Two Marriages

The August 1809 marriage reference identifies William Cecil’s father as Zachariah Cecil and Elizabeth’s father as Richard Guthrie. The register reference is dated 10 August; AGAF gives 15 August. The original bond and return may explain the difference.

William was already deceased when his administration bond was executed on 27 August 1825. The estate papers describe him as late of Clinton Township, Shelby County, Ohio. Aaron Cecil and John Fergus were administrators, with Ephraim Cary also signing the $500 bond. The bond amount secured administration; it was not an estate valuation.

A 23 September 1825 allowance set aside livestock, crops, household goods, and bedding for William’s unnamed widow. The 24 September sale bill repeatedly names Elizabeth Cecil as a buyer, including a wagon purchased for $36. The fifteen-page probate packet contains no will or list identifying children or heirs. Cecil purchasers, debtors, and administrators cannot be assigned as children from those roles alone. John Fergus’s possible connection with Elizabeth’s sister Nancy deserves comparison, but the probate papers do not state that relationship.

On 8 March 1831, Daniel Stone and Elizabeth Cecil, both of Shelby County, married under a license issued by the county clerk. Isaac Robbins, justice of the peace for Salem Township, certified the ceremony. Read alongside Richard’s 1846 will transcription naming daughter Elizabeth Stone, the return strongly supports Daniel as Elizabeth Guthrie Cecil’s later husband. The return itself does not name her parents or give her maiden surname.

Three Documented Cecil Daughters

• Annaliza Cecil was born in Virginia in 1811 and married Richard W. Valentine in 1829. The 1883 History of Shelby County, Ohio calls her a daughter of William and Betsy Cecil and says her parents brought her to Shelby County in 1814. It uses the name Annaliza without specifying her birth order or expanding her name.
• Nancy Cecil married David Valentine on 14 March 1838. The adjoining account identifies her as the sister of Mrs. Richard W. Valentine. A separate paragraph calls William Cecil the father of both Valentine wives and states that he married Betsey Guthrie in Virginia in 1809.
• Mary Cecil McDonald is identified in her 1908 Indiana death record as a daughter of Wm Cecil and Elizabeth Guthrie, with husband Robert McDonald. The index records birth on 16 April 1824 in Virginia and death on 15 July 1908 at Caverna, DeKalb County, Indiana, aged eighty-four and widowed. The family account places her marriage to Robert in Shelby County on 20 September 1841.

These sources support three named daughters; they do not establish a complete child list. The history’s 1814 Ohio arrival also needs comparison with Mary’s recorded 1824 Virginia birthplace. A return journey or an error in either account has not been established.

Census Clues: 1820–1840

These entries are candidates for successive households. Only the heads are named; age matches alone do not identify the other people or establish their relationships.

Census & Named Head	Household	Comparison
1820 · William Cecil Shelby County, Ohio	Three males and three females under ten; one male and one female aged 26–44. Eight people.	Annaliza’s 1811 birth fits one girl. The three boys were born approximately 1810–1820. Mary and Wilson were born after this census. The original entry and township need verification.
1830 · Elizabeth Cecil Clinton Township, page 26	Males: one each under five, 10–14, 15–19, and 20–29. Females: two aged 5–9, one 10–14, two 15–19, and one 30–39. Ten people.	The township matches William’s probate residence; the oldest woman fits Elizabeth’s 1791 birth. Mary fits a girl aged 5–9; Wilson fits the boy under five. These remain possible identifications.
1840 · Danl Stone Shelby County, Ohio	One male each aged 5–9, 10–14, and 50–59; one female aged 40–49. Four people; one engaged in agriculture.	The woman fits Elizabeth, and Wilson fits the older boy. The younger boy, born approximately 1830–1835, is unidentified. Mary, about sixteen, is not represented by a female age category here.

The 1830 man aged twenty to twenty-nine cannot simply be carried forward from an 1820 under-ten entry if both ages are accurate. The 1830 page groups surnames roughly alphabetically, so adjacent entries do not establish immediate residential neighbors. Annaliza’s 1829 marriage and Nancy’s 1838 marriage point toward separate Valentine households; Mary’s residence before her reported 1841 marriage remains to be found.

