RACHEL GUTHRIE & ROBERT STEWART
of New Castle County, Delaware

RACHEL GUTHRIE
Parents: Samuel Guthrie b. c1680-1700 – d.1746DE & Mary (MNU)
Birth: Est. 1722-30, Definitely before 1746
Birth Location: Pennsylvania or Delaware
Marriage: Before 1774 presumably in Delaware
Death: After 1774
Death Location: Unknown
Burial: Unknown
Notes:
Rachel Guthrie was named in her father’s 1746 will. She was also identified as being alive in 1774 when her sister Jane Vail petitioned the court for division of their mother’s estate.

ROBERT STEWART
Parents: Unidentified
Birth: Unknown
Birth Location: Unknown
Death: After 1774, possibly about 1786
Death Location: Unverified, possibly Pencader Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware
Notes:
‘American Guthrie and Allied Families’ reveals that tradition states that General J.E.B. Stewart, commander of the cavalry under General Robert E Lee, was a descendant.

So let’s try to prove or debunk that story by following some online breadcrumbs…

James Ewell Brown ‘JEB’ Stuart (6 Feb 1833 – 12 May 1864) was a United States Army officer who became a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. The linked biographical sketch indicates that he was born on a plantation in Patrick County, Virginia, being the 8th of 11 children of Archibald Stuart, a War of 1812, veteran and Elizabeth Letcher Pannill. Archibald Stuart (2 Dec 1795 – 20 Sep 1855) was a politician and lawyer from Virginia. His parents were Judge Alexander Stuart and Anne Danny. His parents were Alexander Stuart 1734-1822 and Mary Moore. His parents were Archibald Stuart 1696IRE-1761VA and Janet Brown.

This well documented line does not appear to include Robert Stewart / Stuart, at least not directly.

Delaware Wills and Probate Records for New Castle County, Delaware do include the Probate Records for the Estate of a Robert Stewart in 1786-7 who resided in Pencader Hundred. The Administrator’s Bond was recorded Book M Folio 223. An inventory by John Stewart and Joseph Flood was filed, as was an appraisal by Austin West and Alexander Williams. There is no mention in these records of a wife or children.

CHILDREN: None Identified

Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A – Female Guthrie
Autosomal DNA Project Participants: No Known Descendants

Primary Sources

Primary sources for the genealogy of Rachel Guthrie, as referenced on the specified blog page, consist of original historical records such as wills, probate documents, and estate petitions from 18th-century Delaware. These provide direct evidence of her familial connections, survival, and potential marital status.

1. Will of Samuel Guthrie
   • Date: 1746 (proved or recorded).
   • Location: New Castle County, Delaware, British Colonial America.
   • Repository/Access: Delaware Wills and Probate Records, available through archives like the Delaware Public Archives or online platforms such as Ancestry.com.
   • Details and Relevance: This will explicitly names Rachel Guthrie as a daughter of Samuel Guthrie, establishing her parentage and inheritance rights. In colonial probate practices, such naming often implies she was unmarried or a minor at the time, as married daughters might be listed under husbands’ names. No specific folio or book is noted, but this document serves as foundational primary evidence for her lineage. Implications include potential insights into family wealth distribution and social status in Pencader Hundred.
2. Petition for Division of Estate by Jane Vail
   • Date: 1774.
   • Location: New Castle County, Delaware, United States (post-independence context, though rooted in colonial systems).
   • Repository/Access: Delaware Wills and Probate Records, housed at the Delaware Public Archives or digitized on genealogy sites.
   • Details and Relevance: Filed by Rachel’s sister Jane Vail, this petition requests the division of their mother’s estate and confirms Rachel Guthrie as still alive at that time. It provides chronological evidence of her survival into adulthood, useful for ruling out early deaths or misidentifications. Nuances include the possibility of remarriages or relocations affecting estate claims, as women’s legal status in the era often depended on marital ties. This record indirectly supports theories of her marriage to Robert Stewart, though not explicitly.
3. Probate Records for the Estate of Robert Stewart
   • Date: 1786–1787 (administration and inventory).
   • Location: Pencader Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware, United States.
   • Repository/Access: Delaware Wills and Probate Records, specifically Book M, Folio 223 for the Administrator’s Bond; available via state archives or online databases.
   • Details and Relevance: Includes the Administrator’s Bond (recorded 1786), inventory filed by John Stewart and Joseph Flood, and appraisal by Austin West and Alexander Williams. Notably, no wife or children are mentioned, which raises questions about Rachel’s potential widowhood or childlessness if she was indeed married to Robert. This absence could imply intestate death without direct heirs, common in frontier areas with high mortality rates from disease or conflict (e.g., Revolutionary War aftermath). It offers indirect evidence for Rachel’s life events, emphasizing the need for cross-referencing with land deeds or tax lists for fuller context. Related considerations: Probate delays in the 1780s due to post-war instability might explain gaps in records.

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources interpret or compile primary data, offering contextual narratives, family traditions, or analyses.

1. American Guthrie and Allied Families
   • Author/Compiler: Not specified in the reference, but likely Laurence Rawlin Guthrie (a known genealogist for Guthrie lines).
   • Date: Circa 1930s (based on typical publication for similar works; exact date not provided).
   • Type: Book or genealogical compilation.
   • Repository/Access: Available in libraries, genealogical societies, or digitized on platforms like Internet Archive or FamilySearch.
   • Details and Relevance: This source mentions a family tradition that General J.E.B. Stuart (Confederate cavalry leader in the American Civil War) was a descendant of Robert Stewart, potentially linking Rachel Guthrie’s line to notable historical figures. However, it’s flagged as “tradition,” indicating it’s not primary evidence and could stem from anecdotal family lore rather than documented proof. Nuances include the risk of conflating Stewart lines across regions (e.g., Scottish-Irish immigrants in Delaware vs. Virginia). Implications for research: This could prompt DNA analysis or cross-referencing with Civil War records to verify descent, but it underscores the value of secondary sources in hypothesizing connections when primaries are silent. Edge cases, like multiple Robert Stewarts in colonial records, highlight the need for disambiguation.