1A-D: William W Guthrie
Guthrie Family Group 1A · Branch D · The Next Generation
William W. Guthrie Mary Walker & Sarah Ann “Sallie” Jones
Worcester & Wicomico Counties, Maryland
Seaford, Sussex County, Delaware
William W. Guthrie, a farmer in Maryland’s Eastern Shore communities, married first Mary Walker and later Sarah Ann “Sallie” Jones. Census households follow his growing family from Worcester County to Wicomico County, while later records connect them with Seaford, Delaware. Explore their children, the Jones family ties, and the records that preserve their story.
Open the Guthrie Research Tree →The Family
William W. Guthrie
- Parents
- John Guthrie & Betsy Nelson
- Birth
- About 1820 · Maryland
- Death
- 23 January 1893 · Seaford, Sussex County, Delaware
- Occupation
- Farmer
Mary Walker
- Parents
- Not identified
- Birth
- About 1822 · Virginia, according to the 1850 household information
- Marriage
- 25 February 1840 · Worcester County, Maryland
- Later Life
- Living in 1850; death date unknown
Sarah Ann “Sallie” Jones
- Family
- Daughter of Walter “Walty” Jones
- Birth
- About 1827 · Working estimate; birthplace disputed
- Marriage Register
- 2 May 1853 · Worcester County, Maryland
- Death
- 22 May 1921 · Seaford, Sussex County, Delaware
William married Mary Walker in Worcester County in 1840. By 1850, their household included Susan A. and Charles H., along with fifteen-year-old Hannah E. Guthrie. William earned his living as a farmer.
His later marriage to Sarah Ann “Sallie” Jones connects the family with Walter Jones’s household. William and Sallie appear at Newark in Worcester County in 1860 and 1870, and at Nutters in Wicomico County in 1880. Later records place the family in Seaford, Delaware.
The Guthrie Research Tree identifies eleven children across William’s two marriages. The younger William’s maternal placement remains unresolved; he is retained among his father’s children without assigning him to either wife.
Sources: marriage indexes and register image; federal census households; William’s and Sallie’s Delaware death records; Sallie’s funeral notice; and the Guthrie Research Tree. Expand the evidence notes for date differences and family connections.
Explore the Next Generation
Select a child’s name to explore their story and family below.
| Child | Life Dates | Family & Later Life |
|---|---|---|
| Susan A. Guthrie | About 1843 | Listed at age seven with William and Mary in 1850. Her later life remains to be traced. |
| Charles H. Guthrie | 1843–1921 | Son of William and Mary. Listed at age six in 1850 and sixteen in his father’s 1860 household. |
| William Guthrie | About 1852 | His mother is unconfirmed. Sallie’s 1921 obituary names a surviving son William of Delmar. |
| David J. Guthrie | 1855–1897 | Included among William and Sallie’s children in the Research Tree; census ages vary. |
| Paul B. Guthrie | 1856–1921 | His death certificate names William Guthrie and Sallie as his parents. Lived at Seaford. |
| Levi Guthrie | About 1859 | Listed at age one in the 1860 household. His later life remains to be traced. |
| Mary E. Guthrie | 1861–1939 | Identified in the family research as Mary Ellen Coulbourn. Sallie died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. James Coulbourn. |
| Edward Guthrie | About 1862 | Listed at age eight in the 1870 household. His later life remains to be traced. |
| Littleton B. Guthrie | 1863–1937 | Named as a surviving son at Seaford in Sallie’s 1921 funeral notice; informant on her death certificate. |
| John T. Guthrie | 1865–1911 | Appears in the family’s census households; the life dates follow the Research Tree. |
| Maggie Guthrie | About 1866 | Listed at age four in 1870 and as Maggie J., eleven, in 1880. Her later life remains to be traced. |
Unless supported by a specific record discussed below, the life dates follow the Guthrie Research Tree. Approximate dates and differing census ages are retained without forcing agreement.
