Mary Ann Guthrie

Female, #32384, (1839 - 1862)

Birth*1839 Mary was born at Kentucky in 1839. 
Marriage*16 Aug 1855 She married Daniel F. Culpepper at Lavaca Co., Texas, on 16 Aug 1855.1 
Married Name16 Aug 1855  As of 16 Aug 1855, her married name was Culpepper. 
1860 Census1 Jun 1860 Mary and Martha listed as a household member living with Daniel F. Culpepper in the 1860 Census at Lavaca Co., Texas.2 
Death*1862 She died at Lavaca Co., Texas, in 1862. 
Burial*1862 Her body was interred in 1862 at Mount Olive Cemetery, Lavaca Co., Texas.3 
Biography* From Mt. Olive Cemetery, Lavaca Co., TX: _________________________Mary Ann Culpepper _________________________1839 - 1861
      It has been difficult to establish how many children of Mary Ann had before her death. Unfortunately the census records can not be relied on to sort out the problem. Two girls can be establised as probable children of Mary Ann based on census records. Martha was listed with her parents in the 1860 census and Mary Ann was listed with Martha and her father in the 1870 census living in the Francis G. Culpepper household. Culpepper Heritage Association records (based on records collected by Dr. Charles L. Culpepper, Sr.) list two additional children of Daniel during the time period when Mary Ann would have been alive: William R. Culpepper (19 Sep 1856-1857) and James M. Culpepper (11 May 1859-1861). According to p. 52 of Lavaca Co., TX - Cemetery Records Vol. I by Sammy Tise, the following graves are found together in the Mt. Olive Cemetery: CULPEPPER, W. R.________1857_____1867 CULPEPPER, J. N.________1860_____1861_____Could be 1867 CULPEPPER, Mary Ann_____1839_____1861 CULPEPPER, A.___________1861_____1864 CULPEPPER, Maggie_______1875_____1878
      Mary Ann Culpepper was Mary Ann Guthrie, Daniel F. Culpepper's first wife and Maggie was Daniel F. Culpepper's daughter by his second wife. The close proximity of the other three graves to Mary Ann's and the dates of the children's births would suggest that they were in fact her children. Since full dates were not given on the tombstones, it is possible that the stones were placed later and dates were based on memory and it appears that the stones have weathered and some of the dates are difficult to read. However, based on the Culpepper Heritage Association records, the infant James M. Culpepper should have shown up in the Daniel F. Culpepper household in the 1860 census. As noted, although the family was listed twice in the 1860 census, James was not listed. But the fact that the family was listed TWICE suggests that the census record is flawed. Could the three graves have been for children of another Culpepper brother? Vashti (Harbour) Culpepper, the wife of Daniel's brother, William R. Culpepper, is believed to have died by Nov 1856 since she was not mentioned in the estate papers of her father. But if she was the mother of W. R. Culpepper it would seem natural that her child would have been found near her and she has not been found in this cemetery. Also, if Daniel's brother, William R. Culpepper, was the father of the child then the name on the tombstone should have indicated that this was the grave of W. R. Culpepper, JR. Since William did not remarry until 1861, He was presumably not the father of the other children. Daniel's brother, James L. Culpepper, did not marry until Dec 1856 and so presumably was not the father of W. R. Culpepper. James' first wife had apparently died by 1860 since he remarried Jan 1860. If James M. Culpepper was a child of James L. Culpepper it seems likely that the child would have been buried near his mother and Eliza Jane (Harbour) Culpepper's grave has not been found in the Mt. Olive Cemetery. Also James and his second wife, Margaret, were noted in the 1860 census and no children were listed in the household. Descendants have preserved the birth records of the children of James and Margaret and "A. Culpepper" was not listed as one of their children. This brings us back to the graves of the three children by Mary Ann (Guthrie) Culpepper. Although there is no positive evidence that they were Mary Ann's children the dates of birth and the proximity of the graves suggest that they were.
      Since Mary Ann (Guthrie) Culpepper's youngest child, Mary Ann, was not supposed to have been born until March of 1862, either the death date of the mother or the date of the birth of the child is in error. Since the stones appear to have been added at at later date and based on memory, the birth date of her youngest child is probably a more reliable indicator of when Mary Ann may have died. 

Family

Daniel F. Culpepper (5 Dec 1825 - 3 Dec 1900)
Children

Last Edited 15 Sep 2005

Citations

  1. Texas Department of State Health Services, compiler, Texas Marriage Collection, 1814-1909 and 1966-2002, Online database at Ancestry.com, 2005.
    http://www.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=8795
    Lavaca Co., TX: Daniel Culpepper and Mary Ann Guthrie, 16 Aug 1855, Book I, p. 155.
  2. 1860 Federal Census, United States.
    Enumerated twice in 1860 census at Hallettsville PO, Lavaca Co., TX
    Sheet 35, Pg 200B (19 Jun 1860) (Anc.com img# 36)
    Daniel Culpepper, 35, M, GA, RE=$1200, PE=$1000, Farmer (ID: 32383)
    Mary Culpepper, 25, F, KY
    Martha Culpepper, 3, F, TX
    Sheet 95-96, Pg 230A-B, (19 Jul 1860) (Anc.com img# 95-96)
    Daniel Culpepper, 34, M, GA, RE=$600, PE=$1000, Farmer
    Mary Culpepper, 18, F, GA
    Martha Culpepper, 2, F, TX.
  3. Sammy Tise, Lavaca Co., TX - Cemetery Records, Hallettsville, TX: Sammy Tise.
    Vol I p 52.