Robert Garrett (1783-1857)

He was born in Northern Ireland at Lisburn, Co. Down. In 1790, he emigrated with his parents to a farm in Pennsylvania. In 1801, he moved to Baltimore working in a produce and commission house and later becoming a partner in the firm of Wallace & Garrett until 1812. His first wife died in 1812 and five years later he married a daughter of Henry Stouffer with whom he founded his own produce and commission house on Franklin Street (later Howard Street). He established Robert Garrett & Sons in 1839, and invested in railroads and canals to carry goods and produce from western Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia to Baltimore. From Maryland, the goods were shipped to New York, Virginia, and overseas. Their firm was the American agent for several large European shippers, notably the London-based George Peabody & Co., through whom Robert became deeply involved with the Peabody Institute.

At home, Garrett was a director of the Baltimore Gas Company, the Shot Tower Company, and the Savings Bank of Baltimore. In 1837, he organized the Western Bank of Maryland and in 1847 he founded the Eutaw Savings Bank. He purchased two hotels (Eutaw House and Howard House), both of which became successful. After his death, his business interests were continued and expanded by his son, Henry, while his other surviving son, John, became the 7th President of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad from 1858 to 1884. In 1872, Garrett County in western Maryland, was named in honor of the Garrett family. The firm Robert founded continued until 1974 when it merged with Alexander Brown & Sons.