3A: Sarah Guthrie
Guthrie Family Group 3 · Branch A · 3A-1-6
Sarah Guthrie
Isaac Davis · John Van Lear
Born about 1765 · Death unknown
Frederick County, Maryland · Rockbridge & Montgomery Counties, Virginia
View in Guthrie Research Tree →
Sarah Guthrie was named as a daughter in Robert Guthrie’s will. A Montgomery County marriage entry connects Sarah Guthrie with Isaac Davis in 1796 and names her mother, Esther.
The family reconstruction identifies her with the Sarah Davis who married John Van Lear in 1817, probably the elder John. Richard Guthrie’s appearance in both marriage references supports that connection, although the identities require care. No children have yet been securely identified as Sarah’s.
The Family at a Glance
Sarah Guthrie
- Birth & baptism
- About 1765, based on the Sarah aged eleven in the 1776 Elizabeth Hundred enumeration. No exact birth or baptism record identified.
- Birthplace
- Unknown. Maryland is the traditional assignment; the 1776 record establishes residence rather than birthplace.
- Parents
- Robert Guthrie & Esther Giles. Robert’s will names daughter Sarah; the 1796 marriage abstract names mother Easther Guthrie. Esther’s maiden surname remains under investigation as Giles versus Skiles.
- First marriage
- Isaac Davis, Montgomery County, Virginia. The marriage-register reference is dated 15 July 1796; the bond, consent, and minister’s return should be distinguished before assigning an exact ceremony date.
- Probable second marriage
- The Sarah Davis–John Vanlear entry is dated 16 June 1817, Montgomery County. The working identification is Sarah (Guthrie) Davis and John Van Lear Sr.; see the identity discussion below.
- Children
- No securely identified children from either marriage. An absence of identified descendants does not establish lifelong childlessness.
- Death & burial
- Unknown. A proposed connection to the wife “Sally” in John Van Lear Sr.’s will may extend her chronology, but it does not establish that she survived his 1829 probate.
Isaac Davis
- Birth & parents
- Unknown. No parents or precise birth details are securely established for Sarah’s husband.
- Marriage record
- Associated with Sarah Guthrie in Montgomery County on 15 July 1796.
- Occupation & residence
- Occupation unknown. The marriage record places him in Montgomery County for that event; his wider residence history remains unresolved.
- Death & burial
- Unknown. A death between the 1796 and 1817 marriages is inferred if the same Sarah married again as his widow; no identified probate or burial record presently establishes that interval.
John Van Lear Sr.
- Identification
- Probable husband in the 1817 Sarah Davis marriage. Keep him distinct from the younger Rev. John Ambrose Van Lear.
- Birth & parents
- Family accounts give varying birth estimates in the 1740s and identify Jacob/Jacobus Van Lear and Margaret as his parents. The specific 1745 Lancaster County birth and Margaret’s proposed Gorissen surname require supporting records.
- Earlier family
- Associated with Sarah Allison and a substantial earlier family. Sarah Allison and Sarah Guthrie are separate women in this reconstruction.
- Later life
- Associated with the North Fork and Blacksburg area of Montgomery County and its early Presbyterian community.
- Death & burial
- His will is reported proved in October 1829. The exact death date and burial remain unestablished here.
Children and the Van Lear Household
No Davis child has been securely connected to this couple, and no child has been established from the proposed 1817 marriage. The older Van Lear children belong to John’s earlier family; they should not be entered as Sarah Guthrie’s biological children.
Sarah and Sarah Jane: Two Entries, Two Identities
The 1776 list includes Sarah, aged eleven, and a nearby Sarah Jane, aged one. The family reconstruction associates the older Sarah with Robert’s daughter. Sarah Jane’s relationship remains unresolved.
The enumeration groups people by age and sex, rather than by family household. Neither proximity on the page nor Esther’s age establishes Sarah Jane’s parents. Robert’s will names Sarah without separately naming Sarah Jane.
At the 1796 marriage, the older Sarah would have been about thirty-one and Sarah Jane about twenty-one. The abstract’s reference to a mother’s consent does not settle which girl later became the bride. Keep the approximate 1765 birth attached to the working identification, not treated as a date independently supplied by the marriage record.
Historical Highlights
Sarah’s story emerges through an age list, her father’s will, and two Virginia marriage references. The recurring Guthrie associates help connect the records, while the repeated names Sarah and John make it essential to distinguish the people involved.
