2A-I & 2B: Thomas Guthrie
THOMAS GUTHRIE
Parents: James Guthrie b.1691-1711SCT – 1778PA and (FNU) Bissell (Theoretical)
Birth: 1744
Birth Location: Pennsylvania, USA (presumably)
Marriage: Mildred Howell about 1772 (est.)
Occupation: Farmer
Military Service: Cumberland County Militia, 1777
Death: 1837
Death Location: Woodford County, Kentucky, USA
Burial: Unknown, presumably in Woodford County, Kentucky, USA
MILDRED HOWELL
Parents: Unidentified
Birth: 1748
Birth Location: Pennsylvania or Virginia
Children: Mary (1773), Thomas (1776), John (1777), James (1779), William (1784), Nancy (1785), Elizabeth (1787), Mildred (1792), Robert (1794), Caleb (1798)
Death: March 1824
Death Location: Woodford County, Kentucky, USA
Burial: Unknown, presumably in Woodford County, Kentucky, USA
NOTES:
Thomas Guthrie is documented by author Lawrence R. Guthrie in ‘American Guthrie and Allied Families’ as the son of James Guthrie and his wife (FNU) Bussell / Bissell. Read the story ‘Robert, John, & James: Ironmongers of Edinburgh‘ on this site for details about this hypothetical family and its associations.
Thomas Guthrie was a militiaman in 1777 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. His “brother” James Guthrie was living in Chester County by 1750, his “brother” William in Allegheny (1760s) and Westmoreland Counties (1800s). “Brother” Robert Guthrie lived in Washington County, PA. It is curious as to how they were identified as family members to begin with.
We do not have conclusive proof of Thomas Guthrie’s placement as a descendant of Guthrie Family Group 2A. The autosomal DNA tests of descendants do suggest those ties. The only Y-DNA evidence currently on board is that of two close cousins whose direct paternal line tests show that their Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) does not match any established Guthrie Y-DNA Profile. We simply need a direct male descendant of Thomas Guthrie and Mildred Howell’s sons (any except son Thomas) to share their Y-DNA results to prove or disprove Thomas’ placement in GFG2A.
By 1792, Thomas Guthrie had moved from Cumberland, Pennsylvania to Fauquier County, Virginia where they leased a farm of 148 acres on Rocky Run for the term of Thomas’ life as well as the lifetime of his son John.. The family legend goes that “on brother went south” and since Thomas’ family journey takes him from PA to VA to KY, and other descendants into TN, he seems to be the prime choice to fit that description. Thomas and family moved on to Woodford County, Kentucky about 1797 (tax records) where he and his wife remained until their deaths.
CHILDREN: 10
MARY ‘POLLY’ GUTHRIE
1773-????
The eldest child identified for Thomas Guthrie and Mildred Howell is Mary aka Polly Guthrie reportedly born about 1773. According to the 1810 census, Polly was in the 26-44 range, estimating her DOB between 1766-1784. The 1830 census, where she is named as the Head of Household, lists her as 50-59, or born between 1771-1780. Polly married John Frawner in Woodford County, Kentucky on 23 November 1797. Very little info on this couple or descendants has been found, so if you have resources to share, please do so. John and Polly had at least three children, daughter Elizabeth and sons George and John. Polly’s husband seems to have died in the 1820s as Mary Frawner is the HOH in 1830. There she is listed with 4 young men: 3 of 20-29 years and 1 of 15-19, all presumably her sons, which would mean there are at least 2 other unidentified sons.
