Robert Garrett and Sons records

Robert Garrett (1783-1857) was born in Lisburn, County Down, Northern Ireland. In 1790 he immigrated with his parents and five siblings to the United States. His father died on the voyage and after their arrival the family settled on a farm in Pennsylvania. In 1801 Garrett moved to Baltimore where he worked in a produce and commission house and later was a partner in the firm of Wallace and Garrett until 1812. In 1817 Garrett married Elizabeth Stouffer (1791-1877) of Baltimore. By 1820 with the help of Henry Stouffer, his father-in-law, he founded his own produce and commission house on Franklin Street. The firm later moved to Howard Street. Robert Garrett and Sons was formed in 1839/40. By this time his business had expanded into forwarding and he supported the use of railroads and canals to carry goods and produce from western Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia to Baltimore. They were then shipped within Maryland and to New York, Virginia, and overseas. Robert Garrett and Sons was the American agent for several large European shippers and had connections with financial and exporting houses in Europe. In addition to his international business activities, Garrett pursued various economic opportunities in Maryland. He was the 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 founded Eutaw Savings Bank. He purchased two hotels that became successful and popular: Eutaw House in 1845 and in 1850, an inn that was rebuilt as the Howard House. Names associated with the management and operation of Eutaw House include James Carroll, Robert Coleman, Hiram Cranston, Henry Jackson, John Manly, and John Shamburg. The Garretts had four children: Henry Stouffer (1818-1867), Robert Close (1819-1824), John Work (1820-1884) and Elizabeth Barbara (1827-1917). Following Garrett’s death in 1857, his son Henry maintained the commercial business in Baltimore and enlarged the firm’s financial interests. Garrett’s son John became President of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1858 and retained that position until his death in 1884. In 1872 the Maryland legislature created Garrett County in western Maryland in his honor, by dividing Allegany County. John’s sons Robert (1847-1896) and Thomas Harrison (1849-1888) followed their uncle Henry in the commercial firm. Eventually Robert Garrett and Sons became solely a banking and brokerage house. In 1974 Robert Garrett and Sons merged with Alex Brown & Sons.