Holbrook line: Dennis Garrett 1650 ish to 1691

 We don't know for sure when Dennis was born, or even where, although speculation is that his birth date is about 1650, and that his parents may have been Francis Garrett and Mary Dennis.  There seems to be little documentation for this belief, except that Francis and Mary were in Virginia, and Dennis's name may be his mother's maiden name.  Also, Dennis and his wife named one of their two new children Frances.  Make of that what you will; I'd prefer to see a will or land transfer or something concrete.

We really don't know much about Dennis's life, either.  He may have had a brother Robert and a brother William, but that is inconclusive at this time.  He married someone named Barbara or Barbary, who may or may not be Barbara Stone, about 1668, presumably in St Paul's Parish of Baltimore County, Maryland.  Actually, there was no St Paul's Parish at the time.  The records may have been part of those of Patapsco Parish instead, as that seems to be the predecessor to St Paul's.  At any rate, this was on land that would eventually be absorbed into Baltimore, but at the time, it was definitely frontier.  

We know that Dennis and Barbary had at least two children, Frances and Johanna, and we know that Dennis Garrett and Thomas stone purchased 100 acres of land called Long Island Point in 1685, from Edward Mumford.  We don't know if Dennis had Thomas had any kind of a kinship, although this is where the speculation comes from that Barbary may have been a Stone.  The fact that this land was only 100 acres indicates (at least to me) that Dennis was not a man of means, at least, not yet.  And that is what is known of the life of Dennis Garrett.  Except...his death was eventful, and sad.

On July 31, 1691, Dennis was involved in some sort of altercation, verbal or otherwise, with Captain John Oldton.  Oldton was so enraged that he struck Dennis in the head with his sword, leaving a mortal wound.  Dennis lived until September 2 of that year.  This incident may have taken place at a garrison house, but there is no indication that his was any part of military discipline.  At any rate, Oldton was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged, but due to his connections and possibly because he was needed as a military leader, he was pardoned.  He later commanded the Rangers.  

That left Barbara with two adult or nearly adult children, and no real means of support.  She married John Broad , who died in 1709, and Barbara herself died in 1733, aged about 80.

This is a short post and a sad one, but we should know at least the basics of the life of each of our ancestors.  From this distance, we can't know whether the precipitating event was over a trivial matter, provoked or unprovoked, or whether there was a history of tension between the two men.  We can only recognize that life was difficult for our ancestors, and sometimes matters got out of control.  Nevertheless, Dennis lived and worked, raised at least two daughters, and left a legacy that includes quite a number of descendants, including movie actor James Dean. 

Our line of descent is:

Dennis Garrett-Barbara 

Johanna Garrett-John Cole

Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch

Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury

Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon

Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick

Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black

Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard

Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants