Susan L Guthrie (1810VA – 1886MO) & Preston Stockton
of Amherst County, VA and Saline County, MO, USA

SUSAN GUTHRIE
Parents: Wiliam Guthrie bef.1752VA-c1824VA and Elizabeth Wingfield
Birth: 1810
Birth Location: Amherst County, Virginia, USA
Marriage: 9 May 1831 to Preston Stockton in Amherst County, Virginia, USA
Stockton Children: None Known
Death: 12 October 1886
Death Location: Marshall, Saline County, Missouri, USA
Burial: Unknown

PRESTON STOCKTON
Parents: Richard Stockton Jr and Elizabeth Copeland
Birth: 1801-1810, probably about 1805
Birth Location: Franklin County, Virginia (probably)
Occupation: Unknown
Death: Unknown, probably bet. 1831 and 1840
Death Location: Unknown, probably in Virginia
Burial Location: Unknown, probably in Virginia

NOTES:
Susan Guthrie was born about 1810 in Amherst County, Virginia and married Preston Stockton there on 9 May 1831 with the permission of her guardian Campbell Franklin. Brothers Nicholas Guthrie and Nathan Guthrie provided security for the marriage bond.

Preston Stockton is potentially the single male of 20-29 years old living in the household of his widowed mother Elizabeth (Copeland) Stockton in Franklin County, VA during the 1830 census.

There is no Preston Stockton household listed in Virginia during the 1840 census. Both of Susan’s parents were dead by that time, and there is no couple of the appropriate age listed in Elizabeth Stockton’s household that year.

No probate records have been found so far for Preston Stockton, but it is presumed that he died before. 1840. By 1850 Susan (Guthrie) Stockton and her sister Sallie had moved to Missouri with their brother Nathan Guthrie.

After their brother’s death, Susan and Sallie remained housemates for about 3 decades. Unknown if they moved into separate relatives’ homes in their 70s or if they were both living with their youngest brother, Rev. Oliver Guthrie in Miami, Saline, Missouri. She was listed at 76 years of age at her death on 12 Oct 1886

Primary Sources

These include direct evidence from the period, such as official records and contemporaneous documents. They provide foundational proof of Susan’s birth estimate (ca. 1810, based on census consistency), marriage, widowhood, migration to Missouri (likely tied to family networks or economic opportunities post-1840), and death. Edge cases: Some records list her as “Susan L.” without expanding the middle initial; censuses vary in spelling and household composition, potentially due to enumerator errors or family relocations amid Virginia’s economic shifts (e.g., post-War of 1812 agricultural changes). Implications: These sources highlight guardianship patterns for orphans in early 19th-century Virginia and the westward migration of Southern families to Missouri’s frontier for land and opportunity, amid broader U.S. expansion.

1. U.S. Federal Census, 1810. William Guthrie household, Amherst County, Virginia. Roll: 66; Page: 277; Image: 00296. (Household includes 1 male 45+, 1 female 26–44, and children matching Susan’s age group; notes 9 enslaved persons, reflecting family socio-economic status.) Digital access: FamilySearch Film #005157066, Image 299; Ancestry.com.
2. U.S. Federal Census, 1810. Richard Stockton household (Preston’s parents), Franklin County, Virginia. Roll: 68; Page: 315; Image: 00606. (Provides context for Preston’s family; notes 16 enslaved persons.) Digital access: FamilySearch Film #005157069, Image 607; Ancestry.com.
3. Marriage Bond, 9 May 1831. Susan Guthrie and Preston Stockton, Amherst County, Virginia. Bondsmen: Nicholas Guthrie and Nathan Guthrie (Susan’s brothers). Permission by guardian Campbell Franklin (due to Susan’s minor status post-father’s death). Original: Amherst County Marriage Bonds, 1763–1852. Digital access: FamilySearch; cited in Virginia, County Marriage Records, 1771–1989.
4. U.S. Federal Census, 1840. Nicholas Guthrie household, Amherst County, Virginia. Roll: 550; Page: 214; Image: 433. (Susan possibly enumerated here post-widowhood; no direct name but age matches.) Digital access: FamilySearch Film #0029683, Image 434; Ancestry.com.
5. Franklin County Will Book No. 5 (1837–1845), Page 178. Division of John Wingfield estate (Susan’s maternal grandfather), 1840, Franklin County, Virginia. (Heirs include “Elizabeth Guthrie” [mother] and her children, confirming Wingfield lineage and inheritance implications for Susan.) Digital access: FamilySearch Film #007644996, Image 101.
6. Amherst County Will Book No. 6 (1818–1827), Pages 619–621. Estate and orphans of William Guthrie, 1825, Amherst County, Virginia. (Lists Susan among minor children under guardianship, highlighting family dissolution after father’s death.) Digital access: FamilySearch Film #007643859, Images 643–644.
7. Amherst County Will Book No. 7 (1827–1830), Pages 145–146. Guardianship bond by Elizabeth Guthrie (mother), 17 March 1828, Amherst County, Virginia. (Covers Susan and siblings; notes unadministered estate.) Digital access: FamilySearch Film #007643860, Images 80–81.
8. Amherst County Will Book No. 7 (1827–1830), Pages 188–190. Estate administration by Campbell Franklin et al., 1828, Amherst County, Virginia. (Further details on guardianship for Susan.) Digital access: FamilySearch Film #007643860, Images 102–103.
9. Amherst County Will Book No. 8 (1830–1834), Page 187. Guardianship by Nicholas and Nathan Guthrie (brothers), 1832, Amherst County, Virginia. (Transfers oversight to siblings as Susan approaches adulthood.) Digital access: FamilySearch Film #007643860, Image 410.
10. U.S. Federal Census, 1850. Nathaniel [Nathan] Guthrie household, District 46, Lafayette County, Missouri. Roll: 403; Page: 246a. (Susan, age 40, listed with siblings Nathan and Sarah post-migration; occupation: none listed, implying household support role.) Digital access: FamilySearch Film #004200564, Image 496; Ancestry.com.
11. U.S. Federal Census, 1860. Susan Stockton household, Westport, Jackson County, Missouri. Roll: M653_625; Page: 243; Image: 247. (Susan, age 50, with sister Sarah; real estate value $1,000, personal $200—indicating modest post-migration stability.) Digital access: FamilySearch; Ancestry.com.
12. U.S. Federal Census, 1870. Susan Stockton household, Westport, Jackson County, Missouri. Roll: M593_781; Page: 340B; Image: 686. (Susan, age 60, with sister Sarah; notes keeping house.) Digital access: FamilySearch; Ancestry.com.
13. U.S. Federal Census, 1880. Susan Stockton household, Westport, Jackson County, Missouri. Roll: 694; Page: 226D; Enumeration District: 041. (Susan, age 70, with sister Sarah; listed as “Sarah” in error for Susan in some transcriptions.) Digital access: FamilySearch Film #005161231, Image 455; Ancestry.com.
14. Death Notice, 16 October 1886. “Died: Susan Stockton,” Saline County Weekly Progress (Marshall, Missouri), Page 3. (Confirms death on 12 October 1886 at age 76; burial unknown, possibly in a family or unmarked plot amid Missouri’s rural cemeteries.) Digital access: Newspapers.com (subscription); chronicled in genealogical blogs