Before the use of Direct Paternal DNA (Y-DNA) Testing, many people believed that all Guthries descended from the same historical Guthrie lineage. 'American Guthrie and Allied Families' author, Lawrence R Guthrie made a sincere and educated guess as to which Guthries might be more closely related based on his personal research and correspondence, but it was also a matter of timing and simple geography. If two Guthrie families lived near one another and arrived in America at about the same time, chances are greater that they shared some Guthrie ancestors. Not so says DNA.
As the admin for the Guthrie DNA Project, a direct descendant of one or more of the people gathered in your collection of Guthries, as well as someone with over 30 years of experience researching Guthrie lineages from across the globe, I'd like to offer up a few findings for consideration and discussion.
The story of the man we know as John Guthrie of Oxford Twp provides documentation of his parents' identity, John Guthrie, a zealous Covenanter, who fled religious persecution in Scotland for freedom in Ireland, and his wife Jane Stuart, who by her surname alone is suggested to have a connection to an Irish branch of the Royal House of Stuart. I cannot speak to the Stuart side of this story because there is no actual evidence outside of the family tradition of her name that Jane Stuart existed.
There is the question of John Guthrie, the Covenanter's identity.
A lot of confusion exists about the family of Rev. James Guthrie, the Martyr of Sterling. As far as documentation goes, he had only 1 daughter, Sophie, and a son William Guthrie who died when he was about 18 years of age while at university studying for the ministry. As far as is documented, the boy had no spouse or children.
People frequently confuse this boy, William Guthrie, with Rev. William Guthrie of Fenwick, who was the eldest son of the Guthries of Pitforthie. His parents were James Guthrie and Janet Lyon. William was married to Margaret Campbell. They had many children, but only a couple of daughters survived to adulthood. When his father died, William gave up the lands and titles of Pitforthie to continue his religious work. Most of his younger brothers had studied the for the ministry coming from a family of Covenanters. The youngest son was John Guthrie, the Minister of Tarbolton. He was quite the troublemaker and accused of turbulent and seditious conduct. He was condemned to death, but pardoned. There is conflicting data about his actual death, but he is a fantastic candidate for the role of a Covenanter who might have had to flee Scotland. He's also from the right family as some of the Guthrie men with Y-DNA connections to John Guthrie of Oxford Twp also share an origin story tied to the Guthries of Pitforthie. However, there is a huge gap in what is known about the other male Pitforthie lines and plenty of room for John's lineage to fit if indeed John Guthrie, Minister of Tarbolton, turns out not to be his direct ancestor.
There are several Guthries listed above in your list of John and Jane's children, some of whom have genetic connections to each other, some who are genetically not related, and at least one we don't know about.
1) John Guthrie of Oxford Township - This one is a given because it is the only instance of any historical identification of parents John Guthrie, the Covenanter, and Jane Stuart. It's basically oral family tradition passed on by descendants, and not via any form of official documentation. Still, it gives us a basis for tying genetic evidence to it. Y-DNA testing has proven quite a few lineages are genetically related to this one. Understand this does not prove that everyone who matches that Y-DNA descends from John and Jane. It means that they share common ancestors that could be anywhere on John's family tree. There is a way to determine if some family lines are most likely to descend from John and Jane. Two of the matching lineages share specific genetic markers not found in the rest of the group that could only have come from a close shared ancestor. Based on the dates and locations of these branches, they were probably John's brothers: Robert Guthrie (who m. Bridget Dougherty) and settled in Cumberland, PA, and James Guthrie (who m. Elizabeth (MNU) who settled in MD and NC. These are the only Guthrie lineages with any evidence of being descended from John Guthrie and Jane Stuart based on current Y-DNA testing and available documentation. (Guthrie Family Group 2)
2) Archibald Guthrie (m. Rebecca Phillips) - Not a son of John and Jane. Yes, he belongs to the same Guthrie Family Group, but more distantly. He does not share the same inherited genetic markers as others determined to be sons of John and Jane (Stuart) Guthrie, namely John, Robert, and James. Archibald's parents are unidentified. It is unknown whether his line came directly from Scotland or Ireland. (Guthrie Family Group 2)
3) Rev. William C Guthrie of Mill Creek Hundred - Not only is he not a son of John and Jane, but he is not genetically related to this family group. Totally from another line of Guthries with a long genetic history in Scotland and Ireland. (Guthrie Family Group 6)
4) Francis Guthrie - Not a son of John and Jane. A recent collaboration at Guthrie Genealogy has identified documentation necessary to link several scattered descendant lines for Francis Guthrie. He is a close neighbor to John Guthrie of Oxford, but totally unrelated. Francis and John happen to obtain land warrants at about the same time within the same region, but there is no genetic relationship between their families nor any documentation that ties them together other than LRG's speculation. (Guthrie Family Group 3)
5) Robert Wayne Guthrie - FYI, there is no documentation anywhere legitimate listing Robert with a middle name Wayne. This is another case where an error has been copy/pasted so many times people think it's legit. Robert Guthrie who m. Bridget Dougherty is one of the 3 genetically closest relations to direct male descendants of John Guthrie of Oxford, and is therefore inferred to be a son of John and Jane (Stuart) Guthrie. (Guthrie Family Group 2)
6) Cornelius Guthrie - Undetermined. This man had no traceable lineage and no other form of documentation that connects him to any specific Guthrie family, other than LRG attempting to place him within the region. He even mentions him in the same sentence as Robert, but that doesn't exactly provide proof. We don't know if he immigrated from Scotland or Ireland, and as far as I know we don't know if he is more closely associated with one of the 3 major genetic families in the area at the time, groups 2, 3, and 6. So this one is theoretical from any perspective.
7) James Guthrie (1717-1788) - Genetic status unknown. This man married Mary Hamilton. He was presumed by LRG to be a brother to Robert (Group 2) and Cornelius (Unknown Group). But he also lived in Mill Creek Hundred, which was home to Groups 2 and 6. He had only 1 documented son, but no known living direct male descendants, or at least none with a Y-DNA test. However, since his names is James Guthrie and he was born at essentially the same time/generation as James Guthrie of MD/NC who is know to genetically match the family of John Guthrie of Oxford Twp, and is therefore one of the linked probable sons of John and Jane (Stuart) Guthrie, it is doubtful they had a second son named James living at the same time.
8) Samuel Guthrie of St George's Hundred. - Not John and Jane's son, but related. This man's direct male descendants match the Guthrie Family Group 2 genetic profile, but the do not share the inherited genetic markers that John, Robert and James inherited from their common ancestor, namely John. Samuel is another one we don't know if he came directly from Scotland or from Ireland. The relationship to John Guthrie of Oxford is more distant. (Guthrie Family Group 2)
I hope this provides a little background on which of the above Guthries are and are not potentially related.
To understand more about the individual Guthrie Family Groups and their related branches you can check out Guthrie Genealogy. Focus on Guthrie Family Group 2 branches to find those that have been proven as genetically related to John Guthrie of Oxford Twp (GFG2A - Branch H).
https://guthrie-genealogy.com
We can discuss questions as a group or you can message me.
Ann Guthrie
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