CHILDREN:
1) Elizabeth Frawner 1798KY-1834KY m. Gabriel Smith +children
2) George Frawner 1801KY-bef. 1830KY m. Caroline Rodgers +children
3) John Frawner 1803KY-???? – No further details
4) Presumed son born 1801-1810
5) Presumed son born 1811-1815
Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A – Female Guthrie
Autosomal DNA Participants: No
THOMAS GUTHRIE JR
1776 PA-1848MO
According to documentation, Thomas Guthrie Sr was still in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania when Thomas Jr was born. He moved to Fauquier County, Virginia and to Woodford County, Kentucky with his parents and siblings. Thomas Jr’s marriage to Lucy wood occurred between 1805 – 1810. By the time of the 1810 census they already had 4 children in the household. Lucy died about 1830, and the following year on 21 Aug 1831, Thomas married Matilda (Dorsey) Griffith, the widow of Lt. Mordecai Griffith. She was the mother of Clarissa Griffith, who later married Thomas & Lucy’s son, William D Guthrie. Thomas and Matilda moved their family from Kentucky to Marion County, Missouri about 1834-35. They were unsatisfied living there and moved to Monroe County, MO. Matilda died on 19 Oct 1843 at 65 years, 6 months, and 19 days and is buried in Bryants Cemetery in Monroe County. A widower once again, Thomas Guthrie remarried for a third time after the customary year, on 10 Oct 1844 to the “Widow Chancy”; he was 68. Thomas died four years later on 28 Sep 1848 in Florida, Monroe, MO.
Official confirmation of Thomas Guthrie Sr & Mildred Howell’s descendants within GFG2A remains pending because the only Guthrie men who currently represent this branch of the Guthrie family are genetic mismatches to all established groups. The two participants are cousins descending from Thomas Guthrie Jr and Lucy Wood. The Most Recent Common Ancestor was born during the late 1800s. An adoption or non-paternal event is the likely cause of the genetic mismatch to men of the Griffith and/or Vaughan surnames. As of August 2022 there are 14 matches: 6 to men of the Griffith surname, 2 Vaughan (who trace their ancestor to a man named Craddock Vaughan), 2 men of the Craddock surname, and the others to additional random surnames. The men with the closest genetic matches are those of the Griffith surname. Note above that the surname of Thomas Guthrie Jr’s 2nd wife was Griffith, so it seems apparent that there was at least 1 family of that surname living in the same area as this Guthrie family during the 1800s. The causal event could have occurred in any generation including Thomas Guthrie Sr down to the Most Recent Common Ancestor of the two participants.
Y-DNA testing is requested for Guthrie men who descend from Thomas Guthrie and Mildred Howell. Ideally we need someone who descends from one of the other sons besides Thomas Jr in order to verify GFG2A status for this branch of the family.
CHILDREN:
1) Lucy Guthrie born 1805-10KY – died 18?? – no further details
2) Archibald Guthrie born 1805-10KY – died aft 1830KY m. Charlotte Dodd +child
3) Nancy Guthrie 1805KY-18???? m1. FNU Craig, m2. FNU Cathern +child (Need Source Data)
4) Susan Guthrie 1810KY-1896MO m. Thomas Wood +children
5) Malinda Guthrie 1811KY-1871KY m1.1832 William Fible, m2.1837 Greenery Wigginton +children
6) Mary Guthrie 1816KY-1863KY m.1838KY Lemuel Baskett +children
7) William D Guthrie 1817KY-1876MO m1.1838MO Clarissa Griffith, m2.1855MO Mildred (Rogers) Acuff, m3.1867MO Ann C (Scott) Acuff +children*
Y-DNA Project Participants: Yes * 2 descendants placed in GFG2B
Autosomal DNA Participants: Yes * 2 additional descendants same GFG2B lineage
JOHN GUTHRIE
1777PA-1848MO
During 1777, the year John Guthrie, is said to have been born, his father was a militiaman in Cumberland County, PA. The family was not yet living in Virginia. John moved with his parents and siblings to Fauquier, VA and later Woodford, KY. He married Margaret Tiller on 1 Sep 1814 in Franklin County, Kentucky, but the presence of a John Guthrie in Woodford, KY in the 1810 census with a wife, 2 sons, and a daughter suggest that the marriage may not have been his first. There is a Woodford, KY marriage between Molly Bridgeford and John Guthrie dated 29 Nov 1802 in Woodford, KY. Family trees identify a daughter, Nancy for that couple. John Guthrie’s death is given as 28 Sep 1848 in Florida, Monroe, Missouri, USA.
