B: Levi Guthrie & Elizabeth Yamons
Levi Guthrie 1744 – p1816KY & Elizabeth Yamons
of Goochland, Virginia and Adair, Kentucky
CONTENTS:
Origin Theories
The Family of Levi Guthrie & Elizabeth Yamons
Historical Highlights
The Guthrie DNA Project
ORIGIN THEORIES for GFG5 BRANCH B
The name Levi is associated with the Guthries of Carteret County, NC. Some speculate that this Levi Guthrie may be related to the descendants of Daniel Guthrie and Mary Little. Unfortunately, we do not have anyone in the DNA project from that line with a matching Y-DNA test to prove shared paternal ancestry.
One other place the name Levi Guthrie shows up is in the Revolutionary War Pension application of Henry Guthrie, who served a 6 month tour as a substitute for his uncle Levi who had apparently been drafted. Levi would be the brother to William Guthrie of Hanover, VA & Madison, KY of GFG5.
This Levi Guthrie, born about 1744, is of the right age to be a nephew to William. Could he be the son of the Levi Guthrie mentioned in the pension record?
THE FAMILY of LEVI GUTHRIE & ELIZABETH YAMONS
LEVI GUTHRIE
Born: 1744
Location: Unknown, presumably Virginia or North Carolina
Marriage: Betty Yamons 27 Dec 1764 in Goochland County, Virginia
Death: After 23 Dec 1816
Location: Adair County, Kentucky, USA
ELIZABETH ‘BETTY’ YAMONS
Born: Abt.1745
Location: Unknown, presumably Virginia or North Carolina
Sons: Dempsey, Stephen, Beverly
Daughters: Unknown
Death: 1800-1810
Location: Unknown, presumably Adair County, Kentucky, USA
CHILDREN:
DEMPSEY GUTHRIE
1774NC-1860IL
Some family trees list Dempsey with the middle name ‘Lee’, but I find no source information to support it. I also find no support data proving that he is a son of Levi and Betty (Yamons) Guthrie. Proof? Dempsey’s birth location is listed in census records as North Carolina, and the same goes for his two presumed brothers. If they are sons of Levi and Betty it would show that they moved from Goochland, Virginia to North Carolina between 1764-1780.
Dempsey married a Margaret (MNU) about 1797. They moved to Illinois and live primarily in Madison County. His wife Margaret died and Dempsey was remarried on 13 August 1844 to widow Keziah (Foxwell) Lay in Montgomery County, Illinois where the couple settled. Dempsey died there on 1 February 1860.
Children: 7 known
Sons: Henry Andrew L Guthrie, Milton Dempsey Guthrie, James Guthrie
Daughters: Dosha Guthrie, Elizabeth Guthrie, Mary Guthrie, Nancy Guthrie
Y-DNA Project Participants: Yes
Family Finder Participants: No
STEPHEN GUTHRIE
1775NC-1833KY
Stephen Guthrie’s birth location is listed in trees as North Carolina. I find no record of it. He married Sarah Hates on 5 January 1804 in Adair County, KY. Although he had several daughters, I have not been able to identify them. There were 3 sons.
Children: 7
Sons: Abijah B Guthrie, Martin Guthrie, Dempsey Guthrie
Daughters: 4 Unidentified
Y-DNA Project Participants: Yes
Family Finder Participants: Yes
BEVERLY GUTHRIE
1779NC-1821IL
Beverley Guthrie’s birth location is listed in trees as North Carolina. I find no supporting data for that event. He married twice. First to Elizabeth Patience Grider at the Adair County Courthouse in Adair County, Kentucky on 19 December 1803. Secondly to Nancy Hamilton on 23 May 1815, also in Adair. He is credited with 1 son and 2 daughters by his first marriage, and 2 daughters by his second. Beverly Guthrie died on 1 October 1821 in Madison County, Illinois. His administrators were his widow, Nancy, and Dempsey Guthrie, presumably his brother.
Children: 5
Sons: 1 (Unidentified) Guthrie
Daughters: (Unidentified) Guthrie, Elizabeth Guthrie, Mary Guthrie, (Unidentified) Guthrie
HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS
Abt. 1744: BIRTH of LEVI GUTHRIE
Levi Guthrie was probably born in Virginia or North Carolina. The date of 1744 is a good estimate of his age, which would make him about 20 at the time of his marriage to Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Yamons in 1764. He could have been older. As far as I know there is no data except the 1810 census, which simply lists his age category as 45 and over.
Abt. 1745: BIRTH of ELIZABETH ‘BETTY’ YAMONS
This date is a rough estimate based on Levi’s listed age and her DOM in 1764, which would make her about 19 at the time of the marriage.
