Sarah J. Tompkins Garnet (née Smith; July 31, 1831 – September 17, 1911) was an American educator and suffragist from New York City who was a pioneer and influential African-American female school principal in the New York City public school system.

She was the oldest of 11 children; her parents were farmers and owned land in Queens County, then part of Long Island.

A daughter from that marriage, Serena Jane Tompkins, was an accomplished pianist and organist when she died at forty-seven years old in 1898.

In February 1863 the untimely death of Charlotte S. Smith, the beloved African American principal of Manhattan's Colored School No.

Their Brooklyn marriage ceremony was performed by Amos Noë Freeman,[11] a minister associated with the legendary escape from slavery in 1855 of Anna Maria Weems on the Underground Railroad.

[14] PS 11, formerly named for William T. Harris, is located in Chelsea, just a few blocks away from the former Colored School No.