GRIMKE, ANOELINA, 1805-70; b. Charleston, S. C.; an American abolitionist. youngest daughter of judge Grinike, and sister of Thomas S. Grinik6, the distinguished opponent of nullification in 1830-31. Belonging to a family of the highest social rank, and born in one of the strongholds of slavery, she saw in her earliest childhood the cruel wrongfulness of the system; and in the earliest years of ripeuing womanhood, with all the charm that beauty, intelligence, and family distinction could give, she tore herself from home and friendships and became an exile among strangers, in order that she might more effectually plead the cause of the slaves. As a child she was shocked by the cruelties to which the slaves were exposed, and she would sometimes steal out of the house in the darkness, with her bottle of oil and other simple medicaments, and do what she could to alleviate the sufferings of some poor creature who had been terribly whipped. At an early age she united with the Presbyterian church, and her religious experiences served to intensify her hostility to slavery. Every effort was made to overcome what were regarded as merely her childish and fanatical scruples. 'When she was 16 years of age her mother gave her a slave girl to be her waiting-maid. " You are to have her as your property," said the mother. But Angelina said firmly, "I cannot have a slave. The girl belongs to herself, not to me. Besides, I don't need to be waited on; I can wait on myself." No persuasion could induce her to become a slaveholder. As a leacher in a Sunday-school, she could not fail to see the contrast between the privileges of instruction enjoyed by her pupils and the deprivations of the slaves. whom she could not even teach to spell the name of God without breaking the law. Finding that moral instruction was not prohibited, she besought her mother for permission to call the slaves of the household every morning for social worship. When they were assembled the young girl read to them the words of Christ, spoke to them tenderly of the simple truths of the gospel, and then knelt and prayed with them. Such was her daily practice so long as she remained under the paternal roof. She endeavored to impress upon the officers of the church a sense of what they should do for the slaves, but her pleadings found no response. Through an elder sister in .Philadelpliht she heard of the.Quakers and their opposition to slaVeit. She read their books and was charmed, and finding that there were in Charleston two aged Friends who met every Sunday for worship, she discarded her fashionable attire, put on the simple Quaker garb, mid for a whole year afterwards. when the family carriage rolled away on Sunday morning to St, Philip's, walked alone to the Friends' meeting-house. and sat down with these two aged Friends under a canopy of silence, where no word was ever spoken. This was while there was yet no public movement against slavery; she was following her own heartfelt convictions and longing for further light. News of Garrison's imprisonment in Baltimore reached her. carrying with it, however, a weight of opprobrium upon his name. What could she do? She was convinced that it was impossible for one in the midst of slavery to act effectually against it. Self-exile seemed the only alternative. The thought of this brought peace. Ilex sister in Philadelphia had united with the Quakers; she would join her and find in the free north her home and her work. In the fall of 1830 she left all, never to return. The rising anti-slavery movement at once enlisted her sympathy, but how to give it any help she did not at first see. At length light dawned upon her, and she was impelled to prepare an Appeal to Christian Women of' the South. She timidly submitted the manuscript to the executive committee of the American anti-slavery society, by whom it was read with wet eyes. It was published and sent in large quantities to the south. In Charleston it created a strong excitement, and, with other publications of the same character, formed a pretext for breaking open the post-office and making a bonfire in the public square. Not long after this it was understood in Charleston, that she intended to visit her mother and sister and pass the winter with them. Thereupon the mayor called upon her mother, and desired her to inform her (laughter that the police had been instructed to prevent her landing, and that, if she should elude their vigilance, and go ashore, she would be arrested and imprisoned. When these threats were com municated to her, she replied that she knew she could not go to Charleston without compromising and distressing her family, hut, were it not for this fact, she would cer tainly exercise her constitutional right as an American citizen to visit her relatives, sub mitting willingly to any pains and penalties that might be inflicted upon her, believing as she did that any violence she might be called upon to suffer would serve to reveal the true nature of slavery and intensify the opposition to it in the free states. Remaining
in Philadelphia, and acting in co-operation with her sister, she was exerting a strong private social influence in favor of the anti-slavery cause. As yet she had not lifted up her voice in public, nor addressed any private assembly of women, nor in any other way transcended the conventional rules by which the activity of women was limited. But now came an invitation to her from the American anti-slavery society to go to New York for the purpose of meeting women in private parlors and laying before them her experi ences as a southern woman, and pleading with them to lend their influence for the over throw of slavery. She said, " I feel this to be God's call," and resolved at once to obey it. Her sister, Sarah Moore Grimke, 13 years older than herself, who was in full sympathy with her in her opposition to slavery, concluded to join her, and together they went to New York in Nov., 183G. The society had offered them a modest salary, which they declined, preferring to labor at their own cost. Their visit made no small stir in a city already much excited upon the slavery question. Many private parlors were opened to them and crowded by women eager to listen and to learn. Their addresses made a profound impression upon all who heard them. Angelina especially disclosed remark able power as a speaker, and the traditions of her eloquence have survived the overthrow of slavery. Parlors becoming too small for the crowds that desired to atter.d, vestries and halls were substituted, and at last it was found necessary to open a large church, which in turn overflowed with the multitudes of women who thronged to see and hear. The fame of the sisters was widespread, and in 1837 they were called to Massachusetts, where for a time they continued to speak to women only; but so exciting were the reports of Angelina's eloquence that at length the barriers were broken down and men as well as women thronged their meetings. The lady speakers were by no means dis pleased on this account, for as Quakers they were as willing to address the one sex as the other. The excitement which had attended their labors was now mightily increased, a strong opposition to their course was developed, the `• womau question" was discussed on every side, dividing the abolitionists into two hostile camps, and for a time Massa chusetts, and indeed all New England, was deeply agitated. Here began the modern movement for enlarging the sphere of woman's opportunities and activities which has borne so many fruits already and is still an absorbing theme of discussion. The South Carolina ladies welcomed the discussion, but did not suffer themselves to be drawn aside from their special work. Angelina especially was in wide demand. Night after night she spoke to crowds that filled the old Boston theater to its utmost capacity. Her audiences were composed of people of intelligence and culture, and her thrilling appeals did much to modify the prevailing pro-slavery sentiment of the dines. A committee of the Massachusetts legislature invited her to address them in the hall of representatives, where she was heard with close attention and deep respect by eminent citizens from every part of the state. In all these labors, according to the testimony of those who witnessed them, she never lost one of her purely feminine qualities. Graceful, gentle, retiring, she won universal respect and admiration. In May, 1838, she was married to Theodore D. Weld. It was far from her expectation that her public labors were now ended ; but early in her married life she was twice'severely injured, .and thereby incapacitated for further public speaking. Her husband founded a school, to which for many years she gave her attention as her health permitted. Her sister went with her into retirement, and was also engaged in Mr. Weld's school. They still maintained their interest in the anti-slavery cause, and both of them lived to rejoice in its complete triumph. Sarah died at Hyde Park, Mass., 1873; Angelina, 1879.