1764: MARRIAGE of LEVI GUTHRIE & ELIZABETH ‘BETTY’ YAMONS
St James, Northam Parish, Goochland County, Virginia on 27 Dec 1764
The Douglas Register, a detailed record of births, marriages, and deaths beginning in 1756 as kept by the Rev. William Douglas includes:
Gathry, Levi & Betty Yamons, both of this parish 1764, Dec: 27
This indicates that both Levi and Betty were living in Northam Parish at the time of their marriage.
We know of only 3 presumed children belonging to this couple: Dempsey, Stephen, and Beverly, but the first DOB is not until about 1774. That’s 10 years after Levi and Betty were married. Chances are that there are other children for this couple.
1774: BIRTH of SON – DEMPSEY GUTHRIE
Colonial North Carolina
The 1850 census clearly lists Dempsey Guthrie’s birth location as North Carolina, which would seem to indicate that sometime during the 10 year period after their marriage, Levi and Betty moved from Goochland, Virginia to North Carolina.
1775: BIRTH of SON – STEPHEN GUTHRIE
Colonial North Carolina
The 1880 census for Stephen’s son, Dempsey Guthrie, lists his father’s birth location in North Carolina. Stephen was 26-44 in 1810 & 1820, and 50-59 in 1830. Calculating a census-based birth range results in DOB between 1776-1780.
1779: BIRTH of SON – BEVERLY GUTHRIE
North Carolina, USA
I have not found definitive proof of Beverly Guthrie’s date or place of birth.
The 1818 census of Madison, IL lists him as 21 and over. The 1820 US Census of Goshen, Madison, IL lists him as 26-44, or born between 1776-1794.
Abt. 1797: MARRIAGE of SON – DEMPSEY GUTHRIE
Unknown, presumably Adair County, Kentucky, USA
Dempsey’s first marriage was to Margaret (MNU). The date listed in trees is 1797, but their first known child was born in 1802.
1803: MARRIAGE of SON – BEVERLY GUTHRIE
Adair County, Kentucky, USA on 19 December 1803
Beverly Guthrie married Elizabeth Patience Grider at the Adair County Courthouse on 19 December 1803. Patience was the daughter of Martin and Sarah (Coffee) Grider.
1804: MARRIAGE of SON – STEPHEN GUTHRIE
Adair County, Kentucky, USA on 5 January 1804
Stephen Guthrie married Sarah Hawes in Adair County, KY on 5 Jan 1804.
1804: COURT ORDER
Adair County, Kentucky, USA on Monday, 1 October 1804
Jeremiah Burbaidge, Andrew Kelsoe, William Vincent and Levi Guthrie or any three of them do view the best way for a road form the Courthouse in Columbia to intersect the road leading from Lincoln to Campbells ferry near James Watkinson
1805: PROPERTY (BEVERLY GUTHRIE)
Adair County, Kentucky, USA
Source: “Adair County, Kentucky Court Orders 1802-1808” Marilyn Poe Laird, Vivian Poe Jackson, Judith Krause Reid, Pg. 44
“Page 152 – Monday, April 1, 1805 Beverly Guthrie made Proof for 75 A. on Crocus Creek”
1810: US CENSUS of KENTUCKY
Columbia, Adair, Kentucky, USA
Levi Gutrie Household: 1M 45 and over, 1F 26-44
Stephen Guthrie Household: 1M & 1F 26-44, 2M and 1F under 10.
1812: PROPERTY SALE (BEVERLY GUTHRIE)
Kentucky, USA
Source: “Cumberland County Survey Records” compiled by Laura Lee Butler and Randolph N. Smith, Copyright 1975, Leeran Publishers 120 North High Street, Burkesville, Kentucky 42717, Pg. 77,
“CASEY COUNTY ACADEMY 35 a. Crocus Creek; 2/4/1812; A-371; JF DS; cc. – Beverly Guthrie & Charles Beck; del. to Martin Grider”
1814: DEATH of DAUGHTER-in-LAW – PATIENCE (GRIDER) GUTHRIE
Adair County, Kentucky, USA
This was the same year that Beverly & Elizabeth’s daughter Elizabeth Guthrie was born. The COD could potentially be related to childbirth.
1815: 2ND MARRIAGE of SON – BEVERLY GUTHRIE
Adair County, Kentucky, USA
Beverly Guthrie remarried on 23 May 1815 to Nancy Hamilton.
1821: DEATH of SON – BEVERLY GUTHRIE
Madison County, Illinois, USA on 1 October 1821
1833: DEATH of SON – STEPHEN GUTHRIE
Pulaski County, Kentucky, USA, presumably
1840-1844: DEATH of DAUGHTER-in-LAW – MARGARET (MNU) GUTHRIE
Madison County, Illinois, USA
Margaret, the wife of Dempsey Guthrie died between 1840-1850. She was in her 60s.
1844: 2ND MARRIAGE of SON – DEMPSEY GUTHRIE
Montgomery County, Illinois, USA
Dempsey Guthrie married again at the age of about 70 to Keziah (Foxwell) Lay, the widow of William Lay. She was about 20 years his junior.
