Overview
Timelines
Themes of Mystery and the Macabre
Overview and main events
Education and Military Service
Early Life and Family
Literary Career
Legacy and Impact
Influence on Detective Fiction
Financial Struggles and Personal Instability
Editorial and Critical Career
Personal Relationships and Marriages
Themes of Death and Loss
Chronicle
Articles
Edgar Allan Poe. Personal Relationships and Marriages
Personal Relationships and Marriages
This timeline focuses on Poe's personal relationships, including his marriages and engagements, which played a significant role in his life and work.
May 16, 1836
Marriage to Virginia Clemm
Poe marries his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm, in Richmond, Virginia. They move to New York and later to Philadelphia.
January 30, 1847
Death of Virginia Clemm
Virginia Clemm dies of tuberculosis at their home in the Bronx, leading Poe into a period of deep grief and alcoholism.
November 1848
Engagement to Sarah Helen Whitman
Poe proposes to poet Sarah Helen Whitman, but the engagement is called off due to his inability to quit drinking.
August 1849
Engagement to Elmira Royster Shelton
Poe becomes engaged to his childhood sweetheart, Elmira Royster Shelton, and vows to quit drinking.