CHILDREN:
1) FNU Son Guthrie born 1803-1810KY – Possibly John Guthrie who m. Elizabeth Wheat in 1826 Woodford, KY.
2) FNU Son Guthrie born 1803-1810 – No further details.
3) Nancy J Guthrie 1809KY-1845KY m.1827KY James Pulliam Sargent +children
4) Sarah Ann Lucinda Guthrie 1817KY-1866MO m.1842KY William Lavell +children
Y-DNA Project Participants: No
Autosomal DNA Participants: No
JAMES GUTHRIE
1779VA-1840KY
Some basic family information on James Guthrie is covered in a biographical sketch of his grandson of the same name published in the 6th edition of Kentucky: A History of the State, by Battle, Perrin, & Kniffin, 1887. James Guthrie was born in Virginia on 28 March 1779. He married Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Gibbs, the daughter of Rev. War soldier, Julius Gibbs in Woodford County, Kentucky on 16 March 1802. They resided in that county until 1837. Their children were born mainly in Woodford between 1803 – 1826. The family moved to Shelby County, Kentucky where they settled on the old State Turnpike east of Shelbysvill where James Guthrie kept a public house and a stage stand until his death on 26 February 1840. He wrote a last will and testament. His wife survived him. She died on 17 November 1859.
James’ son Isaac Newton Guthrie moved from Kentucky to Gallatin, Sumner, Tennessee, which by coincidence is also the home of descendants of the GFG2A – Branch A Guthrie line.
CHILDREN:
1) Agnes Guthrie 1803KY-1884KY m.1834KY Gabriel Smith (farmer) +children
2) Nathaniel Guthrie 1804KY-1832KY was possibly the Nathan who m.1829 Ellin Heady. Children?
3) James Guthrie 1806KY-1881KY (farmer) m.1828KY Frances Smith +children
4) Mildred Guthrie 1808KY-1831KY m.1827KY James Finney Overton (farmer). No children.
5) Isaac Newton Guthrie 1810KY-1896TN (farmer) m1.1832KY Mary Beauchamp, m2.1845 Martha Ann Montgomery +children
6) Julius Gibbs Guthrie 1812KY-1861KY (farmer/postmaster) m.1835KY Sarah White +children
7) Thomas Churchill Guthrie 1815KY-1869KY (farmer) m1.1839KY Elizabeth Sloan, m2.1859KY Mary Catherine Balee. +children
8) Granville Clifford Guthrie 1818KY-1881KY (farmer) m1.1843KY Martha Jane Jewell, m2.abt.1855KY Elizabeth Lillian Ambrose +children
9) Jeptha Dudley Guthrie 1818KY-1885KY (farmer) m.1853KY Sarah Camilla Cotton +children
10) William J. Guthrie 1824KY-1835KY died at 11 years of age.
11) Elizabeth Guthrie 1826KY-1875KY m.1846KY George W Beard +children
Y-DNA Project Participants: No
Autosomal DNA Participants: Yes
WILLIAM A GUTHRIE
1784VA-1854MO
Since his older brother James Guthrie was reportedly born in Virginia, it is likely that was also the location of William’s birth. He married Mary L Yeates (1804-1850) in Shelby County, Kentucky on 4 March 1822. Between 1830 and 1840, William moved his family to Missouri. By 1850 they had settled in Platte County. He died in Platte City on 8 July 1854. His wife Mary survived him. They are buried in the Guthrie-Bonifant-Mitchell Cemetery in Weston, Platte, Missouri.