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1776
Sarah in Elizabeth Hundred
A Sarah aged eleven appears among the girls in Elizabeth Hundred, Frederick County, Maryland, supporting the approximate 1765 birth used for this family study.
Open the Enumeration and Archival Reference
Gaius M. Brumbaugh’s Maryland Records, volume 1, page 245, reproduces the list of females aged sixteen and under. Mary, sixteen; Sarah, eleven; and Sarah Jane, one, appear near one another in the left column.
The Maryland State Archives index lists Gutry, Sarah: MSA S1419-6-6845, box 2, folder 7, page 12. This archival page number differs from the printed volume’s page 245.
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1788–1789
A Daughter Named in Robert’s Will
Robert Guthrie’s will, signed 28 February 1788, gives daughter Sarah one-twelfth of his real and personal estate. It was proved in Rockbridge County on 7 April 1789.
Open Sarah’s Inheritance
The recorded will expressly identifies Sarah as Robert’s daughter. Her share is one-twelfth, matching Phebe’s share. Mary’s separate bequest is one-fifteenth.
Wife Esther receives a lifetime interest in one-third of the estate, with later distribution as the will directs. The will itself does not supply Sarah’s age, birthplace, husband, or children.
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15 July 1796
The Isaac Davis Marriage Reference
The Montgomery County register reference pairs Isaac Davis with Sarah Guthrie and names Easther Guthrie as the bride’s mother.
Open the Marriage Evidence
The existing abstract lists David Love and Richard Guthrie under security and witnesses. These associates, together with the mother’s name, connect the marriage to the Guthrie family network.
The cited record is image 300 of 673 in FamilySearch image group 007579015. Its date is retained as a marriage-record date. A separate minister’s return is needed before calling it a verified ceremony date.
No probate record securely identifying this Isaac has yet been established in this family study. Montgomery deed, tax, court, and estate records remain useful avenues for tracing the couple and any children.
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June 1817
Sarah Davis and John Vanlear
A second Montgomery County reference joins Sarah Davis with John Vanlear. Richard Guthrie again appears, strengthening the proposed connection to Sarah’s first marriage.
Open the Date and Identity Questions
The child-page abstract gives 16 June 1817, with Richard Guthrie and John Anderson under security and witnesses. A separate bond abstract likewise gives 16 June, names Richard as surety, and records the bride’s consent.
The earlier parent-family narrative used 17 June. The original bond, consent, register, and return should resolve whether this is a transcription difference or two distinct event dates. No separate ceremony date is assumed here.
John Van Lear Sr. is the probable groom in the working reconstruction. The younger Rev. John Ambrose Van Lear has a separate marriage history with Jane Ann Bell. His later marriage does not, by itself, prove which John married Sarah Davis; the original 1817 and estate records remain the stronger identity tests.
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October 1829
John Van Lear Sr.’s Estate
The estate abstract reports probate in October 1829 and names wife Sally. Her proposed identification as Sarah (Guthrie) Davis remains an important part of the family reconstruction.
Open the Will and Sarah’s Survival Question
The will is cited as Montgomery County Will Book 4, page 490. The family abstract describes a provision for Sally in one-third of the land and plantation, with that interest passing to son William at her death or remarriage.
The parent-family study places the will’s writing about 1820. Its full text and execution date need to be read together with the probate entry. Naming a wife when a will is written does not establish that she was still living when it was later proved.
Consequently, neither “after 1820” nor “survived him in 1829” should stand as an unqualified death boundary for Sarah without confirming the will’s date, the wife’s identity, and later evidence. Estate distributions, dower records, or a conveyance by Sally would be especially useful.
Explore the Research
DNA and the Search for Descendants
| Family Line | Y-DNA | Big Y | Autosomal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah Guthrie · Davis / Van Lear | N/A | N/A | — |
N/A: Sarah did not transmit her father’s Y chromosome. —: no verified autosomal participation is documented through an established descendant line.
What DNA Could Contribute
A securely documented child or grandchild would provide a starting point for comparing autosomal matches with descendants of Sarah’s siblings. At this generational distance, a missing detectable match would not exclude a genealogical relationship.
Any proposed match must be assessed alongside the complete pedigrees and other shared ancestors. A Van Lear descendant through John’s earlier wife would not thereby be a biological descendant of Sarah Guthrie.
Separating the Van Lear Identities
- Sarah Allison: associated with the elder John’s earlier family. A reference to “John and Sarah Van Lear” cannot automatically be assigned to Sarah Guthrie.
