1A-G: Catherine Guthrie
Guthrie Family Group 1A · Branch G · Child Page
Catherine Guthrie& Campbell Franklin
Amherst County & Lynchburg, Virginia
Catherine Guthrie, daughter of William Guthrie and Elizabeth Wingfield, married Campbell Franklin in Amherst County in January 1819. The marriage abstract carries a record date of 5 January and a minister’s return dated 7 January.
Their story remains closely connected to Catherine’s family. Campbell appears in Guthrie estate and guardianship records, and in 1831 he advertised the plantation belonging to William Guthrie’s heirs for rent, identifying himself as its occupant.
These records preserve the couple’s family connections, but their own children and later lives remain an open part of the research.
Family at a Glance
Catherine Guthrie
- Parents
- William Guthrie & Elizabeth Wingfield.
- Birth
- Estimated 1801–1810, associated with Amherst County, Virginia. Her precise birth date is unknown; comparisons of the early census age groups suggest the earlier part of this range.
- Marriage
- January 1819, Amherst County, Virginia, to Campbell Franklin.
- Children
- No children have yet been securely identified.
- Death & Burial
- Unknown. The later records naming Campbell do not establish Catherine’s death date or continued survival.
Campbell Franklin
- Birth
- About 1792 in the family research; exact date and birthplace remain unconfirmed.
- Parents
- Not established. The proposed Thomas Franklin–Margaret Campbell connection remains a research lead.
- Family Responsibilities
- Associated with Guthrie estate affairs; named as Susan Guthrie’s guardian in her 1831 marriage abstract.
- Residence & Property
- Identified himself as the occupant of William Guthrie’s heirs’ Amherst plantation in August 1831.
- Death & Burial
- Unknown. His signed 1831 advertisement rules out the previously assigned 1830 death; he is also named in Lucy Guthrie’s 1833 marriage abstract.
Indexed record: 5 January · Minister’s return: 7 January
The Franklin Children
The early households contain several young people, but the census schedules do not name them or state their relationships. A list of Catherine and Campbell’s children cannot yet be reconstructed reliably.
Family Evidence Notes
Marriage dates: The supplied abstract distinguishes the 5 January entry from the 7 January minister’s return. A published extract of the Lynchburg Press announcement dated 11 January says the marriage occurred the previous Thursday, consistent with 7 January. The original marriage papers should be checked before identifying 5 January specifically as a bond or license date.
Birth and household estimates: Catherine is a possible match for one of the unnamed girls under ten in William Guthrie’s 1810 household and for the adult female age groups in Campbell’s later households. Those identifications support an estimate, not an exact birth date.
Children and siblings: Campbell’s later guardianship responsibilities help explain his connection to the Guthries, but they do not identify every person in his household. The 1820 household also predates William Guthrie’s death and cannot be explained as a household formed after the children lost their father.
Historical Highlights
Marriage, family responsibilities & the Amherst plantation
Catherine’s marriage linked the Guthrie and Franklin families before the estate proceedings that followed her parents’ deaths. Campbell’s name subsequently appears alongside Catherine’s brothers and sisters in records concerning property, guardianship, and marriage.
A particularly useful record is his 1831 plantation advertisement. Campbell described land belonging to the heirs of the deceased William Guthrie, about seven miles from Lynchburg in Amherst County. He offered to show the property to prospective renters and stated that he occupied it. The notice gives the family’s land a location and identifies someone directly involved in its management.
The early census summaries also record enslaved people in the households. Their identities are not supplied by the age-group entries. Deeds, estate papers, and other records may preserve their names and family relationships and should be included as that evidence is recovered.
