Businessman. A Tobacco manufacturer, he opened one of the first large tobacco factories in Richmond and quickly amassed a large fortune. One of his slaves, a tobacco worker namded Henry “Box” Brown, gained notoriety in 1849, when he escaped in a box shipped from Richmond to Philadelphia, where he became an abolitionist author and speaker. One of the wealthiest men in Richmond at the time of his death, he died when he set his dressing gown on fire while lighting his pipe. (bio by: Garver Graver)  Family links:  Parents:  John Barret (1748 – 1830)  Mary Strachan Barret (1748 – 1825)  Siblings:  John Strachan Barret (1782 – 1856)*  Peter Strachan Barret (1785 – 1850)*  William Barret (1786 – 1871) *Calculated relationship