Family Evidence Notes Open for the marriages, maternal placement, and conflicting dates.
William’s birth and death. About 1820 is consistent with his reported ages of thirty in 1850 and forty in 1860. Later censuses give sixty in 1870 and sixty-five in 1880. His death record gives sixty-eight at his death on 23 January 1893 at Seaford, with pericarditis as the cause. These ages do not establish a single exact birth year. His middle initial remains W., without expansion.
Mary Walker. Compiled marriage indexes give 25 February 1840 in Worcester County. The two indexes may derive from the same underlying entry. Mary’s reported age of twenty-eight in 1850 supports a birth about 1822; the household information gives Virginia as her birthplace. Her death before William’s second marriage is inferred from the marriage sequence, not established by a located death record.
William and Sallie’s register entry. The supplied register image names William Guthery and Sarah A. Jones. The date repeats May 2 from the preceding entry, and the attachment identifies the year as 1853. The cropped image does not show a heading distinguishing a license date from a ceremony date. The entry is therefore cited as 2 May 1853, rather than the 3 May date previously entered in the tree.
The younger William’s mother. He is recorded as eight in 1860, seventeen in 1870, and with an estimated birth in 1852 in the Research Tree. Those ages place his birth near the transition between his father’s marriages. Sallie’s 1921 obituary calls William of Delmar her son, but does not distinguish a biological son from a stepson. Without a record naming his mother, he is included here as William’s child with maternity unconfirmed.
Sallie’s father and mother’s name. Walty Jones’s will names his daughter Sally A. Guthry. Sallie’s death certificate names her father as Walter Jones and her mother’s maiden name as Mary Truitt. The Research Tree identifies the mother as Martha Truitt, while the death-record index incorrectly renders the mother as Mary Jones. The original certificate’s Mary Truitt and the tree’s Martha Truitt remain a name discrepancy; the will does not identify the daughters’ mothers.
Sallie’s birth. About 1827 is retained as a working estimate from the family research. The tree gives June 1827 and Maryland, but the death certificate reports Delaware as her birthplace and an age of eighty-four in 1921, implying about 1836–1837. Earlier census ages also vary. Her precise birth date and birthplace remain unresolved.
Sallie’s death and burial. Delaware death certificate 1344 records her death on 22 May 1921, with Littleton Guthrie as informant. The funeral notice published on 26 May reports services the previous afternoon at Mount Olivet Methodist Protestant Church and burial in Odd Fellows Cemetery. The certificate appears to give burial on 24 May, so the funeral and burial dates require comparison; her death date is consistent.
The children and the survivor list. Sallie’s funeral notice names her daughter Mrs. James Coulbourn and surviving sons Littleton and Paul of Seaford and William of Delmar. It is not a complete list of her children. The Research Tree supplies the eleven-child inventory retained here. Susan and Charles’s similar estimated birth years do not establish that they were twins.
Paul’s death record. His certificate names William Guthrie and Sallie, but does not supply Sallie’s maiden name. It records a Delaware birthplace for Paul. The June 1921 death day is difficult to read and is not fixed here without further confirmation.
Principal references: 1850–1880 U.S. census households; Worcester County marriage indexes and the Guthery–Jones register image; Walty Jones’s will, TT no. 8, pp. 171–172; Delaware death records for William (1893), Sallie (certificate 1344, 1921), and Paul (certificate 1629, 1921); The News Journal, Wilmington, 26 May 1921, p. 14, “Funeral at Church.”
Children & Descendant Families
Eleven children are included in William W. Guthrie’s family reconstruction. Census records follow the household through Worcester and Wicomico counties, while later records place several children in Seaford and Delmar. Some lives can be traced beyond the household; others remain known chiefly through their census appearances.
Approximate birth years are working estimates. Dates attributed to the Guthrie Research Tree are distinguished below from information in the records. A missing spouse or descendant here does not establish that a child remained unmarried or left no family.
1. Susan A. Guthrie
Born about 1843 · Daughter of Mary Walker
Susan appears at age seven in William and Mary’s 1850 household in Worcester County, with Charles H., aged six. Her later life has not been established in the material reviewed.
2. Charles H. Guthrie
Reported lifespan: 1843–1921 · Son of Mary Walker
Charles was six in the 1850 household and sixteen in the 1860 household, supporting a birth around 1843–1844. By 1860, his father’s wife was Sallie, and several younger children had joined the family.
The Guthrie Research Tree supplies the lifespan 1843–1921. Susan and Charles’s similar estimated birth years do not establish that they were twins. No spouse or children are identified here.
3. William Guthrie
Born about 1852 · Living at Delmar in 1921
The younger William appears at age eight in 1860 and seventeen in 1870. Sallie’s 1921 funeral notice names William of Delmar among her surviving sons, providing a later connection to this household.
William’s maternal relationship The birth estimate and the wording of Sallie’s funeral notice.
His estimated birth predates the marriage-register entry for his father and Sarah A. Jones on 2 May 1853. The funeral notice calls him Sallie’s son, but that wording alone does not distinguish a biological relationship from a stepmother–son relationship. He is retained as William W. Guthrie’s son, with his mother unconfirmed.
A record naming both parents would help resolve the question. His middle name, marriage, and descendants are not established by the evidence used here.
4. David J. Guthrie
Reported lifespan: 1855–1897
David appears with the family at age seven in 1860 and thirteen in 1870. Those ages imply different birth years; the Guthrie Research Tree uses 1855 and reports his death in 1897.
The reported lifespan remains attributed to the tree. A record connecting the adult David with this household would strengthen the account of his later life.
5. Paul B. Guthrie
Born 1 March, about 1856 · Died June 1921, Seaford, Delaware
Paul appears in the household in 1860, 1870, and 1880. In May 1921, Sallie’s funeral notice places him in Seaford. He died there the following month.
His death certificate describes him as a married labourer and names William Guthrie and Sallie as his parents. The informant is identified as Mrs. Paul B. Guthrie. Her given name and any children are not established by that certificate.
Paul’s death and family records What the certificate establishes and which details remain unclear.
Delaware death certificate 1629, local registration 10, gives a birth on 1 March and an age of sixty-five years, three months, and twenty-two days. The birth year appears to be 1856, with alteration or overwriting. His census ages also support a birth around that year.
The June death-day numeral is unclear in the supplied image, so an exact day is not selected here. Burial is recorded at Seaford on 26 June 1921. The certificate reports Delaware as his birthplace, Maryland as his father’s birthplace, and does not supply Sallie’s maiden name.
A marriage index naming William W. Gutherie and Sally S. Gutherie as Paul’s parents belongs to Paul’s marriage record. It is not a record of his parents’ wedding.
6. Levi Guthrie
Born about 1859
Levi appears at age one in the 1860 Newark household. His later life has not been traced in the material reviewed. His absence from a later household list does not establish when he died or whether he had descendants.
7. Mary E. Guthrie & James Coulbourn
Reported lifespan: 1861–1939 · Also identified as Mary Ellen
Mary appears with her parents in 1870 and 1880. The family research identifies her as Mary Ellen Coulbourn, wife of James Coulbourn. Sallie died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. James Coulbourn, in Seaford in May 1921.
The funeral notice identifies the daughter by her husband’s name; it does not print Mary’s given name. The lifespan 1861–1939 comes from the family research. Her census ages vary: twelve in 1870 and nineteen in 1880. No children are identified in the records used for this outline.
8. Edward Guthrie
Born about 1862
Edward appears at age eight in the 1870 Newark household. His later residence, any marriage, and his death have not been established in the material reviewed.
