Johann Christian Gerlach (John Christopher Garlock) was born on April 4, 1672 in Germany. He married first to Anna Maria Margaretha and they had three children.
They family were Palatines who escaped religious persecution in Germany. They left Germany and went to England. They lived at St. Catherine's Palatine Camp in London. It was then that they and about 300-400 other Palatine families left on the James & Elizabeth from London, England on December 24, 1709. Johann was appointed the listmaster of the ship. The captain of the ship was Henry Gravener. They arrived in New York along the Hudson river, nearby Fort Lee, New Jersey, on June 16, 1710.
Johann and Anna lived in New Cassel Camp (also called Gerlachsdorf) in Schoharie, New York, where Johann was the leader. This was one of the 14 earliest German settlements in America. It was here that he led twenty-seven men to get an Indian title to 12,700 acres of land known as the Stone Arabia patent on October 19, 1723. He married secondly to a Mohawk Indian about 1721. His will was proved in 1764 in New York.
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Elias Garlock (1695-?) | 1695 Germany | Anna Margaretha Erhardt | |
| Anna Margaretha Garlock (1700-?) | |||
| Theobald Garlock (1702-?) | |||
| George Garlock (1704-?) | |||
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| William Garlock (1722-?) | |||
| John Hans Garlock (1724-?) | |||
| Philip Garlock (1732-?) | |||
| John Adam Garlock (1733-1822) | 1733 New York, United States | 5 May 1822 Manheim, Herkimer County, New York, United States | Maria Lena Schill (1745-1834) |
| Nicholas Garlock (1735-?) | |||
| George P. Garlock (1750-?) | |||
| Elizabeth Garlock (?-?) | |||
- Early Palatine Emigration, Walter Allen Knittle, p 295
- Albany Deed Book #13 (1736-1739)
- Governor Hunter's Ration List, June 1710 to 1714. New York. M4 p. 68.
- James & Elizabeth passenger list
- Gerlachsdorf register