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Poetry. Prose. Poes.
Tuesday, March 19, 2019 at 12:44AM 
I promised to tell you what I did for my birthday -- after the first wave of parties, on which I've already reported.
Well here you go: TG took me to Baltimore, to visit the grave of Edgar Allan Poe.
That's me (the first picture -- not the second) on the afternoon of my birthday, paying my respects to the author of The Raven.
It may not seem like much to you, but to me it was a big deal.
I mean, consider that my car -- a black Cadillac -- is nicknamed The Raven. Its license plate is NVRMORE. And there's a stuffed raven in the back window. Which shall be lifted nevermore!
(Although, said raven was lifted out so as to receive a sprucing up via spray-painting before we left South Carolina bound for Virginia and Maryland.)
(He'd faded in the South Carolina sun. Yes; TG taped over his eyes and beak so as to leave them shiny.)
And so it was that, on the day before my birthday, we set out for Richmond, Virginia.
There's a historic cemetery in Richmond that I'd wanted to visit for many years. Three presidents are buried there. I'll tell you about that on another day, and show you many pictures.
On my birthday we had a leisurely morning and then continued on to Baltimore, arriving there at around four in the afternoon.
We went straight to Poe's grave, even before checking in to our hotel.
TG let me out at the curb because traffic was heavy, and went to find a parking spot, which took longer than either of us would have liked.
It was extremely cold and windy. I was not dressed warmly enough so, after spending about fifteen minutes with EAP, I began walking quickly around, taking pictures.
The Gothic Revival Westminster Hall was once a Presbyterian church; now the building is used only for secular purposes. The Burying Ground, which surrounds it, is meticulously maintained.
There are some late eighteenth-century graves as well as many from the early part of the nineteenth century.
The graves wrap all the way around the church and even continue in a crawl space under a breezeway, where I was bent nearly double in order to take a few pictures. For you!
Not to worry; it was well-lit because it goes all the way through to the front of the church.
Where there are yet more graves.
Edgar Allan Poe's grave and monument is situated directly inside an ornate black wrought iron gate, just a few feet from the corner of Fayette and Greene Streets in downtown Baltimore.
He is flanked by his mother-in-law, Maria Poe Clemm (who was also his aunt) and his wife, Virginia Clemm Poe (who was also his cousin). Their epitaphs appear on the sides of his monument.
They're three Poes in a pod.
Edgar Allan Poe died at the age of forty, in October of 1849. Virginia predeceased him in January of 1847, at the age of twenty-four. She died of tuberculosis; the exact cause of Poe's demise remains a mystery.
Less than a week after Poe collapsed on Lombard Street in Baltimore and was taken to the Washington Medical College, where he died after four days of fever and delirium, he was placed in an unmarked grave in the rear of Westminster Presbyterian Church, about a hundred yards from where he is now interred.
He lay in that grave from 1849 until 1875, when concerned citizens who had labored for twelve years to raise the money for a new and better resting place and a monument befitting his stature, moved Poe to the front of the burying ground.
On Poe's otherwise flawless monument, the wrong date is given for his birth -- it's January 19, 1809, but is listed as January 20.
Later, a proper stone was placed on a plot that purports to be Poe's original burial site. It lists the date when he was placed in that grave two days after his death, until the date his remains were moved to his new seat on the front row.
Also in the cemetery are many of Poe's relatives other than his mother-in-law and wife, including his brother, William Henry Leonard Poe (also a writer), and his grandfather, David Poe, Sr.
What a treat it was to spend an hour among them, and others whose lives are commemorated there.
There's lots more to tell about our trip, but I'll save it for another day.
And that is all for now.
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Happy Tuesday
Reader Comments (12)
This is incredible! There is something awe inspiring about walking through these old cemeteries, and seeing the stones, cracked and tilted but beautiful in their own way.
Poe's stone is a beauty, but isn't it crazy that they got that date wrong?
I greatly enjoyed wandering here with you. Thanks for the effort you put forth in taking these photos for us!