Family Timeline
| Date | Event & Evidence |
|---|---|
| Jan 1819 | Catherine marries Campbell FranklinThe Amherst marriage abstract carries a 5 January record date and a 7 January minister’s return. The newspaper extract is consistent with a Thursday, 7 January ceremony.Sources: supplied marriage abstract; FamilySearch marriage-index locator; Lynchburg Press extract discussed below. |
| 1820 | A household in LynchburgThe census research identifies a Campbell Franklin household in Lynchburg, Campbell County. Catherine’s presence is inferred from the adult female age group; the other residents remain unnamed.Source lead: 1820 U.S. census, Campbell Franklin household, Lynchburg, Campbell County, Virginia; original schedule to be compared with the retained transcription. |
| 17 Nov 1828 | Guthrie estate affairsEstate-bond abstracts name Campbell Franklin in proceedings concerning William Guthrie’s remaining estate and Elizabeth Guthrie’s estate.Source leads: Amherst County Will Book 7, pp. 187–190. The family’s wider 1828–1829 probate chronology remains under review. |
| 1830 | A larger Amherst householdA Campbell Franklin household is recorded in the Amherst census research. Its age groups suggest several adults and young people, but do not establish separate families or identify the couple’s children.Source lead: 1830 U.S. census, Campbell Franklin household, Amherst County, Virginia. |
| 9 May 1831 | Guardian at Susan’s marriageSusan Guthrie married Preston Stockton. Her marriage abstract names Campbell Franklin as guardian and Nicholas Guthrie and Nathan Guthrie as sureties.Source: supplied Amherst marriage abstract, Susan Guthrie and Preston Stockton. |
| 25 Aug 1831 | William Guthrie’s heirs’ plantation offered for rentCampbell signed an advertisement scheduling the rental for 10 September 1831. He described the Amherst property as about seven miles from Lynchburg and occupied by himself. The notice records the proposed rental, not its completion.Source: “Plantation for Rent,” Lynchburg Virginian; advertisement internally dated 25 August. |
| 23 Sep 1833 | Named in Lucy’s marriage abstractThe marriage abstract for Lucy Guthrie and Creed Taylor names Campbell Franklin and N. Guthrie, continuing his documented association with Catherine’s family.Source: supplied Amherst marriage abstract, Lucy Guthrie and Creed Taylor. |
Explore the Records
The marriage abstract and signed plantation notice anchor this account. Census transcriptions and court-book references provide further leads, with their remaining identification questions noted below.
1819 Marriage — Record Date & Minister’s Return
The supplied research-tree screenshot preserves an Amherst marriage abstract for Campbell Franklin and Catherine Guthrie, entered under 5 January 1819. Its notes name William Guthrie, Richard Burros, John Turner, and Pleasant Thurman, with a minister’s return dated 7 January 1819. The original entry should be consulted to confirm each person’s precise role and the spelling of the names.
FamilySearch: Campbell Franklin and Catherine Guthrie marriage-index locator. The index link is retained from the family research; the original record image has not been independently checked for this update.
A published extract from the Lynchburg Press, 11 January 1819, reports that Campbell Franklin and Catherine Guthrie of Amherst married the previous Thursday. This is consistent with 7 January. See Charles T. Burton, “Notes from the Lynchburg Press (Va),” Virginia Appalachian Notes 2, no. 1 (January 1978), p. 14, and the transcribed marriage announcement.
A separate Franklin Family Researchers United listing labels the county Augusta. Amherst is supported by the marriage abstract and contemporary newspaper extract; the compilation’s different county should not replace it.
Early Census Households — Names Still to Be Recovered
1810 · William Guthrie, Amherst: The supplied census summary records two girls under ten. Catherine may be one of them, but neither is named.
1820 · Campbell Franklin, Lynchburg: The retained transcription lists one free male aged 26–44, one free female aged 16–25, three free girls under ten, and seven enslaved people. It also records six people engaged in commerce; this is a household count, not a specific occupation assigned to Campbell.
1830 · Campbell Franklin, Amherst: The transcription lists one free male aged 30–39; two free males and one free female aged 20–29; four free females aged 15–19; two free males and one free female aged 10–14; and thirteen enslaved people. The listed free-person categories include no children under ten.
These entries cannot, by themselves, distinguish the Franklins’ children from siblings, other relatives, or unrelated residents. The original schedules should be checked before assigning identities to individual marks.
