In his Miscellaneous Writings, published in 1896, Jacob Brown, while discussing the Garlitz
family, had this to say: "-------Garlitz, father of Christian, Henry and John, and
two sisters, was born in Montgomery county, Md. During, or near the close of the Revolutionary
War, he removed with his family westward and located in the southeastern part of Somerset,
(then Bedford,) Co. Pa. Here his family grew up, Henry and John remained in Pennsylvania,
and Christian stepping over the line into his native State." Thirty-nine years later,
Charles E. Hoye published an article in which he said:
"Christian Garlitz I, soon after the American Revolution, moved from Montgomery County,
Maryland to what is now Greenville Township, Somerset County, Pa. He settled just north
of the Maryland line and was one of the first settlers of that township, then well forested
and a fine hunting ground. In the census of 1790 Christy Garlick is listed in Bedford (now
Somerset) County with a family of five males and three females. Three of Christians sons
were Christian, John, and Henry."
As an aside here, though the distinction may not be important, the 1790 census gives the
name as Christly, not Christy. 3 Those statements raise the question to be answered in this
paper: Is Christly Garlick, (named Christian I by Hoye), the true Garlitz progenitor of
western Maryland and Pennsylvania? I believe the answer is no. Christly Garlick, as Hoye
says, is documented in the 1790 census for Bedford County, Pennsylvania, which puts him
in the right county. He has five males and three females. One of the females is probably,
though not necessarily, his wife. The other two females could be the two daughters mentioned
by Brown and Hoye. Except for the head of family the five males, (two more than mentioned
in the histories), are all under 16 years old.
From this, and apparently without further research, Hoye concluded that Christly is the
earliest Garlitz family settler, and called him Christian I. Many Garlitz researchers since
have accepted this conclusion as fact.
On the face of it, the two names are similar; GARLICK/GARLITZ. Still, they are a bit hard
to reconcile. Each can be found in a variety of spellings. Garlick, for example is recorded
as Garlach, Gerlach, Garlic, Garlough, Gerlough and other versions, while Garlitz is found
as
Garlets, Garlitts, Gharlitzs, Corlitz, Goerlitz, Gerlits, and Görlitz. The phonetic similarity,
you see, is found consistently in the first syllable; never in the last.
In searching subsequent records to learn more about Christly Garlick, little is found.
In fact, nothing is found under the Christly Garlick name. There seems to be, however, other
Garlicks in the County. Stophel Garlick, for example, is on a 1789 militia list for Providence
Township, Bedford County. And Stephen Garlick is warranted 200 acres of land on 15 May 1794.
Then in 1798, 200 acres located in Providence Township, Bedford County, and belonging to
Steven Garlick are taxed $150. He has at that time a "cabbin" which measures 18
X 16 worth $10 and 2 stables. Finally, in 1808, Christopher Garlick is taxed for property
valued at $1008.
Note that neither Christly nor Stephen was on the militia list but Stophel was and neither
Stephen nor Stophel was listed in the 1790 census, while Christly was. Later, in the 1800
census, Stephen is listed while Christly and Stophel aren't. And in 1810, Stephen is enumerated
in Bedford County, Providence Township. This is the same Township where Stophel appeared
on a militia list, and where Stephen and Christopher were found. Providence Township is
north and east of Greenville Township where Brown and Hoye put the pioneer Garlitz. In fact,
Providence Township is now located in Fulton County, two counties east of Somerset County.
We will pursue this question of the township later.
In correspondence with another researcher, the suggestion was made that Christly was a
contraction of the given name Christopher. It was also suggested that Stophel was similarly
a contraction of Christopher. If that is true, then Steven Garlick, Stophel Garlick, Christopher
Garlick, and Christly Garlick are quite possibly one and the same. This theory is supported
by the fact that they can all, including Christly as we will see, be placed in the same
location and that both Stophel and Christly disappear in later records.
To confirm this suggestion, I consulted an Internet site by Charles F. Kerchner, Jr., that
gives "nicknames, akas (also known as), and translations for some baptismal and given
names used by 18th Century Pennsylvania Germans." In this list, we find the following:
GERMAN ENGLISH NICKNAME/AKA
Christian Christian Christ, Christli
Christoph Christopher Kit, Stoffel
To gain strength for this argument, I queried the renowned German scholar, Rev. Frederick
S. Weiser, who graciously offered the following: "Christy is normally a nickname for
Christian. Stoffel was the nickname for Christopher. Sometimes people who never heard Stoffel
read it as Steffan. And I have seen people whose names were Christopher called
Christ or Christy or Christly."
This information seems to support a conclusion that the Christly Garlick listed in the
1790 census and identified by Hoye as the pioneer Garlitz is the same person as the Stephen,
Christopher, and Stophel Garlick found in other records. And, if so, because of his
location in Providence Township, it also supports the suggestion that this Garlick fellow
is not the first Garlitz. The pioneer, if you'll recall, was placed by both Brown and Hoye
in Greenville Township. Further, the great supply of people named Garlitz still living in
that area and across the border into Maryland supports that statement.
Those who have searched it know that the 1790 census is not an index. The names are not
listed alphabetically. Nor, as is recorded in a note, are the names listed by township.
However, an analysis of the names in the listing provides an interesting clue. Although
the inhabitants are not listed by township it seems reasonable to believe that those names
appearing together might at least be neighbors. With this in mind, and concluding from the
analysis made above that Christly Garlick was a Providence Township citizen, I compared
the several names on either side of the Christly Garlick entry in the 1790 census with known
Providence Township tax payers. In the table below they are listed in the order in which
they appear in the census. |
