Mrs. Marie Louise Shew

(Born: December 21, 1821 - Died: September 3, 1877)

While the Poe family lived in Fordham, NY, Mrs. Shew began as a nurse to Poe’s wife, Virginia’s, and later to Poe himself, as well as being a close friend and confidant. She married Joel Shew, but divorced him and married Rolad Stebbins Houghton in 1850. Her daughter, Dora Houghton, assisted her increasingly disorganized mother in corresponding with John Henry Ingram in 1875.