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There
are two kinds of people in this world: givers and takers. Jenkins
Garrett is a “giver,” there is no doubt about it. Garrett has played
significant roles in higher education in Texas, in various civic affairs
in the Fort Worth-Arlington-Dallas metroplex, and in building and later
donating one of the largest private collections of Texana to a public
university in his home state. To understand Jenkins Garrett, however,
one must first know something about his background.
Jess Jenkins Garrett was born on December 14, 1914, in Caldwell, Texas.
He was the youngest offspring of Jesse and Sudie Garrett. Jenkins’
father was a successful attorney, but at age 35 in 1921 he reoriented
his life to the ministry, and he moved his family to Fort Worth where he
attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He accepted a pulpit
in Fort Worth, which he held for thirty-two years. As a result, Jenkins
Garrett spent most of his formative years in that city. Garrett
graduated high school in 1931. He was a good, but not exceptional
student. He was, however, extremely active in outside activities, such
as the debate club, honor society, and school government.
Garrett entered The University of Texas at Austin in September 1931 at
the age of sixteen. His career goal was to become an attorney. While at
the university Garrett became immersed in campus life, participating in
the activities of the Baptist Student Union and the YMCA, joining the
debate team and Tejas Club, and being elected to the Judiciary Council
and president of the Student Association. He graduated in 1937 with an
A.B. in liberal arts and a degree in law.
It was at UT where Garrett’s interest in history was piqued. He was a
junior at the time and needed another history class for his degree plan.
His advisor suggested that he take Walter Prescott Webb’s class “History
of the United States since 1865,” and because it fit into his
schedule, he agreed to register for it. This one class was to change his
attitudes toward history forever and, in the process, light a fire in
him to read, understand, and ultimately collect history books,
manuscripts, broadsides, sheet music, post cards, and other sources.
What impressed Garrett most about Webb were his ideas that history was
“high adventure” and the story of people and their impact over time.
He also stressed the importance of Texas to the development of the West
and the U.S. as a whole. Webb’s class opened Garrett’s eyes about
the relevance of the past, and, for the first time, he started reading
Texas history for pleasure and insight.
Garrett left UT in 1937 to pursue a master’s in law at Harvard. He
received his degree in 1939, having studied with Felix Frankfurter among
others on the Harvard faculty. Upon returning to Fort Worth, Garrett
secured a position with the law firm of Walker, Smith, and Shannon. When
war with Germany and Japan seemed imminent in the summer of 1941,
Garrett tried to join the Navy. His inability to distinguish colors,
however, caused him to fail the physical. Still wanting to serve his
country, Garrett joined the FBI and served on the West Coast throughout
most of the war. He also married Virginia Williams of Fort Worth in late
1941 and began raising a family in California. Shortly before the war
ended, Garrett returned to Texas and became the regional counsel for the
War Production Board located in Dallas. The Dallas office regulated the
flow of material to businesses in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico
and Arkansas.
After many years as house counsel for the various businesses of the
Leonard brothers in Fort Worth, he and his partner opened their own
practice in 1965, and this change provided Garrett the freedom to not
only practice law, but also to pursue personal investment opportunities.
His investments in the areas of homebuilding, printing and newspaper
publishing, savings and loans, and aggregate rock and the lime business
(to mention only a few areas), helped to make him a modestly wealthy
man.
Garrett used his financial resources to support a number of worthy
causes and personal interests, none with more vigor and zeal than
collecting. Garrett began collecting in earnest in the late-1950s after
meeting Fort Worth book dealer Nancy Taylor, who convinced him to
purchase first editions and association copies of the books he was
interested in. Garrett’s interest in collecting Texas history and
materials reflecting the history of the U.S. War with Mexico, 1846-1848,
evolved and eventually intensified to the point where he labeled it a
“disease.” By the mid-to-late 1960s, collecting became a passion and
one of his consuming interests. It was at this time that Garrett’s
initial collection was broadened to include materials in any format that
reflected the rich history of Texas.
Garrett is very proud of the collections he built and fervently believes
that the collector’s role in the research process is pivotal. He has
said, “The collector, by function, saves the written word from
destruction, thereby preserving the recorded ideas and knowledge of both
the past and present for the users to enjoy, to assimilate, to
interpret, and to record. It is akin to the supplier who furnishes
selected marble and tools for the sculptor.”
Garrett admits that his primary reward as a collector is to see his work
of many years used and appreciated. To this end, Garrett donated his
Texas and Mexican War collection to The University of Texas at Arlington
Library in 1973-1974, where it became the impetus for the university to
build an outstanding Special Collections area. At the time of the
initial donation, the Garrett Collection, which consisted of more than
10,000 items, was the largest Texana collection in private hands. Since
the establishment of the Garrett Collection at UTA, the Garretts have
continued to support the library with additional donations of historical
materials, providing assistance in fund raising, and helping with
outreach efforts to promote the library to a wide and diverse
audience.
In addition to his accomplishments for UTA, Garrett has left an
indelible mark on his city, state, and nation. He is perhaps best known
for his service to higher education in Texas. For example, Garrett
served on the Board of Trustees, Southwestern Baptist Theological
Seminary, 1960-1968; Governor’s Committee on Education Beyond the High
School Level, 1963; Board of Trustees, Tarrant County Junior College
District, 1966-1971; and the UT System Board of Regents, 1969-1975. The
University of Texas at Austin named Garrett a Distinguished Alumnus in
1995. He has also received numerous awards for his collecting pursuits
and philanthropy, including the Philanthropic Award of the Texas Library
Association, 1991; Sir Thomas More Medal of the University of San
Francisco’s Gleeson Library, 1998; and the Award of Excellence in
Preserving History sponsored by the Texas Historical Commission, 2003,
just to mention a few.
Garrett is well known in Fort Worth for his civic activities and his
work as a lawyer, and has been recognized for his many accomplishments.
Among the awards he has received are the Association of Texas Colleges
and Universities’ Mirabeau B. Lamar Award, 1981; Southwestern Baptist
Theological Seminary’s B. H. Carroll Award, 1985; North Fort Worth
Historical Society’s Tad Lucas Life Achievement Award, 1987; Tarrant
County Bar Association’s Blackstone Award, 1988; Golden Deeds Award of
the Fort Worth Exchange Club, 1990; and the Good Scout Award presented
by the Boy Scouts’ Longhorn Council, 1996. Jenkins Garrett is active
in numerous professional and historical organizations, and has served as
president of the Tarrant County Junior Bar Association, Texas State
Historical Association, Philosophical Society of Texas, Texas Map
Society, and other groups.
Garrett has made significant contributions in writing and publishing,
with perhaps his most important work being his massive bibliography
entitled
The Mexican-American War of 1846-1848: A Bibliography of the Holdings of the Libraries, The University of Texas at
Arlington, published by Texas A&M University Press in 1995. This
work has become a “must have” for libraries, scholars, and
collectors interested in the Mexican War.
Garrett and wife, Virginia, live in Fort Worth and continue to dedicate
their lives to their family, church, community, and collecting
interests. They have three children and four grandchildren.
Jenkins Garrett has been a stalwart member of the Society for the
History of Discoveries, and faithfully has attended and participated in
our annual meetings. For his outstanding work in book collecting, his
philanthropic record, and his most important role in establishing the
Garrett Collection at the University of Texas at Arlington and its
associated academic activities, we are honored to name him FSHD-Fellow
of the Society for the History of Discoveries.
Forty-Fourth Annual Meeting of the Society
for the History of Discoveries
New Orleans, Louisiana
24 October 2003
Prepared by Gerald D. Saxon
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