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Note: Gutridge Garland by Walter B. Garland
Thousands of persons living throughout the U.S., especially in western N.C. and easter Tenn., can claim Gutridge Garland (ca. 1753 - ca. 1848) as one of their ancestors. This being true, who was Gutridge Garland? Who were his parents, and from whence did he come? Despite years of research, I have been unable to ascertain his birthplace or parentage. However, I have gathered a considerable amount of information concerning him which might be of interest to many of his descendants, and may influence some fo them to do further research into his antecedents.
The earliest evidence I have found of Gutridge Garland was his membership in Captain Jacob Aykle's Company of Militia in Rowan Co., N.C. The Company met on 5/31/1778, but a dispute arose, and Captain Aykle refused to hold the intended election. The men prevailed upon Lt. Davies to hold the election, resulting in the election of six men, including Capt. Aykle. Subsequently, Col. Lock of Rowan Co. declared the election unlawful and void, calling for a "fresh election" to be held on 6/9/1778. Col. Lock conducted the election over the protest of some members of the Company, as "they saw no cause why they should ballot again." Despite their protests, Lock compelled them to vote again; after half the ballots had been counted, it became apparent that the same six would again be elected. By the use of "much persuasion and influence," Lock persuaded those six men to volunteer, thus entitling them to a bounty of $50 each.
On 7/31/1778, Gutridge, Samuel, and Joseph Garland were among 57 members of this company who signed an angry petition addressed to the Commons House of Assembly. The petition, which is on file in the State Library and Archives in Raleigh, protested the actions of Col. Lock, and charged that "he embezzled the Public Treasure of this State, after the rate of 50 dollars each man." Careful examination of the three Garland signatures reveals the same handwriting. As Gutridge's name is first, and as his signature is almost identical to his signature on his marriage bond, it's probabl that he signed all three. The fact that their names appear in consecutive order indicates that they were together when the petition was signed and that they were related. Members of a militia company resided in the same geographic area of a county. My investigation indicates that Captain Aykle's Company was probably in that portion of Rowan County which later became Davidson County.
For many years, N.C. required each male, before marrying, to execute a marriage bond, with surety, conditioned on the fact that there was no legal obstacle to prevent him from entering into a valid marriage. Gutridge Garland executed such a bond in Rowan Co. on 9/26/1778 for his marriage to Bridget Hampton. Ezekiel Hampton, probably father of the bride, was surety. Whoever filled in the blank space on the mariage bond spelled Gutridge's surname "Garlent." In signing this bond, Gutridge spelled his Christian name "Guterage." Ten other ways I have seen it spelled are: Gutridge, Guthridge, Gutradge, Gutrage, Guttradge, Guttredge, Guttridge, Guttrage, Guttrige, and Gertredge. Gutridge was the spelling most frequently used, and for that reason is adopted herein.
Gutridge appears a third time in Rowan County in 1778. There are several old Rowan Co. Tax Lists in the courthouse in Salisbury. They are incomplete and many years are missing. Samuel Garland is on the Tax List for 1768, and Samuel, Joseph, and Gutridge are all on the 1778 List. Samuel's appearance on the 1768 list indicates that he might have been older than Joseph or Gutridge. Further, Samuel owned 167 acres and Joseph owned 110 acres. Gutridge owned no land and so may have been younger than either Samuel or Joseph; however, he was old enough (at least 21) to be assessed with a poll tax.
There are no Tax Lists extant for 1779-1783. There were no Garlands on the 1784 Tax List, clearly indicating that Samuel, Joseph, and Gutridge left Rowan County during 1779 to 1783. I have located Samuel and Joseph in Washington Co., N.C., in 1785 and Gutridge in 1788.
On 12/30/1785, by separate deeds, Samuel Garland purchased two tracts of land, one 355 acres and one 500 acres, in Washington Co. Both tracts were located on the north side of Watauga River and in an area which later became part of Carter Co., Tenn. Joseph Garland was a witness to both deeds, which were recorded at Jonesborough, the county seat of Washington Co. This is the first evidence of any Garland in the present state of Tenn.
