Civil War-era characters in one-man show

YOUNGSTOWN — Charles Garlick died nearly a hundred years ago, but this Black History Month he will “live” again.

Steffon Wydell Jones, local historian, will portray Garlick, a slave who fought in the Civil War then detailed his life in a set of memoirs, in a one-man show at 2 p.m. Feb. 17 at the Steel Museum of Youngstown on West Wood Street.

Jones also will perform as other Civil War-era characters during a second show that same night.

Garlick was born Abel Bogguess (also spelled Boggess in some records) near Shinnston, W.Va., in 1827 to a slave woman named Phoede and Richard Bogguess, the white man to whom she belonged. Upon the death of Richard Bogguess, Phoede ran away from the plantation with eight of her children. Phoede was eventually made to return to the plantation with the younger kids, but Garlick continued on alone at the age of 16.

Garlick would go on to serve in the Civil War, obtain an education in the northern part of the country, and weave a life of interesting tidbits and adventure all chronicled in a journal detailing his life.

For more, see Sunday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com