"George" Johannes Georgius Garlinger

  General Notes:

!MISC: George Garlinger was the son of Johann and Margaretha Gerlinger.
George arrived in America at the port of Philadelphia sometime
before 1768. He likely sailed from Rotterdam with a stop at
Cowes.
Travel time from Rotterdam to Philadelphia was about 10 weeks
at sea.
George settled in the Northern Liberties of Philadelphia.

!CHURCH:George and Maria Christina Garlinger attended St. Michael's and
Zion Church located a few blocks north of Independence Hall in
Philadelphia. The spelling of "Garlinger" appears as both Garlinger
and Gerlinger in the church records of the 1770's and 1780's.
The church was founded by Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg in 1742, he
is known as the "patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America".
The church was first located near Fifth and Arch and was called
St. Michaels. The Zion Church was an offshoot of St. Michaels in
1766 at the corner of Fourth and Cherry. It was the largest church
building then in Philadelphia. When the news of Cornwallis' surrender
reached Philadelphia, the Continentall Congress assembled there to give
thanks on October 24, 1781.

!BURIAL:George, Maria Christina, and a number of other Garlinger/Gerlinger's
are believed to be buried in the Lutheran cemetaries that were once
located in downtown Philadelphia near Sixth and Vine. The cemetary
lands were sold in the 1870's. Some of the remains were removed to
the New Lutheran Burial Grounds on Hart's Lane in the Richmond section
of Philadelphia. Some of the remains were claimed by relatives.
Sadly, many of the graves had there tombstones placed horizonatlly on
top of their graves and fill dirt was brought in ot raise the elevation
of the low lying ground. Franklin Center Park and the concrete of I-676
now cover the remains of many early German Lutheran pioneers who are
still buried there.

!TAXES: Listed as taxpayer George Garlinger
Northern Liberties Township, East Part
County of Philadelphia for 1779
Amount of State Tax 15.0 3rd Series PA Archives XV pg. 88
Effective Supply Tax 3.0 3rd Series PA Archives XIV pg. 648

Listed as taxpayer Geroge Garlinger
Northern Liberties, City of Philadelphia- 1780
Valuation: 3,000 Tax 9.0.0
For the Place 14,000 Tax 42.0.0
3rd Series PA Archives XV pg. 351

!MIL: Served Revolutionary War
3rd Class Philadelphia Militia: served his tour 1781
6th Series PA ARCHIVES I Pg. 165

5th Battalion-Capt. Richard Salter's Company
2nd Class Philadelphia Militia
6th Series PA ARCHIVES I Pg. 347, 361

Capt. John Hewson's Company
2nd Regiment of Foot
Return to Philadelphia of George Garlinger on Aug 10, 1780
6th Series PA ARCHIVES I Pg. 159

George Gerlinger entered the Philadelphia Militia under the command
of Capt. Percy on June 25, 1777

!MISC: George Garlinger is listed as Bondsman in the wedding of
Michael Garlinger and Mary Grove on Jan. 26, 1785 in the
city of Philadelphia.
Lewis Garlinger is listed in the 3rd Series PA ARCHIVES XV Pg. 352
living a few houses down from George Garlinger in the Northern
Liberties Township of PhiladelphiA in 1779. Lewis Garlinger is
listed as enlisting in the Pennsylvania German Regiment on
July 20, 1776. Lewis is believed to be a brother of George's,
and to be the same Ludwig Gerlinger or
(Lewis Garlinger) who arrived the port of Philadelphia on Sept. 20,
1773 from Rotterdam. He was an indentured servant to Adam Baker
and his assigns.--SOURCE: Page 305 Pennsylvania German Society
Page 811 5th Series PA ARCHIVES III
Page 351 3rd Series PA ARCHIVES XV

  Events

• Notes. George was one of the tens of thousands of Germans who came to America as part of the Palatine Emigration from the Rhineland. When he was 21 years old, his father died in the Alsace, and he decided to go to America around 1763. He would have made his way down the Rhine River to the port of Rotterdam in Holland, with the help of the "newlanders" who assisted the desperate refugees for a price. He was young and able-bodied and would have been able to secure passage on one of the overcrowded ships which regularly set sail for Philadelphia. He would fetch a good price from the merchants in Philadelphia to re-pay his expenses. The trip would last about 10 weeks and many ships stopped for a brief time in Cowes, England. The trip was difficult, sea-sickness and other illness would ravage the occupants of the ship and many would die before reaching America. Most of the ships arrived in the harbor of Philadelphia in late Fall. A vivid account of the arrival of these passenger ships was given by Rev. Henry M. Muehlenberg in the 1760's.