- John Van Lear Sr.: the elder Montgomery County man whose will names Sally and whose earlier family includes the younger John and William.
- Rev. John Ambrose Van Lear: a younger generation, associated with Jane Ann Bell. Keep his ministry, marriage, and children separate from the proposed 1817 couple.
- Elizabeth Van Lear and John Guthrie: another Montgomery marriage reference, dated 22 February 1817, names the bride’s father John Van Lear Sr. This is a useful family-network clue, but it does not identify the groom’s Guthrie parents or prove Sarah’s second marriage by itself.
The Van Lear Presbyterian Connection
Charles Lewis Taylor’s history of early Montgomery County Presbyterians describes John Van Lear as an elder and preserves his son’s account of a household of ten children, three sons and seven daughters. It also identifies William Van Lear as a founding elder at Christiansburg in 1827 and Blacksburg in 1832.
These accounts illuminate the older Van Lear family. They do not establish that the ten children belonged to Sarah Guthrie or independently identify the Sally named in the will.
The history describes the family’s Dutch background, while its detailed immigrant pedigree rests on family genealogical material. Exact European relationships should be checked against the underlying records.
Read “Early Presbyterians in Montgomery County,” especially pages 13 and 18 →
Reading & Sources
Records and Record References
- 1776 Elizabeth Hundred enumeration: Gaius M. Brumbaugh, Maryland Records, volume 1 (1915), page 245. Published facsimile; Maryland State Archives index, Gutry, Sarah, MSA S1419-6-6845, box 2, folder 7, page 12.
- Robert Guthrie’s will: Rockbridge County, Virginia, Will Book 1, page 329; signed 28 February 1788, proved 7 April 1789. FamilySearch image group 007646171, image 500 of 603; Ancestry copy.
- Montgomery marriage register: image group 007579015, 673 images. Image 300: Isaac Davis and Sarah Guthrie, 1796; image 394: John Vanlear and Sarah Davis, 1817. The dates and associates above follow the existing abstracts; complete bonds, consents, and returns remain important for verification.
- John Van Lear Sr.’s will: Montgomery County, Will Book 4, page 490; reported probate October 1829. Ancestry, Mixed Records, volumes 4–6, 1823–1842. The wife’s provision is summarized from the family abstract rather than presented as a new transcription.
- Montgomery deeds: FamilySearch catalog and general indexes. Search Davis, Guthrie/Guthry/Guthrey, and Van Lear/Vanlear/Vanleer variants; consult the deeds themselves after locating an index entry.
Family Histories and Context
- John Phillips, A History of the Guthrie Family (1936). Retained as a family-history reference; assertions require comparison with the records.
- Charles Lewis Taylor, “Early Presbyterians in Montgomery County”, The Smithfield Review 14 (2010), pages 5–21; especially 13 and 18. Its discussion of the ten children cites William Henry Foote’s Sketches of Virginia, second series, second edition (1856), pages 38–39.
- Pam Garrett, “Introducing the Van Lear Family”, Family Stories (2013). A guide to the Jacob Van Lear family and further sources, with uncertainties in the earlier pedigree.
- WeRelate, John VanLeer: compiled marriage and estate references. Its tentative assignment of the 1817 groom to the younger John requires independent checking.
- Sarah’s Guthrie Research Tree profile and the Robert Guthrie & Esther Giles family study: the working reconstruction, including the unresolved Sarah/Sarah Jane and Van Lear identifications.
Most Wanted Documents
- The complete 1796 Davis–Guthrie bond, consent, and minister’s return, including signatures and any age or residence statements.
- Isaac Davis’s estate, deeds, tax history, or court records identifying Sarah and any children.
- The complete June 1817 Vanlear–Davis marriage papers to resolve the 16/17 June dates and identify the groom.
- John Van Lear Sr.’s complete will and estate accounts, especially records identifying Sally’s former surname or showing her alive after the will was written.
- A record distinguishing the later lives of Sarah, aged eleven in 1776, and Sarah Jane, aged one.
- A burial, obituary, family Bible, or later conveyance establishing Sarah’s final residence and death.
Help Build the Family Story
Sarah’s father named her in his will, and her mother and Richard appear in the marriage references. The missing chapters concern her life with Isaac Davis, the later Van Lear connection, and whether descendants carried her story forward.
A family Bible, an estate receipt, or a deed naming Sarah may supply the connection that an index cannot. Please share the record and its source so it can be placed within the family’s chronology.
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Researched & Curated by Ann Guthrie