Poe never descended into abject poverty, although his last few years were troubled by alcohol.
A false biography by Rufus Wilmot Griswold claimed Poe was a drunk (only in the last few years was alcohol a problem), drug-addict (untrue) and a madman. Some of his distortions persist.
Found with a seizure on a Baltimore street, he died in hospital, but the medical records have been lost, so cause of death unknown.