Wilson and the Unidentified Stone Boy

Wilson Cecil, reportedly born 11 November 1826, cannot be a biological son of the William Cecil already deceased by 27 August 1825 if that birth date is correct. His age fits the boy under five in the 1830 Elizabeth Cecil household and the boy aged ten to fourteen in the 1840 Danl Stone household. Neither census names him, establishes Elizabeth as his mother, or identifies his father. He remains outside the established Cecil child list.

The younger boy in 1840 could represent a child born during the 1831 Stone marriage, but part of his estimated birth range precedes it. His identity and parentage remain open.

A Possible Death and Burial

Find a Grave memorial 26105815 reports Elizabeth Stone’s death on 11 December 1863, aged 72 years, 3 months, and 15 days, with burial at Wesley Chapel Cemetery, Kirkwood, Shelby County. That age implies late August 1791—approximately 26 August, four days before the family-history date of 30 August 1791. The memorial itself labels her birth date unknown.

The surname, age, and locality make this a strong candidate for Elizabeth Guthrie Cecil Stone. The county history also places her son-in-law Richard W. Valentine at Wesley Chapel. A cemetery register, inscription, obituary, or estate record is still needed to confirm the identity; the available memorial excerpt has no gravestone photograph or stated spouse or parents. The 1863 death remains a candidate date.

John’s first marriage is associated with the Montgomery register entry dated 22 February 1817; AGAF gives 27 February. His second marriage to Margaret is dated 30 May 1821 in the register abstract and 31 May in AGAF.

Margaret’s son by Jacob Wysor, Jacob Henry Wysor, belongs to her earlier marriage. His later business career and connection with the Muncie opera house are described in Delaware County history and a 1905 newspaper account. His possible presence among John’s unnamed census household members requires correlation.

The 1830 Newburn, Montgomery County census abstract lists a man and woman aged thirty to thirty-nine; one boy ten to fourteen, two boys five to nine, and a boy and girl under five. It also records an unnamed enslaved girl or woman aged ten to twenty-three. Her identity and connection with Richard’s estate are unknown.

The 1840 Delaware County, Indiana abstract lists John’s household with a man forty to forty-nine; a man twenty to twenty-nine; two males and one female fifteen to nineteen; a male and female ten to fourteen; and two boys five to nine. Five people were counted in agriculture and four as scholars at public charge. These age categories provide clues but do not name the household members or establish their relationships.

The reconstructed Guthrie children are Newton David (1822–1900), married Fanny Truitt; John Milton (1823–1856), married Rhoda Williams; Telitha Ann (1824–1906), married Thomas R. Points; Rufina (1826–1908), associated with John Ribble; Stennette (1828–1855); Rush (1832–1889), married Patience Moore; and James (born about 1834, living in 1850 in the family account).

The will dated 15 September 1845 is summarized as naming daughters Points and Ribble and sons Newton, Milton, and Stennette, with instructions about raising three boys. The exact names, relationships, and allocation of children between the marriages need a full reading. The conflicting names John and Philip Ribble require comparison with the original records.

Margaret’s reported death is 3 March 1840; John’s is 23 May 1846 in Delaware County, Indiana. AGAF supports John’s 1846 death date.

The Montgomery reference is dated 10 August 1815; AGAF gives the marriage as 15 August. Nancy’s reported death was 17 November 1817, with burial attributed to the Guthrie family cemetery near Dublin.

No child has been securely identified from this marriage. John Fergus later married Margaret Stafford in Miami County, Ohio, on the reported date 17 February 1821. Samuel McCormick Fergus and Joseph Fergus belong to that later marriage. The family account gives John’s death as 18 June 1837 and Margaret’s as 1875.

The records cited here identify him as James G. The common expansion Giles remains unproved and cannot independently establish his grandmother Esther’s maiden surname.

AGAF gives birth 19 February 1800 and marriage 4 September 1827; the alternate dates 18 February and 1 September remain in circulation. His family settled in Shelby County, Ohio. The reported death is 22 September 1844; a widow’s relinquishment of administration to John Munsey is dated 2 October 1844 in the family account. Burial is attributed to Graceland Cemetery, Sidney. Elizabeth reportedly died in 1851.

