Amasa Converse

Amasa Converse (August 21, 1795 – December 9, 1872) was an American Presbyterian minister and senior editor of the Christian Observer.[1][2] Converse performed the marriage of Edgar Allan Poe to Poe's teenage cousin, Virginia Clemm Poe.

Amasa Converse
Converse in the 1870s
Born(1795-08-21)August 21, 1795
Lyme, New Hampshire, U.S.
DiedDecember 9, 1872(1872-12-09) (aged 77)
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
EducationDartmouth College
Princeton Theological Seminary

Early life

Converse was born on August 21, 1795, in Lyme, New Hampshire.[3] He attended Phillips Academy and Dartmouth College before entering Princeton Theological Seminary.[4][5]

Newspaper publication

In 1827, Converse left his evangelical work in Virginia to become editor of the Richmond Visitor and Telegraph. In 1836, he performed the marriage of Edgar Allan Poe and Virginia Clemm.[6] "Late on the evening of May 16, Mr. Cleland, with Mrs. Clemm, Poe and Virginia, left Mrs. Yarrington's, and, walking quietly up Main street to the corner of Seventh, were married in Mr. Converse's own parlor."[7] Converse noted the bride "looked very young".[7] She was 13.[8]

In 1838, he took over the Philadelphia Observer. The publications were merged in Philadelphia and became the Christian Observer. After the death of Amasa Converse in 1872, his son F. Bartlett Converse became editor of the Christian Observer.[9]

Civil War

Converse's Southern sympathies and such disagreements over the Civil War brought the publication office South to Richmond, and later it was in Louisville.[4][9][10] Converse was arrested by President Abraham Lincoln's administration and freed after three months.[11] Converse said the South had been guilty of idleness and intemperance, had been a proud and ungrateful people, and that these sins were partially responsible for the war.[12]

Death

On December 9, 1872, Converse died in Louisville.[10]

References
  1. "Today Marks Edgar Poe's 177th Wedding Anniversary". May 16, 2013.
  2. "Death of the Rev. Dr. Amasa Converse – 9 December 1872 | ChristianObserver.org". September 4, 2013.
  3. "History | ChristianObserver.org". March 9, 2008.
  4. "Guide to the Converse Family Papers | Presbyterian Historical Society". www.history.pcusa.org. May 5, 2014.
  5. Shankman 1974, p. 227.
  6. Edgar Allan Poe In Richmond. Arcadia. 2009. p. 53. ISBN 9780738567143.
  7. The Home Life of Poe. Broadway. 1907. p. 80.
  8. Meyers, Jeffrey (1992). Edgar Allan Poe : His Life and Legacy. John Murray. p. 85. ISBN 0719550238.
  9. "Religious Paper Ends 125th Year of Publication". The Times Dispatch. February 24, 1952. p. 36 – via newspapers.com.
  10. "Death of Rev. Dr. Converse". The Progress-Index. December 11, 1872. p. 1 – via newspapers.com.
  11. Wayland, John W. (December 29, 1999). Men of Mark and Representative Citizens of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, Virginia: Portraits and Biographies of Men and Women. Genealogical Publishing Com. ISBN 9780806348346 – via Google Books.
  12. "North Carolina historical review [1967 : July]". digital.ncdcr.gov.

Works cited
  • Shankman, Arnold (1974). "Converse,The Christian Observer and Civil War Censorship". Journal of Presbyterian History. 52 (3): 227–244. ISSN 0022-3883. JSTOR 23327636.
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