Source leads retained from the earlier research: 1810 Amherst, William Guthrie/Guthery, p. 290; 1820 Lynchburg, Campbell Franklin, p. 114; 1830 Amherst, Campbell Franklin, p. 362. Page references and column readings require comparison with the original images.
Estate, Guardianship & Family Marriage Connections
Amherst Will Book 7, pp. 187–190: Abstracts dated 17 November 1828 identify Campbell Franklin in the Guthrie estate proceedings. These volume-and-page references are research locators; the full bonds and associated accounts should be examined together.
Susan Guthrie’s marriage, 9 May 1831: Campbell is explicitly identified as her guardian in the supplied abstract. Nicholas and Nathan Guthrie appear as sureties.
Lucy Guthrie’s marriage, 23 September 1833: The supplied abstract names Campbell Franklin and N. Guthrie. This later reference should be included when tracing Campbell beyond the 1831 advertisement.
The Library of Virginia’s Amherst County microfilm guide lists Will Books 7–9 on Library of Virginia reel 20. This is an LVA reel number, not a FamilySearch film number.
For the wider probate sequence and its unresolved dates, see the William Guthrie & Elizabeth Wingfield Family Hub.
1831 Newspaper Advertisement — Plantation for Rent
Campbell Franklin offered the plantation belonging to William Guthrie’s heirs for rent to the highest bidder on Saturday, 10 September 1831. The property lay about seven miles from Lynchburg in Amherst County. Campbell stated that he occupied it and could show it to interested parties.
The advertisement is internally dated 25 August. The saved clipping is captioned Lynchburg Virginian, 17 October 1831, p. 4; that issue citation is distinct from the advertisement’s date and the scheduled rental. The notice does not establish that the rental occurred or identify Catherine as then living on the property.
Additional Leads — Campbell Franklin’s Background & Later Life
Military service: Earlier research associates Campbell with War of 1812 service in the 53rd Virginia Militia. The service record and identifying details need verification before a unit or service period is treated as established biography.
Unclaimed mail: A retained citation places his name in the Lynchburg Virginian, 19 April 1832, p. 4, among letters remaining at the Lynchburg post office on 1 April. The full notice remains to be checked. An unclaimed letter does not establish the addressee’s residence or Catherine’s survival.
Franklin parentage: The proposed Thomas Franklin and Margaret Campbell connection needs a record identifying this Campbell as their son. It should not be accepted solely because the names or locality fit.
DNA & the Wider Guthrie Family
The family’s GFG1A connection is supported by John William Guthrie’s line, with its GFG1A modal Y-DNA and matching Augusta County, Virginia locations.
Catherine did not transmit a Guthrie Y chromosome to her children. A descendant line through Catherine would be explored through documentary evidence and, where available, autosomal DNA. No Catherine-specific descendant test evidence has been established for this page.
Most Wanted: Catherine & Campbell’s Family
- The original marriage papers: Confirm the roles of the people named in the abstract and distinguish the 5 January record from the 7 January minister’s return.
- Named children: Seek a will, estate distribution, deed, Bible entry, church register, or later marriage record identifying a child of Catherine and Campbell Franklin.
- Later-life records: Trace Campbell beyond the 1833 marriage reference and find records naming Catherine in her own right. Their death dates and burial places remain unknown.
- The plantation and its residents: Follow the Guthrie land through deeds, rental accounts, and estate papers, including records that identify the enslaved people connected with the households.
Keep the Story Growing
Help Build the Family Story
Catherine’s marriage and Campbell’s involvement in the Guthrie family’s affairs preserve several useful connections. A record naming their children or describing Catherine’s later life could bring this branch into much clearer view.
If the Franklin or Guthrie names appear in your family papers, please share what you have found. Complete record images, dates, and source details are especially helpful. Questions, corrections, and family recollections are welcome.
Researched and curated by Ann Guthrie · Guthrie Genealogy