THE GARLINGTON COAT OF ARMS
The Garlington coat of Arms is an ancient one, and all direct descendants are entitled to use it. A Garlington took part in the Second Crusade (1147 to 1149). His knight's helmet is shown. There are three honeybees denoting the Trinity (and a characteristic of thrift for the Garlington family), black (for mourning because of the failure of the second crusade) and silver (for virtue) which constitutes the coloring of the background. The crest is a griffin, part lion and part eagle.
During the Crusades, heraldry became a system of symbols by which families could indicate their reputation for bravery and as well as their lineage. Knights all over England and Europe carried shields and spears which looked very much alike and wore helmets which covered their faces. In the 13th century the practice was introduced to embroider the family insignia on the coat of clothing. It is from this Coat of Arms that army leaders could identify the various knights on the battlefield.
In 1483 King Edward IV established the Herald's College in which he delegated the supervision of armorial bearings. "In Medieval Europe, coats of arms were almost always conferred by royalty only on the nobility or gentry as recognition for service to the Crown."
The Garlington family Coat of Arms is found in, "Fairbairn's Crests of the Leading Families in Great Britain and Ireland. "Another source is the book, "The General Armory of England and Scotland, Ireland and Wales" by Sir John Bernard Burke, C.B., LL.D., Ulster King of Arms, published 1884 in London by Harrison 59, Pall Mall, bookseller to the Queen and H.R.H. the Prince of Wales (on page 395 is recorded the Garlington Coat of Arms). Another Source of information comes from Dr. Conrad Swan, Esqauire, Ph.D., M.A., F.S.A., :York Herald of Arms, College of Arms, London, England, who in a letter dated July 11, 1973 states, "... Their (the Garlington) arms are shown as: - Argent a chevron Sable between three winged insects Sable."
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THE GARLINGTONS
In England one finds an explanation of the development of the Gyrlyngton
name (ancient spelling of Garlington) in the publication as presented
by the Yorkshire Place Name Society.
The recorded history of the Garlingtons begins not long after William
I (William the Conqueror), in the year 1100, and the reign of Henry
I. At the time one had to be of some stature before any complete records
were kept of the family. The first known Garlington was Lord Waleran de Gyrlyngton, from whom Rita Carpender Jenrette is a direct descendant.
Lord Waleran de Gyrlyngton was a nobleman who lived in the year 1100, in the
county of Yorkshire, North Riding, in that part of England which, according
to Henry VIII, "God made last." Lord Waleran de Gyrlyngton was lord of the manor of
Gyrlyngton. He presided over Gyrlyngton Hall located northeast of Hutton Magna. "The Hall is a
very ancient house which was built before the reign of King Henry III ... and
was the house of the ancient family of Gyrlyngton, who possessed this
manor or lordship for upwards of six hundred years." This place is
recorded in Doomsday Book. Girlington Hall which, according to Marshal-General
Plantagenet-Harrison's History of Yorkshire (published in 1879), was
built in the late 1200s or early 1300s. It was a large and prominent manor.
(History of Yorkshire, Vol. I by Harrison, published 1879). Waleran de Gyrlyngton, Lord of Gyrlyngton-justa-Wycliffe, was born near Richmondshire living during the reigns of Henry I and Stephen, between 1100 and 1154.
Sir Henry de Gyrlyngton, Lord of Gyrlyngton, knight in the reign of King
John, was one of eight knights appointed by the sheriff of Yorkshire to
try a plea of trespass in Swaledale at the suit of Gilbert de Gant in
the 31st year of Henry III, 28 Oct. 1246-47. Sir Henry was a
grandson of Lord Waleran de Gyrlyngton.
Anthony Gyrlyngton, descendant of Waleran de Gyrlyngton, is shown in the
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae (a calendar of the principal ecclesiastical
dignitaries in England and Wales, and the chief officers in the Universities
of Oxford and Cambridge), and the Athenae Cantabrigienses as an outstanding
English scholar.
Ensuing generations of Lord Gyrlyngton owned vast land holdings
throughout England, including the Manors of Gyrlyngton and the Manor of
Temple Hurst, Manor of Redmarshall, Manor of Basingham, Manor of Hackforth
and Aynderby Myres, Manor of Longvillers, lands in East Appleton, Huddeswell,
East Dalton and Newby. Also in 1546, the Crown granted a Nicholas Gerlington,
Esquire, the manor Pittstone Morrants, lands in the county of Durham, lands
in Wycliffe, and Thurland Castle in Lancashire, about 10 miles northeast
of Lancaster, built on a low mound encircled by a moat. The Castle
was sold to John Girlington (another ancient spelling of the Garlington
name) in 1605. Sir John, grandson of John, was a knight and Major-General
in the Civil War and surrendered the Castle to the Parliamentary Forces.
The interior of the Castle was burned and part of it destroyed. The present
building is a reconstruction of the north and east wings. The south side
is approached by a bridge over the moat and through the gateway.
The Girlingtons of Thurland Castle were active participants in the English
Civil War on the side of Charles I. John Girlington, Lord of Hackforth,
was the founder of this line. Like all his predecessors, John Girlington
was an ardent Roman Catholic. Nicholas, son of John, was twenty years
of age when his father died at Thurland Castle on February 29th in the
10th year of the reign of James I. Nicholas recorded a pedigree as "of Thurland"
with Richard St. George of the College of Arms in 1613. His coat of arms
was shown quartered with de Montfort, Burgh and Acclom and may be found
in Harlein MSS #1437. Nicholas also purchased the manor of Arnforth from
George Pudsey during the reign of Charles I.
