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February
2
A Long Delayed
Burial:
The Two Graves of Edgar Allan
Poe
The
unmarked grave of
Edgar Allan Poe
was a particularly
sad and nearly forgotten
plot in the Westminster
Cemetery of Baltimore
for a quarter of
a century. The author
had been en route
to New York from
Richmond when he
became ill and died,
and he was buried
on the next day
with his cousin
Neilson Poe and
a only a few others
at the graveside.
Ten years later,
Poe's aunt Maria
Clemm prevailed
upon Neilson Poe
to purchase a gravestone,
but it was broken
accidentally before
transport to the
cemetery and another
was not made to
replace it.
At last in 1865,
a teacher by the
name of Sara Sigourney
Rice began a campaign
to raise money for
the building of
a worthy monument.
Ten years later,
the collected pennies
of school children
and the offerings
of many admirers
purchased the memorial
stone seen today.
Poe's remains were
reinterred, now
located at the corner
of the cemetery
beside an entry
gate. The memorial
gathering included
Walt Whitman and
letters of appreciation
sent by Tennyson
and Longfellow were
read during ceremonies.
The
cause of Poe's death
has never been determined,
and no death certificate
has ever been found.
Possible causes include
heart failure, tuberculosis,
rabies, opium or alcohol
abuse or injuries
from unknown causes.
Poe suffered seisures
and lapsed into delerium
for 4 days before
he died.
The Temperance Movement
was quick to associate
Poe with the evils
of alcohol in the
days following his
death and did much
to paint him as a
pathetic figure.
The
last photograph
of Poe months
before his
death
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