It was already raining lightly when we pulled into the small, gravel parking lot of the cemetery. Henderson county, Texas was about mid-week on the great genealogy trek of 2004, and Guthrie Cemetery was our main goal. Actually finding the grave of my 3rd great grandmother was our main goal: Sinia Covey Guthrie. Luckily the rain didn't pick up until after we found her headstone. It was relatively new having been replaced recently by a distant cousin. Because of that it was easy to read. Her husband, Ephraim W. Guthrie was supposedly buried next to her, but his headstone was not updated so we could only guess to his location. Guthrie cemetery is secluded and small, on a slight hill - the kind of place I would happily be buried.
Sinia was not a relative I knew much about, but this was an exciting moment none the less. Even when you've seen pictures of a grave, there's nothing like standing in the spot where your ancestor (at least their body) is spending eternity. Mom and I got back in the car to head to our hotel home for the evening, satisfied with our find. Now, 11 years later, I am turning my attention back to Sinia.
Sinia Covey Guthrie's headstone states that she died on April 21, 1871 at the age of 52 years, 6 months, and 24 days. So I've recorded her birthday as September 27, 1818. She would be 3 years shy of her 200th birthday this month! Sinia (likely a shortened form of Lucindia or a similar name) was born in Tennessee to John and Sarah Covey. The exact number of siblings is unknown to me, but the Covey's probably had 6+ children. I've not traced all the siblings, but other families record Virginia as the birthplace of several older siblings.
Sinia's youngest sister, Elizabeth, was born in Tennessee in 1823, when she was 5. At some point in the next decade the family moved to Pulaski county, Arkansas. And that's were the Covey children decided to marry! Sinia and her sister Maria married on the same day. The Arkansas Gazette Index records L. Covey and E.W. Guthrie as well as Maria Covey and Joel Sanders marrying "one week before" the newspaper date of 8/23/1836. Sister Elizabeth married there in 1843, and brother Daniel in 1844. Sinia would have been not yet 18 at the time of her marriage, her husband was almost 30.
So the life of a married woman began for Sinia. In 1840 She and E. W. lived in White County, Arkansas. He farmed of course. They already had 2 young sons, John and James Guthrie, born in 1839 and 1840. James Thomas Guthrie, my great-great grandfather, would go on to live a very interesting life indeed, but that's for another time. There was one other male aged 30-40 who lived with the young family. I believe this was E. W.'s older brother Joseph. The couple would have 2 more children in Arkansas, Rachel in 1841 and Samuel in 1844.
Most of the Covey family appeared to stay put in Arkansas, but not Sinia. She and E. W. moved to Henderson County, TX where they were farming by the 1850 census. They appear to be listed under the household of Lucy Landers and her children with no land of their own. E. W. must have been a decent farmer, because by 1860 he does own his own land. The federal census of that year shows the Guthrie (Guthery) family in Kaufman, Texas - which was formed out of Henderson county, so they may not have moved at all - with 3,000 value of land and 14,800 of personal estate. E. W. is also listed in the index of the Texas Land Title Abstracts as having 100 acres in the Nacogdoches district of Kaufman county.
E. W. died before 1870, I have the year recorded as 1868, but haven't found much evidence to support that yet. Sinia, as we know, would live to see 1870, which means we get one more census with her. Still in Kaufman county, Sinia lived with her son Samuel and his family. She's listed as 60 on the census, but more likely she was 50. Death certificates were not kept in Texas prior to 1903. Sinia's death details remain a mystery, and probate records have not found anything for her or her husband...yet. Her sister, Maria, with whom she had to double wedding, would live until 1892. She is buried in Boone, Arkansas.
Happy almost 200th Sinia!
Sinia was not a relative I knew much about, but this was an exciting moment none the less. Even when you've seen pictures of a grave, there's nothing like standing in the spot where your ancestor (at least their body) is spending eternity. Mom and I got back in the car to head to our hotel home for the evening, satisfied with our find. Now, 11 years later, I am turning my attention back to Sinia.
Sinia Covey Guthrie's headstone states that she died on April 21, 1871 at the age of 52 years, 6 months, and 24 days. So I've recorded her birthday as September 27, 1818. She would be 3 years shy of her 200th birthday this month! Sinia (likely a shortened form of Lucindia or a similar name) was born in Tennessee to John and Sarah Covey. The exact number of siblings is unknown to me, but the Covey's probably had 6+ children. I've not traced all the siblings, but other families record Virginia as the birthplace of several older siblings.
Sinia's youngest sister, Elizabeth, was born in Tennessee in 1823, when she was 5. At some point in the next decade the family moved to Pulaski county, Arkansas. And that's were the Covey children decided to marry! Sinia and her sister Maria married on the same day. The Arkansas Gazette Index records L. Covey and E.W. Guthrie as well as Maria Covey and Joel Sanders marrying "one week before" the newspaper date of 8/23/1836. Sister Elizabeth married there in 1843, and brother Daniel in 1844. Sinia would have been not yet 18 at the time of her marriage, her husband was almost 30.
So the life of a married woman began for Sinia. In 1840 She and E. W. lived in White County, Arkansas. He farmed of course. They already had 2 young sons, John and James Guthrie, born in 1839 and 1840. James Thomas Guthrie, my great-great grandfather, would go on to live a very interesting life indeed, but that's for another time. There was one other male aged 30-40 who lived with the young family. I believe this was E. W.'s older brother Joseph. The couple would have 2 more children in Arkansas, Rachel in 1841 and Samuel in 1844.
Most of the Covey family appeared to stay put in Arkansas, but not Sinia. She and E. W. moved to Henderson County, TX where they were farming by the 1850 census. They appear to be listed under the household of Lucy Landers and her children with no land of their own. E. W. must have been a decent farmer, because by 1860 he does own his own land. The federal census of that year shows the Guthrie (Guthery) family in Kaufman, Texas - which was formed out of Henderson county, so they may not have moved at all - with 3,000 value of land and 14,800 of personal estate. E. W. is also listed in the index of the Texas Land Title Abstracts as having 100 acres in the Nacogdoches district of Kaufman county.
E. W. died before 1870, I have the year recorded as 1868, but haven't found much evidence to support that yet. Sinia, as we know, would live to see 1870, which means we get one more census with her. Still in Kaufman county, Sinia lived with her son Samuel and his family. She's listed as 60 on the census, but more likely she was 50. Death certificates were not kept in Texas prior to 1903. Sinia's death details remain a mystery, and probate records have not found anything for her or her husband...yet. Her sister, Maria, with whom she had to double wedding, would live until 1892. She is buried in Boone, Arkansas.
Happy almost 200th Sinia!
The Covey/Guthrie family trails from Virginia, to Tennessee, To Arkansas, to Texas: the reason I'm a Texan today!
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