Poe was born in December 1810 in
Norfolk, Virginia, the daughter of
English-born actress
Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and American actor
David Poe Jr. The family faced financial hardship and her mother suffered from
pneumonia and
tuberculosis. Because David Poe had abandoned his family during the period before her birth, questions arose about Rosalie's paternity. Such rumors continued when Joseph Gallego, a wealthy resident of
Richmond, Virginia, left the young Rosalie $2,000 in his will when he died in 1818. In 1811, after the death of her parents, Rosalie was adopted by William and Jane Scott Mackenzie in Richmond. In 1812, she was baptized and christened with the name of Rosalie Mackenzie. During their childhoods, Edgar sometimes visited Rosalie and her schoolmates, reading
his satires and poems to them. During her young adulthood, Rosalie taught penmanship at a
girl's finishing school in Richmond. In 1841, Rosalie visited Edgar while he was living in
Philadelphia. In 1849, shortly before his death, Poe traveled to Richmond and visited Rosalie. After
Poe's death in 1849, Rosalie was presumed to be his sole heir, but did not take out the
letters of administration required by law in
Virginia. The fortunes of the Mackenzie family were greatly diminished due to the
American Civil War. After the war, Rosalie experienced homelessness and was in ill health, and the Mackenzie family was no longer able to care for her. She traveled between
Baltimore and Richmond in hopes of finding relatives to take her in. She also made attempts to gain employment as a housekeeper. At times and out of necessity, Rosalie sold mementos and photographs of her brother Edgar to passersby. Her primary source of financial support was "the kindness of strangers," motivated to assist her out of admiration for her famous brother.
Death Rosalie died at the Epiphany Church Home in 1874 due to
inflammation of the stomach. Her burial was arranged by Edgar Allan Poe fans who marked her birthyear on the tombstone as 1812, the year of her christening. She wished to be buried near her brother's grave in Baltimore, but was instead buried at
Rock Creek Cemetery. == Writings ==