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Life Story: The Grimké Sisters

Southern Abolitionist Sisters

The story of two southern white women who became leading abolitionists and women’s rights activists.

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Life Story: The Grimké Sisters
Engraved portrait entitled “Sarah Moore Grimké,” depicting a middle-aged, white woman wearing a patterned coat, holding a book. Her hair is pulled back and parted down the center, partially covered by a frilly, lace-edged bonnet with a ribbon tied below her chin.
Sarah Moore Grimké 

Sarah Moore Grimké, undated. Wood engraving. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.

Engraved portrait entitled “A. E. Grimké,” depicting a middle-aged, white woman whose hair is pulled back and parted down the center, wearing a frilly, lace-edged bonnet with a ribbon tied below her chin.
Angelina Grimké Weld

Angelina Emily Grimké, undated. Wood engraving. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.

Colored lithograph entitled “Destruction by Fire of Pennsylvania Hall on the night of May 17th, 1858.” Firefighters, two manual fire engines as well as a large rejoicing mob of onlookers stand near the blaze engulfing the entire three-floor structure.
Destruction by Fire of Pennsylvania Hall

John Caspar Wild, Destruction by Fire of Pennsylvania Hall, 1838. Lithograph. Library Company of Philadelphia, *W94 [P.9057.27].

Sarah Moore Grimké and Angelina Grimké Weld were born in Charleston, South Carolina. Their father, John Facheraud Grimké, owned many enslaved people. Their mother, Mary Grimké, was the daughter of a wealthy and powerful plantation-owning family. Although Sarah was 13 years older than Angelina, the two sisters were very close.

John Facheraud Grimké believed that women should be subordinate to men, so while he provided an excellent education for his sons, he did not do the same for Sarah and Angelina. This did not stop both girls from growing up curious about the world around them. Through their own studies, they grew to reject the beliefs of their parents. They thought that women should be given the same rights as men and that slavery was an evil practice that needed to be abolished. Angelina was particularly outspoken, which got her in trouble with her family and community.

When Sarah was in her twenties, she grew tired of the limited scope of her life in Charleston and began to make regular visits to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On these trips, she became acquainted with the Society of Friends, more commonly known as the Quakers. The Quaker community was more tolerant of women’s rights than most groups in the early 1800s, which must have appealed to Sarah. They were also supporters of the abolitionist movement. Sarah moved to Philadelphia and permanently converted to Quakerism in 1821. Angelina joined her in 1829.

Angelina soon became frustrated with the limited anti-slavery activities of the Society of Friends in Philadelphia. She wanted to take more direct action. So she joined the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society and took out a subscription to William Lloyd Garrison’s The Liberator. Sarah was concerned about Angelina’s new interest in the more radical kinds of abolitionism taking hold in the North, but she agreed with her sister that more direct action was needed. In 1835, Angelina wrote a letter to The Liberator expressing her beliefs. William Lloyd Garrison was so impressed with the letter that he published it in his newspaper. Abolitionists from all over the country praised her passion and eloquence, but the Quaker community of Philadelphia condemned her for stepping outside the bounds of modest female behavior.

By 1836, Sarah and Angelina were both publishing abolitionist writings. Many praised the power of their writing, but not everyone supported them. Sarah and Angelina wanted to advance the causes of abolition and women’s rights at the same time. Many abolitionists were uncomfortable with the idea of women achieving political and social equality. Likewise, many women’s rights ad