Anne Bradstreet wrote the poem "Here follow some lines concerning the burning of our house, July 10, 1666," also known as "Verses upon the Burning of our House." She penned it to convey her grief over the terrible loss of her house and most of her belongings. The poem was published in April 1667. Bradstreet was born on March 2nd, 1612 in Boston, Massachusetts. Her father was a prosperous merchant and his death when she was eleven years old left her mother to raise her siblings. Although she had some education, she spent most of her time helping her mother with domestic duties. She married at age twenty-one without ever having been married before. One son was born of this marriage, which ended in divorce after three years. In August 1640, when Anne was nineteen years old, her father died and her family's financial situation worsened due to high taxes. To make matters worse, the town government took away half of their property value. This incident caused her to lose all hope that things would get better and she decided to move to Rhode Island where her brother lived. There she hoped to find a good job and provide for herself and her family. But first, she needed to get her husband's approval for the move. He did not want her to go but could not oppose her decision because he respected her wishes.