9. Littleton B. Guthrie
Reported lifespan: 1863–1937 · Seaford, Delaware
Littleton appears with the family in 1870 and 1880. Sallie’s 1921 funeral notice identifies him as a surviving son living in Seaford, and he supplied the information for her death certificate.
The Guthrie Research Tree records 1863–1937. His census ages—ten in 1870 and fifteen in 1880—vary from that birth year. His role as informant establishes his involvement at Sallie’s death; it does not make every retrospective detail on the certificate independently verified.
10. John T. Guthrie
Reported lifespan: 1865–1911
John was recorded at age six in 1870 and thirteen in 1880. The Guthrie Research Tree supplies the lifespan 1865–1911. The records reviewed here do not establish a spouse or children.
11. Maggie Guthrie
Born about 1866 · Recorded as Maggie J. in 1880
Maggie appears at age four in 1870 and eleven in 1880. Her estimated birth year follows the earlier census and the family reconstruction. Her later life remains untraced here; neither her nickname nor the initial J. is expanded without supporting evidence.
Sources for these family outlines Census households, the research tree, and the Seaford records.
Census information: the supplied indexes for 1850, District 6, Worcester County, dwelling 14; 1860, Newark, dwelling 1835, family 1833; 1870, Newark, dwelling 168; and 1880, Nutters, Wicomico County, dwelling 1. The earlier censuses do not explicitly state each household member’s relationship to the head.
Family research: the Guthrie Research Tree supplies the eleven-child inventory and several later lifespan dates. Those dates are retained as attributed information where the corresponding original records have not been examined.
Seaford records: Sallie A. Guthrie’s Delaware death certificate 1344, local registration 11; Paul B. Guthrie’s certificate 1629, local registration 10; and “Funeral at Church,” The News Journal, Wilmington, 26 May 1921, page 14, as identified in the supplied newspaper viewer.
The funeral notice names three surviving sons and one daughter. It is not a complete birth list and does not, by itself, supply death dates for the other children.
Historical Highlights
A Farming Family on Maryland’s Eastern Shore
William W. Guthrie made his living as a farmer. His household appears in Worcester County in the middle decades of the nineteenth century and in Nutters, Wicomico County, by 1880. The census sequence preserves the names of children as they grew up, while marriage and death records connect the family with Mary Walker, Sarah Ann “Sallie” Jones, and later homes in Delaware.
Mary appears with William and their children Susan and Charles in 1850. The 1853 marriage-register entry names William Guthery and Sarah A. Jones. Over the following decades, the household included the younger children whose lives are outlined in Children & Descendant Families.
By the end of William’s life, his story had reached Seaford. Sallie survived him for more than twenty-eight years. Her funeral notice offers a final glimpse of the family in 1921: a daughter’s home in Seaford, sons in Seaford and Delmar, and a funeral at Mount Olivet Methodist Protestant Church.
The Family Timeline
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About 1820 Working birth estimate
William’s Early Years
William belongs to the Snow Hill family of John Guthrie and Betsy Nelson. Maryland is his reported birthplace. His ages of thirty in 1850 and forty in 1860 support a birth around 1820.
Open the evidence for William’s age
Later records vary: sixty in 1870, sixty-five in 1880, and sixty-eight at his death in 1893. These reports do not establish an exact birth year. About 1820 is retained as the working estimate, rather than treating the differing ages as interchangeable dates.
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25 February
1840Marriage to Mary Walker
Maryland marriage indexes record William Guthrie’s marriage to Mary Walker in Worcester County. The 1840 census lists a William indexed as “Zutry” in Districts 1 and 2, with one man and one woman, both in the twenty-to-twenty-nine age band, and one person engaged in agriculture.
Sources: Maryland marriage indexes, 25 February 1840; supplied 1840 census index. The two marriage indexes may derive from the same underlying record.
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1850
William and Mary’s Worcester Household
William, thirty, is recorded as a Maryland-born farmer. Mary, twenty-eight, is reported born in Virginia. Susan A., seven, and Charles H., six, appear with them.
