Garrett Family

Jonathan Garrett Family

This is a picture of the old Garrett homestead, on East Molloy Road, taken in 2007.

Connection to Mattydale

May 6, 1840 - Jonathan M. Garrett, of the town of Salina, purchased 107.33 acres of land in Lot 8 in the town of Salina, for $2400, from Ephraim Garrett of Cicero. [Onondaga County Clerk's Office: Deed Book 79, p. 340]

Family History

Where did they originally come from

Jonathan M. Garrett was born in 1803 in Green Co, NY. His wife Betsey was born in 1812 in Albany Co, NY. Their oldest son, William B. Garrett was born in 1826 in Albany Co, NY. As a boy William claimed that he had grown up in Coxsackie, Green Co, NY.

Where did they initially settle

The first records of Jonathan M. Garrett's presence in central New York was his land purchase described above. At the time of the purchase in 1840 Garrett was already residing in the town of Salina but he was not listed in the 1840 census of Onondaga County.

Garrett Family connections

The Jonathan M. Garrett family appears to be related to the Garretts of the town of Cicero. Ephraim Garrett, the person who sold Jonathan the 107.33 acres on Lot 8, is definitely related to the Jesse Garrett family of Cicero.

The John Garrett family in the town of Lysander is possibly related to the Cicero and Salina Garretts.

There was a Joseph Garrett family that settled in the town of Pompey. The family originally came from England and at first settled in Saratoga County, NY. Joseph was born in 1786 in Vermont. They do not appear to be related to the other Garrett families. Joseph's son, James C. Garrett, settled on a farm on Buckley Road, north of 7th North St. He was succeeded by his son Albert C. Garrett. In 1906 Albert swapped this Salina property with Lewis Avery for land in the town of Cicero and moved to West Chester, PA to live with his son. The Avery family will be discussed in another section.

John B. Garrett, was another son of Joseph Garrett. John moved from Pompey to the town of Salina in 1853 and engaged in farming. The farm was located on the west side of 7th North Street at the intersection of Hopkins Road, where GE's Electronics Park was located. He gave up farming in 1865 and moved into the city of Syracuse. In 1866 he joined his son Frank B. Garrett in the paper warehousing business. John B. retired from the paper business in 1902 and died at his East Castle Street home on March 31, 1906.

Property History

In 1848 William B. Garrett purchased 20 adjacent acres, on the west of his parents farm on Molloy Road. At some point, part of the original farm came into William's possession. In 1860 William sold his 20 acres and 20 acres of the 40 acre piece of the family farm, a total of 40 acres, to his mother. About that time William was having financial difficulties in Green Co, NY. An "Execution" was issued by the court against William B. Garrett. The Sheriff was empowered to seize all of William's personal property and if that didn't satisfy the debt the Sheriff was to seize any real estate that had been in the possession of William Garrett on or after April 19, 1860. That included the land William had sold to his Mom. He was probably trying to hide his assets as the financial dark clouds gathered over his head. Fortunately, and I don't know why, a local real estate investor, Myron C. Merriman (Merriman Ave. in Syracuse is named after him), bought the property at auction and gave it back to Betsey Garrett. 

Betsey Garrett, widow of Jonathan M. Garrett, leased her farm, which had grown to 127 acres, to Patrick H. O'Donnell and his son Dennis in March 1894. The lease had a strange clause.

"It said that the lease might be terminated and the farm and all things covered by the lease claimed, if the parties of the second part (O'Donnells) indulged or employed servants who indulged in intoxicating liquors; who, in fact, became drunk upon the premises of the party of the first part (Betsey Garrett)." Garrett was trying to have the O'Donnell's ejected for supposedly violating this clause. The O'Donnell's, even though they were Irish, denied that they had violated the clause. The outcome of the suit is not known.

 

"A Suit of Grave Import at Great Length in Judge Northup's Chambers,"

The Daily Standard, Syracuse, NY, Sunday, March 25, 1894

Betsey Garrett died in 1895.

In September 1897 the estate of Betsey Garrett held approximately 106 acres in Lot 8, town of Salina. W. B. Garrett owned 20 acres that had belonged to his father and the reference to a will would indicate that he inherited it from his father. This is the same 20 acres that William had sold his Mom and that she almost lost in a Sheriff's sale. Since William got that 20 acres back, the family must have forgiven him.

In August 1906 an ad for the sale of some cows referred to the location as William Garrett's farm. In June 1922, the old 127-acre Garrett farm on Molloy Road was purchased from August Grabowsky by the Maloney Lumber Company of Wolf St. The intention was to divide the property into acre and half-acre lots and sell them to individuals for the building of homes. The sub-division was named Northwood.

Notable Facts or Events

Lorenzo Garrett (son of Jonathan)

     Murder and Suicide 1870-12-26

     The Collamer Tragedies 1870-12-26

William B. Garrett (son of Jonathan)

     The Michael Gleason Shooting

     The Shooting Affray in Salina 1872-04-20    

     The Gun 1872-04-29

     The Trial of Sterzer 1872-10-07