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Thomas Garrett
Thomas Garrett (August 21, 1789 – January 25, 1871) was an American abolitionist and assisted in the Underground Railroad movement before the American Civil War. He helped more than 2,500 African Americans escape slavery.
For his efforts, he was threatened, harassed, and assaulted. A $10,000 (equivalent to $387,000 in 2025) bounty was established for his capture. He was arrested and convicted for helping Emeline and Samuel Hawkins escape slavery.
Garrett was born on August 21, 1789, in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia, to Sarah Price and Thomas Garrett. The family were members of the Quaker Darby Friends Meeting. His family lived on their homestead called Riverview Farm.
In 1813, Garrett married Mary Sharpless, with whom he had five children. He became a member of the Wilmington Meeting when he moved to Wilmington, Delaware in 1822. Wilmington was advantageous for his career as it was a growing city. It was also well-suited for Underground Railroad activity as it was the last city before Philadelphia within a slave state. He established a station at his house at 227 Shipley Street.
Mary died in 1828. He married a second time in 1830 to Rachel Mendenhall, the daughter of Eli Mendenhall. They had a son.
When his father died in 1839, the original farm was split between Thomas's brothers Issac and Edward, who renamed their farms "Fernleaf Farm" and "Cleveland Farm", but much is preserved today as Arlington Cemetery. Thomas's house, "Thornfield", built around 1800 and in which he lived until 1822, still stands today (as a private residence) in what is now the Drexel Hill neighborhood of Upper Darby.
He established an iron and hardware business and made it prosper. In 1835, Garrett became a director of the new Wilmington Gas Company, which made gas "made from rosin, at $7 per 1,000 cubic feet" for lighting lamps. In 1836, he, Chandler, Joseph Whitaker, and other partners invested and revived the Principio Furnace in Perryville, Maryland, near an important crossing of the Susquehanna River at the top of Chesapeake Bay.
His life as an abolitionist began in earnest in 1813 when he was 24 years of age. A free black woman who worked for the Garretts was kidnapped by slave traders who intended to sell her into slavery in the Deep South. Garrett rescued her and determined to defend African Americans throughout his life.
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Thomas Garrett
Thomas Garrett (August 21, 1789 – January 25, 1871) was an American abolitionist and assisted in the Underground Railroad movement before the American Civil War. He helped more than 2,500 African Americans escape slavery.
For his efforts, he was threatened, harassed, and assaulted. A $10,000 (equivalent to $387,000 in 2025) bounty was established for his capture. He was arrested and convicted for helping Emeline and Samuel Hawkins escape slavery.
Garrett was born on August 21, 1789, in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia, to Sarah Price and Thomas Garrett. The family were members of the Quaker Darby Friends Meeting. His family lived on their homestead called Riverview Farm.
In 1813, Garrett married Mary Sharpless, with whom he had five children. He became a member of the Wilmington Meeting when he moved to Wilmington, Delaware in 1822. Wilmington was advantageous for his career as it was a growing city. It was also well-suited for Underground Railroad activity as it was the last city before Philadelphia within a slave state. He established a station at his house at 227 Shipley Street.
Mary died in 1828. He married a second time in 1830 to Rachel Mendenhall, the daughter of Eli Mendenhall. They had a son.
When his father died in 1839, the original farm was split between Thomas's brothers Issac and Edward, who renamed their farms "Fernleaf Farm" and "Cleveland Farm", but much is preserved today as Arlington Cemetery. Thomas's house, "Thornfield", built around 1800 and in which he lived until 1822, still stands today (as a private residence) in what is now the Drexel Hill neighborhood of Upper Darby.
He established an iron and hardware business and made it prosper. In 1835, Garrett became a director of the new Wilmington Gas Company, which made gas "made from rosin, at $7 per 1,000 cubic feet" for lighting lamps. In 1836, he, Chandler, Joseph Whitaker, and other partners invested and revived the Principio Furnace in Perryville, Maryland, near an important crossing of the Susquehanna River at the top of Chesapeake Bay.
His life as an abolitionist began in earnest in 1813 when he was 24 years of age. A free black woman who worked for the Garretts was kidnapped by slave traders who intended to sell her into slavery in the Deep South. Garrett rescued her and determined to defend African Americans throughout his life.