CHILDREN:
1) Mary Guthrie 1823KY-1896MO m. Madison W Mitchell (farmer) +children
2) Nancy Guthrie 1824KY-1902MO m.1839MO Joseph J Kelly (farmer) +children
3) Linna A Guthrie 1826KY-1881MO m.1842MO Rev. Philip J Burruss (Baptist Minister) +children
4) John M Guthrie 1830KY-1889MO (farmer) m.1850MO Elvira Pence +children
5) Martha A Guthrie 1837KY-1873MO m.1853MO John S Mitchell (farmer) +children
6) Lucy Jane Guthrie 1840KY-1882MO m.1857MO James Dye (farmer) +children
7) Elizabeth Guthrie 1844KY-1901MO m.1858MO David Tanner Polk (surveyor) +children
Y-DNA Project Participants: No
Autosomal DNA Participants: Yes
NANCY GUTHRIE
1785VA-1842MO
Nancy’s birth was probably in Virginia about 1785. The family settled in Woodford County, Kentucky when she was about 12 years of age. She married Richard Bridgford, son of William Bridgford and Elizabeth Johnson, on 25 Jan 1808 in Woodford. They had five sons and two daughters. The youngest daughter died during infancy. They removed from Kentucky settling in Monroe County, Missouri. Nancy died 2 Oct 1842 in Monroe City. Richard moved to Hannibal, Marion, Missouri (also the home of Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain (1835-1910) where he later died on 23 May 1849.
CHILDREN:
1) Eliza Bridgford 1808KY-1869TX m.1850MO (3rd wife) Hugh Withers +children
2) William Thomas Bridgford 1810KY-1879MO m1.1830 Sally Ann Fawkes, m2.1837MO Sarah McGruder Noonan +children
3) Richard Bridgeford 1814KY-1880MO m1.Melissa Thomason, m2.1846 Rachel Frances Bird +children
4) James B Bridgford 1816KY-1894MO m.1838MO Margaret Ann Campbell +children
5) Lucy Bridgford 1819KY-1819KY died during infancy.
6) Robert Bridgford 1819KY-1879MO m.1843 Elizabeth Burke Clarke +children
7) Jefferson Bridgford 1822KY-1914MO m.1848 Margaret Elizabeth Waller +children
Y-DNA Project Participants: No
Autosomal DNA Participants: No
ELIZABETH ‘BETSY’ GUTHRIE
1787VA-1875KY
Born on 30 April 1787, Elizabeth Guthrie was nicknamed Betsy. She married James Lawrence Gibbs, a son of Julius Gibbs and Aggie Davis, and the brother of Elizabeth Gibbs who married her elder brother James Guthrie creating two James-Betsy / Guthrie-Gibbs marriages. The younger pair were married in Franklin, Kentucky on 8 August 1811. Initially, they lived in Shelby County, but were residing in Franklin again by the time of the 1830 census. Unlike several of the Guthrie siblings who removed to Tennessee or Missouri, this couple remained in Franklin County, Kentucky. James died in Bridgeport on 21 Dec 1872 and Betsy on 14 Feb 1875. They are buried at the Gibbs Family Cemetery in Waddy, Shelby, Kentucky.
CHILDREN:
1) Thomas Jefferson Gibbs 1813KY-1867TX (cooper) m.1833KY Permelia Johnson +children
2) Elizabeth Ann Gibbs 1815KY-1870KY m.1833KY John W Bennett (farmer) +children
3) James Lawrence Gibbs Jr 1817KY-1899MO (farmer) m1.1839 Hulda Watts, m2.1863 Sarah Melvina Nesbit +children
4) William G Gibbs 1819KY-1881KY (farmer) m.1840 Judith Ann Rucker +children
5) Mildred Gibbs 1820KY-1910KY m.1839KY Jordan S Gibbs (wagon maker) +children
6) Jacob Creath Gibbs 1822KY-1908KY (medical doctor) m.1850KY Mary Ann Munday +children
7) Catherine Gibbs 1824KY-1838KY died at 13 years of age.
