3B-11: David Guthrie
Guthrie Family Group 3 · Branch B
David Guthrie
Mary McDowall & Eliza Ker Laurie
Harperland, Ayrshire · Stranraer, Wigtownshire · London and Cheltenham
David, youngest child of William Guthrie and Jacobina McClure, became a writer, banker and factor in Stranraer, where he served as provost from 1858 to 1870. He married first Mary McDowall and later Eliza Ker Laurie. No children are documented from either marriage.
The Family at a Glance
David Guthrie · 1813–1887
- Parents
- William Guthrie and Jacobina McClure.
- Birth / baptism
- 20 May / 2 June 1813, Harperland, Dundonald.
- Work
- Writer, banker, factor and provost of Stranraer.
- Death
- 28 July 1887, Stranraer.
- Burial
- 2 August 1887, Sheuchan Cemetery, grave 873.
Mary McDowall · 1821–1885
- Parents
- Alexander McDowall, banker, and Margaret Gillespie.
- Birth / baptism
- 1 / 21 February 1821, Stranraer.
- Marriage
- Between the 1851 and 1861 census appearances; exact record not located.
- Death
- 28 November 1885, Union Bank, Church Street, Stranraer.
- Burial
- 2 December 1885, Sheuchan Cemetery.
Eliza Ker Laurie · 1828–1899
- Parents
- Anthony Laurie and Margaret Ker.
- Birth
- 10 January 1828, Liverpool; Oldham Street Presbyterian baptismal source.
- Marriage
- 16 December 1886, St George, Hanover Square, London.
- Death
- 8 October 1899, 3 Bayshill Terrace, Cheltenham.
- Burial
- 12 October 1899, Cheltenham cemetery register.
No children of David and Mary or David and Eliza have been identified. Their surviving records instead connect them with siblings, professional colleagues and executors.
Mary McDowall, daughter of Alexander McDowall and Margaret Gillespie, must be kept distinct from Margaret Cumming McDowall, wife of David’s brother George. The shared surname alone does not establish the relationship between the two women.
Guthrie DNA Project Participation
| Family line | Y-DNA | Big Y | Autosomal |
|---|---|---|---|
| David’s marriages: no known children | N/A | N/A | N/A |
✓ = participation documented for this line and test; — = none documented in the reviewed project material; N/A = no applicable direct paternal line or no known descendants. A dash does not mean that no descendant has ever tested.
Historical Highlights
David’s census trail places him in Stranraer’s legal and banking life. In 1851 he was a writer; later returns describe his banking and estate work. His answers as provost appear in the 1867 report of the commission examining Scottish schools, a useful contemporary record of his public responsibilities.
The executors named in his estate include his nephew William Guthrie, sheriff-substitute of Lanarkshire, alongside local professional associates. The will and additional inventory offer a fuller view of the household and its property than the occupational labels alone.
Family Timeline
-
1813
Born 20 May; baptized 2 June at Dundonald.
-
1851–1861
Marriage to Mary McDowall falls between the census appearances.
-
1858–1870
Served as provost of Stranraer.
-
1885
Mary died 28 November.
-
1886
Married Eliza Ker Laurie in London, 16 December.
-
1887
David died 28 July; buried 2 August; confirmation 2 November.
-
1899
Eliza died at Cheltenham, 8 October.
The London marriage: original heading takes precedence
The supplied register image, page 235, entry 470, directly names the parish church of St George, Hanover Square. It records the marriage on 16 December 1886 of David Guthrie, widower, gentleman, and Eliza Ker Laurie, spinster. David’s father is William Guthrie, farmer, deceased; Eliza’s is Anthony Laurie, gentleman, deceased.
The online collection’s surrounding index label says St Martin-in-the-Fields, but the original register heading and the contemporary newspaper notice agree on St George, Hanover Square. The original heading is adopted. The register’s ages, 70 and 56, are reported ages and do not replace the earlier 1813 and 1828 birth evidence.
The Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser of 24 December 1886 says the officiating clergyman was the bride’s brother, the Rev. A. Lawrie of Halford. Laurie and Lawrie occur as spelling variants; the bride signs Eliza Ker Laurie.
Explore the Research
DNA & the Family Line
No descendant testing line is known. The broader family’s DNA evidence is presented on the Branch B hub.
Participation summary based on the reviewed branch material, 6 November 2026. Current kit levels and SNP placements require the project’s current results; no new test is inferred from a haplogroup label.
David’s will and additional inventory
David’s confirmation was granted at Wigtown on 2 November 1887. The legacy transcription gives an estate of £4,599 1s. 7d. His will was dated 13 December 1886, shortly before his second marriage, and recorded on 25 October 1887.
The named executors were David Frederick of Gass, residing at Dumbreddan, Stoneykirk; William Guthrie, sheriff-substitute, Glasgow; John Hunter, bank agent, Stranraer; and Alexander Aitken, solicitor. An additional inventory, given up by John Hunter on 28 September 1888, is reported at £592 12s. 8d. The two calendar images are retained below for comparison with the full papers.
Eliza’s final records and reported ages
Eliza’s burial register records 12 October 1899 and age 68; her 1828 birth would make her 71. Her administration names the Rev. Anthony Laurie and gives death on 8 October at 3 Bayshill Terrace, Cheltenham, with effects of £496 14s. 3d. The contemporary Gloucestershire notice agrees with the date and residence.
Mary’s baptism was 21 February 1821, not the 1885 year mistakenly repeated in an older heading. Her death was reported at age 63; the 1821 birth implies 64. These later ages are retained as discrepancies rather than substituted for the earlier records.
Reading & Sources
The records below distinguish original entries, attributed transcriptions and later accounts. Linked repositories may require an account or subscription. A link is a locator, not a claim that every underlying image has been independently examined.
- Dundonald OPR 590, p. 265/306: David born 20 May and baptized 2 June 1813.
- Stranraer OPR 899, p. 7/198: Mary McDowall born 1 and baptized 21 February 1821.
- Oldham Street Presbyterian, Liverpool, birth/christening index, FHL film 304665: Eliza Laurie, born 10 January 1828, parents Anthony and Margaret.
- Mary’s statutory death, Stranraer 899/138, 28 November 1885; David the informant.
- London parish marriage register, p. 235, entry 470, 16 December 1886: original heading St George, Hanover Square; supplied image directly reviewed.
- Sheuchan Cemetery register: David, burial 2 August 1887, grave 873; Mary, burial 2 December 1885.
- David’s confirmation-calendar entries, 2 November 1887 and additional inventory 28 September 1888; will dated 13 December 1886.
- Cheltenham cemetery register, entry 310: Eliza Kerr Guthrie, buried 12 October 1899; England and Wales probate calendar, administration Gloucester 28 October 1899.
- Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser, 24 December 1886; Gloucestershire Echo, 9 October 1899.
- Harvey and Sellar, Report by Her Majesty’s Commissioners Appointed to Inquire Into the Schools in Scotland, appendix (1867), p. 49 and related answers; Future Museum portrait reference retained below.
Research links
Most Wanted Documents
| Record to verify | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| First marriage | Locate David and Mary’s marriage record between 1851 and 1861, checking Stranraer and relevant neighboring jurisdictions. |
| Full testamentary papers | Read the 1886 will and the 1887–1888 inventories to clarify beneficiaries and the effect of the second marriage. |
| Laurie family and age discrepancies | Compare Eliza’s original Presbyterian entry with the later marriage and burial ages, retaining the signed spelling of her name. |
The Branch B hub explains the project’s provisionally accepted earlier generations and the wider DNA comparison.
Continue the Family’s Story
David’s page closes the eleven-child sequence with the Stranraer household and its London and Cheltenham connections. The original marriage register resolves one misplaced parish label while the first marriage remains a focused research question.
Researched & Curated by Ann Guthrie