GUTHRIES of BALLEW YDNA / SCT / VA / TN / IN / GA / TX

The earliest known couple for Guthrie Family Group 11 is that of George Guthery 1769VA-1855IN & Sarah Young. It is presumed that all matching Guthrie lineages for this group descend from them or the generation immediately prior. The majority of the YDNA matches are to men of the Ballew/Ballou surname indicating that a Causal Event has occurred most likely in George’s generation, either an adoption or false paternity.

GUTHRIE RESEARCH TREE: GFG11

CLAIM TO FAME

Submissions welcome.

LINEAGES ASSOCIATED with GUTHRIE FAMILY GROUP 11

• Descendants of George Guthery 1769VA-1855IN & Mary Young
• Descendants of Tobias Benjamin Guthery a1790VA-p1851GA & Sarah (MNU)
• Descendants of John Franklin Guthrie 1802AL-1858TX & Mary Swoap

GUTHERY-YOUNG:  Two of the 4 project participants are descendants of George Guthery of VA & IN and Mary Young, a couple with 15 children. Their common ancestor is George & Mary’s son Young Guthery 1812TN-1867KS, a man married three times. One participant descends from wife#1, and the other from wife#3.

George was born in Virginia on 17 Aug 1769, and married his wife Mary Young in Tennessee in 1794. They moved to Indiana bet. 1830-1840, as did their son, Young Guthrie, who had married his first wife prior to the move to Indiana. He later moved his family to Missouri, and then to Arkansas. His first and last children were born almost 40 years apart.

GUTHRIE-SWOAP:  John Franklin Guthrie was born in Alabama on 15 Sep 1802. He married Mary Swoap, who was born in Rutherford County Tennessee, and they moved to Jackson County, Alabama by 1830 and then onto Burleson County, TX by 1846 where they remained until John’s death in 1858. There are no census records for Alabama for 1800 or 1810, so it is difficult to pinpoint the Guthrie families who were living there at the time. It is doubtful that John Guthrie of AL/TX is a son of George Guthrie of VA/IN. There is perhaps a small window of opportunity in TN, however, George & Mary had a son John born in 1797. Unless John was an illegitemate child allowed to have the Guthrie last name, he is not a son of George, which means that the shared Y-DNA originated in a generation prior to George Guthery of VA/IN. 

GUTHARY-HAYES:   The furthest proven ancestor of this participant’s line is Posey Jackson Guthary, born 18 May 1817 in Fairmont, Georgia, and died 9 May 1892 in Arkansas City, Arkansas, Arkansas. He married Elizabeth Hayes, reportedly in NC, but I have no documentation of such. They were in the 1850 census of Union County, Georgia, and the 1860 census of Fannin County, GA.

There is a T.B. Guthry, age 81, born in VA, living next door to P.J. Guthry, along with a wife Sarah, age 62, and a child Rachel, age 10 living next door to Posey’s household in Union County, Georgia in 1850. This suggests a family relationship, likely that of father-son. The 1840 census lists a Tobias Gutry in Union County, GA in the 1840 census, and property records list Tobias in Rabun County, GA owning 400 acres in 1836. The 1830 census places Tobias Guthrey in Macon, Warren County, NC. The only difficulty in equating Tobias Guthrie with TB Guthrie is an age difference in the census records. He should be about 60-69 in 1850, but the record, which is difficult to read, appears to list him as 81. Tobias died 1851-1860 GA. 

Knowing that Posey Jackson Guthary’s descendants have the same Y-DNA as George & John, Posey’s 1817 birth would place him in the same timeframe as the births of George & Mary (Young) Guthrie’s children, but not the right location. Posey was born in GA when George was in TN. If Tobias (T.B.) Guthry is indeed Posey’s father, his birth range and location indicate he was born in Virginia between 1781-1790, making him of the approximate age to be a younger brother or nephew to George.

DEVELOPING THEORIES

It looks like we need some more data to tie this Guthrie Family Group together. It seems likely, based on George’s birthplace, that the colonial origins of this lineage were in Virginia. The common ancestor of George, John, and Posey was most likely father, or grandfather. The introduction of the Ballew/Ballou DNA occurred either in Virginia or pre-immigration to America.

The Virginia Compiled Census Substitutes for 1607-1890 show a slew of Ballew/Ballou families in Amherst, Botetourt, and Cumberland Counties, Virginia in the 1780s. Guthries are also shown in Botetourt and Cumberland Counties during the same period. One of the direct matches is a man whose Ballew ancestor, Charles John Ballew Sr, was born in Goochland, VA in 1797. Another lists an ancestor William Belew b 1755 VA. Several other Ballew men are listed in these Y67 marker tests, but they do not include Family Trees. 

Is This Your Piece of the Puzzle?
COLLABORATION REMINDER

Consider helping everyone out by sharing your knowledge about your family line. There may be only a handful of people in your immediate family, but hundreds or thousands more around the globe who share your more distant Guthrie ancestry. A little bit of research can potentially provide someone with the clue they need. Contact Ann if you have info to share, want to write an article, or collaborate to create one.