Was Fanny Osgood’s third child really fathered by Edgar Allan Poe?
A. There is no incontrovertible evidence to support this contention. From a strictly historical perspective, such a contention would be based solely on circumstantial evidence. I am persuaded, however, by such evidence and also by the literary output of the two writers that Edgar Poe was indeed the father of Fanny Osgood’s third daughter. At the time her child was conceived, Fanny was separated from her husband, Samuel Stillman Osgood. She would, however, reconcile with Sam after she became pregnant, so he must be considered. Though Fanny appears to have had many male friends, Edward J. Thomas (Ned in Poe & Fanny) was special, so he must be considered also. And then there was Poe to whom she was writing love poems. These are the three most likely possibilities. I ruled Sam out based on Fanny’s poetry. Many of her poems express hurt, indignation, and a sense of betrayal, and they seem pointed at Sam. It’s hard to imagine her having a sudden change of heart in the summer and fall of 1845
