Thomas Garrett Jr. (1789 - 1871)

Born 21 Aug 1789 in Drexel Hill Delaware County Pennsylvania

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Sharpless) Garrett — married 14 Oct 1813 in Pennsylvania, USA

Husband of Rachel (Mendinhall) Garrett — married 7 Jan 1830 in Wilmington, Delaware, USA

Descendants

Died 25 Jan 1871 at age 81 in Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware, United States

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Thomas Garrett Jr. was a part of the Abolitionist Movement.

Thomas was a Friend (Quaker)

Biography

Thomas Garrett Jr. is Notable.

"I rejoice that I have lived to see this day, when the colored people of this favored land, by law, have equal privileges with the most favored. And I have faith to believe that ere long equal justice will be granted to the poor Indians and the Chinese." ~ Thomas Garrett, Letter published in The Liberator^[1]

Placed on the shaded green grass of the cemetery beside the Friends Meeting House, in Wilmington, Delaware, is a modest plain rounded headstone, marking the final resting place of Thomas Garrett, abolitionist and leader of the Underground Railroad. The white stone is worn and his dates Born Aug. 21, 1879, and Died Jan. 25, 1871, are just barely legible.

Thomas Garrett, son of Thomas Garrett, Sr. and Sarah Price Garrett, was born on August 21, 1789, in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, the third surviving son of his parents.^[1]

"The Quaker family lived on their beautiful homestead, 'Thornfield,' in Darby, Delaware County. As abolitionists, the family hid runaway slaves in their farmhouse. It was there that Thomas was raised. Thomas Sr., his father besides farming was an edge-tool maker. He taught his sons how to make tools and work as blacksmiths."^[1] Thomas would later use his knowledge of tools to run a mercantile iron and hardware business on Shipley Street in Wilmington, Delaware, near his home there.^[2]

Thomas married twice. He and Mary Sharpless declared their intention to marry at the Concord Monthly Meeting 2nd 9th month 1813,^[3] and were married 14th day 10th month 1813 at the Birmingham Meeting.^[4]

Thomas and his wife moved to Wilmington, Delaware in 1822, and after Mary's death he married Rachel Mendenhall on the 7th day of the 1st month 1830.^[3]

"Garrett openly worked as a stationmaster on the last stop of the Underground Railroad in the state. Because he openly defied slave hunters as well as the slave system, Garrett had no need of secret rooms in his house at 227 Shipley Street."

"Among the manliest of men, and the gentlest of spirits." Wrote Wm. Lloyd Garrison about the Wilmington businessman who aided more than 2,700 slaves to freedom."^[5]

It is said that nearly twenty-nine hundred fugitives were helped by Thomas Garrett. In 1848, he was brought to court and prosecuted for his activities helping slaves to escape from their masters. He was fined the total of all his possessions. Friends helped him to keep his business and he increased his underground railroad efforts.^[4]

At the age of eighty-one, Thomas Garrett died January 24, 1871 of a bladder disease.^[1]

Children of Thomas and Mary (Sharpless) Garrett^[4]

1. Ellwood Garrett, b. 12, 19, 1815; m. Catharine Wollaston
2. Sarah Sharpless Garrett, b. 4, 15, 1819; d. 9, 3, 1853; m. Edward C. Hewes
3. Anne Garrett b. 2,2, 1822; d. 8, 23, 1853; m. Dr. James Edwards
4. Henry Garrett, b. 11, 22, 1824; m. Catharine Ann Canby
5. Margaret Malin Garrett, b. 6, 13, 1827; d. 8, 30, 1863; m. James G. McCollin

Child of Thomas and Rachel (Mendinhall) Garrett^[6]

6. Eli Garrett, b. 12 m. 2. 1830; died 5 m. 25, 1886; married 4 mo. 26, 1855 Frances Sellers.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} "Thomas Garrett, born August 21, 1789 " at civilwaref.blogspot.com
2. ↑ O'Neill, Robert F. 'Special to The Inquirer' House Was Home To A Foe Of Slavery at Philly.com. Accessed 2/21/2016
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Swarthmore College; Swarthmore, Pennsylvania; Index Alphabetic For the Record of Concord of Friends, 1805-1824; Collection: Quaker Meeting Records; Call Number: MR Ph 127. Ancestry.com. U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Swarthmore, Quaker Meeting Records. Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Image
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Cope Gilbert (compiler). Genealogy of the Sharpless family, descended from John and Jane Sharples, settlers near Chester, Pennsylvania, 1682 : together with some account of the English ancestry of the family ... p. 400. Philadelphia, 1887.
5. ↑ National Geographic Vol 166 No.1 July 1984
6. ↑ Shoemaker, Benjamin H. Genealogy of the Shoemaker family of Cheltenham, Pennsylvania. p. 202

See also:

• "Delaware, Church Records, 1707-1939," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG5X-1WWF : 9 October 2019), Eli Mendenhall in entry for Thomas Garrett and Rachel Mendenhall, 7 Jan 1830; citing Marriage, New Castle, Delaware, United States, Delaware Bureau of Archives and Records Management, Dover.
• Letter from Thomas Garrett, 1861-12-02
• Thomas Garrett Road Marker
• Thomas Garrett on Wikipedia.
• Find A Grave: Memorial #7423678 entered by Russ Pickett on 8 May 20013.
• photo of tombstone next to Meeting House
• Swarthmore College. Friends Historical Library.
• http://person.ancestry.com/tree/76661864/person/38344315384/facts
• letter from Thomas Garrett to Joseph Watson, May 3, 1827
• Joshua Hoopes / Mary Ralph Garrigues marriage