8) Julius Caesar Gibbs 1826KY-1913KY m.1847KY Elizabeth Moore +children
Y-DNA Project Participants: No
Autosomal DNA Participants: No
MILDRED ‘MILLY’ GUTHRIE
1792VA-1854KY
Mildred Guthrie was born about 1792 probably in Fauquier County, Virginia. She was about 18 years old at the time of her marriage to Adam Montgomery on 20 February 1810 in Woodford County, Kentucky. They had 4 sons and 4 daughters. Living with most of them during the 1850 census they were located in Henry County, KY. Milly died on 5 April 1854. Adam lived another 11 years. He died in 1865 in Platte City, Missouri.
1) Mary Montgomery 1811KY – abt.1833-40KY m.1829KY John L Stubbins +children
2) Jennette Jane Montgomery 1813KY-1875MO m.1831KY Elliott Birch Kirtley +children
3) Robert Montgomery 1815KY-aft.1870KY m1.1839 Nancy Robertson, m2.abt1850 Mary Francis Kitson +children
4) Jeptha Montgomery 1817KY-1861MO m.1841 Miranda Adams +children
5) George N Montgomery 1819KY-1909MO m.1844KY Polly Ann Owens +children
6) William M Montgomery 1824KY-1904MO m.1852MO Julia Ann Cooper +children
7) Louisa Montgomery 1829KY-1854KY m.1852KY John H Gardner. No children.
8) Nancy B. Montgomery 1832KY-1902MO m.1855MO William H Clay +children
Y-DNA Project Participants: No
Autosomal DNA Participants: No
ROBERT GUTHRIE
1794VA-1842KY
Robert Guthrie was born in Fauquier County, Virginia on 8 December 1794. He married Sarah “Sally” Long on 22 October 1815 in Woodford County, Kentucky. They settled in Henry County, Kentucky where they raised a large family of 5 sons and 6 daughters born between 1816 and 1841. Like most of the Guthries from this family group, Robert was a slave owner. The 1830 census lists 3 slaves. The 1840 census lists 5 slaves. Robert died 9 Feb 1842 leaving a will. His widow Sarah Guthrie is listed as the Head of Household during the 1850 census and was listed with 4 children aged 10-17. The slave schedule lists Sarah as the owner of two female slaves. She died on 10 Jun 1853 in Henry County, Kentucky. Robert may be buried at Old Rockbridge Church Cemetery in Eminence, Henry, Kentucky, but the stone is half buried, covered in lichen, and difficult to read.
CHILDREN:
1) Thomas Guthrie 1816KY-1824KY died at 8 years of age.
2) William Guthrie 1818-1876KY m1.1839 Sarah Jane Jackson, m2.1846 Elizabeth A Yount +children
3) John Guthrie 1820KY-1850KY m.1840KY Frances Owen +children
4) Mary Mildred Guthrie 1822-1825 died at about 3 years of age.
5) Matilda Guthrie 1826KY-1906KY m.1845 Dr Isaac Newton Underwood. No children.
6) Robert Guthrie 1828KY-1844KY was about 16 years old at the time of his death.
7) Sarah Ann Guthrie 1830KY-aft 1880KY m.1846 Richard Corker Jackson +children
8) Marian (or Miriam) Guthrie 1832KY-1855KY m. Dr Samuel D Buck. No children.
9) Lucy Jane Guthrie 1835KY-1854KY was unmarried and died at 19 years of age.
10) James Thomas Guthrie 1837KY-1926MO m1.1865 Margaret Ann Crawford +children
11) Mary Elizabeth Guthrie 1841KY-1876KY m. Judge Samuel Landrum (2nd wife) +children
Y-DNA Project Participants: No
Autosomal DNA Participants: Yes
CALEB GUTHRIE
1798KY-1878KY
The youngest of ten children, Caleb Guthrie was born on 28 April 1798 in Woodford County, Kentucky. He married Elizabeth “Betsy” Smith, the daughter of Joel and Catherine (Casper) Smith. After a few years of marriage and four children, the family moved to Shelby County, Kentucky. The Chestnut Grove Baptist Church was built on a corner of land he donated. Caleb served as a Baptist minister from 1830 to 1878. He was also involved in the pork packing business out of Louisville. About 1858, they moved to Mexico, Audrain County, MO with several sons and their families. Nearly twenty years later, Caleb and Betsy returned to Kentucky residing with their daughter, Mrs James Crawford. Caleb died in Eminence, Kentucky on 7 Sep 1878 and Betsy on 8 Aug 1884.