Richard’s 1846 will transcription identifies seven children of his deceased son James G.: Harvey, Hugh, Elizabethan, Lueza, Margaret Jane, Alaina, and Stephen Rush. The family reconstruction renders the third name Elizabeth Ann, the fourth Louise/Louisa, and the sixth Almira. Those readings should be checked against the recorded will; they are not identical spellings in the available transcription.

The descendant reconstruction connects Harvey (1828–1897) with Elvira F. Mellinger; Elizabeth Ann (1833–1901) with Thomas Wilkins; Margaret Jane (1836–1911) with Matthew L. Anderson; and Stephen Rush (1843–1911) with Hannah Wright. Hugh (1830–1851) and Louise (1835–1856) reportedly died unmarried. Almira’s later life remains unresolved.

The marriage register reference is dated 27 September 1830; AGAF gives 29 September. Jane’s family dates are 18 November 1809–27 July 1855. William remained associated with the home farm and died 2 February 1887.

AGAF preserves a family story that eighteen-year-old William rode a twenty-one-year-old horse to Indiana and carried a letter back to Virginia. The described letter would be valuable evidence for the family’s connections across the two states.

The ten named children are Minerva (1831–1885), married John Craig Allison; Nancy Mary (1834–1871), married Stephen D. Sloan; James Rayburn (1836–1892), married Mary Burke Snidow; Rebecca (1838–1914), married John Henry Smith; Margaret Janette/Jane (1840–1924), married Thomas Alexander Mahood; Elmira Eliza (1845–1873), married Chester Brown Mahood; Lucinda (1847–1931), married Edward Clarke Hale; Josephine Elizabeth “Josie” (1848–1927); Martha McClaren “Mattie” (1849–1926), married Charles Henry Gordon; and William Addison (1851–1925), married Catherine Jane Brown.

Josie’s reported obituary calls her one of eleven children. The identity of any additional child remains unresolved. The family account describes William as remaining a widower after Jane’s death, with a daughter helping keep the household.

The register abstract gives 2 October 1828; AGAF gives 7 October, while an earlier narrative used 3 October. These should be compared with the bond and return. Jaheil also appears as Jahiel and Jehiel; the additional given name John needs verification.

The family lived in Liberty Township, Delaware County, Indiana. Later accounts place Cassandra’s death on 10 June 1863 at Tuscola, Douglas County, Illinois. Jaheil is described as a justice of the peace who was admitted to the bar without practicing. His later wife was Julia Cummins, with a reported marriage on 11 February 1864.

The nine-child reconstruction includes James R., married Sarah Ann Hedrick; Floyd, married Abbey Wilson; Virginia, reportedly unmarried; John Montgomery, married Elvira C. Smith; David Floyd, married Sarah Ann Fuller and later Nancy Barnham; William Leonard, married Nancy A. Anderson; Newton, married Naomi Letty Lowe; Walter; and Andrew Jackson Taylor.

The younger children’s birth years vary among the family list and census abstracts. Virginia’s stated 1833–1852 dates conflict with a reported age of twenty-three. The expanded name “Andrew Jackson Zachariah Taylor” also requires a record establishing the full form.

Eliza married John Munsey, a son of Jeremiah Munsey and Elizabeth Skiles. Elizabeth Skiles was a daughter of Richard’s sister Mary Guthrie and Ephraim Skiles Jr. The couple therefore shared Guthrie ancestry.

The marriage is reported as 29 September 1830 in the narrative and 30 September in the register/return reference. They settled in Washington Township, Shelby County, Ohio. John reportedly died 17 October 1846.

The two children are Elbert/Albert B. Munsey and Elizabeth Munsey. The 1850 household abstract lists Eliza, forty-three; Albert, seventeen; and Elizabeth, five. Albert’s age suggests about 1833, conflicting with the family list’s 1830 birth. The family account gives his death in Indiana in 1858; Elizabeth’s later life remains unidentified.

Eliza married Anthony Harp on the reported date 24 August 1851 in Shelby County and died 7 September 1856. His ten children by Margaret Kendall belong to his earlier marriage; no child has been identified from his marriage to Eliza. Anthony’s subsequent wife was Mary Ann Baine.

