn
not quite 2 years old, was taken py ulS
wife OF John Allan. another scotch nler'
chant. Her maiden name was Valentine
aud she was a native Of Virginia. az
,yas quite common with the merchants OF
Richmond of that date. they RESIDED II
1871 over MIR. Allan's store Wnlcn w.
street and Tobacco alley. ana ms We
their home for about four years there-
after The paralysis OF trade constquenl
uDon the second war with Great bIilaIn
made "a necessary for MI Alian TO ttsit
ENGLAND ard cndeaVOr 10 Ie-est".p iiSH
trade connections. MI and Mrs: AIan
4.rd tho nearly 7-vear-Qld orphan ieit l"i
Fnal9nd In 1915. and the next year, uhoeI
he name OF Edgar Allan, ne place.
al tho school Of the Row. DIT bTanShN III
ctoiro NewinCton. then some distance out
lnt NOW in the city Of LONDON mere 10
.--,. -.d until the return Of the Allans 10
picirond. i'm August, ]h1o. the vacation
.,ariefe hcing spent with the foster pa
,.,,ts Gan England and probably ia an oc-
coeiopal pleasure trip on the continent
For Some zine after their return 10 Rlch-
nord trav made their home with Mr.
Allan's business partner. Charles Eiis'
ST. who then resided on me souln slue
of Franklin street west OF the lnterscc-
ton of Second street. From 1871 to lez9
poe attended the grammar ana ciasslGh
school in Richmond. taught nIs' ny ~
eoDh II Clarke and Afterwards DE VII
liam burke and there is commun cauon
sin preserved iu the Governors Office re-
Iatiye to eouipme0t for the boy military
c0mDapv knOvr he Richmond junior
Volunteers. sigrcl by him as heuienani
in 1924 when he was not YET ~ years u-u.
Il li.Hn ON
street. beyond ST James church. was lhe
bOmc Of the Allans in these school-boy
DAYS. and must always be regarded as
Poe's boyhood home at Richmond.
ALLAN HOUSE on FIFTH STREET.
The death in 1876 Of William Gait Il
Scotchman. who had come 10 klchmOna
about the time Of the removal OF the seat
of government hence from Williamsburg.
and had IN the space OF less than nan
century amassed in trade q fortune OF
over million dollars. was a stroke ol
great good fortune for his nephew, JOhh
Allan. who inherited nearly one third OF
his estate. With a part Of his inheritance
he promptly bought from the executors
Of Joseph CALICO, the mill-owner, the
handsome and costly residence which
had been built thirty years before 10y
David Meade Randolph. and which until
recent years stood on the southeast cor
ner of Main and Fifth streets. Removing
TO this house from the modest dwelling
on north FllNn street III iilf IAN u lo-'r
il could have been occupied by Poe Tor
probably not exceeding six months, as IN
the next year. on February IA. 1926, he
matTiculated at the University Of Viz
ginia, where he remained until the close
of that session. and from which he was
not expelled. as stated by Griswold. but
where ne is said to have occupied No. -
West Range. and where the records still
show that he was among those who Eek
celled' in the senior classes in Latin and
French.
QUITS HIS BENEFACTORS.
Very shortly after his return from the
ersity TO Richmond he quilted for
the home Of the Allans. one reason
..lened for this action was the unwilling
ness of the "canny ScOtchman" 10 dis
charge his indebtedness for losses at
cards at the University. and which the
then lS-year-old regarded as debts of
honor-anOther explanation sometimes
urged has TO do with an intercepted cor
respondence with Sarah Elmira Register,
daughter of a neighbOr, who had just be-
fore his return married a Mr. Shelton.
Journeying northward Poe appears al
Boston on May 26. 1921. where he enlisted
as a private in the United States army
under the name Of Edgar Perry, and
where i'm that year he procured the publ
cation Of "Tamerlane and Other Poems"
an insignificant forty pages about the size
OF a small almanac, single copy OF which
has in recent years sold for as much as
N-.rNt
he was assigned for duty, after some time
spent IN Boston harb1r. was some time
stationed at Fort MOultrie, S. c., and
subsequently at Fortress Monroe where
on April 10. 1922. after nearly two years
service a. substitute was provided and
his discharge was secured From this
date until July !. 1890 when he entered
the Military Academy at West Point. he
resided with relatives at Baltimore, where
I'm 1929 his second book. "Al Aaraaf" was
published. At Yves. Point he occupied
No. 2S South Barracks. Mr. Allan on
October ). 1880, married second wife,
the first wife having died on February
% 1919 The second wife was only about
Jersey and Poe. probably giving up all
hone OF inheritance from his foster
father, deliberately acted so rs TO pro-
cure his expulsion from the Academy on
March T. 1881. In that year he secured.
very largely through the subscriptions OF
his fellow cadets volume of Poems"
New York. 1881. For part OF the period
between his departure from West Point
and his removal 10 hchlnond, IN Decem-
her. 1855. when he became editor OF the
Southern Literary Messenger. very little
is known OF his life. The most OF the time
he unquestionably spent with relatives
nj baltimore He married at Richmond
Nav i6 1886 his cousin, Virginia GLENN.
REMOVAL FROM RICHMOND.
His connection with the Messenger was
severed i'm January. 1881. and he removed
10 New York Published there OS3N
arthur Gordon Pym." Removed in that
wear TO philadelphia: edited the Gentle
mans Magazine. published there QSO
"Conchoicgist's First Book and In 1870
two volumes OF Tales of the Grotesque
and Arabesque" Returned TO New York
i'm 1874: employed there successfully on
the Evening Mirror and the Broadway
Journal. Published there in 1915 '"The
Raven and Other Poems" In 1876 re-
moved TO FOrdham, north Of New York
citv. and his wife died there January 80.
1917. Eureka" published Ia New York
I'm 1875. and Richmond revisited by him