2A-K: Nelly Guthrie

Nelly Guthrie born 1777-1782 SC or GA & (FNU) Reaves/Reives

NELLY GUTHRIE / GUTTERY
Parents: Robert Guthrie / Guttery 1750-52SC – 1799GA and Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ MNU 1756SC – 1825GA
Birth: 1777 – 1782
Birth Location: South Carolina, presumably
Marriage: Prior to 1797 presumably in Georgia
Children: Unknown
Death: Year Unknown
Death Location: Unknown, but probably in Georgia
Burial Location: Unknown, but probably in Georgia

(FNU) REAVES
Parents: Unknown
Birth: Unknown
Birth Location: Unknown
Occupation: Unknown
Death: Year Unknown
Death Location: Unknown
Burial Location: Unknown

NOTES:

Nelly is frequently used as a nickname for Helen, Ellen, or Eleanor.

The last will and testament of Robert Guthrie / Guttery, written in 1797, identifies his children by name. The last child to be listed is “Nelly Reaves”. The estate document wherein each legatee signs of on receiving their $1 bequest is torn. Sons William, Leroy, Thomas, and John signed their receipt, as did Daniel Maddox, the husband of daughter Betsy. The bottom fold of the paper is ripped across, so there is no proof as to whether daughters Molly and Nelly received their portion.

The Guthrie / Guttery family had been living in Ninety-Six District, Abbeville County, South Carolina during the 1790 census. Robert Guttery: 3 free white males 16 and up, 0 free white males under 16, 4 females, 0 slaves. [IMG 64 of 154]
There are no Reaves families listed for that location.

There are two Reaves families listed for Ninety-Six District, Spartanburg County [IMG 92 of 154]
Wm Reaves Senr: 1 free white male 16 and up, 1 free white male under 16, 3 females, 0 slaves
Wm Reaves: 1 free white male 16 and up, 1 free white male under 16, 3 females, 0 slaves

See the index for other South Carolina families living there during the first census. There are many Reaves, Reeves, and Reves families listed.

Primary Sources

(original records created near the time of events by officials, family, or eyewitnesses; these are the foundational documents directly naming or implying Nelly Guthrie/Guttery/Reaves/Reives). Very few survive, which is typical for women in the late 18th/early 19th century who married young, had an unknown spouse (first name unknown, spelled variably as Reaves/Reives/Reeves), and left no independent records. All known primaries cluster around her father Robert Guthrie/Guttery’s (c.1750–1799) estate in Elbert County, Georgia, after the family migrated from South Carolina. No marriage record, death record, burial, children list, or post-1799 census entry for Nelly has been located despite targeted searches; she may have died young, moved far away, or been unreachable by 1801 estate finalization.

  1. Will of Robert Guthrie/Guttery (father) dated 12 April 1797, Elbert County, Georgia; recorded/probated 12 September 1799 in Will Book B (page references vary slightly across abstracts as p. 72 or p. 92; the original is in Books A–C, 1791–1803).
    • Explicitly names “Nelly Reaves” / “Nelly Reives” as one of the children receiving a token $1 bequest (alongside siblings William, Thomas, Leroy/Lee, Milly/Molly, Betsy/Elizabeth, and John). Everything else goes to wife Elizabeth (“Betty”/“Betsy” MNU, possibly Johnston). Witnesses include son-in-law Daniel Maddox and daughter Betsy Maddox.
    • Access/Citation: Georgia, Probate Court (Elbert County). “Wills, Books A–C, 1791–1803.” Robert Guthrie entry. Georgia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1742–1992 [database online]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Image available via Ancestry (search Elbert County wills; direct link referenced in secondary sources below). Full transcription excerpt: “…and Nelly Reives to be raised out of my estate at my death and paid to each of them…” (exact spelling “Reives” in some abstracts).
    • Nuance/Implication: This is the sole document proving Nelly’s marriage by 1797 (she was ~15–20 years old) and her existence as a named heir. Birth estimated 1777–1782 (SC or early GA) from siblings’ timelines and 1790 census.
  3. Estate Return / Settlement of Executors for Robert Guthrie, dated 30 April 1801, Elbert County, Georgia (following the 1799 will probate).
  4. Lists receipts/signatures (some by mark) from sons William, Leroy, Thomas, and John Gutry/Guttery, and son-in-law Daniel Maddox (for daughter Betsy). Nelly is absent—either deceased, unlocatable, or the receipt page was damaged/torn (as noted in family analyses). Executors: James Ryley/Riley (son-in-law?) and widow Elizabeth Gutry.
  5. Access/Citation: Same Ancestry Georgia Wills and Probate collection (Elbert County) as the will above; often imaged together with the original will packet. Also referenced in DAR abstracts.
  6. Edge Case: Absence does not conclusively prove death; common for married daughters who had relocated.
  7. 1790 U.S. Federal Census, Ninety-Six District, Abbeville County, South Carolina, household of Robert Guttery.
  8. Enumerates: 3 white males 16+, 0 males under 16, 4 females (plus 0 slaves). This places the family (including young Nelly) in SC pre-migration to GA; supports birth 1777–1782 in SC. No Reaves/Reives households appear in the same district (two exist in Spartanburg County section of Ninety-Six).
  9. Access/Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. 1790 United States Federal Census [database online]. Ancestry.com or FamilySearch. Images: Abbeville County (Robert Guttery) and Spartanburg County (Reaves households) available via Ancestry links in secondary sources. Exact image references: e.g., Ancestry image viewer collections/48301.
  10. Implication: Indirect evidence only; Nelly not named individually (standard for the era).

Secondary Sources

(compiled, abstracted, or interpretive works; these synthesize primaries and add context but must be verified against originals). These are the only published or online treatments that directly address this Nelly (distinct from unrelated Elinor/Eleanor Guthrie m. Daniel Reeves c.1779 in SC/TN or other Guthries).

WikiTree Collaborative Profile. “Nelle (Guthrie) Reaves (1782–aft. 1799).” https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Guthrie-374(linked to father’s profile: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Guthrie-341).

  • Cites Ancestry Georgia Wills collection as Source #1; discusses 1801 estate return and possible reasons for Nelly’s absence; notes DNA connections among descendants of siblings. Distinguishes from the unrelated 1760 Elinor Guthrie/Reeves.
  • Historical Collections of the Georgia Daughters of the American Revolution, Volume III (published abstract).
  • Abstracts the 1797 will (dated “April 20” in some printings; records “Nelly Reives” and full children list). Witness and probate details included.
  • Citation: Daughters of the American Revolution (Georgia). Historical Collections of the Georgia D.A.R., Vol. III. (Exact page not digitized widely; consult Georgia DAR or libraries). Also cross-referenced on WikiTree and blogs.