The subject of this story will be Elzie Calhoun Guthrie. There has long been a shroud of mystery about his early childhood and who his parents were. The only information we had came from my grandmother's research, Ruby Freels. I will present her research first.
William Guthrie...it is said that this man lived in Mississippi and that he disappeared in the Mississippi cane breaks and was never heard from again. His wife's name is not known at this time (Oct 5, 1977). He is known to have had two brothers. If there are others it is not known at this time. His Children:
1. William Guthrie
2. Elzie Calhoun Guthrie (This man made his mark under E.L. Guthrie)
3. Harper Guthrie
William Guthrie, son of William Guthrie, was supposed to have never married and lived a rough life and was killed in a gun battle by William Hardie (a cousin) in San Antonio, Texas (year unknown).
Harper Guthrie went to live with John Moten and went by that name. Had the following children: Ella, Molly, John, and Mossa.
Elzie Calhoun Guthrie was said to have been born at Tyler, Texas in Smith on January 1, 1853. He was an Irishman, red hair, and a farther. He also went to live with the John Moten family when the family broke up near Tyler, Texas in 1865. At that time he was about 12 years old and William was about 15.
Walter and Robert Johnson are supposed to be 1st cousins of Elzie C. Guthrie. Robert was born in 1857 Missouri and his wife Josephine was born in 1861 in Texas and had children Mitchel and Lela. They were living in Pontotoc Co., OK and later moved to Crowell, TX in Forde County.
These people were very strict and stern and didn't talk much about their past life.
My research has taken me to a whole new perspective about this family. This happened because another family member posted the following on a query page on the internet:
"...This is the first time I have posted to the list. Does any one know my Elzy A. Calhoun? He was born in GA in 1819. He married Rachel Ann (could be Harper)???. She is from North Carolina. They married in Gerogia and had their first child there in 1832. Her name was Mary Ann. They moved to Alabama (when?) and had their second child there, Francis Ann, born 1848. Then they are on the 1850 Rusk Co., TX census. He is listed as a Blacksmith. On the 1860 census they are in Van Zandt Co., TX. Rachel Ann dies there in the 1860s and is buried there. Elzy is then living with a Robert Harper and his daughters. Elzy also dies and is buried in Van Zandt county. Mary Ann has a child by a L. Guthrie. He was killed in a cattle drive or so goes the family story. She then married Samuel Caldwell. They move to Mississippi....in 1860 they are living in Williamson Co., TX. Samuel is listed as a Minister. By 1860 Mary Ann and Samuel had two sons: William Alexander Caldwell, b. about 1855 and Harper Moten Caldwell, born about 1856-1857, both born in Mississippi. When Mary Ann and Samuel return to Texas, they let the William and Emily Guthrie raise Mary Ann's first son Elzy Calhoun Guthrie. This was in Smith Co., TX. "
Now if what is written above is correct, then what our family originally thought about the parentage of Elzie Calhoun Guthrie is also incorrect. Thus begins my research on this difficult family.
The idea that Elzie Calhoun Guthrie is the son of L. Guthrie and Mary Ann Calhoun makes complete sense. The simple fact that Elzie's middle name was Calhoun seems to point to the fact that he was related to a Calhoun family. Then there is the fact that Mary Ann Calhoun's father was Elzy Alexander Calhoun. It makes sense that our Elzie was named after Mary Ann's father. Also it is noteworthy to point out that Elzy's brother (or half brother) was William Alexander. Then we have Harper. Mary Ann's mother's name was Rachel Ann HARPER Calhoun. So we can see there is a definitely a connection.
Starting the with Guthrie family, the earliest record I have for Smith Co., TX on our particular Guthrie family is the 1850 census.
1850 Smith Co., TX
This is the family of Margaret Guthrie. Her husband had died earlier in either early 1850 or in 1849. His name was Samuel Guthrie. The 1850 Mortality Schedule lists Samuel R. Guthrie, age 52 from NC, died in 1849/1850 after being sick 26 days with an inflated bladder. In the household are listed Margaret, William J., Isaac N., Lydia J., and James. This Margaret is Margaret Mathers, b. about 1803 in Georgia. All of her children were born in Alabama.