On 5/15/1788, Gutridge was appointed Constable by the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of Washington Co.
On 7/11/1788, the State of North Carolina, by Grant No. 823, conveyed 300 acres to Samuel Garland for a consideration of "50 shillings for every 100 acres." This tract was located "on the Flag Pond Branch; a draught of the Watauga River."
On 10/10/1788, Joseph Garland purchased 200 acres "on the waters of Watauga River." At this time and for many years thereafter, every male in N.C. was required to work a given number of days each year to maintain the public road in the area in which he resided. In February, 1789, the Washington Co. Court appointed 17 men, including Samuel, Gutridge, John, and Joseph Garland, as a jury of view to mark and lay off a road from Carter's Mill to the head of Indian Creek. This creates a strong inference that these four Garlands resided near each other in 1789.
There is an Indian Creek in present-day Carter County. It is located on the north side of the Watauga River; it flows not into the Watauga, but north into Sullivan Co. and into the South Fork of the Holston River. Apparently this is the Indian Creek referred to above.
The fact that Samuel, Joseph, and Gutridge were members of the same militia company in Rowan Co. in 1778, and the fact that they were apparently living near each other in Washington Co. (later Carter Co., Tenn.) in 1789, is strong evidence that they were related.
In a will dated 6/26/1824 and probated in Carter Co. 5/11/1825, Samuel Garland named the following: grandsons Samuel and Isaac Garland, sons Ambres, Harper, William, and Lewis; and sons-in-law Moses Adams and Griffin Mears. Other research reveals Mary Garland married Moses Adams, and Amy Garland married Griffin Mears. Spelling of the surname throughout the will is "Gairland." Was this the same Samuel Garland heretofore mentioned? If so, his will indicates that Gutridge was not his son.
Returning to Gutridge: in May 1789, the Washington Co. Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions released him "from being a Constable in this county." I was unable to find any conveyance of land to Gutridge prior to 1795. However, it is obvious that he owned land in Washington Co. prior to this date as shown by the following deed and tax records: (1) On 8/8/1791, Gutridge sold 157 acres to John Hendrick for "100 pounds current money of the State of Virginia." I believe that this tract was located on the north side of the Watauga River. (2) In Washington Co. Tax Lists, Gutridge was assessed 130 acres in Capt. Greer's Company and 150 acres in Capt. Hale's Company in 1793. (3) In 1794, he was assessed 150 acres in Capt. Hale's Company.
Based upon his 1791 conveyance and these tax lists, it is obvious that Gutridge owned property for which he failed to record his deed or deeds.
On 4/7/1795, Gutridge purchased 200 acres of land in the Limestone Cove from Charles Colyer. This undoubtedly markes the date that he moved from north of the Watauga to the Limestone Cover.
Gutridge Garland was a juror in a Washington Co. case on 2/16/1796. In April, the General Assembly of Tenn. divided Washington Co.; the eastern part, including Limestone Cove, became Carter Co. In 1875, it became part of Unicoi Co.
Gutridge Garland was commissioned as a Justice of the Peace for Carter Co. by John Sevier, first governor of Tenn., n 4/23/1796. The following entry appears in the 1797 minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of Carter Co.: "A deed of conveyance from Guttrage Garland to Jno. Garland for 75 acres was acknowledged in court and ordered to be registered." According to the minutes of November 1804, Gutridge servd as a juror in several cases in Carter Co. An entry for 11/14/1804 orders: "... that Michael Swingle be appointed overseer of the public road in room of Gutradge Garland that leads from John Swingle's Iron Works up Indian Creek so far as the foot of the Iron Mountain and that all the hands belonging to the aforesaid Swingle's Works and those living in the Limestone Cove liable to work on roads be his gangee." The Indian Creek mentioned flows into the Nolichucky River.
Unfortunately, there is no census in existence for Tenn. for 1800 or 1810, or for the eastern counties for 1820.
