"The little-known secrets behind the men & women who shaped America"

Famed Writer Kicked Out of West Point, Marries Cousin

By Paul Niemann

[January 24, 2008]  One of the great writers in American history was born in Boston in 1809. His name was Ed and he was raised by a wealthy Virginia couple named John and Frances Allan. John was a merchant who dealt in tobacco, cloth, wheat and even slaves, while Frances was a housewife.

Ed's parents did not give him a middle name; in fact, many Americans did not have middle names back then. A quick check shows that 21 of the first 31 United States presidents did not have middle names either.

Just to place his time in historical perspective, he attended the University of Virginia in 1826, which was just one year after it opened. After ringing up some gambling debts in his one year in college, he dropped out and joined the Army.

After nearly two years in the Army, he managed to get a discharge and then enlisted in West Point. At this point, he had already written two books by age 20.

Ed then got himself kicked out of West Point. He deliberately got court-martialed so he could leave. He battled alcohol throughout much of his adult life, with the alcohol winning many of those battles.

He married his first cousin, Virginia Clemm, when she was just 13. Kinda reminds me of a horse I used to own whose father was also her uncle; the horse's father was "Uncle Dad" to her.

Ed became one of the main writers of his era, a pioneer of detective stories and science fiction. He was one of the first writers to try to make a living entirely from his writings.

But his best-known work, which he named after a bird, earned him only $9, yet it brought him fame and popularity as a writer. Despite being an elite writer who made a huge impact on America's literary history, Ed never made the kind of money that today's top writers make.

Ed Allan, or Edgar as he was called, despite not being given a middle name by his parents, really did have a middle name. Both of his biological parents died when he was just 3 years old, and John and Frances Allan were Edgar's foster parents. They gave him their last name to use as his middle name, and he kept his parents' last name. You know him as Edgar Allan Poe.

And what well-known poem about a bird earned him only $9?

"The Raven."

Then when are we going to see another story about Edgar Allan Poe in this column?

Nevermore.

[By PAUL NIEMANN]

Paul Niemann may be reached at [e-mail].

Copyright Paul Niemann 2008

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