Open the complete household
District 6, dwelling 14: William, 30; Mary, 28; Susan A., 7; Charles H., 6; and Hannah E., 15.
The 1850 census does not state household relationships. Hannah’s presence is useful evidence for comparison with the wider Snow Hill family, but the census itself does not identify her relationship to William. Mary’s age here also differs from the age band reported for the woman in the 1840 household.
Source: supplied 1850 U.S. census index, Worcester County, Maryland.
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2 May 1853 Register entry
William Guthery and Sarah A. Jones
The Worcester County marriage-register image records William Guthery and Sarah A. Jones. Sarah is the Sallie who appears with William in the later censuses.
Open the marriage and household evidence
The entry repeats May 2 from the preceding line. The attached record identification supplies the year 1853. The cropped image does not show a heading distinguishing the license date from the ceremony date, so this is described as a marriage-register entry.
Mary Walker was living in 1850. Her reported death before William’s second marriage remains an inference; no death or burial record is supplied here.
The younger William’s estimated birth around 1852 predates this entry. His maternal relationship remains unconfirmed, as explained in his family section.
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1853–1856 Jones family will
Sallie’s Father Names His Family
Walty Jones’s will names Sally A. Guthry and Uphemy Guthry among his family. It connects Sallie with the Jones household and with Euphemia, wife of William’s brother John S. Guthrie.
The will was dated 6 July 1853 and proved 25 November 1856. These are separate events; the probate date is not an exact death date.
Source: Walty Jones will, TT no. 8, pages 171–172. The will does not name Sallie’s mother.
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1860
A Growing Household at Newark
William continues farming. Sallie and five children are listed with him, including Charles from the earlier household and the younger William, David, Paul, and Levi.
Open the complete household and property entry
Newark, dwelling 1835, family 1833: William, 40; Sallie, 30; William, 8; David, 7; Paul, 4; Charles, 16; and Levi, 1.
William’s personal estate is valued at $150. This is the census’s reported personal-property value, not an estimate of the family’s income.
Source: supplied 1860 U.S. census index, Worcester County, Maryland.
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1870
Nine Children in the Newark Household
The census records William as a farmer with Sallie and nine children. Its age reports vary from the earlier census and from several birth years used in the family tree.
Open the complete household and reported ages
Newark, dwelling 168: William, 60; Sallie, 50; William, 17; Paul, 15; David, 13; Mary, 12; Littleton, 10; Edward, 8; John, 6; and Maggie, 4.
William’s personal estate is reported as $500. The names and ages are retained as reported, without silently adjusting them to match other records.
Source: supplied 1870 U.S. census index, Worcester County, Maryland.
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1880
Farming in Nutters, Wicomico County
William W. Guthery is recorded as a farmer, with Sallie and five children still in the household. This census places the family in Nutters, Wicomico County.
Open the complete household
Dwelling 1: William W., 65; wife Sallie A. W., 52; Paul B., 24; Mary E., 19; Littleton B., indexed as Littlon, 15; John T., 13; and Maggie J., 11.
William’s birthplace and those of his parents are reported as Maryland. The entry also records that he could not read or write. The census documents residence in Nutters by 1880, without supplying the date of the family’s arrival.
Source: supplied 1880 U.S. census index, Wicomico County, Maryland.
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23 January
1893William Dies at Seaford
William’s death record places him at Seaford, Sussex County, Delaware, and reports his age as sixty-eight. The cause is recorded as pericarditis. His parents are not named in the record.
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22 May 1921
Sallie Dies at Her Daughter’s Home
Sallie died in Seaford at the home of her daughter, Mrs. James Coulbourn. Her death certificate identifies her as a widow, with Littleton Guthrie of Seaford as informant.
The funeral notice names three surviving sons: Littleton and Paul of Seaford, and William of Delmar. These surviving relatives connect several of the earlier census children with their adult homes.
