Petition by Harmon Garrett for Old Jethro's land along the Elizabeth River near what is Maynard Massachusetts MA USA

Herman Garrett (also known as Harman Garrett) (c. 1607 – c.1656/57) was an early American

gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very h ...

, blacksmith, and landowner in colonial Massachusetts. Herman Garrett was from

Wickham Market Wickham Market is a large village and electoral ward situated in the River Deben valley of Suffolk, England, within the Suffolk Coastal heritage area. It is on the A12 trunk road north-east of the county town of Ipswich, north-east of Wood ...

in England and in 1628 he married Susan Tofts in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

.Joseph Jackson Howard, Frederick Arthur Crisp, ''Visitation of England and Wales: Notes - Volume 6 - Page 47'' (1906), p. 47 https://books.google.com/books?id=B-gKAAAAYAAJ Garrett immigrated to Massachusetts by 1638 and worked as a gunsmith and blacksmith in

Charlestown, Massachusetts Charlestown is the oldest neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Originally called Mishawum by the Massachusett tribe, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from downtown Boston, and also adjoins t ...

until 1652 when he moved to Boston, Massachusetts. In 1640 Garrett hired John Edwards as an apprentice gunsmith in Charlestown with an agreement for Edwards to purchase Garrett's shop, but in 1642 Garrett received Edwards' property after a complaint was filed by Edwards alleging an inflated valuation of Garrett's property. In 1643 Garrett removed to

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the conflu ...

Charles Henry Pope, ''The Pioneers of Massachusetts: A Descriptive List, Drawn from ...'' (1991), pg. 182 https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1556133987 to the house of Robert Hethersay who had previously granted Garrett a mortgage on his house in Concord as security for a loan which Hethersay failed pay. By 1643 Garrett was a member of the Nashaway Company which settled the area around what is now

Lancaster, Massachusetts Lancaster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,441. History In 1643 Lancaster was first ...

, and due to his profession, he may have been involved because of the

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

deposits in the area. By 1650 the Garretts were living in Boston, as Susan Garrett signed a petition by the women of Boston to allow Alice Tilly to work as a midwife.2043: RECORDS: GENERAL COURT http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ArchivesSearch/RevolutionarySearch.aspx In 1651 Garrett, was a sometimes resident of Watertown, and he received from the Court 1,000 acres along the

Assabet River The Assabet River is a small, long river located about west of Boston, Massachusetts, United States.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 The Assabet rises ...

which may have included parts of what is now

Maynard, Massachusetts Maynard is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is located 22 miles west of Boston, in the MetroWest and Greater Boston region of Massachusetts and borders Acton, Concord, Stow and Sudbury. The town's population w ...

when a Native American leader,

Tantamous Tantamous (also known as Old Jethro or John Jethro) (c. 1580–1676) was a well-known Native American Nipmuc leader in seventeenth century Massachusetts. Tantamous was a powwow ( healer and spiritual leader) who lived near the Assabet River,Barr ...

, defaulted on a mortgage for a debt due to Garrett for a mare and a colt. Tantamous' property was laid out by

Simon Willard Simon Willard (April 3, 1753 – August 30, 1848) was a celebrated American clockmaker. Simon Willard clocks were produced in Massachusetts in the towns of Grafton and Roxbury, near Boston. Among his many innovations and timekeeping improvement ...

, Garrett's partner in the Nashaway Company, and then sold to the town of Watertown. Garrett returned to England and died and was buried at

in 1657.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garrett, Herman Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown 17th-century English people People from colonial Boston Gunsmiths American blacksmiths British blacksmiths English emigrants to the United States