Rosalie Mackenzie Poe, née Rosalie Poe, was the estranged sister of Edgar Allan Poe. Rosalie, born approximately December 1810 in Norfolk, Virginia, was the last of Elizabeth Arnold Poe’s children (Mabbott 520). There is debate who her father is, because David Poe, Eliza’s husband, had abandoned the family around the time Rosalie would have been conceived. There is speculation that John Howard Payne, a prominent fellow actor of the time, was Rosalie’s father; however these rumors remain as such—merely rumors. There is evidence that Eliza and Payne were both acting on the same stage around this ...
The Poe Museum Blog
Poe Museum’s Object of the Month Angered Poe’s Father
One night a theater critic answered his door to find an actor so angry over a review that he threatened the critic. The actor was a twenty-three year old David Poe, Jr. (1784-?), future father of Edgar Allan Poe. That review is the Poe Museum’s Object of the Month for June.
Although little is known of David Poe’s life, most of what is documented concerns his acting career. Several museums and libraries, including the Poe Museum, hold important collections of newspapers containing notices of his performances in major East Coast cities. These documents provide information about his ...
Poe Museum Aquires Important Sculpture
The Edgar Allan Poe Museum has recently acquired a life-sized statue of Edgar Allan Poe produced in 1957 by the artist Charles Rudy. The sculpture, which depicts a seated Poe holding a pen and paper, is Rudy’s plaster model for the bronze statue now in the Virginia State Capitol Square. This is the first full-length sculpture to enter the Poe Museum. The piece is a gift from the James A. Michener Art Museum in Honor of Lorraine Rudy.
According to Poe Museum Curator Chris Semtner, “This is a major addition to the Museum’s collection not only because it is one of a few full-length life-sized ...
Monday Marks Anniversary of Poe’s Enlistment
Like many businesses, the Poe Museum will be closed Monday in observance of Memorial Day to give our employees a chance to honor those brave men and women who died serving in the US Armed Forces. Monday will also be the 187th anniversary of Poe’s enlistment in the US Army, so this weekend is a great time to visit the Poe Museum to learn more about Poe’s military career. Active duty military will receive $1 off their admission to the Museum.
Poe enlisted in Boston on May 26, 1827, when he was eighteen. Seven months earlier, mounting debt had forced the young author to drop out of the ...