Charlotte Vandine Forten (1785-1894): Freedom Shared is Freedom Gained
Interviewer: Hello, Mrs. Forten. What a pleasure it is to have you with us today. I am sure many of us are excited to finally meet you, the grandmother of Charlotte Forten Grimke and wife of James Forten, and I suspect, neither of whom would have lived as they did without your influence.
Mrs. Forten: Why thank you. My family and community were very important to me. I am excited about this opportunity to share my story with your readers, Ms. Milcarzyk.
Interviewer: You and your husband lived quite a life. You are the parents of eight successful and compassionate adult children who are now leaders in the Philadelphia business, school, and church communities.
Mrs. Forten: [chuckles] I am very proud of them all and thankful as well. But we most certainly didn’t start out that way.
Interviewer: How did you and Mr. Forten meet?
Mrs. Forten: Oh, it seems James was always a part of my life. I grew up in church with him- St. Thomas, but he was quite a bit older than me. He was 19 when I was born; it seemed he had already lived one life, being in the War of Independence and all. War grows a boy into a man quickly. Even as a young man, James was always resourceful and hardworking; I remember my parents commenting on the respect he showed his elders.
Interviewer: Did your and James’ parents know each other then?
Mrs. Forten: Oh, sure. Everyone knew each other in our community. Of course, we all had our more intimate circles. But, with James’ mother being a widow- losing his father was hard on them- our community gave her and the children a little extra support. Of course, I hadn’t even been born yet. But James’ family- his parents and sister- were all very close, and I’m sure who he is now is defined by the environment he was raised in. Our own family, even with nine children, are very close. His mother- Mother Forten- lived with us until she passed a year after our marriage. James’ aunt left his sister a nice sized inheritance and Abigail lived in one of our properties rent free until she passed.
Interviewer: How old were you when you and James married?
Mrs. Forten: Our wedding day actually turned out to be very soggy and cold. I was twenty when I became James’ second wife, and he was thirty-nine. His first wife had died not long after they wed. Two years later, our wedding date- December 10, 1805- was published in the Poulson, and Absolom Jones, our minister, married us at St. Thomas church.
Interviewer: I can only begin to imagine the responsibilities you held in leading such a household to the heights that you both did during the difficult days of racial prejudice.
Mrs. Forten: I believe God gave us so much that we could keep giving it out. To us, family extends beyond ourselves and our children. For instance, we often had James’ apprentices living with us or escaped slaves who came to us through the Underground Railroad- one such woman, Judy, stayed with us for some time, so we ended up paying her for her service in the kitchen. Eventually, she moved on to Canada.
But, anyone we took in just fit in with the rest of us. If there were children, they sat with my children for arithmetic lessons, reading, French, music, and art, and even chipped in with the chores. At one time, we had around twenty-two people living in our house. The music and literary meetings we held in our home were joyous times. Granted, we had hardships to endure because of white people and their stubborn prejudice against us… seemed like our community was constantly rebuilding from the riots white people started.
Interviewer: How many riots, Mrs. Forten?
Mrs. Forten: Oh, my… I think maybe around fifteen or twenty riots occurred within twenty years. We didn’t let that stop us, though!
Interviewer: Is it true that you and Mr. Forten started a school for the children in your community?
Mrs. Forten: We did, but it was a shared venture with our good friends, Robert and Grace Bustill. We started with their six children and our eight living children. It was important to us that the next generation of our community be educated as thoroughly as possible but to also realize the gifts and talents they each had to contribute to society; more importantly, we wanted our children to be able to learn and receive an education without the turmoil of abuse from the white students and their parents. We even kept our children close to home for the same reason. By guarding our children in every way possible, they could grow up healthy from the inside out, which was needed for the next generations’ fight for freedom.
Interviewer: Your children are quite accomplished. Music, poetry, public speaking, art, science…
Mrs. Forten: The good Lord indeed blessed us, so sharing what we’ve learned is essential. We lived the truth that “freedom shared is freedom gained.”
Interviewer: I like that. What a wonderful philosophy to carry on for the next generation. Is there anything else you want the public to know, Mrs. Forten?
Mrs. Forten: You know, forty-two years ago, when James Forten died, thousands of people filled the Philadelphia streets and followed his casket to the gravesite. More than anything that shows the power of one man’s determination to bring peace. Amid so much racial prejudice and hate, thousands of people gathered to honor a Black man they called a friend. And why did men and women of both races call him “friend”? Because he had lived and led his life- at his business, his church, his family, and the cause of our people- in a way that thousands of people were willing to honor his memory and grieve the loss of his presence in this world.
Works Cited
Forten, Charlotte L., and Brenda E. Stevenson, Ed. The Journals of Charlotte Forten Grimké. Oxford University Press, 2011, New York, NY.
Mease, James. The Picture of Philadelphia. Arno Press, 1970.
Nash, Gary B. Forging Freedom: The Formation of Philadelphia’s Black Community, 1720-1840. Harvard University Press, 1991.
https://video.whyy.org/video/black-founders-the-forten-family-of-philadelphia-4k0lqx
Winch, Julie. A Gentleman of Color: The Life of James Forten. Oxford University Press, 2003.