Hetty’s husband Isaiah Munsey was John Munsey’s brother, creating a second marriage between these related Guthrie–Skiles families. The register reference is dated 17 August 1830; AGAF gives 19 August.

Their children were Elizabeth Jane Munsey (family dates 10 June 1831–29 April 1912), associated with Ferdinand Alix, and James Granderson Munsey (30 January 1833–21 June 1914), associated with Amy Thornburg. The family study reports both in the 1849 will of Isaiah’s sister Lydia Muncey Montgomery.

The family settled in Delaware County, Indiana. Isaiah reportedly died 23 July 1860; Hetty, 1 August 1882, with burial at Mount Tabor Cemetery near Muncie. Hetty and Elizabeth Jane’s whereabouts in 1870 remain a research question, not evidence that either had died.

Cynthia married Sebastian Wygal Jr.; the register reference is dated 22 March 1832 and AGAF gives 29 March. He is described as a leather worker and farmer who inherited half of a four-hundred-acre tract. The household was in Pulaski County by 1840.

The 1840 abstract contains a boy and girl aged ten to fourteen. Their unnamed entries do not establish that they were Cynthia’s children, but the length of her marriage alone does not prove otherwise. Her later will’s beneficiaries, described as Birdine Wygal’s children, require a relationship-by-relationship reading.

Melinda married Birdine Wygal. Dates of 7, 9, and 10 January 1833 occur in the narrative, register/return reference, and AGAF respectively. Her reported death is 29 December 1834.

Birdine subsequently married Margaret Kirkam Brown in 1837 and Ursula Marshall in 1854. The reported seven children of the Brown marriage and four sons of the Marshall marriage should not be assigned to Melinda. Calling them Cynthia’s nieces and nephews does not by itself establish a biological relationship through Melinda.

No child has been securely identified from either Guthrie–Wygal marriage. Cynthia’s reported death year is 1874; Birdine reportedly died in Lee County, Virginia, on 7 May 1873.

The project’s broad haplogroup designation is R-M269. William’s line has documented Y-DNA participation; Big Y participation is not documented for this Richard branch in the present project summary.

Comparison with descendants of Richard’s brother John supports the close paternal relationship. Big Y evidence in the wider group helps refine relationships with the Ayrshire branch, but it does not independently name the shared ancestor or prove every proposed generation back to Francis Guthrie Sr.

William and Cassandra provide documented autosomal descendant lines. Other children’s descendants remain useful for comparisons, even when participation is not yet documented here.

Eliza and Hetty married Munsey brothers whose mother descended from Richard’s sister Mary. Their descendants therefore have more than one route to Robert and Esther Guthrie. Shared DNA should be evaluated against all ancestral paths before assigning it to Richard’s branch alone.

The will transcription names Jane, Harriet, Joe, Lueza, and Wilson as people Richard enslaved. Their names and family relationships form part of this estate’s history and may provide starting points for their descendants’ research.

Elizabeth was to receive control of Jane and lifetime use of Harriet and Joe. Harriet’s eldest daughter Lueza was assigned to Cynthia. The directions called for Harriet and her other children to be sold after Elizabeth’s death, and for Wilson to be sold with other estate property.

The will expressed a preference that Harriet and Wilson be allowed to choose purchasers near their spouses if buyers would pay the required value. Those conditional directions did not grant freedom or guarantee that the families remained together. Later inventories, sale bills, and settlements are needed to establish what actually happened.

Joe was also included in the provision for William. The sale proceeds were directed toward the named daughters, connecting the family’s inheritance with the forced sale of people.

Read the will and follow the estate-volume references →

Several earlier dates may belong to bonds or consents and later dates to ceremonies. That explanation must be verified against the actual documents, rather than applied automatically. AGAF means Laurence R. Guthrie’s American Guthrie and Allied Families, page 380.

