PIONEER - SURVEYOR - FARMER

Jonathan Joshua Garret(t) was born in South Carolina, the son of Thomas Garrett, and was known by his middle name, Joshua. (In most sources, his last name was spelled Garrett, with two "t"s.) For his early life, we must rely on family tradition, mainly described by "Uncle Joe" Garrett to Minnie Chesteen (later Stevens) in 1940. However, at least one event seems incorrect (and is not included here). Nevertheless, according to "Uncle Joe," Joshua left home when he was around his late teens and eventually lived in Florida for awhile, then lived in Mobile, Alabama, for a year, and finally went to Mississippi, in the early 1820s. There, according to "Uncle Joe," Joshua worked as a surveyor and befriended Chief Greenwood LeFlore. Joshua also participated in the removal of the Choctaw Indians from Mississippi in the 1830s, helping to bring them to Memphis, Tennessee, and put them across the Mississippi River.

On May 15, 1833, Joshua Garrett married Mary Grantham (Oct. 1, 1819 - Oct. 21, 1905) in Mississippi, when he was 41 and she was 13. (According to "Uncle Joe," Joshua had met her family around 1824-25, when she was age 5, as he traveled around the state as a surveyor.) He settled down and farmed, and they had 15 children (5 boys and 10 girls). Joshua and Mary remained in Mississippi for the rest of their lives. In 1850, they lived in southern Carroll County. In 1860, they were not listed in the U.S. Census. In 1870, they lived at Poplar Creek, in what was then part of Choctaw County. There, Joshua owned 40 acres of improved land and 80 acres of woodland. By 1880, Joshua and Mary were living at the farm owned by their son, Joe Garrett ("Uncle Joe"), age 21, and his wife, Fanny, age 15, in what was then (and still is) Montgomery County. Joshua died the following year, while Mary lived until 1905.

Leon Basile