Rapides Parish.
James W. Garrett, merchant, Lena, La. Mr. Garrett is one of the prosperous merchants of Rapides Parish, and by his superior management and rare business ability and efficiency he has done not a little to advance the reputation the county enjoys as a commercial center. His parents, William O. and Marinda (Lamden) Garrett, were natives of Tennessee and South Carolina, respectively, the father a planter of Alabama, and both members of the Missionary Baptist Church. The mother is now residing in Winn Parish, La. James W. Garrett was born in Alabama in 1832, and when twenty years of age removed to Mississippi, where he was engaged in carpentering for some time. He removed to Louisiana in 1861, and one year later enlisted in Company F, Twenty-seventh Louisiana Regiment Infantry. He operated principally at Vicksburg, Miss. In October, 1862, he was injured in a railroad accident and sent home on thirty days’ furlough. He was at home at the time of the surrender on expired furlough. After this he taught school for a short time and from 1869 to 1886 was engaged in planting, four miles west of Lena, in Natchitoches Parish, where he remained until the last mentioned date and then located in Lena, where he has since been successfully engaged in mercantile pursuits. He is a Mason, a member of Robertsville Lodge. In 1856 he married Miss Susannah, daughter of Elijah and Tolitha (Phillips) Edwards, and the result of this marriage was ten children—three sons and seven daughters—one son and five daughters now living. The parents of Mrs. Garrett were born in Georgia and died in Misssissippi.
Source: Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Northwest Louisiana: Comprising a Large Fund of Biography of Actual Residents, and an Interesting Historical Sketch of Thirteen Counties, by Southern Publishing Company, published by Southern publishing Company, 1890; Pgs. 569-570
NOTE: Transcribed as published, including spelling of names.
