Notes on Israel Garlitz
"Israel Garlitz was baptized at St. Mary's up at Blooming Rose. At that time it was the only Catholic Church west of the Alleghenies. It was a small log church near where they call Deep Creek Lake today. He was baptized by Rev. Bishop 'Flaget and his sponsor was Fr. Marshall. Israel was very proud of the circumstances of his entrance into the Catholic church and was fond of speaking of Bishop Fla-gitte as Israel called him. Not many souls are this fortunate. It made a deep and lasting impression on him. I suppose his brothers and sister was probably take to church here too, or any place they were luck enough to get to. (St. Ann Mission would have been visited infrequently by a priest.)
In later years he was a very good man of the community. Israel was also confirmed here at this log church St Mary's of Blooming Rose in the Glades. It was the first time the sacrament of confirmation was administered in what is now called Garrett County. This small church built from hand hewed logs was built in 1828 and stood till 1850 when another was built in Hoye, Maryland. It was very beautiful at this small church, with the lovely wild flowers and the natural beauty God furnished. There was about a dozen Indian converts here. Meschack Browning, the famous hunter, and his wife became Catholic here. This Blooming Rose settlement was the oldest on in what is now Garret County. In 1799, when some of these settlers wanted to be baptized, they were ministered to by Rev. Fr. Demetrius Gallitzin, (Russian Prince) the first circuit priest in the United States to minister to settlers west of the Alleghenies. Thus the Catholic faith stems from the baptisms of this priest. ..." Garlitz and Hetz History by Madeline McKenzie Maust. 1981