GUTHRIES of AYRSHIRE SCT / PA / VA / AUS

This is a small group with two American lines and an Australian line. Presumably, their most recent common ancestor is from Scotland, potentially in Ayrshire. The ancient DNA profile reveals haplogroup matches in Scotland, England, Norway, and Sweden.

GUTHRIE RESEARCH TREE: GFG7

CLAIM TO FAME

Alfred Bertram ‘Bud’ Guthrie aka A.B. Guthrie (13 Jan 1901 – 26 Apr 1991). An American novelist, screenwriter, historian and literary historian, A.B. Guthrie won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction during 1950 for his novel ‘The Way West’. He was born in Bedford, Indiana, but relocated with his parents to Montana. The family had nine children, but most died as infants. Only three survived to adulthood. Bud is a descendant of Daniel Guthrie and Jane Flinn. (Source: Wikipedia) 

Evangeline Evelyn ‘Eva’ Burrows (15 Sep 1929 – 20 Mar 2015) Served as an officer of the Salvation Army from 1951 to her retirement in 1993, and from 1986 to 1993 was the 13th General of the Salvation Army. Her parents, Robert John and Ella Maria (Watson) Guthrie-Burrows were also Salvation Army Officers. Born in Australia, Eva was one of nine children. She earned Master of Education Degree presenting her thesis on the training of African teachers from Zimbabwe, and held leadership roles at Teachers’ College, Howard Institute, and Usher Institute. In 1975, she was appointed as the Leader of Women’s Social Services in Great Britain and Ireland. During the Australia Day Honours of 1986 Burrows was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) with the citation “In recognition of service to the temporal and spiritual welfare of the community and to social justice as the world leader of the Salvation Army”. This honor was later upgraded to Companion of the Order of Australia. Among her other honor, she was inducted into the Victorian Honor Roll of Women, the Queensland Business Leader’s Hall of Fame, and was posthumously awarded the Order of the Founder, the highest honor of the Salvation Army. (WIKI) (Women’s International Center)

LINEAGES ASSOCIATED WITH GUTHRIE FAMILY GROUP 7

• Descendants of John Guthrie c1766SCT & Betty Logan
• Descendants of Daniel Guthrie c1737PA-1826IN & Jane Flinn
• Descendants of William Guthery c1809VA-1866AR & Elizabeth Copeland
• Descendants of Adam Guthrie c1740sIRE-1827KY & Mary Anderson
• Descendants of FNU Guthrie & Kate Symond (Guthrie-Burrows Family)

GUTHRIE-LOGAN
John Guthrie was born in Ayrshire, Scotland about 1766 and married Betty Logan. They had at least 4 children: Margaret & Agnes (1786 – Twins), Betty (1788) and Charles (1789-1840). Charles was married twice, first to Mary Miller with whom he had several children, and second to Agnes Smith, with whom he had one son. Charles and Mary’s son, Hugh Miller Guthrie emigrated from Ayrshire, Scotland to Tasmania, Australia in the 1840s-1850s. Our participant of this lineage is an Australian Guthrie.

GUTHRIE-FLINN
Many online trees list the parents of Daniel Guthrie as William Guthrie & Nancy Bussell, although I have yet to find an original source for the data. Daniel Guthrie, Sr was born about 1737 in Pennsylvania and served in the French and Indian War and in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Data reveals the family spent some time in Virginia as several children were born or married there. They eventually moved to Kentucky and later settled in Leesville, Lawrence, Indiana where they remained.

GUTHRIE-COPELAND
William Guthery was born in Virginia about 1809. His wife was Elizabeth Copeland. They settled in Benton County, Arkansas where they raised their family. William Guthery was killed by bushwhackers after the Civil War.

GUTHRIE-ANDERSON
Adam Guthrie was born in Ireland between 1740-45 and made his way to Virginia where he married Mary Anderson. He was living in the short-lived State of Franklin in 1787, received a land grant in Greene County, North Carolina in 1793, and moved to Cumberland County, Kentucky.

GUTHRIE-SYMOND
According to family lore, Kate Symond Burrows was a young widow with 2-3 children when she met a Guthrie. They presumably married and were parents to two boys, Robert John and William James. Both boys were later thought to be adopted by Kate’s next husband, Robert John Burrows, and were baptized together with Burrows as their new surname. The truth of the story is more complicated as Robert John Burrows was actually born a Guthrie and changed their family name. Their son, Robert John Burrows moved to New South Wales, Australia when he was 19. He gave his children the name Guthrie Burrows.

DEVELOPING THEORIES

The Guthrie-Anderson line comes with a colorful origin story that currently has no direct documentation associated with it to provide proof, but it’s interesting so it’s on the table for discussion. Penelope Johnson Allen, a Tennessee Researcher, wrote in an article for ‘Leaves from the Family Tree’ that Adam Guthrie was a direct descendant of Niall MacGuthrie of Ireland. Just how that relationship was determined is the mystery. Niall MacGuthrie is documented in Irish Pedigrees: or the Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation, by John O’Hart, 1892, as a lineal direct descendant of the Lord of Brefney, associated with the O’Reilly pedigree, with the names Gothfrith and MacGothfrith being anglicized to Guthrie and MacGuthrie. Brefney was an medieval Gaelic overkingdom comprising the present counties of Cavan and Leitrim, with a portion of Meath, and a part of the barony of Carbury in Sligo. If there is any truth to this potential family association it suggests that Guthrie Family Group 7 originated in Ireland and that much later some descendants transferred into Scotland.

According to numerous unsourced family trees, Daniel Guthrie, from the Guthrie-Flinn line, is the son of a William Guthrie and Nancy Bussell. I still haven’t found an original source listing these parents. William Guthrie is also supposed to be from Scotland, while Daniel Guthrie was born in Pennsylvania.

The Guthrie-Copeland line with its Arkansas connections could be a descendant of the Guthrie-Flinn family. They have a branch that ended up in the same location.

There may also be some interrelatedness between GFG7 and GFG2A, not on the Guthrie side, but via a connection to the Bussell family. Both groups lay claim to Bissell/Bussell ancestry, and both frequently commonly show up in Autosomal DNA matches. There is also a project member of the Bessell surname in Australia who also has Guthrie ancestry. Researching the Bessell/Bissell/Bussell surname in connection to Guthries in Scotland might lead to some clues.

We now have 2 Australian lineages associated with GFG7.

The Guthrie-Logan line originated in Ayrshire, Scotland and can be traced there for a few generations before our participant’s ancestor went to Australia.

It is possible that the Guthrie-Symonds line is a subset of the Guthrie-Logan family, but it could also be a collateral line with a common paternal ancestor further back on the group family tree.

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.