Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman - (May 31 , 1819 - March 26 , 1892 ) - An American poet journalist , essayist , humanist , and one of the most influential poets in American history , often called the father of free verse

Walter Whitman was born on May 31 , 1819 , in West Hills , Long Island His family was working class , his father , Walter Whitman , Sr . was a farmer and carpenter and his mother Louisa Van Velsor , of Dutch and welsh decent was his emotional touchstone (Folsom , 2010 . Walt was born the 2nd child to Walt Whitman , Sr . and Louisa

Van Velsor , and named after his father . He had four brothers , the eldest , Jesse , named after his grandfather Andrew , named after Andrew Jackson George , after George Washington Thomas , for Thomas Jefferson and the youngest Edward , with no ties to the family or the countrymen of his time

Whitman also had 2 sisters , Mary after her great , great grandmother and Hanna , after her grandmother

Walt 's brothers and sisters were very troubled souls , Jesse being institutionalized because of mental instability and violence , Hanna being the victim of an abusive husband , Andrew , an alcoholic who died young and the youngest , Edward , who was mentally and physically handicapped , who needed dedicated care

Whitman 's family moved to Brooklyn at age four , and moved around quite a bit as his father had difficulty finding work . A pivotal moment for him was when General Lafayette came to New York , lifted young 6-year-old Whitman up from the crowd and carried him . He told this...