"After much delay, one ship after another arrives in the harbor of Philadelphia, when the rough and severe winter is before the door. One or more merchants receive the lists of the freights and the agreement which the immigrants have signed with their own hand in Holland, together with the bills for their travel down the Rhine and the advances of the "newlanders" for provisions, which they received on the ships account. Formerly the freight for a single person was six to ten louis d'ors ($45, but still a great sum of money). Before the ship is allowed to cast anchor at the harbor front, the passengers are all examined, according to the law in force, by a physician, as to whether any contagious disease exists among them. Then the new arrivals are led in procession to the City Hall and there they must render the Oath of Allegiance to the King of Great Britain. After that they are brought back to the ship. Then announcements are printed in the newspapers, stating how many of the new arrivals are to be sold. Those who have money are released. Whoever has well-to-do friends seeks a loan from them to pay the passage, but there are only a few who succeed. The ship becomes the market-place. The buyers make their choice among the arrivals and bargain with them for a certain number of years and days. Then they take them to the merchant, pay their passage and their other debts and receive from the government authorities a written document which makes the newcomers their property for a definite period of time"

It is into such slavery that Johann Georgius Gerlinger sold himself. It was called "indentured servitude: and was normally for a period of 3 to 10 years of labor. We do not know the name of the ship or the length of servitude to which George indentured himself. A search of the List of Indentures for Sept 20, 1773 shows that George's brother, Ludwig, arrived from Rotterdam and was purchased as a servant by "Adam Baker and his assigns, a resident of Bristol Twp. in Bucks County." Ludwig's term of service was for 3 years and he was bought for 23 pounds 17 pence. (SOURCE: Page 305 Pennsylvania German Society Page 811 5th Series PA ARCHIVES III Page 351 3rd Series PA ARCHIVES XV).

Ludwig would have been 21 years old when he arrived in America. His name was anglicized to Lewis Garlinger. George's brother and Ludwig's brother, Johann Michael Gerlinger, also came to America in 1780 as a soldier in the French Army.

After Johann Georgius Gerlinger completed his servitude, he settled in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia. He married Maria Christina Kist in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1770. (Maria Christina Kist is #522.) Maria was born about 1745. Maria died after 1794. George and Maria Christina Garlinger attended St. Michael's and Zion Church located a few blocks north of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The spelling of "Garlinger" appears as both Garlinger and Gerlinger in the church records of the 1770's and 1780's. It was during this period that the name was anglicized to Garlinger.

George and Maria attended church at the most important Lutheran church in America, St. Michael's and Zions Lutheran Church, near present day Franklin Square in Philadelphia The Congregation was organized in 1742 and was the outcome of the preaching of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, who came to Philadelphia in that year. As Europeans arrived in the New World, they erected churches. There was a shortage of clergy in early colonial America. Church services were often held by laymen who were respected for their knowledge of the Scriptures. Many congregations appealed to churches in Europe, hoping that clergy would be sent to help them. In 1734, lay leaders of the German Lutheran congregations in Philadelphia, Trappe, and New Hanover joined together in such an appeal. Eight years passed before someone could be found to serve these churches. On September 22, 1742, Henry Melchior Muhlenberg arrived in Philadelphia to undertake the ministry. He is known today as the "patriarch of the Lutheran Church in North America." The establishment of German Lutheranism in America is dated from the arrival of Muhlenberg in 1742. He first preached in a frame barn on Arch Street, near Fifth Street, which was occupied by the German Reformed Congregation on December 5, 1742. The result of his ministry was the erection of a Lutheran Church on Fifth Street, above Arch, the corner-stone of which was laid April 5, 1743, and the edifice dedicated August 14, 1748. It was called St. Michael's. The present church building was built in 1870.

Zion Church was an offshoot of St. Michael's. This congregation erected a building at the corner of Fourth and Cherry Streets in 1766. It was destroyed by fire on December 26, 1794 and rebuilt in 1796. It was the largest church building then in Philadelphia. So prominent was the Church attended by George and Maria Garlinger, that when news of Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown reached the city, the Continental Congress assembled at Zion Church to give thanks on October 24, 1781. On December 26, 1799, the Mock Funeral of Washington proceeded to Zion Church, where Henry Lee delivered an oration on the General and first President. In this discourse, he made use of the phrase "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." When he originally offered a resolution in Congress, he used the word "country" instead of countrymen." The building was removed, in 1870, after the erection of the present church. (Source: Encyclopedia of Philadelphia, Page 1065)

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress declared Independence for the united States. This occurred just down the street from the St. Michael and Zion Church. It must have been an exciting time for George Garlinger in his new country. A week before, on June 27, 1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution directing that a German Regiment be formed. Four companies of German's were to be raised in Pennsylvania and four companies from Maryland. George's brother, Lewis (Ludwig) enlisted in the Pennsylvania German Regiment on July 20, 1776.

George Garlinger served several tours of duty in the Revolutionary War as found in the Pennsylvania Archives.

