All Guthrie men should consider Y-DNA testing. This direct paternal line test can instantly identify the Guthrie Family Group of your origin. That’s not to say it will give you all of the answers you’re seeking, but it goes a long way toward proving your origins and provides a confirmed starting point for your research.

With a Y-DNA test, you either match the genetic profile for a group, or you don’t. A positive match allows you to focus your family studies on the lineages associated with that group and its known locations. A genetic mismatch to an expected line is also a potential outcome, but it also provides new information that may explain why those cheaper Autosomal DNA tests don’t provide as many matches as they should.

Our newest Y-DNA participant knew that his furthest known ancestor’s name was Matt Guthrie from the late 1800s. Matt, Matthew, or Mathias as it turns out in this case, is not a very common given name among any of the Guthrie Family Groups.

His Y-DNA 37 marker test is a 37/37 marker match to the men from GFG14 -Branch A.

The earliest documented Guthrie in GFG14 is George Nelson Guthrie, who was probably born 1730-1750 in the Northeastern section of Colonial British America. This man should not be confused with George Guthrie who married Margaret Campbell, a son of GFG2A-Branch E’s Robert Guthrie & Bridget Dougherty. That line is genetically unrelated to this one.

According to the Guthrie Family History written by Henry Guthrie, George Nelson Guthrie was one of 4 brothers. At the time of the Revolutionary War, George was an adult, married, and had a family. He removed them from New York eventually ending up in Ohio. Two of George’s brothers were reportedly ‘high ranking’ soldiers serving the Patriot cause. Their identities remain unknown.

This is a small Guthrie Family Group with 4 genetic matches. All of the men in the group primarily match men of the Joyce/Joice surname, which suggests that a genetic event (false paternity, adoption, or feudal law) may have introduced Joyce Y-DNA into this Guthrie family. The name is found in census records of colonial New York, and is of Welsh origin. It is also found in Ireland, but determined to be of Welsh origin.

Three of the 4 participants descend from George Nelson Guthrie. Two via son Richard Guthrie 1777-1851 who married Mary Van Scoyoc. This new participant also descends from the same couple. The third via son Samuel who married Mary MNU.

The fourth project member descends from William Guthrie 1803-1853NY, a cooper, who married Susan Wright. William is documented as being born either in Vermont or New York. He appears to have remained in New York for the remainder of his life. This suggests that he could be a son of one of George Nelson Guthrie’s unidentified brothers. If true, the introduction of Joyce YDNA to this family would likely be George’s father’s generation rather than George himself.

It is also possible that William Guthrie was the William Guthrie already identified as George Nelson Guthrie’s son, and that he removed from Ohio where the family had settled and went back to New York. This scenario would indicate that George was the first generation of Guthrie men from this line to possess the Joyce Y-DNA passed on to his sons.

The Y-DNA test for our newest participant matched the genetic profile of GFG14, which allowed us to confirm that his great-grandfather Matt Guthrie was Mathias Jefferson Guthrie 1856IA-1930ID, a direct descendant of George Nelson Guthrie via his son Richard Guthrie (Mary Van Scoyoc) and grandson Richard Jackson Guthrie (Eliza Jane Poland).

One family mystery has been solved with a Y-DNA test.

Researchers for Guthrie Family Group 14 still have more questions about their origins. Who were George’s brothers? Can they be identified through New York Revolutionary War Records? Do their descendants also have Joyce/Joice YDNA? In which Guthrie family did George Nelson Guthrie and his brothers grow up?

If you have anything to contribute to the Guthrie Family Group 14 story, post it here, or contact me directly.