5-A: Elizabeth Guthrie
Guthrie Family Group 5 · Branch A · Child Page
Elizabeth Guthrie & Jesse Thomas
Halifax County, North Carolina · Madison County, Kentucky
View in Guthrie Research Tree →Elizabeth can be followed through a change of surname. She appears among the Guthrie heirs before her marriage. In August 1806 she married Jesse Thomas in Madison County, Kentucky. Seven years later a clerk recorded her own acknowledgment of the McBride deed.
The Family at a Glance
Elizabeth Guthrie
- Birth
- About 1773, estimated from the family reconstruction. Her parents William Guthrie and Eleanor Harris then lived in Halifax County, North Carolina. A twin relationship with Anna remains unproved.
- Marriage
- 14 August 1806, Madison County, Kentucky, to Jesse Thomas.
- Later life
- Named in the 1813 heirs’ instruments. A later Kentucky deed is cited in the family account. The Bible death entry for an Elizabeth Thomas in 1837 needs identification.
Jesse Thomas
- Kentucky household
- Married Elizabeth Guthrie in 1806. A man aged 45 or over appears in the 1810 Jesse Thomas household.
- Virginia lead
- James Thomas’s will names a son Jesse. A separate register records a Jesse Thomas marrying Jane Bowles. The identity of either man with Elizabeth’s husband remains unverified.
- Death
- A date of 7 July 1828 has circulated without a supporting death record in this study.
The Thomas household
The 1810 census counts one boy under ten, two males and one female aged 16–25, and two girls aged 10–15, as well as the older man and a woman aged 26–44. It does not give relationships. No child can yet be named securely as Elizabeth’s.
| Person or entry | Date | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Unnamed boy | 1810 census | The boy under ten could have been born before or after the couple’s 1806 marriage. His given name and mother are unknown. |
| Jesse Thomas or Jesse Guthrie | Birth reported in 1811 | Different accounts propose different surnames. A birth in 1811 falls after the census. Neither proposal establishes that this person was Elizabeth’s child. |
Historical Highlights
The dated marriage and the court acknowledgment identify the Kentucky couple. For earlier events, it matters that more than one man named Jesse Thomas appears in Virginia records.
Family Timeline
- About 1773Elizabeth’s estimated birth falls within the family’s Halifax County residence. No independent record establishes her date of birth.
- 1803Elizabeth Guthrie is named in the Kentucky family’s estate business before her marriage.
- 1806Madison County marriage indexes on pp. 53 and 55 give 14 August for Jesse Thomas and Elizabeth Guthrie. Both entries refer to the same marriage.
- 1810The Madison census enumerates a mixed-age household under Jesse Thomas. The older children lead to a question about a prior household.
- 1813The September instruments name Jesse and Elizabeth Thomas. Elizabeth acknowledged the McBride conveyance in October. Elizabeth Taylor, formerly Marshall, appears separately.
- 1837The Batterton Bible gives 16 June as the death of an Elizabeth Thomas. It does not identify her husband or parents.
James Thomas’s will and the Bowles marriage
James Thomas of Cumberland County, Virginia, made his will on 3 June 1796. Proved 25 May 1801, it names wife Elizabeth and leaves £30 to son Jesse. It gives no residence or spouse for that son. The Douglas Register records Jesse Thomas and Jane Bowles on 15 February 1781. The bride is separate from James’s married daughter Jane Bowles. A Kentucky deed referring to a Virginia inheritance, or a distribution naming son Jesse’s residence, could identify the groom.
Elizabeth Thomas and Elizabeth Dinwiddie
Susannah Guthrie Batterton’s daughter Elizabeth married Thomas Dinwiddie on 23 April 1835. The Bible places that marriage and the 1837 death of Elizabeth Thomas under different surnames. The earlier Guthrie heirs’ deed shows how Elizabeth Thomas fits the extended family, but cannot identify the later death on its own.
Explore the Research
DNA participation by descendant line
The 1810 census places an unnamed boy in the household. Neither that entry nor the later proposals for a son named Jesse establish a child of Elizabeth Guthrie and Jesse Thomas. The chart therefore reports participation under Elizabeth’s own name.
| Descendant line | Y-DNA | Big-Y | Autosomal DNA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Guthrie Thomas | N/A | N/A | No |
Represented kits. The project has no recorded autosomal participant assigned to Elizabeth. A descendant through Elizabeth would represent this Guthrie connection by autosomal DNA.
Reading & Sources
- McBride deed naming heirs and guardians, Madison I:358–360.
- Heirs of Reuben and Peter appoint Jesse Guthrie, I:356–358, and Peter’s heirs to Reubin, E:956–957.
- The Douglas Register, printed p. 46, Thomas and Bowles.
- Batterton Bible transcription, Ardery, Kentucky Records, vol. I, pp. 189–190.
- Childers family study with Cumberland County Thomas probate citations.
Madison County land records for Jesse Thomas
Marriage compilations
Most Wanted Documents
A distribution naming the residence of James Thomas’s son Jesse, the original Kentucky marriage return, and a guardianship, will, or deed naming a child of Elizabeth. A burial or death record naming her husband could help identify the Elizabeth Thomas in the Batterton Bible.
Continue the family’s story
Elizabeth’s acknowledgment places her in the family in 1813. A later clerk’s entry naming a son, daughter, or former residence could carry her story beyond that deed.
Researched & Curated by Ann Guthrie.