Open the funeral and death-record notes
“Funeral at Church,” published on 26 May 1921, reports the service as having taken place the previous afternoon at Mount Olivet Methodist Protestant Church, conducted by Rev. S. W. Coe, with interment in Odd Fellows Cemetery.
The certificate’s burial date appears to read 24 May, while the newspaper wording points to 25 May. The accounts are retained separately rather than combined into a single certain burial date.
The certificate and funeral notice report an age of eighty-four, which conflicts with the earlier census evidence and the working birth estimate of about 1827. The certificate also reports Delaware as her birthplace and Mary Truitt as her mother, differing from the tree’s Maryland birthplace and Martha Truitt. The Family Evidence Notes preserve these distinctions.
Sources: Delaware death certificate 1344, local registration 11; The News Journal, Wilmington, 26 May 1921, page 14.
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June 1921
Paul’s Death Follows His Mother’s
Paul B. Guthrie died at Seaford the following month. His certificate identifies his parents as William Guthrie and Sallie, describes him as a married labourer, and records Mrs. Paul B. Guthrie as informant.
The death-day numeral is unclear in the supplied image. Burial is recorded at Seaford on 26 June. His family section sets out the certificate’s evidence.
Source: Delaware death certificate 1629, local registration 10.
Explore the Records
Census households provide the framework for William’s family. Marriage entries, the Jones will, Delaware death records, and Sallie’s funeral notice add relationships and later residences. Comparing these sources helps separate recorded events from estimates and family-tree information.
The Guthrie DNA Project
William’s family is placed within the Snow Hill branch of Guthrie Family Group 1A. The project results reviewed for this branch represent descendants of John S. Guthrie, George Leonard Guthrie, and Leonard Guthrie. No participant is documented here through William W. Guthrie’s own children.
Select a child’s name to return to their family outline.
| Child | Y-DNA | Big-Y | Autosomal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Susan A. | N/A | N/A | — |
| Charles H. | — | — | — |
| William | — | — | — |
| David J. | — | — | — |
| Paul B. | — | — | — |
| Levi | — | — | — |
| Mary E. | N/A | N/A | — |
| Edward | — | — | — |
| Littleton B. | — | — | — |
| John T. | — | — | — |
| Maggie | N/A | N/A | — |
— = no participant is documented in the project material reviewed here. N/A = William’s Y-DNA cannot pass through a daughter. Autosomal testing can represent descendants through either sons or daughters. An empty entry does not establish that a child had no descendants or that no descendants have tested elsewhere.
What Can DNA Add?
The tested Snow Hill lines share a close paternal DNA pattern. A documented father-to-son descendant of William could provide an independent comparison with those lines. The value would lie in testing another family path while checking the records that connect each generation.
No Big-Y result is documented for the Snow Hill lines in this review. Their existing marker results connect them with the wider GFG1A paternal family, but do not identify a named Scottish ancestor or a date of immigration.
The Snow Hill Results and William’s Line Open for the represented kits and the limits of the comparison.
Kit 290792: the John S. Guthrie line, tested at Y37. Kit 846168: the George Leonard Guthrie line, tested at Y111. Kit 952892: the Leonard Guthrie line, tested at Y111.
All three agree across the standard Y37 comparison. The two Y111 results differ by one step. These are results from related recorded lines, not tests of William’s descendants.
A result through William could test whether his documented paternal descendants share the same pattern. The family’s placement and every intervening parent–child connection still depend on documentary research. Matching DNA alone does not name a common ancestor.
The Branch D Family Hub contains the fuller marker comparison and the wider Big-Y context.
Where Further Testing Could Help Open for useful descendant lines and ways to participate.
A willing man with a documented father-to-son descent through one of William’s sons would provide a useful new line for comparison. Surviving male lines first need to be traced; the list of sons is not evidence that each left male descendants.