Next we will go to the 1860 census of Smith Co., TX and look at the census record for William Guthrie and wife Emily. William Guthrie married Emily E. Draper on 2 Nov 1853 in Smith Co., TX.
1860 Census Smith Co., TX
In the census William and Emily are listed with Everett Calvin (Colvin). This is significant because according the family story Elzie is supposed to have lived with this family. However, under the name Elzie Calhoun, he is not listed. So either he is still with his mother or he is somewhere else. There is the possibility that this Everett Calvin/Colvin is Elzie Calhoun. But there is no conclusive evidence.
This brings us back to Mary Ann Calhoun. By 1860 she was married to Minister Samuel Caldwell (J.S. Caldwell). They had left for Mississippi apparently and arrived back in Texas and were living in Williamson Co., TX. Note the census record:
1860 Williamson Co., TX Census
Note that besides J.S and Mary, there is a William and a Harper. When we found this census it began to change our point of view on the ancestry of Elzie Calhoun Guthrie. Our family has always though that Elzie was a full brother to William and Harper. However, from this census record it appears that William and Harper are more likely to be half brothers. You will also note that Elzie is not listed in this census record. Where is he?
If he is not the Everett Calvin/Colvin listed in the 1860 census of Smith Co., TX living with William J. and Emily Guthrie, then perhaps a little family story will shed some light on where he might be in 1860. What has been told is that Mary Ann left Elzie Calhoun to be raised by William and Emily. However, another family story is that he went to live with the John Moten Family and worked for him. Was this before 1860 or after William and Emily moved to Grayson Co., TX? The evidence seems to indicate that Everett Calvin/Colvin who is listed in the 1860 census with William and Emily is actually Elzie Calhoun Guthrie and after William and Emily moved to Grayson Co., TX, Elzie then went to work for John Moten. It is still a mystery why Elzie did not live with the Caldwell family.
As we know, Elzie Calhoun Guthrie married Emily Jane Dodge in about 1872 Cooke Co., TX. I have not been able to find a marriage record for them. They are listed in the 1880 census of Cooke Co., TX.
1880 Cooke Co., TX Census
This census has some interesting data on it. Listed are Elzie and wife Emily, William, Lucinda, and Nancy. They are living next door to Robert Johnson and his wife Josephine. Robert Johnson is reportedly a first cousin to Elzie. It is unclear where the relationship comes in at this time.
Robert Brown Johnson is the son of William Johnson and Sarah C. Summers. Robert was born 3 Sep 1855 in Missouri and died 17 Jul 1934 in Sulphur, Murray Co., OK. He married Josephine Drucilla Ellison on July 26, 1879 in Gainesville, Cooke Co., TX. She was born 29 Dec 1861 TX and died 10 Mar 1939 in Tulia, Swisher Co., TX. She was the daughter of John Robert Ellison and Sarah Ann Lee. They had six children: John Benjamin, Sarah Bell, Mary Ellen, Doc William Mitchell, Lela Lois, and Mule Johnson. Family tradition has stated that Robert and Walter Johnson were first cousins of Elzie Calhoun Guthrie. However, Walter Johnson was actually a nephew of Robert Johnson.
Emily Jane Dodge's mother, Maria Dodge, also lived in Cooke Co., TX in 1880. Here is the census:
1880 Cooke Co., TX Census -Dodge
In the household of Lucinda Lee, widow of T.P. Lee is Amelia, her daughter, and Maria Dodge, her mother and also the mother of Emily who married Elzie Calhoun Guthrie. Maria/Mariah/Marier was the widow of Luther Dodge. He was from New York, but was living in Phillips Co., AR when he died. After his death, Maria moved with her children to Cooke Co., TX.
What is also interesting about the census is that a few household away is living a William Hardie with wife Anna and children. Could this be the same William Hardy who was in a gun battle with William Alexander Caldwell and killed him? More research is definitely needed to work this out.
There is a lot of questions and loose ends to tie up on this family. What happened to Elzie Calhoun Guthrie between the time of his birth and the 1880 census? Why did his mother give him up? What about the Johnson family? How are they related exactly? And William Hardie, supposed to be a first cousin as well, what is his story? The storie will continue...