Anthony, brother of Nicholas, later known as Captain Anthony Girlington
was in the service of Charles I. It is recorded that he gallantly charged the
Scots at Newburne, which is near Newcastle, in the first Scottish expedition
where he was almost cut to pieces. He recovered but was eventually
slain near Lancaster. Sir John Girlington, Knight of Thurland Castle,
son and heir of Nicholas, zealously espoused the cause of Charles I at
the opening of the English Civil War and, on June 6, 1642, was made knight,
Major-General and High Sheriff of Lancashire by Charles I at his court
in the city of York. General Sir John Girlington was slain in the king's
service in March 1645 at Melton Mobray.
John Girlington, Esquire of Thurland Castle, and son and heir of Sir John
Girlington, knight, stated that when Thurland Castle was taken and destroyed
by the Parliamentarians, his father conveyed all his title deeds to Pontefract
Castle for safe-keeping. Then Pontefract Castle was also taken by the
Parliamentary Forces and all said deeds were then destroyed. After the
restoration of the Stuarts, Charles II made John Girlington High Sheriff
of Lancashire in 1663. William Gyrlyngton was a Member of Parliament for the city of York in
1440 and was Lord Mayor of York in 1441.
Nicholas Girlington, son of Nicholas Gyrlyngton of Dighton-juxta-Escrik,
by his marriage to Margaret Montfort, daughter and heir of Thomas de Montfort,
became the Lord of Hackforth.
Anne Girlington, daughter of Nicholas and Isabel, married Sir Christopher
Wray, Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas of the Queen's Bench
in the reign of Elizabeth I. Sir Christopher was a descendant of John
Wray of Richmond and served for Bouroughbride, in all the parliaments
called by Queen Mary, was in Elizabeth I's reign chosen Speaker of the
House of Commons, and eventually became the Lord Chief Justice. He was
so well liked by Queen Elizabeth that she gave him the profits of her
coinage until he had enough wealth to erect his noble home at Glentworth.
Sir Christopher and Anne had a son, Sir William Wray, who received the honor
of Knighthood from Elizabeth I and created a Baronet on November 25,
1612.
CHRISTOPHER GARLINGTON, THE IMMIGRANT
Christopher, of whom Rita Carpenter Jenrette is a direct descendant, immigrated to Virginia, in 1637. (Garlington Family, by Thesta Kennedy Scogland, 1976, page 736, Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 75-42802.)
Christopher Galington was born between 1614-1620, in England.
He returned to England briefly to marry Elizabeth Wyatt, sister of Sir
Dudley Wyatt, Cavalier who immigrated to Virginia. Wyatt had served in the army
of Charles I, King of England, and was one of the grantees of the northern
Neck, all the tract of land between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers,
from Charles I, dated at the St. Germains in France, September 18, 1650.
Virginia was the only place that these faithful soldiers of King Charles
I had to go to seek new fortunes. ("Cavaliers and Pioneers, Volume
I, Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, 1623-1800, by
Nell Marion Nugent and published in 1934, on Page 186.)"
We see that Christopher Garlington, from a prominent and titled family
in England, paid his way to Virginia and purchased land, in Virginia,
on or before 1638. Christopher found Virginia to be a safe haven for worshiping
freely and in an attempt to recreate the Garlington fortune. The first
record found for Christopher is recorded in: "York County, Deeds, Orders,
Wills, Etc. Book 2, p.58: "... Christopher Carlington (a misspelling
of the name) his heirs, executors, administrators or asignes to their owne
use forever one hundred acres of land sett lying & being at the heed
of the New Pocosin River being bounded by the sd river on the North &
running South unto the Maine woods & by the Gleabe land on the East
side & on the West by the s'd Thomas Curtice..." Christopher
Garlington is mentioned in Nell Marion Nugent's Book, Cavaliers
& Pioneers, Volume I, abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants,
1623-1800, Page 371, page 383, Page 467, and Page 556, and many more.
From these land records it would seem that Christopher Garlington moved
from York County to Northumberland County by the year 1658.
HSH Princess Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi is related to two Presidents, George Washington and James Madison. Christopher Garlington III married Elizabeth Conway in Lancaster County, Virginia on May 5, 1724. Elizabeth ws the daughter of Col. Edwin Conway III and Ann Ball. Ann Ball was the daughter of Col. Joseph Ball and Elizabeth Romney Ball, and half sister to Mary Ball, the mother of George Washington. "William & Mary Quarterly,", Vol. 12 (1), page 265.
Eleanor Rose " Nelly" Conway was the mother of James Madison. She was the daughter of Francis Conway who was the half brother of Edwin Conway III, Elizabeth Conway Garlington’s father. Virginia Genealogies, A Genealogy of the Glassell Family of Scotland and Virginia, by Rev. Horace Edwin Hayden, reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Company 1979.
Christopher Garlington V fought in the Revolutionary War. He was enlisted in the South Carolina Second Regiment and marched to Charleston for the defense of that city against the British. Even after his tour was over he substituted to go against Cornwallace in Sussex County.
The Garlington Family distinguished themselves by fighting in the Revolutionary
War of 1776, the War of 1812, the Civil War, World War I and World War II.
Benjamin Garlington, son of Christopher Garlington V, fought in the war of 1812. His son, Dalphon Ripley Garlington, established the 15,000 acre Garlington Ranch, located in Browndell, Jasper County, Texas in the late 1800s. They are the oldest Brahman cattle breeders in Texas. The Garlington Ranch still exists. In his will, Dalphon Ripley Garlington stated tht the Garlington Ranch must always be handed down to a Garlington heir and that heir must live on the property if he or she wishes to inherit the Garlington estate. Currently, Garlington heirs are living on that ranch. Rita Carpenter Jenrette's mother, Reba Garlington (Carpenter) was born on the Garlington Ranch, September 10, 1925.
The Garlington Family, Thesta Kennedy Scogland, Gateway press, Inc. Baltimore
1976. Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 75-42802.