And thanks to TG for taking you on a getaway that was perfect for you!
@Mari ... it was truly unforgettable! xoxo
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Edgar Allen Poe. When I was a teenager I could recite The Raven by heart..haven't tried it in years but just did the first couple of verses. Oh- his writings, too!!!
That is fascinating about his death and burial. I didn't know he had been interred and then dug up and moved to another gravesite. That is really interesting..
Have a wonderful night- xo Diana
Oh my goodness...that poor J.B. Headstone...so sad...no grass, no flowers...🥺
Love all the photos Miss Jenny!! You’re so pretty!!♥️
Hughugs
We lived in Bel Air and had a school in Perry Hall for a few years. We spent many weekends at Inner Harbor. It is a cool place.
But, you, my lady, are beautiful!! I love your glasses and your outfit. You look very cool in that cool place. (literally)
What atmospheric photos. I'm not sure I'd feel safe walking in a Baltimore graveyard alone. I visited Baltimore occasionally when we had a condo in MD (many years ago). Does Poe's Raven on his tombstone have a broken beak? I hope it wasn't vandalized. These are very old graves - my favorite kind to photograph. Glad you and your personal raven had a dream come true birthday.
PS I meant to also say - I love the hound resting - waiting for its master? Also, you look beautiful.
@Diana ... yaaaaay for Poe and The Raven! xoxo
@Donna ... thank you my friend! Yes it was sad to see someone so long forgotten. It's cool that his stone is still holding its own, though! xoxo
@Cheryl ... haaahahaa thank you my beautiful friend! I was COLD like absolutely freezing. The only thing that kept me going was thinking I'M HERE! I'M ACTUALLY HERE! ... that and, I knew that soon enough I'd be cozy in our hotel room! Yes the inner harbor is very cool. We visited it many years ago when we took the kids to the aquarium there. This time we toured Oriole Park at Camden Yards! xoxo
@Barb ... awwww you are too kind. That is actually a marble lamb atop a cross on the grave of a little lass named Sophie. He's been there for so long, he looks as though he is melting. SO many lambs on children's graves in the old days. It's so poignant. Yes Poe's raven on that first headstone (actually it was added in the early 1900s, long long after Poe had been moved to his present grave) is missing the end of his beak! As for Baltimore, I would never walk on the streets alone but I felt perfectly safe in the graveyard. I keep my wits about me at all times. When I have a chance to get those shots, it's a reward that's worth the risk! But wow ... I was not prepared for how rundown that city is. It's very sad. xoxo
Yes - now I see the hoof on the lamb. I did like the idea of a hound though...
@Barb ... Well, hold that thought because on the way to Baltimore, we visited a cemetery that is known for hounds on graves! Stay tuned. xoxo
I LOVE THIS! Now here is where we share a truly great interest, my friend. As a genealogist/family historian, I love all things cemetery. Jerry and I hve shared three decades of walking cemeteries, both for research and just to see who's there. Reading the names and dates, sometimes more details if there are any, and thinking about the lives they led. Poe was my all-time favorite in high school and I did an essay on him (I got an A+ don'tcha know!). I could recite "The Raven" back then from memory without a hitch ... meh, not so much now lol. My favorite place to take photos? Cemeteries! I very much enjoyed learning about Poe and his family, thank you for sharing all of these wonderful details!
Three Poes in a pod ... good one!! 🤣
Blessings!
@Diana ... wow, we must be long-lost sisters! I am a card-carrying taphophile. TG and I have traveled thousands of miles and spent hundreds of hours and I have taken tens of thousands of pictures in cemeteries since May of 2010 when we visited Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia, and I discovered that this was my passion. I am most at peace in a cemetery, haaha! It's so quiet there, haha. If you ever get to go to Baltimore, don't miss Poe's grave and then REALLY don't miss Green Mount Cemetery. It is breathtaking -- gothic architecture overlooking the city skyline. If you search for it in the search line in my sidebar, you can see pictures! xoxo