2A-G: Mary Frances Guttry
Guthrie Family Group 2A · Branch G · Child Page
Mary Frances Guttry
& Alfred Benjamin Gosdin
Mary Frances: reported 1856–1915
Alfred Benjamin: born about 1858; death date unverified
Columbia County, Arkansas · Durant, Oklahoma
Remembered as Mary Frances and Fannie. A daughter of Wilson Guttry and Sarah M. Starritt, Mary Frances married Alfred Benjamin Gosdin in Columbia County, Arkansas, in 1879. The following year, their household appears in Harrison Township under the names Alford and Fannie Gosden.
Her later memorial places her death and burial in Durant, Oklahoma. Their son John Louis’s death certificate preserves both parents’ names, linking the Gosdin descendants with Mary’s Guttry family.
This family belongs within Wilson and Sarah’s related Branch G lineage. Its earlier documentary connection to the James or John Guthrie families remains unresolved.
Family at a Glance
Mary Frances Guttry
Also recorded as: Fannie Guthrie and Fannie Gosden.
Parents: Wilson Guttry and Sarah M. Starritt.
Birth: Reported 4 July 1856, Arkansas; her birth year remains uncertain.
Death: Reported 7 August 1915, Durant, Bryan County, Oklahoma.
Burial: Highland Cemetery, Durant, according to her memorial index.
Alfred Benjamin Gosdin
Also indexed as: Alfred B. Gasdin and Alford Gosden.
Birth: About 1858, Georgia, based on his age and birthplace in the 1880 census index.
Occupation: Farmer in 1880.
Parents: Not established in the reviewed material.
Death and burial: Not established in the reviewed material.
Marriage: 4 September 1879, Columbia County, Arkansas. The license was issued on 2 September. The index names Fannie Guthrie and Alfred B. Gasdin.
| Child | Evidence |
|---|---|
| John Louis Gosdin | 16 January 1882–20 November 1981, from his death certificate. That record names Alfred Benjamin Gosdin and Mary Frances Gutrie as his parents. |
| Noah Marcus Gosdin | Linked as a son in Mary’s memorial index; individual dates and relationships need supporting records. |
| Park E. Gosdin | Linked as a son in Mary’s memorial index; individual dates and relationships need supporting records. |
| Jay Cornelious Gosdin | Linked as a son in Mary’s memorial index; individual dates and relationships need supporting records. |
| Hoyt Wilson Gosdin | Linked as a son in Mary’s memorial index; individual dates and relationships need supporting records. |
| Henry Calvin Gosdin | Linked as a son in Mary’s memorial index; individual dates and relationships need supporting records. |
This is a working list, not a verified total or birth order. John Louis’s parentage has additional support from his death certificate; the other memorial relationships remain to be documented individually.
A Possible Additional Child: Albert D. Gosdin
The Shiloh Cemetery transcription in Columbia County lists Albert D. Gosdin, 22 June 1888–10 October 1892, as a son of A. B. and M. F. Those initials fit Alfred Benjamin and Mary Frances, making him a plausible additional child.
The identification remains provisional. A gravestone photograph or another record naming his parents in full would help confirm it. Albert is retained here as a separate lead.
Historical Highlights
From Arkansas Records to Durant
Mary Frances’s marriage and early married household place her in Columbia County, Arkansas. In 1880, Alfred was a farmer and the indexed household consisted of the couple.
Her memorial later places her in Durant, Oklahoma. The records reviewed so far do not establish when the family left Arkansas, the route they followed, or whether they lived elsewhere along the way.
Fannie and Mary Frances
The 1879 marriage index calls her Fannie Guthrie; the following census lists Fannie Gosden. The working family reconstruction identifies these entries with Mary Frances Guttry. The variations in both given names and surnames are useful search terms when following the family through later records.
A Son’s Record Preserves the Connection
John L. Gosdin’s 1981 death certificate names his father as Alfred Benjamin Gosdin and his mother as Mary Frances Gutrie. It records an Arkansas birthplace and an occupation as a building contractor.
The certificate supplies direct evidence of the parentage reported for John, although that information was recorded long after his birth. It does not establish every child linked in Mary’s memorial or identify Alfred’s parents.
The shared artwork evokes the Arkansas family setting; it is not a depiction of an authenticated home or property.
Family Timeline
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4 July 1856, reported
Mary Frances’s birth
The research profile and memorial index give this date in Arkansas. Other indexed ages and her brother Christopher’s reported birth date leave the year unresolved.
Source: Research profile and memorial index; conflicting family chronology.
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4 September 1879
Marriage in Columbia County
Fannie Guthrie married Alfred B. Gasdin, two days after the marriage license was issued.
Source: Arkansas marriage index; FHL film 988809.
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1880
A farming household in Harrison Township
Alford Gosden, 22, born in Georgia, appears with wife Fannie, 20, at dwelling 177 in Columbia County, Arkansas.
Source: 1880 census index.
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16 January 1882
John Louis’s reported birth
His later death certificate records an Arkansas birth on this date and identifies both parents.
Source: Texas death certificate 90168, issued in 1981.
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7 August 1915, reported
Mary’s death in Durant
Her memorial index places her death in Durant, Bryan County, Oklahoma, and her burial at Highland Cemetery.
Source: Supplied memorial index; an original death record was not reviewed.