1860: DEATH of SON – DEMPSEY GUTHRIE
Montgomery County, Illinois, USA on 1 February 1860
THE GUTHRIE DNA PROJECT
Guthrie Family Group: GFG5
Group Designation: Branch B – (The Guthries of Goochland County VA)
Haplogroup: R-M269
Confirmed Haplogroup: R-M269
YDNA Matches: 2
Kit 147974
Levi Guthrie/Elizabeth Yamons > Stephen Guthrie/Sarah Hawes > Dempsey Guthrie/Nancy Ann Ellis > Abijah Guthrie/Sarah E Cowan > William Martin Guthrie/Flora E Thompson (GGP) +more
Kit 152040
Levi Guthrie/Elizabeth Yamons > Dempsey Guthrie/Margaret MNU > Henry Andrew L Guthrie/Frances M Newbon > Chester Solomon Guthrie/Clarissa B Goodson (GGP) +more
Family Finder / Autosomal DNA Kits: 4
Kit 96908
Levi Guthrie/Elizabeth Yamons > Stephen Guthrie/Sarah Hawes > Abijah B Guthrie/Martha Williams > John M Guthrie/America Southerland > Nancy Leeann Guthrie/Frederick H Sawyers (GGP)
Kit B25414
Levi Guthrie/Elizabeth Yamons > Stephen Guthrie/Sarah Hawes > Martin Guthrie/Ann Elizabeth Taylor > Pinkney Dryden Guthrie/Ernestine Byrd Britton (GGP)
Kit N2710
Levi Guthrie/Elizabeth Yamons > Stephen Guthrie/Sarah Hawes > Dempsey Guthrie/Nancy Ann Ellis > Elizabeth H Guthrie/Charles McKinley > George A McKinley/Otilda Ballenger (GGP)
AncestryDNA:
Levi Guthrie/Elizabeth Yamons > Stephen Guthrie/Sarah Hawes > Dempsey Guthrie/Nancy Ann Ellis > Lewis Ballenger Guthrie/Orlena Green > John Henry Guthrie/Emily Elizabeth Dyer (GGP)
Findings:
The Y-DNA participants match the genetic profile of Guthrie Family Group 5 (GFG5).
Both kits have tested at the Y67 marker level.
They also have unique genetic mutations compared to Group 5’s Mode DNA. One has 2 variances, and the other has 3. They are 62/67 matches to each other. These could be recent and random genetic changes. Due to the lower volume of participants it is unknown if any of these changes are significant to our research.
Guthrie Genealogy 
How do you find out your autosomal DNA match? It looks like I am a descendent of GFG5 branch B. Abijah Guthrie and Sarah Cowan are my great great grandparents. Their daughter Mary Frances Guthrie is my grandmothers Mother. How can I verify this is the correct tree? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
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The first step in genetic genealogy is to use traditional methods of genealogical research to trace your family line. If that leads you back to Abijah Guthrie and Sarah Cowan there may be documentation to prove your historical lineage. Next, you utilize DNA to prove the genetic line. Since you descend from a female Guthrie the only appropriate test is an Autosomal DNA test. I recommend starting with an AncestryDNA test and then using the free transfer protocol at FTDNA to transfer your data there where you can officially add it to the Guthrie DNA Project. When your results come in you’ll have matches to cousins who share DNA from many of your ancestral lines. The closer a common ancestor the more atDNA you’ll share, and the more likely you’ll be able to triangulate matches with cousins you share in common. Some of your matches will have Guthrie ancestry of their own that is not related to your line at all, and your relationship to them is actually by some other common ancestor. Looking at shared matches and common surnames is important to rule them in or out as a match to your Guthrie line. If you receive Autosomal DNA matches to people from the same Guthrie line as yours, or to those from the same Guthrie Family Group (GFG5) your shared atDNA may be Guthrie DNA or from a shared ancestor related to that line. However, don’t expect that every descendant of Abijah Guthrie & Sarah Cowan is going to show up as an Autosomal DNA Match. Due to the way we inherit DNA at the time of conception each of us gets a different 50% of our parent’s inherited DNA. You can have a rock solid paper trail with a Guthrie cousin, yet share no atDNA with them. Look for matches common to Guthrie Family Group 5 within your results.
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I submitted kit 152040. Is there anything I could pay to upgrade to help with this research?
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This kit is a YDNA-67 marker test. You could upgrade it to the 111 marker level, however no one else from GFG5 has tested at that level yet. You would not have any other group data for comparison until another person tests at the Y111 level. There is currently no Family Finder (Autosomal DNA) test associated with the kit. Upgrading to include this test could be helpful to you and other descendants of this group by showing you genetic matches to Guthrie cousins whose lineage are not represented by Y-DNA testing. If you have already tested this individual at AncestryDNA, the results can be transferred to the same User/Kit at FTDNA for free (or the $19 fee to unlock all of the tools and additional features).
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