The Family Focus is on . . .

William Guthrey & Mary ‘Polly’ Musgrove
~ Virginia and Georgia ~

This genetic match to Guthrie Family Group 4 may not come as a surprise to those who have already attached William Guthrey as a descendant of Thomas Guthrey and Sarah Oakes of King William & Cumberland Counties, Virginia. There has been no concrete evidence of a relationship until our newest a direct paternal line descendant of William & Polly recently took a Y-DNA test. Now that we have conclusive evidence of his Family Group origins, some real speculation can begin on how William may fit into the GFG4 tree, which may or may not match the trees currently listed online.

Origin Theories:

In the absence of other genetic evidence, Thomas Guthrey (c1717-1880VA) appears to be the progenitor of this genetic line from Colonial Virginia. No earlier men of the Guthrie/Guthrey surname share this genetic profile (Y-DNA / Direct Paternal Line). Nor is there definitive evidence of Thomas’ parentage, although it is speculated that he may be a son of Edward Guthrey of King & Queen County, Virginia.

William Guthrey was born about 1772 in Virginia putting him in the right generation to be a grandson of Thomas Guthrey and Sarah Oakes. The last will and testament of Thomas Guthrey identifies his children including sons Alexander, Travis, Henry, William, and John, so it would not appear that there are unknown sons missing from the records.

1. Alexander King Guthrey was married to Sarah (maiden name possibly Coleman). His will names his children, but there is no William Guthrey among them. [Ruled Out]
2. Travis Francis Guthrey was married to Mary Anne Hill in 1759, but they already had a son named William T Guthrey 1771-c1819 who married Nancy Davis about 1805. [Ruled Out]
3. Henry Guthrey married Patsy MNU. Their family including names of sons and daughters is identified in an 1815 Chancery Court record. No son named William. [Ruled Out]
4. William Guthrey married Rebecca Noel in 1778, which is after our subject’s birth year of 1772. Rebecca gave birth to William ‘Buck’ Guthrie in 1781. [Ruled Out]
5. John Guthrey married Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Ann Allen in 1785. The Halifax Virginia Minute Book 7, p.154 identifies John Guthrey as a Revolutionary War soldier, and lists his children including a man named William Guthrie. I have no other information listed for this William Guthrie. [Possible Match] Note that some trees link him to wife Sarah Street. Others list the husband of Sarah Street as William Claudius Guthrie, son of William Guthrie & Nancy Townley of King & Queen County, VA. The Guthrie-Street marriage reportedly occurred in Halifax County, VA, which is an appropriate location for GFG4 descendants, but we need some evidence either way. This appears to be a potentially appropriate spot to plug William into this tree.

Let’s look outside the known GFG4 box for possibilities. There may be some clues that suggest William descends from a collateral line rather than directly from Thomas Guthrey and Sarah Oakes. If so, those in the line would also match GFG4.

William and Polly Guthrey lived in Georgia most or all of their married lives. During the 1820 census, they were living in Greene, GA. Based on linked information from the VAGenWeb, the Musgrove family lived in Greene and later Oglethorpe Counties, GA, so it is likely that the William Guthrey family enumerated in 1830 Oglethorpe is this man. By 1840 they had moved to Walker County, GA.

Oglethorpe County, GA happens to be home to the Beverly Guthrie/Sarah Colquitt family. They were married in 1793 in Cumberland County, Virginia, a key location for GFG4 descendants. They were already living in Oglethorpe, GA by 1797. When Beverly died c1809, his widow Sarah was granted Letters of Administration of the estate. A man named William Guthrey was among those signing as surety. Keep in mind that this is 21 years before this subject was living in Oglethorpe, and he is also too old to be a son of Beverly Guthrie and Sarah Colquitt. However, note that William & Polly (Musgrove) Guthrey’ son Robert Musgrove Guthrey had a son named Robert Beverly Guthrey. Their son William Olander Guthrey had a son named John Beverly Guthrey. It seems likely that there is a familial connection between William Guthrey and Beverly Guthrey. Virginia marriage records also show the presence of the Beverly surname in Spotsylvania, York, Buckingham, King George, and Middlesex, VA.

In order to determine whether Beverly Guthrey is even related to GFG4, we need a direct paternal line descendant (a male Guthrie/Guthrey) with a Y-DNA test. The only known male line is via that of his son, Nehemiah Guthrey.

Going back to the theory that Edward Guthrey of King & Queen County, VA is the father of Thomas Guthrey, he is also theorized to be the father of a William Guthrie and Lawrence Guthrie. Trees link GFG5’s genetically unrelated family of William Guthrie & Eleanor Harris Abbott to Edward who cannot be the biological father of GFG4’s Thomas and GFG5’s William. Another possibility would be that Edward’s son William is a different man, one who potentially married a Beverly, and is the father of Beverly Guthrey and William Guthrey. This idea is very speculative, and probably has no possible way of being proven.

What are your theories on the family of William Guthrey and Mary Musgrove?
Do you have any family lore or documentation to share?

