David Poe, Jr.
| David Poe Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 18, 1784 Baltimore, Maryland |
| Died | December 11, 1811 (aged 27) (disputed) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse(s) | Eliza Poe (1806-1811; her death) |
| Children |
William Henry Leonard Poe Edgar Allan Poe Rosalie Mackenzie Poe |
| Parents |
David Poe, Sr. Elizabeth Cairnes |
David Poe, Jr. (July 18, 1784 – December 11, 1811 (speculative)) was an American actor and the father of Edgar Allan Poe.
Biography
David Poe, Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland. His father, David Poe, Sr., was well known for his patriotic self-sacrifice as a quartermaster during the American Revolution, paying for supplies out of his own pocket, including $500 for clothing for the troops. Poe, Sr.'s commitment had earned the respect and friendship of the Marquis de la Fayette[1] and the honorary title of 'General'.[2] The younger David Poe, on the other hand, defied his family's wishes to become a lawyer and became an actor instead.
He fell in love with and married Elizabeth "Eliza" Arnold Hopkins, whose husband, Charles Hopkins, had died six months before. Poe was considered an inferior actor compared to his young wife.[3][4] One critic said of Eliza and David, "the lady was young and pretty, and evinced talent both as a singer and actress; the gentleman was literally nothing."[citation needed] David and Eliza's eldest child, William Henry Leonard Poe, was born on January 30, 1807 in Boston, Massachusetts, just nine months after their wedding.
After the birth of their second son Edgar in January 1809, the family ran low on money. David Jr., a hot-headed alcoholic, abandoned the stage and his family and disappeared from historical record. In David's absence, Eliza gave birth to a third child, a daughter named Rosalie, in December 1810.
According to author Susan Archer Talley Weiss, Poe died on December 11, 1811, only three days after Eliza's death.
Notes
- ↑ Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. New York: Harper Perennial, 1991: 25. ISBN 0-06-092331-8
- ↑ Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York: Cooper Square Press, 1992: 2. ISBN 0-8154-1038-7
- ↑ Mz Fish, 2009
- ↑ Christoffer Hallqvist (February 7, 2006). "Eliza". The Poe Decoder. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
References
- "Edgar Allan Poe". NNDB. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
- Mz Fish (October 8, 2009). "David Poe, Jr. (1784 - 1811)". Find A Grave. Retrieved March 13, 2011.