Edward Vernon Sparhawk was removed from his position as editor of the Southern Literary Messenger due to financial difficulties and a lack of business acumen. Sparhawk succeeded James E. Heath as editor in May 1834, but he faced challenges in managing the publication's financial aspects. His tenure was marked by a struggle to keep the magazine afloat, and he was eventually removed by the publisher, Samuel S. Sprigg, in January 1835. After his departure, Sparhawk became the editor of The Petersburg Intelligencer in Virginia. His successor at the Messenger was Edgar Allan Poe, who is more famously associated with the publication. The information is corroborated by various sources including Wikipedia and Project Gutenberg, which provide historical context and details about the Southern Literary Messenger and its editors.