On 8/21/1805, Gutridge sold his 200 acres in the Limestone Cove, which led me to conclude that this marked the date of his removal across Iron Mountain into Burke Co., N.C. However, on 11/30/1805, he left the grand jury in Carter Co. The date he left is therefore uncertain, but it was probably late 1805 or 1806. Upon moving to Burke Co., he settled in what is now the Red Hill section of Mitchell Co., where he resided the balance of his life. Written evidence concerning Gutridge after his move to Burke Co. is extremely scarce. Much additional information might have been learned had it not been for the unfortunate destruction of the Burke County Courthouse, along with its valuable records, by Union cavalry during the closing days of the Civil War. Many of the names on the microfilm copy of the 1810 census of Burke Co. are faded and difficult to read. Gutridge appears on this census, immediately followed by his son, David. Their surname appears to be spelled "Garner." This is misleading and confusing, but there is no doubt as to their identification. Gutridge, more than 45 years old with spouse under 45, in a household with five younger males and three younger females. David Garland was 31 years old in 1810.
There is evidence that Gutridge was a Justice of the Peace in Burke Co. prior to the formation of Yancey Co. Present at the first meeting of the Yancey Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, on 1/20/1834 at Caney River Meeting House, were 16 justices, one of whom was Gutridge Garland. If this was old Gutridge, he would have been 80 years of age; on the other hand, it could have been his son, Gutridge, Jr. (b. 1795), or one of his grandsons. David and Elisha each had a son named Gutridge, though Elisha's son, born 1814, was probably too young.
Elected as County Trustee at this first meeting of Yancey Co. Court was Gutridge Garland -- which Gutridge? William G. Slagle stated that Gutridge, son of Elisha, was born in 1810, and that he was elected as the first Yancey Trustee at age 24. I doubt the correctness of this statement. Census records for 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 indicate that he was born in 1814; thus he would have been only 20 in 1834, too young to be elected to such a position. Excluding him, this leaves old Gutridge, his son, Gutridge, Jr., or David's son Gutridge, as the first Trustee of Yancey County.
The following day (of the first county court), Samuel Byrd was sworn in as sheriff, with sureties Samuel Gutradge Garland and Zephaniah Horton. Who was Samuel Gutradge Garland? Was this old Gutridge's full name? Gutridge was between 70 and 80 in 1830 and between 80 and 90 in 1840. Thus, he was born between 1750 and 1760.
On 8/5/1909, Thomas B. Garland of Red Hill, N.C., a grandson of Gutridge, wrote a letter to J.C. Garland, father of Paul E. Garland, in which he stated that his grandfather lived to be 95 years of age. He further stated that he "died in the year 1848 according to the best information I can obtain." Based upon this letter and census records, Gutridge was born in 1753 and died in 1848.
Thomas B. Garland, the son of Rev. Elisha Garland and grandson of Gutridge, was born in 1837. He was a long-time postmaster at Red Hill, and died without issue in 1915. The contents of the letter from Thomas B. Garland are more fully quoted, as follows: "You askd some information concerning the births and deaths of my grandparents and my father. I am unable to give the information you want. My grandfather Garland's given name was Guthridge, grandfather Garland lived to be 95 years old. Died in the year 1848 according to the best information I can obtain. He married Bridget Hampton. They moved from Virginia to East Tennessee, located in the Lime Stone Cove on what is known as the Bill Baker farm. He sold out there and moved to N.C. and purchased 640 acres in what is known as Redhull township, where I live. Several of his brothers came with him to Tennessee, but they went West. Their offspring is scattered all over the western states. My father Elisha Garland lived to be 93 years old. Died in the year 1875. He married Nancy Robeson."
According to my research, Thomas B. was in error in stating that his grandparents moved from Virginia to East Tennessee. However, this statement might indicate that they were originally from Virginia. I also have another clue indicating that they were born near Lynchburg, Va. ...
[Judge Garland goes on to refute printed claims that Gutridge was the son of a supposed Richard C. Garland, of whom no record exists.]
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