Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892) Walt Whitman was born on May 31,
1819, on the West Hills of Long Island, New York. His mother,
Louisa Van Velsor, of Dutch descent and Quaker faith, whom he
adored, was barely literate. She never read his poetry, but gave
him unconditional love. His father of English lineage, was a
carpenter and builder of houses, and a stern disciplinarian. His
main claim to fame was his friendship with Tom Paine, whose
pamphlet Common Sense (1776), urging the colonists to throw off
English domination was in his sparse library. It is doubtful
that his father read any of his son's poetry, or would have
understood it if he had. The senior Walt was too burdened with
the struggle to support his ever-growing family of nine
children, four of whom were handicapped. Young Walt, the second
of nine, was withdrawn from public school at the age of eleven
to help support the family. At the age of twelve he started to
learn the printer's trade, and fell in love with the written and
printed word. He was mainly se