6th Series PA ARCHIVES I Pg. 159 George Gerlinger entered the Philadelphia Militia under the command of Capt. Percy on June 25, 1777

6th Series PA ARCHIVES I Pg. 347, 361 Capt. John Hewson's Company 2nd Regiment of Foot Return to Philadelphia of George Garlinger on Aug 10, 1780

6th Series PA ARCHIVES I Pg. 165 George Garlinger served Revolutionary War 3rd Class Philadelphia Militia: served his tour 1781 5th Battalion-Capt. Richard Salter's Company 2nd Class Philadelphia Militia

It is believed that George Garlinger marched with the Philadelphia Militia and George Washington on the long trek to Yorktown in 1781. Oddly enough, George's younger brother Michael Guerlinger, a Frenchman, came to America with a French Army Regiment in 1780. In October 1781, Michael Guerlinger's Regiment marched upon Yorktown joining up with the Continental Army led by George Washington. George Garlinger served with the Philadelphia Militia of the Pennsylvania German regiment.

A French military advisor, General Rochambeau, had joined Washington's staff in Rhode Island. Washington had planned to attack New York City, but instead they decided to strike at Cornwallis in Virginia. The French navy under Admiral DeGrasse sailed to Chesapeake Bay to prevent any escape or rescue of Cornwallis' army. On August 20th, Washington and Rochambeau began the 500-mile march to Virginia. Admiral DeGrasse with his fleet of 28 ships blocked the British fleet forcing it to return to New York. Cornwallis was now bottled up in his fortified position at Yorktown. On September 28, 1781 the combined American and French Armies with George Garlinger and Michael Guerlinger moved from Williamsburg to take up positions in the trenches of Yorktown.

The combined Armies had Cornwallis surrounded. The French Navy had his retreat blocked as well as any hope for reinforcements or supplies. A surrender agreement was negotiated at Moore House overlooking Chesapeake Bay. On October 20, 1781, the British Troops marched out to surrender their arms. The Revolutionary War was effectively over, although it would be 1783 before a Peace Treaty was signed.

On the 10th of January 1783, Michael Guerlinger was granted a limited leave at Wilmington, Delaware under the seal of Duke Di Lauzin and countersigned by Major Beoffroy. His Regiment sailed for France on March 3, 1783 and Michael remained in America and settled in the Northern Liberties of Philadelphia near his older brother George Garlinger and his younger brother Ludwig (Lewis) Gerlinger.

George Garlinger is listed as Bondsman in the wedding of Michael Garlinger and Mary Grove (Maria Graf) on Jan. 26, 1785 in the city of Philadelphia. Michael Garlinger is listed in the 6th Series of PA ARCHIVES III Pg. 94 as a Private discharged from the Philadelphia Militia on Jan 6, 1788

Lewis Garlinger is listed in the 3rd Series PA ARCHIVES XV Pg. 352 as living a few houses down from George Garlinger in the Northern Liberties Township of PhiladelphiA in 1779.

Listed as taxpayer George Garlinger Northern Liberties Township, East Part County of Philadelphia for 1779
Amount of State Tax 15.0 3rd Series PA Archives XV pg. 88
Effective Supply Tax 3.0 3rd Series PA Archives XIV pg. 648
Listed as taxpayer Geroge Garlinger Northern Liberties, City of Philadelphia- 1780 Valuation: 3,000 Tax 9.0.0
For the Place 14,000 Tax 42.0.0 3rd Series PA Archives XV pg. 351

George Garlinger died April 8, 1794 and was buried in the Lutheran cemetery that was once located in downtown Philadelphia near Sixth and Vine associated with the St. Michael and Zion Church., Maria Christina died sometime before 1800., Maria and number of other Garlinger / Gerlinger's were buried there also. The cemetery lands were sold in the 1870's. Some of the remains were removed to the New Lutheran Burial Grounds on Hart's Lane in the Richmond section of Philadelphia. Some of the remains were claimed by relatives. Sadly, many of the graves simply had their tombstones placed horizontally on top of their graves and fill dirt was brought in to raise the elevation of the low-lying ground.

Franklin Center Park and the concrete of I-676 now cover the remains of many early German Lutheran pioneers who are still buried there beneath the concrete pillar of the Interstate and the green grass of the park.

Jacob Garlinger was born in Pennsylvania in 1766. His mother is unknown. George arrived in American around 1762 and married Maria Kist in 1770. George already had a son, Jacob, at the time of the marriage in 1770. It is not known if Jacob lived with George or with his mother in some other part of Pennsylvania. It is known from an Affidavit of Rex Thrash, a descendant of George, that George constructed a 6' wooden Chest of Drawers that was handed down to Jacob, then son William, and eventually Wilson Woodrow Garlinger, the Uncle of Rex, and it is known that the George who constructed the wooden cabinet fought in the Revolutionary War.

media/Affidavit of Rex Thrash and Chart.pdf

"George" married ? ? in 1765 in Pennsylvania. (? ? was born before 1750 in Pennsylvania.)

"George" next married Maria Christina Kist in 1770 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Maria Christina Kist was born about 1745 and died after 1790.)