CHILDREN:
1) Sarah Ann Guthrie 1818KY-1838KY m.abt. 1837-38KY George Caplinger Price (farmer). No children.
2) Mary Guthrie 1820KY-1858KY m.1839KY (2nd wife) George Caplinger Price (farmer) +children
3) Martha Guthrie 1822KY-1857 m.1840KY Joseph H. Stone (farmer) +children
4) Catherine Guthrie 1823KY-1824KY died during her infancy.
5) Coleman Guthrie 1826KY-1905MO (farmer) m1.1847 Mary J Crawford, m2.1864 Elizabeth Rudasill +children
6) Joel Guthrie 1828KY-1891MO (coal dealer / trader) m. Martha Davis Moxley +children
8) William Smith Guthrie 1829KY-1864MO (merchant) m.1849 Mary Mildred Woods +children
8) Phoebe Guthrie 1831KY-1916KY m.1848KY James Wilson Thomas Crawford (farmer) +children
9) Elizabeth Guthrie 1834KY-1835KY died at one year of age.
10) Caleb Guthrie 1836KY-1907MO (farmer/store clerk/salesman) m.1863 Caroline Amelia Hall. No children.
11) Georgia Ann Guthrie 1838KY-1858KY was about 20 years of age at her death.
Y-DNA Project Participants: No
Autosomal DNA Participants: Yes
READING and RESOURCES
BOOK: Railey, William Edward, ‘History of Woodford County, Kentucky‘, Roberts Print. Co., Frankfort. KY, 1928, Digital Repository: Ancestry.com [See p.281 Thomas Guthrie and wife…]
BOOK: Guthrie, Laurence Rawlins. ‘American Guthrie and allied families : lineal representations of the colonial Guthries of Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North and South Carolina, some post-revolutionary emigrants and of some allied families‘, Chambersburg, Pa.: Kerr Print. Co., c1933. Digital Repository: Ancestry.com [See p.267 – Thomas Guthrie and Descendants]
BOOK: Darnell, Ermina Jett. ‘Forks of Ekhorn Church‘, Baltimore, MD, Genealogical Publishing Co., 2002. Digital Repository: Ancestry.com
[See p160 Thomas Guthrie and Mildred Howell family info.]
WEBSITE: KYGenWeb – Biographical Sketch of James Guthrie, great-grandson of Thomas Guthrie & Mildred Howell. [An excerpt from the 6th edition of ‘Kentucky : a history of the state, embracing a concise account of the origin and development of the Virginia colony; its expansion westward, and the settlement of the frontier beyond the Alleghanies; the erection of Kentucky as an independent state, and its subsequent development’ by Battle, Perrin, & Kniffin, 1887.]
BOOK: ‘Kentucky: A History of the State, an Account of the Origin and Development of the Virginia Colony.’ Louisville, KY, F.A. Battey and Co., 1887. Digital Repository: Ancestry.com
BOOK: ‘History of Monroe and Shelby Counties, Missouri, including a history of their townships, towns, and villages‘, National Historical Company, St. Louis, Missouri, 1884. Digital Repository: HathiTrust. [See Biographical Sketch of Jefferson Bridgford, son of Nancy Guthrie and Richard Bridgford, pp.525 (img 545) – 527 (img547).]
BOOK: Guthrie, W. Hardin. Guthrie Family: Genealogy of the Guthrie Family. Digital Repository: Guthrie Genealogy.
Guthrie Genealogy 