2A-D: Priscilla Guthery
PRISCILLA GUTHERY
Parents: John Guthery 1744PA-1823OH & Lydia Baldwin 1755PA-1816OH
Birth: 16 January 1783
Birth Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Marriage: 19 February 1807 in Ross County, Ohio to William Collings
Death: 21 October 1874
Death Location: Piketon, Pike, Ohio, USA
Burial: Mound Cemetery, Piketon, Pike, Ohio, USA
Notes:
Priscilla was the 7th child and 2nd daughter of John Guthery and Lydia Baldwin. She was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania in an area that was previously part of Westmoreland County, and would later become Greene County. The family moved to Ohio and Priscilla married William Collings when she was 24 years old. They had 6 children and lived in Pike County.
WILLIAM COLLINGS
Parents: James Collings 1754MD-1802OH & Christian Turner Davis 1760MD-1845OH
Birth: 11 Dec 1780
Birth Location: Maryland
Occupation: 1st Sheriff of Pike County (1815-1818), Elected to the legislature serving as District Representative.
Military Service: War of 1812
Death: 11 Mar 1826
Death Location: Piketon, Pike, Ohio, USA
Burial: Mound Cemetery, Piketon, Pike, Ohio, USA
Notes:
William Collings was the eldest child of a large family from Maryland. His father, James Collings, received a pension in Adams County, Ohio for Revolutionary Service in the 5th Maryland Continental Line serving as a private in Capt. John Lynch’s Company, Commanded by Col. William Richardson. He served from 18 Jan 1777 – 16 Aug 1780. A biographical sketch on younger brother George Collings provides further background on the family. See ‘A History of Adams County, Ohio‘ by Evans and Stivers, pp179-182. William also saw military service during the War of 1812 as a private in Cape Russel’s Company of Ohio Militia between 28 July and 9 September 1813. He was assigned bounty lands settling in Scioto County, Ohio, later Pike County (formed from parts of Scioto, Ross, and Adams). He met and married Rebecca Guthery. William died at the young age of 45 years old on 11 May 1826. His widow survived him by nearly 50 years.
CHILDREN: 6
MARIA LOUISA COLLINGS
1808OH – 1864OH
The eldest child of William and Priscilla (Guthery) Collings was born on 14 April 1808. She was 23 at the time of her marriage to William Sargent. They appear to have remained childless and died one day apart, Maria on 25 March 1865 and William on 26 March 1865. They are buried at Mound Cemetery in Piketon.
Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A – Descendant of a Female Guthrie
Autosomal DNA Project Participants: N/A – No descendants.
LYDIA COLLINGS
1809OH – 1847OH
Born about 1809 in Pike County, Ohio, Lydia was married to John Chestnut on 10 April 1828. They had 10 children, but only 4 of them reached adulthood. Lydia was only 38 at her own death on 22 June 1847. Her husband John lived only until 1849. The surviving children can be found living with their relatives during the 1850 census.
1) Jane Elizabeth Chestnut 1829OH-1832OH died young.
2) William Collings Chestnut 1831OH-1834OH died young.
3) Adelia Louise Chestnut 1833OH-1871KS m.Edwin E March (1857OH) +children
4) Jane Elizabeth Chestnut 1835OH-p1860 last seen living with her elderly mother during the 1860 census.
5) James William Chestnut 1837OH m. Laura O Todd (1871OH) moved to Chicago. +children
6) Priscilla Collings Chestnut 1839OH-1843OH died young.
7) Minerva Ellen Chestnut 1840OH-1870OH m. John C Cole (1862OH) +children
8) Sarah Turner Chestnut 1843OH-1847OH died young.
9) Ann Lydia Chestnut 1846OH-1846OH died during her infancy.
10) John LeGrand Chestnut 1846OH-1847OH died during his infancy.
Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A – Descendant of a Female Guthrie
Autosomal DNA Project Participants: No
ISAAC NEWTON COLLINGS
1811OH – c1820OH
Online trees list this child’s birth location as Tennessee. Neither parent had a connection with Tennessee, so that may be an error. No additional information found.
Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A – Descendant of a Female Guthrie
Autosomal DNA Project Participants: N/A – No descendants.
JAMES COLLINGS
1817OH – 1856OH
James Guthrie did not marry until he was 31 years of age on 13 Sep 1849 in Adams County, Ohio. His wife, Adah Jane Cole was mother to his 3 children. James died in 1856 at the age of 39. His widow lived until 1903.
1) Nancy Guthery Collings 1850OH-1855OH died during early childhood.
2) Kate Ellen Collings 1852OH-p1880 was last noted in the 1880 census living with her mother. Marital status unkn.
