Why was Poe's brother,William given to his grandparents to raise?

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Why was Poe's brother William given to thier grandparents to raise?

-- Anonymous, November 22, 2000

Answers

Candice,

As the story goes, their father David had abandoned the family some months prior to the death of their mother, Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe in Richmond, Virginia. However, there is some historical accounts that indicate David Poe, Edgar's father, died two days after his wife in Norfolk on December 10, 1811.

David Poe's father, General David Poe, Sr. was retired and received a small pension from the military for his participation in the Revolutionary War. Living with his wife in Baltimore, Edgar's grandfather and grandmother were, most likely, unable to care for all three children and it may have been simply practical to place the oldest of the Poe children with the grandparents.

William Henry (Leonard) Poe would have been 5 years old on January 30, 1812, just a few weeks after his mother's death. There is not much information available on the health conditions of Edgar's grandparents in 1811, however, David Poe, Sr. was sixty-nine years old and his wife, Elizabeth Cairnes Poe was fifty-five. Their ability to properly care for an 11 month old infant (Rosalie), a toddler (Edgar), and a 5 year old child (Henry) may have exceeded their ability. In fact, David Poe, Sr. died five years later on October 17, 1816. By accepting William into their home, they may have felt better able to cope with the older child. Rosalie was taken in by the Richmond family of Mr. And Mrs. William Mackenzie and Edgar was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Richmond.

Actually, this scenario was not at all unique in 19th century America. English, Irish and German immigrants often brought some illness with them to eastern ports that caused outbreaks of one kind or another. Cholera, influenza and typhus are a few of the epidemics that made the rounds of New England and the mid-west during this period. While it may not have been an everyday occurrence, the frequent epidemics of this period could have easily resulted in these conditions and circumstances anywhere in the eastern, mid western and southern United States.

Regards,

-- Anonymous, November 22, 2000


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