Charlotte Forten Grimké

Timeline in Salem, Massachusetts 1833 – 1862 (discontinuous) [1]
 

November 1853

• Moves to Salem from Pennsylvania (Age 16)

• Enrolls in Higginson Grammar School

March 1855

• Graduated Higginson Grammar School

• Read her poem “A Parting Hymn” at graduation (Selected best poem in class)

• Enrolled in Salem Normal School

• Her poem “To W.L.G. on reading his “Chosen Queen”       published in Liberator magazine

September 1855

• Joins Salem Female Anti-Slavery League

June 18, 1856

• Accepts teaching position at Epes Grammar School

July 22, 1856

• Graduates Salem Normal School

• Reads “Poem for Normal School Graduation” at ceremony

August 24, 1856

• “Poem for Normal School Graduation” published in Liberator

June 12, 1857

• Returns to Philadelphia to recover from respiratory tract illness

July 28, 1857

• Returns to Salem to continue teaching

December 16, 1857

• “The Lost Bride” rejected by Ladies Home Journal

March 3, 1858

• Resigned from Epes Grammar School and returned to Pennsylvania, due to poor health.

April 30, 1859

•  Accepts fall teaching position at Higginson Grammar School

September 1859

•  Returns to Salem to teach at Higginson Grammar School

January 14, 1860

• “The Slave Girl’s Prayer” published in National Anti-Slavery Standard

Spring 1860

• Resigned Higginson Grammar School due to poor health

September 1860

• Resumed teaching in Salem

October 1860

• Resigned due to poor health, returned to Philadelphia

Summer 1862

• Returned to Salem to teach summer courses at Higginson Grammar School

September 14, 1862

•  Returned to Philadelphia in order to apply to the Port Royal Relief Association for sponsorship in South Carolina's Sea Islands

[1] Forten, Charlotte L., and Brenda E. Stevenson. The Journals of Charlotte Forten Grimké. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Xxxiii