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20 November 1981
John Louis’s death in Texas
John L. Gosdin died in Denison, Grayson County, aged 99. His certificate names Highland Cemetery in Durant as the destination for removal on 23 November.
Source: Texas death certificate 90168; removal date is not automatically the burial date.
Explore the Records
The marriage index, 1880 household, Mary’s memorial index, and John Louis’s death certificate form the core of this account. They establish useful connections while leaving the full child list, migration chronology, and several dates open for further research.
The Guthrie DNA Project
Mary’s descendants do not inherit the Guthrie Y chromosome through her. Y-DNA and Big Y testing of a direct Gosdin male line would follow Alfred’s paternal ancestry. Autosomal DNA may contribute to Mary’s Guthrie connections when evaluated alongside documented pedigrees and shared matches.
| Y-DNA | Big Y | Autosomal |
|---|---|---|
| No Guthrie paternal route through Mary | No Guthrie paternal route through Mary | No participant identified in the reviewed notes |
“Not identified” is a statement about the reviewed notes, not a finding that no descendant has tested. Joining the project does not guarantee an individual match analysis.
The Collateral Branch G Connection
Kit 916989 represents a reported descendant of Mary’s brother John Wilson Guttry. The project review dated 15 October 2026 records Big Y-700 and R-FTJ23678 for that collateral line.
Its Branch G association supplies context for the Wilson Guttry family. It is not a test through Mary, does not prove each Gosdin relationship, and does not complete the earlier documentary connection to James, John, or a closely related Branch G ancestor. Wilson’s proposed parentage under William Guthrie and Martha Rogers also remains unproved.
Family Evidence & Open Questions
Mary’s Birth Year and the Family Chronology
The research profile and memorial index use 4 July 1856. Her marriage age of 22 in September 1879 implies about 1857, while the 1880 index gives age 20, implying about 1859/60.
Her brother Christopher’s photographed stone gives 18 October 1856. His date and Mary’s July 1856 date cannot both be accepted as successive births to the same mother without resolving an error. This page retains Mary’s familiar date as reported and does not impose an unsupported replacement year.
How Much of the Child List Is Established?
Mary’s supplied memorial index links Noah Marcus, Park E., Jay Cornelious, Hoyt Wilson, Henry Calvin, and John Louis Gosdin as children. Memorial links are useful leads, but do not independently document every relationship.
John’s death certificate expressly names both parents. Comparable records are still needed for the other five sons. The separate Albert D. entry may enlarge the family, but the abbreviated parental names have not yet been securely identified.
Alfred’s Later Life and the Move to Oklahoma
The 1880 index gives Alfred’s birthplace as Georgia and his age as 22. His parents’ names, death date, and burial have not been established in the reviewed material.
Mary’s reported death in Durant provides a later location, but not a migration date. The family’s 1900 and 1910 census households, deeds, obituaries, and probate files could fill this interval and test the child list.
Sources & Research Notes
Open the Source List
- Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837–1957: Fannie Guthrie and Alfred B. Gasdin, Columbia County; license 2 September 1879, marriage 4 September 1879; FHL film 988809. Supplied index screenshot reviewed.
- 1880 United States census index: Alford and Fannie Gosden, Harrison Township, Columbia County, Arkansas, dwelling 177. The supplied index reports their ages, relationship, birthplace for Alfred, and his farming occupation; the complete original census page was not reviewed.
- Texas death certificate, state file 90168: John L. Gosdin, died 20 November 1981, Denison, Grayson County. Actual certificate image reviewed for dates, parents, occupation, and the recorded removal destination. Birth and parentage information is retrospective.
- U.S., Find a Grave Index: Mary Frances Gosdin, maiden name Guttry, Highland Cemetery, Durant, Bryan County, Oklahoma. Supplied index screenshot reviewed for reported dates, parents, spouse, and six linked sons; no original gravestone image was supplied for Mary in this set.
- Shiloh Cemetery transcription: May 2001 survey by Doris Fletcher and Marcia Chapman, section N, row 9, Albert D. Gosdin. Consulted 26 October 2026. The abbreviated parental identification is retained as a lead, not a confirmed addition.
- Guthrie Research Tree and family evidence: Mary Frances’s supplied profile; the reviewed Wilson/Sarah household reconstruction; Christopher’s photographed gravestone for the conflicting 1856 chronology.
- Guthrie DNA Project review, 15 October 2026: kit 916989 through John Wilson’s reported line. Dated collateral evidence; no new audit of live DNA results.
Most Wanted Documents
Records That Could Clarify This Family
- Mary’s gravestone photograph, death record, obituary, or family Bible to assess her reported birth date and document her final years.
- The original 1879 marriage entry and complete 1880, 1900, and 1910 census pages to compare names, ages, children, and locations.
- Individual records for the memorial-linked sons and Albert D.’s original inscription or burial record to verify the family’s membership.
- Alfred’s death, burial, obituary, or probate records to establish his later life and identify relatives.
Preserving Mary Frances’s Family Story
Mary Frances’s story connects the Guttry household in Arkansas with Gosdin descendants remembered in Oklahoma and Texas. A marriage index preserves the name Fannie, a census records her early married household, and her son’s death certificate carries both parents’ names into the next generation.
Family photographs, letters, Bible entries, obituaries, and documented descendant lines can help fill the remaining gaps. Please use the private contact option for information about living relatives or DNA participants.
Researched & Curated by Ann Guthrie