Salem Women's
History and
Business Community
History and
Business Community
Charlotte Forten
Salem sites:
• Remond home, Dean Street
(no longer stands)
• Salem Normal School
Associated Salem women:
• Sarah Parker Remond
• Remond home, Dean Street
(no longer stands)
• Salem Normal School
Associated Salem women:
• Sarah Parker Remond
One of the earliest students at the Salem Normal School was Charlotte Forten (1838–1914), who was born in Philadelphia and arrived in Salem in 1854. She was sent north to the Higginson Grammar School because Salem’s schools were desegregated, thanks to the efforts of John Remond.
Charlotte lived with the prominent Remond family in Salem who were then living on Dean Street, and Sarah Parker Remond became a role model for Charlotte as her mother had just died. Much like the Remonds of Salem, Charlotte’s family was well educated and active in the anti-slavery movement.
In 1855, Charlotte began to study at Salem’s Normal School where she graduated in 1856, becoming the first African American to do so; she began her teaching career at the Epes Grammar School in Salem. In her spare time, Charlotte wrote poetry and kept a journal that provides us with most of what is known about her. (The Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum owns a copy of this journal.)
The outbreak of the Civil War created the opportunity for Charlotte to teach in Port Royal, South Carolina, where she was pleased to educate the children of recently freed slaves who would otherwise not have had any educational opportunity. In 1864, Charlotte returned to Philadelphia and spent the next twelve years writing and publishing poems and essays including two articles about her South Carolina experiences in the Atlantic Monthly. Charlotte also returned to teaching, and in 1878 she married Francis Grimké, the nephew of Sarah and Angelina Grimké.
Charlotte lived with the prominent Remond family in Salem who were then living on Dean Street, and Sarah Parker Remond became a role model for Charlotte as her mother had just died. Much like the Remonds of Salem, Charlotte’s family was well educated and active in the anti-slavery movement.
In 1855, Charlotte began to study at Salem’s Normal School where she graduated in 1856, becoming the first African American to do so; she began her teaching career at the Epes Grammar School in Salem. In her spare time, Charlotte wrote poetry and kept a journal that provides us with most of what is known about her. (The Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum owns a copy of this journal.)
The outbreak of the Civil War created the opportunity for Charlotte to teach in Port Royal, South Carolina, where she was pleased to educate the children of recently freed slaves who would otherwise not have had any educational opportunity. In 1864, Charlotte returned to Philadelphia and spent the next twelve years writing and publishing poems and essays including two articles about her South Carolina experiences in the Atlantic Monthly. Charlotte also returned to teaching, and in 1878 she married Francis Grimké, the nephew of Sarah and Angelina Grimké.
