Dictionary of American Biography

Garrett, Thomas, philanthropist, of Quaker parentage, b. Darby, Del. Co., Pa., 21 Aug. 1783; d. Wilmington, Del., ab. 20 Jan 1871. Bred а scythe and edge-tool maker, he acquired a competency, and in 1820 settled in Wilmington. He became an abolitionist ab. 1807, through the kidnapping of a colored woman from his father's family; and thenceforward assisted all fugitives who applied to him on their way to freedom. May, 1848, in a suit brought against him by the owners of some slaves whom he had aided to escape, he was convicted; and the damages awarded swept away every dollar of his property. Commencing business anew in his 65th year, he amassed a competence. He lived to be honored in the community by which he had formerly been execrated, and to see his hopes for universal freedom realized.