Descendants through daughters can contribute family records and autosomal comparisons. Because autosomal DNA can come through many ancestral paths, a match must be evaluated alongside the shared family history.
Family-Specific Records
Marriage Records — Mary Walker and Sarah A. Jones Open for the dates and what each source establishes.
William Guthrie and Mary Walker: Maryland marriage indexes give 25 February 1840, with Worcester County identified in the county-specific entry. The two supplied indexes may derive from one underlying record and should not be counted as two independent originals.
William Guthery and Sarah A. Jones: the supplied register image gives May 2 by ditto marks from the preceding entry. The attachment identifies the year as 1853. Because the cropped heading is absent, the entry is not assigned specifically to a license or ceremony. The register supports 2 May, rather than the 3 May date previously reported in the tree.
Mary is documented in the 1850 household. Her reported death before the second marriage remains inferred. The younger William’s estimated birth around 1852 leaves his mother unconfirmed; Sallie’s later funeral notice calls him a son without resolving that chronology.
The Census Households, 1840–1880 Open for locations, household references, and age comparisons.
- 1840 — Districts 1 and 2, Worcester County: William indexed as Zutry, with one male and one female aged twenty to twenty-nine and one person engaged in agriculture.
- 1850 — District 6, Worcester County, dwelling 14: William and Mary, Susan A., Charles H., and Hannah E. The census does not explicitly state their relationships.
- 1860 — Newark, Worcester County, dwelling 1835, family 1833: William and Sallie with Charles and the younger William, David, Paul, and Levi.
- 1870 — Newark, Worcester County, dwelling 168: William and Sallie with nine children. Several reported ages differ from the earlier household and later records.
- 1880 — Nutters, Wicomico County, dwelling 1: William W. Guthery, wife Sallie, and Paul B., Mary E., Littleton B., John T., and Maggie J.
The Historical Highlights timeline preserves the full household lists and reported ages. These references follow the supplied census indexes; the original schedules are the next source for checking transcribed names, ages, and other columns.
Household membership before 1880 is evidence to be interpreted, not an expressly recorded parent–child relationship. Absence from a later household does not establish death.
Walty Jones’s Will — Sallie and Euphemia Open for the sisters’ family connection and the probate reference.
The will of Walter “Walty” Jones, dated 6 July 1853 and proved 25 November 1856, appears in TT no. 8, pages 171–172. It names Sally A. Guthry and Uphemy Guthry and supports their connection to the Jones family.
Sallie married William W. Guthrie; Euphemia married John S. Guthrie. The will is valuable evidence for the Jones relationship, but does not name their mother.
Sallie’s death certificate names her mother as Mary Truitt. The family tree uses Martha Truitt. Those names remain distinct source reports pending reconciliation; an index reading Mary Jones does not accurately preserve the certificate’s maiden-name entry.
Delaware Death Records — William, Sallie, and Paul Open for the original records and the limits of retrospective information.
William W. Guthrie, 23 January 1893: the death record reports Seaford, age sixty-eight, and pericarditis. His parents are not named. The age differs from the birth estimate supported by the 1850 and 1860 censuses.
Sallie A. Guthrie, 22 May 1921: Delaware certificate 1344, local registration 11, records a widowed woman at Seaford, with Littleton Guthrie as informant. Her father is Walter Jones and her mother is Mary Truitt. The reported age of eighty-four and Delaware birthplace conflict with the earlier census evidence and the tree’s birth information.
Paul B. Guthrie, June 1921: Delaware certificate 1629, local registration 10, identifies his parents as William Guthrie and Sallie. He was a married labourer; the informant was Mrs. Paul B. Guthrie. The death-day numeral is unclear, so no exact day is selected. Burial is recorded at Seaford on 26 June.
Death records can document the death itself while preserving less certain information about an earlier birth or the deceased’s parents. Each statement should be assessed according to who supplied it and what other evidence survives.