Couple	Register / Other Reference	AGAF Marriage Date
Elizabeth · William Cecil	10 August 1809	15 August 1809
Nancy · John Fergus	10 August 1815	15 August 1815
John · Elizabeth Van Lear	22 February 1817	27 February 1817
John · Margaret Wysor	30 May 1821	31 May 1821
James G. · Elizabeth Deskins	1 September 1827 reported elsewhere	4 September 1827
Cassandra · Jaheil Graham	2 October 1828; narrative also says 3 October	7 October 1828
Hetty · Isaiah Munsey	17 August 1830	19 August 1830
William · Jane Rayburn	27 September 1830	29 September 1830
Eliza · John Munsey	29 September in narrative; 30 September in register/return reference, 1830	No exact date supplied
Cynthia · Sebastian Wygal	22 March 1832	29 March 1832
Melinda · Birdine Wygal	7 January in narrative; 9 January in register/return reference, 1833	10 January 1833

Early Family, Marriage, and Land

• 1776 enumeration: Brumbaugh, Maryland Records, volume 1, page 250. Facsimile; Maryland State Archives index, Guttry, Richard, MSA S1419-6-6847.
• Robert Guthrie’s will: Rockbridge Will Book 1, page 329, signed 28 February 1788, proved 7 April 1789. FamilySearch image 500, group 007646171.
• Marriage: John McIntosh consent, 16 April 1790; 20 April 1790 marriage index, citing Rockbridge marriage records, film 33797.
• 1794 heirs’ deed: Rockbridge Deed Book C, page 251 and page 252; executed 27 May 1794, with later proof and recording.
• Cecil title dispute: Library of Virginia, Montgomery County chancery 1800-007, original case 61, eight images; especially the 10 June 1794 bond, image 5.
• Court and deed abstracts: Lewis Preston Summers, Annals of Southwest Virginia, 1769–1800 (1929), pages 856, 869, and 939. Guardianship: Montgomery Order Book 10, page 86.

Children’s Marriages and Estates

Montgomery County marriage register, 1777–1853, FamilySearch image group 007579015. The following are record-image references, not assurances that every listed date is a ceremony date:

• Image 361: Elizabeth Guthrie–William Cecil.
• Image 385: Nancy Guthrie–John Fergus.
• Image 392: John Guthrie–Elizabeth Vanlear; image 413: John Guthrie–Margaret Wyser.
• Image 452: Cassandra Guthrie–Jaheil Graham.
• Image 461: Hetty Guthrie–Isaiah Muncy; image 462: William Guthrie–Jane Reyburn.
• Eliza Guthrie–John Muncy, references to images 462 and 630.
• Image 469: Cynthia Guthrie–Sebastian Wygal Jr.; Melinda/Malinda Guthrie–Birdine/Birdwell Wygal, references to images 474 and 632.
• William Cecil’s estate: Shelby County, Ohio, administration bond, 27 August 1825; appraisal and widow’s allowance, 23 September 1825; sale bill, 24 September 1825; later accounts. Ancestry, Ohio, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1786–1998. The fifteen-page packet includes the bond at PDF page 2, township identification at page 4, widow’s allowance at page 7, and Elizabeth Cecil’s purchases at pages 9–10. No will or list identifying children appears in this packet.
• Annaliza and Nancy Cecil: History of Shelby County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers (Philadelphia: R. Sutton & Co., 1883), Orange Township, Valentine family and William Cecil accounts. The William Cecil paragraph, on page 188, is also available in Ohio Genealogy Express’s transcription. It names the two Valentine wives as William’s daughters and his wife as Betsey Guthrie.
• William Cecil, 1820 census: Ancestry, 1820 United States Federal Census, indexed entry for Shelby County, Ohio, census date 7 August 1820. The township and household identification require comparison with the original schedule.
• Elizabeth Cecil, 1830 census: manuscript schedule, Clinton Township, Shelby County, Ohio, page 26, seventh household entry. The combination of name, township, age, and marriage chronology makes this a strong candidate for Elizabeth Guthrie Cecil; unnamed household members remain unidentified.
• Mary Cecil McDonald: Ancestry, Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899–2017, indexed entry for Mary Mc Donald, died 15 July 1908, Caverna, DeKalb County, Indiana; father Wm Cecil, mother Elizabeth Guthrie, spouse Robert Mc Donald; birth 16 April 1824, Virginia. This directly identifies her parents in the indexed death record.
• Elizabeth Cecil–Daniel Stone: Shelby County, Ohio, marriage register, 1824–1845, return dated 8 March 1831; Ancestry, Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774–1993, film 000562857. Isaac Robbins, justice of the peace for Salem Township, certifies the ceremony; both spouses are described as of Shelby County. The record image and index agree.
• Danl Stone, 1840 census: Ancestry, 1840 United States Federal Census, indexed entry for Shelby County, Ohio. This is a candidate household for Daniel and Elizabeth Stone. Township, page, original age marks, and unnamed household identities require verification.
• Possible Elizabeth Stone burial: Find a Grave, memorial 26105815, Elizabeth Stone, death 11 December 1863, Wesley Chapel Cemetery, Kirkwood, Shelby County, Ohio; age 72 years, 3 months, 15 days. The memorial labels the birth date unknown. Late August 1791 is calculated from its reported age, not a separately documented birth date. Identity with Elizabeth Guthrie Cecil Stone remains to be verified.
• John’s Indiana will: 15 September 1845 will reference; image group 007662726, image 64.

