Diary pages of Angelina E. Grimké, circa 1834 November-1835 October

the duties which devolved upon me were prescribed by Him & tho’ I had the sweet assurance of his help to assist me thro’ difficulties I had never encountered before, & He did, I fully believe he did, for tho’ my body was often weary, yet he spoke sweet peace to my mind. If it were not for some such seasons of refreshment from the presence of the Lord, I know not what would become of my poor thirsty soul

11 Mo 17. 1834.{1} Last month a deeply afflicting dispensation overtook us in the sudden death of our best belovd & most excellent brother{2}—Thro’ mercy I was enabled to bow to the stroke & to kiss the hand which inflicted it, for tho’ to all outward appearance he was taken under very aggravating circumstances, yet I experienced [“]the secret of the Lord to be with them that fear him”{3} & was shown that wisdom & goodness was markd on evry part of it—& often did I forget my own loss of a Father Friend & Brother in the view I had of his glorious rest—Not a doubt rests on my mind as to his acceptance in the Beloved—My own loss too is nothing in comparison to that of my aged Mother, his wife & sons & some others—I weep more for them than for myself, yet I too hav lost a great deal. The World too has lost an eminent Reformer in the Cause of Christian Education—an eloquent Advocate for Peace & One who was remarkably ready for evry good word & work. I never saw a man who combind such briliant talents, such diversity & profundity of knowlege with such deep humility of heart & such simplicity & gentle[ness?]

{1. In this entry and those following, Angelina paid homage to her brother Thomas by adopting the spelling system that he had advocated. As an article published in 1843 states, “It was about the year 1830, if we rightly remember, that Thomas S. Grimké of S. Carolina, one of the most brilliant scholars of this country, conceived the plan of reducing our orthography to a much more simple form, by spelling all words, as far as possible, with those letters only which should be necessary to give a proper pronunciation” (“Uniformity in Orthography,” The Massachusetts Teacher (1848-1855) 6, no. 10 [October 1853], 294.) Here, one sees this system reflected in Angelina’s spelling of the words belovd, markd, evry, hav, and others.}
{2. Thomas Grimké (1786-1834) was Angelina’s second oldest brother, and from her written record, her most beloved. He was a widely respected lawyer, and served for a time as a state senator in the South Carolina legislature. He was a devout Christian and was involved in the work of various benevolent societies. He also owned a plantation and held enslaved people on his properties. He was a strong supporter of the American Colonization Society.}
{3. Psalm 25:14.}