Sallie’s Funeral Notice — The Family in 1921 Open for the named relatives, church, and cemetery.
“Funeral at Church,” The News Journal, Wilmington, 26 May 1921, page 14, as identified in the supplied viewer, reports Sallie’s death at her daughter Mrs. James Coulbourn’s home.
It names surviving sons Littleton and Paul of Seaford and William of Delmar. Mrs. James Coulbourn is the daughter; a computer index that lists James Coulbourn himself as a child misreads the relationship.
The service was held at Mount Olivet Methodist Protestant Church, conducted by Rev. S. W. Coe, with burial in Odd Fellows Cemetery. The notice’s “yesterday” wording points to 25 May, while the certificate’s burial entry appears to read 24 May.
The notice identifies surviving relatives, not every child born to the family. Its age of eighty-four may come from the same family information used for the certificate and is not necessarily an independent confirmation.
Reading & Resources
Family Research and Record Repositories Open for the family studies and places to continue searching.
- Guthrie Research Tree — the family reconstruction and attached sources. This link opens the tree; access may depend on account permissions.
- Branch D Family Hub — John Guthrie, his wives, the wider Snow Hill household, and the DNA comparison.
- John S. Guthrie and Euphemia Jones — the related Guthrie–Jones household.
- Maryland State Archives — a starting point for Maryland county, court, probate, and marriage records.
- Delaware Public Archives — a starting point for Seaford and Sussex County research, including vital and estate records.
Repository links are research starting points, not citations to additional documents already examined. Tree dates without a reviewed underlying record remain attributed family information.
Most Wanted Documents Open for records that could resolve this family’s remaining questions.
- Mary Walker’s later life and death. A burial, death notice, church record, or estate document identifying her as William’s wife could establish what followed her 1850 census appearance.
- The younger William’s parents. A marriage return, death record, obituary, or family Bible naming both parents could resolve his maternal relationship and refine his birth estimate.
- Sallie’s birth and mother’s identity. Early family or church records could clarify her age and birthplace and reconcile Mary Truitt with the tree’s Martha Truitt.
- The full 1853 marriage entry and headings. An uncropped register page would clarify whether the recorded date concerns a license, ceremony, or another administrative step.
- Records linking the children to their adult households. Marriages, obituaries, death certificates, and probate papers could extend the eleven outlines. Records for Susan, Levi, Edward, and Maggie would be especially useful in tracing their later lives.
- Paul’s marriage and family. The full marriage return and further household records could identify his wife and any children. A clearer death image or burial record could resolve the June death day.
- William’s farm and estate records. Deeds, leases, tax lists, or probate papers could add detail about his livelihood and connect the Maryland household with Seaford.
- Later census records for Sallie. The original 1900 and 1910 schedules, including any children-born and children-living entries, may help assess the household’s full child count.
If you have a record or a precise source reference, please share it with Guthrie Genealogy. Include the full image or citation where possible so that names, dates, and relationships can be checked in context.
Help Build the Family Story
The story of William W. Guthrie, Mary Walker, and Sarah Ann “Sallie” Jones continues through their descendants and the records their families preserve. A household traced through census entries can become a much fuller family story when photographs, letters, and personal memories are brought together.
A photograph, family Bible, letter, obituary, or church record could add a name, settle a date, or reveal something of everyday life. Information about Mary Walker’s later life, the children’s marriages and descendants, and the family’s homes in Maryland and Delaware would be especially welcome.
Tell us how your family connects. Include the names, dates, places, and sources you have, along with an image or transcription of any record. Corrections, questions, and carefully researched family stories are welcome.
You can contribute with or without DNA results. Family historians are also invited to submit a story about this family or one of its descendants for source review and editing into the Guthrie Genealogy article format.
Share Your Family Story →
Researched and curated by Ann Guthrie · Guthrie Genealogy
With appreciation to the family historians and DNA Project participants
who contribute records and discoveries.