Richard and Elizabeth’s Later Records

• 1850 mortality schedule, Pulaski County. Distinguish the manuscript entry, database transcription, and exact family death date.
• 1850 population census reference: Elizabeth in William’s Pulaski household; the household identification above follows the available abstract.
• Pulaski Will Book 1, 1840–1859: Richard’s will, pages 211–213; inventory 216–217; sale 218–219; settlement 246–247. Elizabeth’s appraisal 228–229 and settlement 264–265. A separately indexed William sale bill at 229–230 needs its heading checked.
• Deed catalogs and indexes: Rockbridge, Montgomery, Pulaski, and Giles, letter G. Later same-name John, James, William, and Mariann entries are research leads, not automatically members of this household.
• Laurence R. Guthrie, American Guthrie and Allied Families (1933), pages 379–381 and associated appendix notes. Valuable family detail; compare its ancestry claims, deed date, and infant-child identification with the underlying records.
• Richard and Elizabeth’s Guthrie Research Tree profile; Robert and Esther family study. These organize the reconstruction and project DNA evidence.

• Richard’s complete recorded will, estate distributions, and later Stone household records tracing daughter Elizabeth and the recipients of her share after her 1831 marriage.
• The complete 1840 Danl Stone census entry and the family’s 1850 and 1860 named households. Identify both boys, test the possible Wilson connection, and locate Mary Cecil in 1840 before her reported 1841 marriage. A boy’s presence in the Stone household does not establish his surname or either biological parent.
• Wesley Chapel Cemetery records, an inscription, obituary, or Shelby County estate file for Elizabeth Stone, reportedly deceased 11 December 1863. Establish whether she was Daniel Stone’s wife and William Cecil’s widow, and compare the reported age with the family-history birth date of 30 August 1791.
• Guardianship, land, and estate-distribution records identifying any children beyond Annaliza, Nancy, and Mary, and connecting them to William and Elizabeth Cecil. For Wilson Cecil, reported born 11 November 1826, verify the birth date and parental identities: that date excludes the William Cecil deceased by August 1825 as his biological father. A sale purchaser, debtor, or administrator is not automatically an heir.
• The original 1820 William Cecil census entry and records connecting its unnamed household members with Elizabeth Cecil’s 1830 Clinton Township household. Obtain the full 1830 census citation and test the possible Mary and Wilson age matches against guardianship, marriage, land, and later census records. Compare other same-name households; roughly alphabetical entries do not establish residential adjacency. Land and tax records may also clarify the reported 1814 Ohio arrival and Mary’s recorded 1824 Virginia birthplace.
• The original family Bible or records behind Richard and Elizabeth’s exact birth and death dates and the twelve-child list, especially the infant of 1817.
• Elizabeth McIntosh’s parental estate or marriage-family records establishing her mother’s identity and the source of the additional name Esther.
• Original bonds, consents, and returns to distinguish the children’s marriage dates.
• James G.’s Ohio estate, John’s Indiana will and guardianships, and the Munsey and Wygal estate records needed to establish each descendant relationship.
• The Cecil conveyance and related land records reconciling 520 versus 522 acres and the timing of title completion.
• Sale bills and later records tracing Jane, Harriet, Joe, Lueza, Wilson, and their families.
• The Indiana letter described in William’s family history and evidence identifying any eleventh child.