1A-A: Thomas Guthrie
GFG1A · Branch A · The Next Generation
Thomas Guthrie
Dundee, Angus, Scotland · Baptised 10 October 1700
The Family
- Parents
- James Guthrie, Dundee merchant, and Christian Scott.
- Birth
- 8 October 1700, Dundee, according to the baptismal transcription.
- Baptism
- 10 October 1700, Dundee.
- Occupation
- Not established.
- Marriage
- Unresolved. A possible marriage to Isobel Glenn in 1724 remains unconfirmed.
- Children
- None identified.
- Death
- Date and place unknown.
- Burial
- Not identified.
Thomas was a younger brother of John Guthrie, husband of Ann Dempster; James Guthrie of Craigie; and Robert Guthrie, merchant. His Dundee baptism establishes his place in James Guthrie and Christian Scott’s family, but his adult life has not yet been securely traced.
Did Thomas marry? A published pedigree describes him as having died unmarried. A Dundee marriage between Thomas Guthrie and Isobel Glenn in 1724 offers another possibility, but no record yet connects that husband to these parents. Both the marriage identification and the unmarried claim require further evidence.
Explore the Records
The strongest starting point is Thomas’s baptism. The next task is to connect that child with an identifiable adult, using relatives, occupation, property, or other details beyond a matching name.
Thomas’s Dundee BaptismOpen for the dates, parents, and people named in the entry.
Born 8 October; baptised 10 October 1700. The existing transcription names the parents as James Guthrie and Christian Scott.
The “name-fathers” are transcribed as Thomas Moodie, followed by an uncertain word rendered “Corlio”; Thomas Watson, merchant; and Thomas Watson, younger of Grange.
These names provide people to investigate alongside the family. Their presence does not, by itself, establish kinship. The occupation merchant belongs to the named Thomas Watson and should not be assigned to the infant Thomas Guthrie.
Source: Dundee Old Parish Registers, birth and baptism entry as transcribed in the family research. The complete register-volume and page reference remains to be established.
The 1724 Marriage & the Unmarried ClaimOpen to compare the evidence for Thomas’s later life.
| Source | Evidence & Limits |
|---|---|
| Dundee Marriage 1724 |
The recorded couple were Thomas Guthrie and Isobel Glenn, contracted on 20 June and married on 20 July 1724, according to the existing record summary. The groom has not been securely identified as James Guthrie and Christian Scott’s son. |
| Stirnet Pedigree | Lists Thomas with a birth date of 8 October 1700 and the abbreviation “d unm”, meaning died unmarried. The original evidence supporting that statement has not been established. |
Thomas would have been twenty-three at the July 1724 marriage, making the chronology plausible. Age, name, and parish are not enough to identify the husband. A record naming his parents, siblings, or another distinctive family connection is needed.
No children have been identified for the Guthrie–Glenn couple in the parish searches recorded in the family research. That does not prove that they had no children, nor does it establish whether this was Thomas’s marriage.
Read Stirnet’s Guthrie1 pedigree. It cites Burke’s family histories among its sources, but does not give a separate original-record reference for Thomas’s unmarried status.
Further Reading & Research DirectionsOpen for family context and sources that may identify Thomas as an adult.
James Guthrie & Christian Scott’s Family Hub brings together the siblings, the wider family connections, and the revised ancestry research.
Dundee City Archives: Research Before 1855 introduces burgess admissions, apprenticeship connections, church records, wills, deeds, and burial sources. These may help distinguish Thomas from other men of the same name.
The Commissariot of Brechin finding aid includes a Thomas Guthrie, merchant in Dundee, with a testament entry dated December 1795. That entry has not been connected to the child baptised in 1700; it should not be assigned to him from the name and town alone.
DNA participation: no descendant line or DNA Project participant has been identified for this Thomas. This is a gap in the known family history, not proof that he left no descendants. Wider group results are available at the GFG1A Hub.
Most Wanted DocumentsOpen the questions that could reveal more of Thomas’s story.
- A record identifying Isobel Glenn’s husband. A marriage contract, testament, deed, or other document naming Thomas’s relatives could connect or separate the 1724 groom and James and Christian’s son.
- The source behind “died unmarried”. An original pedigree, family paper, testament, or contemporary account could establish whether the published statement is reliable.
- Thomas’s adult life and death. Records naming an occupation, residence, siblings, heirs, or burial could fill the gap after his baptism.
- The complete baptism reference and uncertain word. A full register citation and a clearer reading of Thomas Moodie’s designation would strengthen the record of Thomas’s earliest family associations.
Have a record that may help? Share it with Guthrie Genealogy, including its source and the family connection you are investigating.