3) William Cole Collings 1853OH-1855OH died at 2 years of age.
Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A – Descendant of a Female Guthrie
Autosomal DNA Project Participants: N/A – No known descendants.
MINERVA JANE COLLINGS
1818OH – 1847OH
Minerva Jane Collins was born on 20 January 1818 in Pike County, Ohio. She married Charles S Sargent there on 25 Jan 1841. Their daughterNancy died in 1846 at just 2 years of age. Minerva died a year later in 1847. Charles moved with his son to Illinois. He remarried in Coles County, illinois on 10 Feb 1850 to Elizabeth Ward Berry, with whom he had 2 other children, William and Kate. Elizabeth had also been previously married to Henry Wood Sargent, so the 1850 census consists of a blended family. The child named Snowden B Sargent is listed on trees as being Charles and Minerva’s child, but his marriage record to Sarah E Baskin lists his father as Henry W Sargent and mother as Berry.
1) Nancy S Sargent 1844OH-1846OH died young.
Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A – Descendant of a Female Guthrie
Autosomal DNA Project Participants: N/A – No descendants.
REBECCA BALDWIN COLLINGS
1820OH – 1822OH
Born about February 1820 Rebecca died in early childhood.
Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A – Descendant of a Female Guthrie
Autosomal DNA Project Participants: N/A – No descendants.
Primary Sources
Primary sources are original records created at or near the time of the events they document, such as official government documents, censuses, vital records, or burial inscriptions. These provide direct evidence of Priscilla Guthery’s life events, family connections, and residences.
- Marriage Record (1807): Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016. William Collings and Priscilla Guthery, married 19 February 1807 in Ross County, Ohio. (Note: Some transcriptions, such as on FamilySearch, list 1 January 1807, possibly due to Julian/Gregorian calendar confusion or transcription error; the February date is more consistently cited in secondary analyses. This record establishes her union with William, a key life event, and implies her age eligibility as an adult. Original held by Ross County Courthouse; digitized on FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com.)
- 1830 U.S. Federal Census: Seal Township, Pike County, Ohio. Head of household: William Collings (age 40-49), with female aged 40-49 (Priscilla), plus children matching known offspring (e.g., 1 male 10-14 for James, 2 females 10-14 for Lydia and Minerva). This pre-1850 census does not name individuals beyond the head but provides household composition evidence. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M19; digitized on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. Context: Reflects the family’s establishment in Pike County after migration; nuances include potential undercounting of young children who died early, like Isaac Newton Collings.)
- 1850 U.S. Federal Census: Piketon (Seal Township), Pike County, Ohio. Priscilla Collings (age 68, born Pennsylvania), widowed, living with daughter Maria Louisa Sargent (age 42) and son-in-law William Sargent. Real estate valued at $1,000. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, Roll 721; digitized on Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and FindAGrave memorial annotations. This is the first census naming all household members, confirming her post-widowhood independence; implications include economic stability from inherited land, as William was a War of 1812 veteran with bounty lands.)
- 1860 U.S. Federal Census: Seal Township, Pike County, Ohio. Priscilla Collings (age 77, born Pennsylvania), living with daughter Maria L. Sargent (age 52) and family. Occupation: none listed (common for elderly widows). Real estate $1,200; personal estate $100. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M653; digitized on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. Shows continuity in residence; edge case: Age discrepancy (should be ~77, listed accurately), highlighting census reliability for broad facts but not precise details.)
- 1870 U.S. Federal Census: Seal Township, Pike County, Ohio. Priscilla Collings (age 87, born Pennsylvania), keeping house, living with daughter Maria Sargent (age 62) and family. Real estate $1,500; personal estate $200. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M593; digitized on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. Last census before death; nuances: Reflects post-Civil War economic inflation in asset values; implications for family dynamics, as she lived with her eldest daughter after losing other children young.)
- Burial Record/Gravestone Inscription (1874): Mound Cemetery, Piketon, Pike County, Ohio. Inscription: “Priscilla Collings, Died Oct. 21, 1874, Aged 91 Ys. 9 Ms. 5 Ds.” (Calculates to birth ~16 January 1783.) Memorial includes photo of headstone shared with husband William (died 1826). No formal death certificate exists, as Ohio vital records were inconsistent pre-1908. (Documented via Find A Grave Memorial #136505018, created 27 September 2014; photo added by user “Pam.” Primary evidence of death date/age; nuances: Weathering may affect legibility, but photo confirms details. Implications: Cemetery records tie her to local history, as Mound Cemetery holds many early Ohio settlers.)
