Walter Whitman
(1789–1855)
BIRTH
July 14, 1789
PLACE
Huntington, Long Island, New York
DEATH
July 11, 1855
PLACE
Brooklyn, New York
FAMILY
CHILDREN
Walt Whitman
(1819-1892)
HOMES
RELIGIOUS VIEWS
RELIGION NOT DOCUMENTED
DENOMINATION NOT DOCUMENTED
MEMBERSHIPS
AWARDS
Walter Whitman Sr. was a carpenter and house builder on Long Island and the father of the poet Walt Whitman. He married Louisa Van Velsor; their family later lived in Brooklyn.
EARLY LIFE
Walter worked as a carpenter and house builder. The Library of Congress identifies him as part of a Long Island farm family.
CAREER
DEATH
Walter Whitman Sr. died in Brooklyn on July 11, 1855, only days after the first edition of his son Walt's Leaves of Grass appeared. A near-contemporary biography describes years of serious illness and exhaustion but does not identify a particular disease. He was buried first in Brooklyn; his remains were later placed in the Whitman family tomb at Harleigh Cemetery in Camden.
POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
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