Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe
Virginia Poe, image created after her death.
Born	August 22, 1822 Baltimore, Maryland
Died	January 30, 1847 Fordham, New York
Spouse	Edgar Allan Poe

Virginia Eliza "Sissy" Clemm Poe (August 22, 1822 – January 30, 1847), born Virginia Eliza Clemm, was the wife of Edgar Allan Poe. She was the daughter of William Clemm, Jr. (1779-1826) and Maria Poe Clemm, the sister of Edgar's father David Poe Jr. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... 1822 (MDCCCXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Maryland. ... Nickname: Motto: The Greatest City in America,[4] Get in on it. ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_New_York. ... Fordham is a working class neighborhood in the New York City borough of The Bronx. ... Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American poet, short story writer, editor, critic and one of the leaders of the American Romantic Movement. ... is the 234th day of the year (235th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1822 (MDCCCXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American poet, short story writer, editor, critic and one of the leaders of the American Romantic Movement. ...

A man named William Gowans described Virginia as a woman of "matchless beauty and loveliness" with "a temper and disposition of surpassing sweetness"^[1]

Marriage

Virginia Clemm and Edgar Allan Poe, who were first cousins, were married by a Presbyterian minister, Rev. Amasa Converse, on May 16, 1836. Virginia was 13, though the two listed her age as 21, and Edgar was 27.^[2] Debate has raged regarding how unusual this pairing was; noted Poe biographer Arthur Hobson Quinn says the arrangement was not particularly unusual, nor was Edgar's nickname of "Sis" or "Sissy".^[3] May 16 is the 136th day of the year (137th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1836 (MDCCCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

They were by all accounts a happy and devoted couple. Poe's one-time employer George Rex Graham wrote of their relationship: "His love for his wife was a sort of rapturous worship of the spirit of beauty."^[4] George Rex Graham (1813-1894) was an entrepreneur and journalist from Philadelphia, most notable for the founding of Grahams Magazine. ...

Illness and death

However, Virginia developed tuberculosis, first seen in an incident some time in the middle of January, 1842. While singing and playing the piano, Virginia began to bleed from the mouth, "ruptured a blood-vessel," as Edgar described.^[5] Her health declined and she became an invalid, which drove Edgar into a deep depression, especially as she occasionally showed signs of improvement. In a letter to friend John Ingram, Edgar described his resulting mental state: "I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity."^[6] Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for tubercle bacillus) is a common and deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacteria, mainly Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

When the family (Edgar, Virginia, and her mother, Maria) moved to a cottage in Fordham, New York, Virginia was tended to by 25-year old Marie Louise Shew. Shew knew medical care from her father, a doctor. She actually provided Virginia with a comforter as her only other cover was Edgar's old military cloak.^[7] 19th century Cottages in the small hamlet of Crafton, Buckinghamshire In modern usage, a cottage is a dwelling, typically in a rural, or semi-rural location (although there are cottage-style dwellings in cities). ... Fordham is a working class neighborhood in the New York City borough of The Bronx. ... A comforter is a type of bedding— a soft flat bag used on a bed as a type of bed cover. ... Evening cloak or manteau, from Costume Parisien, 1823 A cloak is a type of loose garment that is worn over indoor clothing and serves the same purpose as an overcoat—it protects the wearer from the cold, rain or wind for example, or it may form part of a fashionable...

Memorial marker to Virginia Clemm, Maria Clemm, and Edgar Allan Poe in Baltimore, MD.

Virginia died on January 30, 1847 after five years of illness. Shew helped in organizing her funeral, even purchasing her coffin. Shew may have also painted the only image of Virginia, a water color done after her death.^[8] Image:Poes grave Baltimore MD.jpg - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Image:Poes grave Baltimore MD.jpg - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... An open casket A coffin (in North American English, also known as a casket, although the design is different - coffins taper towards the feet while caskets remain the same width) is a funerary box used in the display and containment of deceased remains -- either for burial or cremation. ...

Virginia was originally buried in a vault owned by the Valentine family, who also owned the Fordham cottage.^[9] In 1875, the cemetery in which she lay was destroyed and her remains were almost forgotten. An early Poe biographer, William Gill, gathered her bones and stored them in a box he hid under his bed. Virginia's remains were eventually reunited with her husband's in Westminster Hall and Burying Ground, with whom she now shares a large monument.^[10] A burial vault is a sturdy box designed to protect the coffin inside of it. ... 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Westminster Hall and Burying Ground, is located on the corner of Fayette and Greene Streets on the west side of downtown Baltimore. ...

References in literature

Edgar's love for Virginia, and the effect that her suffering and ultimate death had upon him, are reflected in his tragic poems "Annabel Lee" and "Ulalume", and possibly in the decline of his mental state in his last years. The short story "Eleonora" may also reference Virginia's illness, though it was published before her death. {NPOV} Annabel Lee is the last complete poem[1] composed by American author Edgar Allan Poe. ... Ulalume is a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1847. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Eleonora is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1842. ...

Notes

For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... is the 331st day of the year (332nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Hoffman, Daniel. Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe. Louisiana State University Press, 1972. ISBN 0684193701.
• Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. Cooper Square Press, 1992. ISBN 0684193701.
• Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson. The Literary History of Philadelphia. Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs & Co., 1906. ISBN 1932109455.
• Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. Harper Perennial, 1991. ISBN 0060923318.