Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston Massachusetts. His father abandoned the family when Poe was still quite young and soon after, Edgar’s mother passed away. Joe and Frances Allan adopted Edgar and lived in Richmond, Virginia. Poe is considered one of the earliest American short story writers and is credited as the first detective-fiction genre writer.

     In 1835 Edgar married Virginia Clemm, also his cousin which of course wasn’t a rarity in the 19th century. Sadly Virginia contracted tuberculosis and passed away in 1842. It was in New York City where she and Edgar stayed until her death at the family’s cottage which is located in the Fordham section of the Bronx. The cottage still stands today and is preserved by the Bronx County Historical Society ( my own trip to the cottage is still pending so these photo’s are from the web!)

     It was in this cottage where Poe wrote Annabel Lee and Ulalume. According to Wikipedia, Poe’s short story Landor’s Cottage was inspired by the small and quaint cottage. The cottage was small but had a charm to it that attracted Poe and wife Virginia and Maria, Virginia’s mother who also took care of her daughter while sick.