The Grimke Sisters, Sarah and Angelina -- and the Remarkable "Rest of the Story"

329 East Bay St., home of the Grimke family

Prominent jurist and Revolutionary political leader, Judge John Grimke and his wife Mary enjoyed their place in the Charleston society scene, as well as their life on their Beaufort plantation. Little did they know that two of their fourteen children would spend their lifetimes rallying others against the very thing that made the Grmikes’ life possible -- slavery. 

Their daughter,Sarah Grimke, was born in 1792 and, even as a young child, could see the inhumanity that slavery brought to her own household. She spoke out against slavery essentially all of her life. All around her she saw the way of life of which she was a part made possible on the backs of the slaves her father owned. Each of the Grimke children (three died in infancy) was assigned a “constant companion” -- a slave child close to them in age who served their every whim. Even as a child, Sarah rebelled against this idea and when her young slave “companion” died at the age of eight as a result of a fever, she grieved greatly and adamantly refused to be assigned another “companion”. Unfortunately, Sarah was alone in her beliefs and her distress over the plight of the slaves and she became an outcast in her own home.

Sarah’s life changed dramatically when she was thirteen years old. The youngest of the Grimke children, Angelina, was born in 1805. Immediately, Sarah took charge of her youngest sister - even begging her parents to name her as Angelina’s godmother, to which they agreed. In the years ahead, the two girls became inseparable. Angelina shared her older sister’s view on the issue of slavery and Sarah was no longer alone in her own home.

Judge Grimke became quite ill and Sarah accompanied him to Philadelphia for medical treatment. The treatment was unsuccessful and after several months, Judge Grimke died in New Jersey in 1819. Sarah, by this time, had enjoyed living in a place where others shared her views on slavery and she decided to leave Charleston behind and relocate to Philadelphia where she became a vocal abolitionist. She left the Episcopal church and became a Quaker. With Sarah’s encouragement, Angelina soon joined her sister. They lived together and became outspoken advocates for ending slavery. As they became more well-known and were invited to address more and more groups, they ran into another sort of prejudice. They were scorned for their activism, not so much because of what they believed, but because they were women. Women who held strong opinions and were willing - even adamant - about expressing them in public forums were the brunt of anger and ridicule. Sarah and Angelina began to see that in order to proclaim their message against slavery, they also had to address the inequities faced by women. Sarah wrote, “All I ask of our brethren is that they will take their feet from off our necks and permit us to stand upright on the ground which God intends for us to occupy”.  This short video is an interview with Eric Foner concerning the Grimke sisters:

".........and now for the REST of the story!"

 Sarah and Angelina had a brother named Henry who raised his family in his Charleston townhouse and on their plantation outside of Charleston. When his wife died, Henry raised another family -- with one of his slaves, Nancy Weston. From all indications, it was a marriage of mutual affection and Henry, discovering that Charleston society did not look acceptingly on the idea of an interracial couple living openly in the city, moved his new family to the more private plantation. Henry and Nancy had three sons, Archibald, Francis, and John. When Nancy was pregnant with John, Henry died. Because it was illegal at that time in South Carolina to free your own slaves, Henry willed the family to his oldest son, Montague, with directions that they “be treated as members of the family”. Instead, Nancy and her sons were ignored for several years and, even though they were technically still slaves, they lived in the free black community in Charleston. They received no support from the Grimke family and Nancy was forced to take in laundry and whatever menial work she could do to keep the family fed. Imagine their surprise when Henry’s oldest son summoned them, not to help them, but to treat them as servants in his home! The boys were educated in Charleston and were accepted to Lincoln University. John chose not to go and stayed with his mother. Archibald and Francis went to the University with first year tuition paid by a church committee who saw the promise in the young students. Their room and board was not covered and they struggled to survive, as well as to study.

By chance, Angelina saw the name “Archibald Grimke” in an abolitionist magazine which reported on a speech the young man gave. She wrote to him to see if they might be related and was astonished to find that she had three nephews she had never known! She and Sarah immediately welcomed the young men as family, assumed the cost of their education and became an influential part of their lives.

Archibald Grimke was one of the first African-Americans to graduate from Harvard Law School and soon became a well-respected lawyer, journalist and community leader in the Boston area. He married a white woman from the midwest. Even though the marriage did not survive, the couple had one daughter whom they named after the sister who had found and claimed him - Angelina. (more about young Angelina in a minute!) Archibald was appointed as consul to the Dominican Republic.

Archibald’s brother, Francis Grimke, became a Presbyterian minister and studied at Princeton Theological Seminary. Most of his ministry was at the 15th Street Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. He was active in the community and in working for equal rights for African-Americans and helped found the NAACP. He wrote, “Race prejudice can’t be talked down, it must be lived down.” He and his wife, Charlotte, who was a well-known writer herself, had one daughter who died as an infant.

Angelina Weld Grimke, Archibald’s daughter, was sent to live with him at the age of eight when her mother died. When her father was sent as consul to the Dominican Republic, Angelina was sent to live with her uncle and aunt, Francis and Charlotte. Angelina grew up to be a poet and playwright, focusing on the theme of equality for all - carrying forward the ideas and words that were a part of her direct heritage from two little girls who dared to see an injustice and were courageous enough to speak up and to speak out to the world.