Angelina Emily Grimke

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Angelina Emily Grimké (1805–1879) was an abolitionist and suffragette. Angelina was born in Charleston, South Carolina to a aristocratic Episcopalian judge who owned slaves. She was very close to her sister Sarah Moore Grimké. Despite the influence of their father, both sisters became abolitionists, and joined the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). In 1835, Angelina wrote an anti-slavery letter to Abolitionist leader William Lloyd Garrison, who published it in, The Liberator. In 1836, after Angelina published An Epistle to the Clergy of the Southern States, she and her sister were threatened with arrest in South Carolina. So, they moved to New York where they spoke at abolitionist meetings. In 1837, Angelina was invited to be the first woman to speak at the Massachusetts State Legislature.

Related Topics:
1805 - 1879 - Abolitionist - Suffragette - Charleston, South Carolina - Episcopalian - Sarah Moore Grimké - Religious Society of Friends - William Lloyd Garrison - New York - Massachusetts

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In 1838, she married the famous abolitionist and feminist, Theodore Weld. Initially both Weld's planned for Angelina to remain active in the abolitionist movement. But the time demands of running a home and being a wife and mother, forced Angelina to retire from public life. Sarah moved in with her sister and also retired from public life. Although the sisters no longer spoke publicly, they remained privately active as both abolitionists and feminists. Angelina bore Weld three children, in 1839, 1841, and 1844. Thereafter, she suffered from a disorder of the reproductive tract.

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Until 1844, Theodore was on the lecture circuit or lobbying in Washington. After that, financial pressures forced the family to seek a more lucrative profession. For a time they lived on a farm and operated a boarding school. Children of many abolitionists, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, attended the school. Weld's school was briefly incorporated into a cooperative community, Raritan Bay Union. After the failure of the cooperative, The Weld's and Sarah Grimke continued to successfully operate the boarding school.

Related Topics:
Elizabeth Cady Stanton - Raritan Bay Union

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See also: Grimke Sisters

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