The Family of William Guthrey & Mary ‘Polly’ Musgrove:

WILLIAM GUTHREY
Parents: Unidentified
Born: c1772
Location: Virginia, British Colonial America
Occupation: Unknown, probably a Farmer
Married: Mary Musgrove
Died: 5 May 1854
Location: Cassandra, Walker County, Georgia, USA
Buried: Georgia, USA, presumably

MARY ‘POLLY’ WARREN MUSGROVE
Parents: Harrison Musgrove Jr (1753-1796GA) & Jane Owen (1757-1809) m. 1782 Pittsylvania, VA
Born: 1786
Location: Virginia or Georgia, USA
Children: Harrison & Barnett (1809), Robert Musgrove (1811), Martha Jane (1820), William Olander (1825)
Died: After 1860
Location: Georgia, USA (Last Known Location – Pond Springs, Walker, Georgia – 1860 Census)
Buried: Georgia, USA, presumably

CHILDREN:

HARRISON GUTHREY and BARNETT GUTHRIE
1809 – bef.1817

Twins Harrison (presumably named after maternal grandfather) and Barnett Guthrey are documented on family trees as the earliest children of William and Polly, however I have not found any actual documentation. There is mention on various websites about a Family Bible Record. Does anyone have a copy? It may provide some evidence. Both boys died young prior to 10 years of age per the sites.

ROBERT MUSGROVE GUTHREY
1811GA – 1877GA

Eldest surviving son, Robert Musgrove Guthrey was born in Georgia, likely in Greene County, on 24 March 1811. He was twice married. First to Mary Jane Hardin on 13 August 1835 in Walton County, GA, by whom he had 6 children: William Benjamin, Mary Elizabeth, Robert Beverly, Lucinda Jane, David Martial, and Malone Cook. Mary Jane died in 1864, and two years later Robert remarried to Harriett Ann Bradley. They had 5 more children: John Lee, Martha Iola, Rachel Frances, Walter Musgrove, and Robert Green.

Robert Musgrove Guthrey was a farmer and remained in Walker County the remainder of his life. He died on 29 April 1877 in Cassandra, Walker, GA and was buried at Coulter Cemetery in Kensington, Walker, GA the following day. His widow Harriett lived until 1888.

Children: 11
Guthrey Sons: William Benjamin (1836), Robert Beverly (1842), David Martial (1846), Malone Cook (1848), John Lee (1870), Walter Musgrove (1874), Robert Green (1877)
Guthrey Daughters: Mary Elizabeth (1839), Lucinda Jane (1844), Martha Iola (1871), Rachel Frances (1872)

Y-DNA Project Participants: Yes
Autosomal DNA / Family Finder Project Participants: Yes

MARTHA JANE GUTHREY
1820GA-1905OR

Only known daughter, Martha Jane Guthrey was born on 19 May 1820. The family had been enumerated in Greene County in 1820, but Martha Jane was not yet listed. She was likely conceived there. The next location for the family is Oglethorpe County by 1830.

Martha Jane married Jesse H Stansell in Georgia on 14 February 1843. He was a farmer born in North Carolina. They lived in Walker County, Georgia during the 1850 census, but moved to Kings River, Madison County, Arkansas by 1860 where they remained through the 1870 census. By 1880 they had settled in Summerville, Union County, Oregon. Jesse died there in 1886. Martha Jane received a Civil War Widow’s Pension. She died in 1905 in Imbler, Union, Oregon.

Children: 12
Stansell Sons: William Levi (1845), John Robert (1852), James Henry (1855), Jesse Richard (1858), George Wesley (1860)
Stansell Daughters: Elizabeth Susan (1844), Sarah Catherine (1847), Margaret Loleta (1847), Elmirah Jane (1850), Martha Frances (1853), Harriet Lucinda (1861), Cordelia Howell (1863)

Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A
Autosomal DNA / Family Finder Project Participants: None at this time.

WILLIAM OLANDER GUTHREY
1825GA-1895AR

William Olander Guthrey was born on 22 February 1825 in Georgia, probably in Greene or Oglethorpe County. He was a 24yr old farmer living with his parents in Lookout Valley, Walker, GA in 1850, and married Clementine Stewart about 1853. They had 5 sons and a daughter. William and Clementine continued to live in Walker County, GA through the 1880 census, but they moved to Black Springs, Arkansas by 1895 where William died in October of that year. His widow died in 1904. Both are buried in Black Springs Cemetery in Montgomery County, AR

Children: 6
Guthrie Sons: William Harrison M (1854), John Beverly W (1857), George E C (1860), Mary Elizabeth Mahaley (1866), Robert Albert Lee (1869), Oscar Dean (1875)

Y-DNA Project Participants: None
Autosomal DNA / Family Finder Project Participants: None

THE GUTHRIE DNA PROJECT:

We now have 1 direct paternal line descendant, a male Guthrie, representing the descendants of William Guthrey and Mary Musgrove.

Kit MK73302: William Guthrey/Mary Warren Musgrove > Robert Musgrove Guthrey/Mary Jane Hardin > William Benjamin Guthrey/Elizabeth Frances Lee Thompson (GGP) +more

Haplogroup: I-M253
This was a Y37 marker Test.
There are now 8 Guthrie men + 2 men of the Key and White surnames matching the genetic profile for Guthrie Family Group 4.
5 of 8 have tested at the Y67 level with 3 at Y37. White has tested at Y37. Key has tested at Y111.
There are a few genetic variations (mutations) found in a few of the kit results. No specific patterns found indicating they are likely recent, random, and insignificant for genealogical research.
This particular kit has 1 genetic variant at DYS439 with a value of 13 instead of the group mode result of 12.
The most common surname match at Y37 is Guthrie/Guthrey with 2 others: Key and White.
White’s Guthrie ancestor is known. Key’s has not been identified.