Angelina Grimké Weld (1805-1879) was an abolitionist and women’s rights activist who lived in Hyde Park with her husband and sister from 1864 until the end of her life. Her sister, Sarah Moore Grimké (1792-1875), was thirteen years older than Angelina and was the first to leave their home in South Carolina. Sarah and Angelina were born into a large family and grew up on a plantation with many enslaved people. Angelina went to Philadelphia as a young woman to join Sarah and there they both became members of the Society of Friends and of the Female Anti-Slavery Society.
Angelina and Sarah used their experiences of first-hand knowledge of slavery in speeches and writings. Women speaking in public was not a common event at that time and their talks caused controversy. Angelina addressed the Massachusetts legislature in 1828, becoming the first woman in the United States to address a legislative body.
Both sisters wrote articles and pamphlets on anti-slavery and on women’s rights. In 1836, Angelina published a pamphlet entitled “An Appeal to Christian Women of the South” and in 1838, Sarah published a book called Letters on the Equality of the Sexes and the Condition of Women, an important contribution to the women’s movement.
In 1838, Angelina married Theodore Weld, who was also very active in the abolitionist movement. They had three children. Sarah made her home with Angelina and Theodore. After some years in New Jersey, the Welds and Sarah moved to Hyde Park. By this time, they had all retired from lecturing although Angelina and Sarah had not given up activism as demonstrated by their leadership of the women who determined to vote in the municipal Hyde Park election in 1870.
Angelina and Sarah learned in 1868 that their brother, Henry, had fathered three sons with one of the enslaved women on his plantation. These young men, Archibald, Francis and John, were welcomed by the sisters and encouraged in their education. The Grimke sisters, along with Theodore Weld, are buried in Mount Hope Cemetery.
