Walter Whitman (1819 - 1892)

Born in Huntington, New York on May 31, 1819, Walter Whitman is one of the most celebrated and influential American poets - who is often referred to as the father of free verse. Walter was a poet for most of his life and is famous for his literary piece "Leaves of Grass" which was written July 4, 1855 and printed nearly eight hundred copies.

The son of Walter Whitman Sr. and Louisa Van Velsor, Whitman grew up with eight other siblings, ^{[1] [2] [3]} some of which suffered from mental disorders. He went to Brooklyn public schools for most of his early life, but did not attend college. His early career was based in Brooklyn and Huntington, New York.

His first job was being an writer's apprentice writing for the Long Island Patriot and then later the Long Island Star both of which were published in Brooklyn. In 1842, Whitman was invited by Park Benjamin, editor of The New World, to write a temperance novel. The book that Whitman wrote was named "Franklin Evans" and sold more than twenty thousand copies.

Walt was a Volunteer Nurse during the American Civil War.
Honored for eternity:
In Memoriam

During the Civil War, Whitman moved to Washington, D.C., where he served as a civil servant and volunteer nurse. There he published the poetry collections Drum Taps and Sequel to Drum Taps (1865-66), the latter containing his famous elegies for Abraham Lincoln, “Where Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” and “O Captain! My Captain!” ^[4] He lived in D.C. until at least 1870, where he is listed as a clerk at the Attorney General's office in the census. ^[5] It was in Washington, D.C. that he also met Peter Doyle, an Irish-born streetcar conductor, who became his intimate companion and inspired Whitman's writing for many years. ^[6]

He lived in Camden, New Jersey from at least 1880. ^[7] Walter passed away in March 26, 1892 from pneumonia in Camden, Camden, New Jersey, United States. ^[8] He was buried in Harleigh Cemetery in Camden, New Jersey. ^[9]

Research Notes

He has long been regarded as being in an advanced state of Cosmic Consciousness for most of his life, which explains his literary style. However, Richard Maurice Bucke writes that "this new [Cosmic] sense ... must have come to him in June, 1853 or 1854, at the age, that is, of thirty-four or thirty-five" ^[10]. This is based on the contrast between his writings before and after that time, and Whitman's own first "mention of it ... on page 15 of the 1855 edition of the "Leaves"."

Whitman "tells in brief of the change wrought in his mind and heart by the birth within him of the new faculty. He says he was filled all at once with peace and joy and knowledge transcending all the art and argument of the earth. He attained that point of view from which alone can a human being see something of God. And he sums up the account by the statement that God is his close friend, that all the men and women ever born are his brothers and sisters and lovers and that the whole creation is built and rests upon love" (op.cit). ^[11]. " ... it is to be supposed that he had the Cosmic Sense continuously, for years, but that it came less and less frequently as age advanced" (op.cit). Whitman told of its passing away towards the end of his life.

It should be noted that a very knowledgeable person, Steve Taylor, on the subject of Cosmic Consciousness, recently tweeted on 19 December 2022:- "It's worth remembering that Whitman felt kinship with all humans irrespective of race and nationality: "All the men ever born are my brothers ... and the women my sisters and lovers.""

Sources

1. ↑ United States Census, 1850, Walter Whitman in household of Walter Whitman, Brooklyn, ward 11, Kings, New York, United States; citing family 472.
2. ↑ New York State Census, 1855, Walter Whitman in household of Walter Whitman, E.D. 1, Ward 7, Brooklyn City, Kings, New York, United States; citing p. , line #9, family #11, county clerk offices, New York
3. ↑ United States Census, 1860, Walter Whitman in entry for Louisa Whitman, 1860.
4. ↑ Walt Whitman Bio
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNW1-3T5 : 28 May 2021), Walt Whitman in entry for Newton Benedict, 1870.
6. ↑ Martin G. Murray, "Pete the Great: A Biography of Peter Doyle, Walt Whitman Archive.
7. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNZP-XFF : 12 August 2017), Walt Whitman, Camden, Camden, New Jersey, United States; citing enumeration district ED 46, sheet 182D
8. ↑ New Jersey Deaths and Burials, 1720-1988, Walt Whitman, 26 Mar 1892; Camden, Camden, New Jersey, United States.
9. ↑ , memorial page for Walt Whitman (31 May 1819–26 Mar 1892), Find A Grave: Memorial #1098, citing Harleigh Cemetery, Camden, Camden County, New Jersey, USA.
10. ↑ Cosmic Consciousness, by Richard Maurice Bucke, [1901, at sacred-texts.com
11. ↑ Psychology Today, March 2017

• 1) Whitmans_Band, Whitman's Brooklyn
• 3) Wikipedia:Walt_Whitman
• 4) Biography.com, Early Years
• 5) Whitman Archive
• 6) Whitman
• 7) Cosmic Consciousness: A study in the evolution of the human mind. R.M. Bucke, 1901

See also:

• 'Virginia Woolf' a biography by her nephew Quentin Bell, published by The Hogarth Press, Pimlico, London in 1996. ISBN 0 7126 7450 0, includes extensive family trees. Hundreds of friends, professional connections and people in the 'Bloomsbury set' are also mentioned in the text.'Virginia Woolf' a biography by her nephew Quentin Bell