7 Brothers Legend
One Guthrie immigration story whispers the tale of 7 Covenanting brothers who came to America from County Derry in Northern Ireland. There is no published work identifying these men or confirming their relationship to one another. Laurence R. Guthrie’s, ‘American Guthrie and Allied Families’ relates the legend. He claimed a belief in the tale, yet eschewed any realistic attempt at identifying them. After a pause, he fell into his own trap.
Perhaps the legend was too intriguing to ignore. A list of Guthrie men followed, the same number as the legend. Seven of them who had shown up in roughly the same region of what is now Pennsylvania and Delaware in a span of about forty years. That’s not exactly the same as 7 men hopping aboard one ship and sailing across the sea from Ireland, but it was enough for Reverend Guthrie to speculate about relationships.
Take a look at the original text in American Guthrie and Allied Families – Book II – The Fifth and Sixth Decades (p.308). Listed there are: Robert Guthrie (p.309), Cornelius Guthrie, James Guthrie (p.354), William Guthrie (p356), Archibald Guthrie (p.376), Francis Guthrie (p.379), and John Guthrie (p.383).
Do not fall into the same trap by assuming these men were brothers. Some have already done so by listing them as a single family unit in their online trees. In addition to more readily available documentation and the years of research that have occurred since LRG first corresponded with Guthrie descendants around the world, we now have the advantage of new tools in our genealogy arsenal. Y-DNA (direct paternal line) testing has carved its genetic line-in-the-sand to divide the related Guthrie lineages from unrelated men of the same surname.
The men above can now be separated into 3 different genetic groups and a forth category for those remaining unidentified.
1.) ROBERT GUTHRIE (p.309) who m. BRIDGET DOUGHERTY – Immigration 1744 – Settled in Carlisle, PA.
Guthrie DNA Project Designation: GFG2A – Branch E.
2.) CORNELIUS GUTHRIE (p.405) who m. JANE PETERSON in Old Swedes Church in 1748. Same location and similar dates as some members of GFG2A – Branch C Samuel Guthrie’s family, who is on this list. Cornelius and Jane have no other records and basically disappear from the records. No known descendants.
Guthrie DNA Project Designation: Ungrouped Guthrie Family Status.
3.) JAMES GUTHRIE (p.354) who m. MARY HAMILTON. Lived in Mill Creek Hundred, New Castle, DE. Thought by LRG to be a brother to Robert and Cornelius because of the latter’s DE connection, however we now know that MCH was home to the Guthries of GFG6. James and Mary had 5 children, including 1 known son named William Guthrie, who also produced at least 4 sons. Need Y-DNA for this line.
Guthrie DNA Project Designation: Ungrouped Guthrie Family Status.
Theorized to be GFG6 due to the MCH connection rather than GFG2A.
4) WILLIAM GUTHRIE (p.356) lived in Mill Creek Hundred, New Castle, DE. His wife remains unidentified, but he had several children named in his will and associated documentation. This group does not share direct paternal ancestry with #1 Robert even though LRG speculated they might have come to America from Ireland at about the same time. They are not genetically related, and come from two separate large groups, with deep roots.
Guthrie DNA Project Designation: GFG6 – Branch K.
5) ARCHIBALD GUTHRIE (p.376) is something of a mysterious figure. He was apparently a soldier during the French & Indian War. He is documented as a private in Capt. Armstrong’s Company in 1760, and in 1769 made a New Purchase Application for a 300 acre tract. LRG speculates that he is the father of John Guthery 1744-1812 and Archibald Guthrey 1753-1779 who died during the Rev. War. Descendants of both men match GFG2A.
Guthrie DNA Project Designation: GFG2A – Branch D.
6.) FRANCIS GUTHRIE (p.379) came to America by 1751. This man’s story was tangled up and half forgotten. It took a lot of research and collaboration to unravel what we know about this man’s family. It was speculated by LRG that Francis was one of those Covenanting brothers, but Y-DNA has foiled that theory. Francis’ descendants do not belong to either of the other two groups mentioned above. The group’s other branch has roots in Ayrshire, Scotland.
Guthrie DNA Project Designation: GFG3A – Branch A.
7.) JOHN GUTHRIE (p.383) was born County Down, Ireland in 1735, and a soldier in the French and Indian War. He was also in the Revolutionary War dying as a prisoner of the British at New York in 1776. There is no family association, mention of a wife or children. LRG indicates some difficulty distinguishing this man from others of the same name.
Guthrie DNA Project Designation: Ungrouped Family Status.
The List of 7 Guthrie Men can be Divided as Follows:
GFG2A: Robert, Archibald
GFG3A: Francis
GFG6: William
Ungrouped Family Status (Unidentified): Cornelius, James, John
Note that even in GFG2A, there is no documented evidence that Robert and Archibald were brothers. Robert had a distinct immigration story, and the location his family settled are also separate from the locations associated with Archibald and his theorized descendants.
James Guthrie is the only one in the “Unidentified” category with the potential for YDNA identification and placement within a Guthrie Family Group as he has a large number of male offspring with the potential for a living direct line male descendant..
Cornelius Guthrie has no known descendants. John Guthrie needs some research to confirm his individual identity. He could belong anywhere.
LRG’s List is officially debunked when it comes to the 7 Brothers Legend, but does that prove there is no truth to that origin story? Not at all. It simply means that the legend lives on.
Things to Think About…
Are there clues to the 7 Brothers Legend hidden within Laurence R Guthrie’s correspondence?
Who were the Covenanters as relates to Scottish and Irish history?
Which Guthrie families were associated with the Covenanters?
Are Covenanting families associated with more than one Guthrie Family Group?
READING and RESOURCES
WEBSITE: Scottish Covenanter Memorials Association – Who Were the Covenanters?
WEBSITE: Britannica – Covenanter – Scottish History
Covenanter, any of the Scottish Presbyterians who at various crises during the 17th century subscribed to bonds or covenants, notably to the National Covenant (1638) and to the Solemn League and Covenant (1643), in which they pledged to maintain their chosen forms of church government and worship. After the signing of the National Covenant, the Scottish Assembly abolished episcopacy and in the Bishops’ Wars of 1639 and 1640 fought to maintain their religious liberty. The financial difficulties into which these wars brought the crown led to the English Civil War. Subsequently, by the Solemn League and Covenant (September 1643), the Scots pledged their assistance to the parliamentarian party in England on the condition that the Anglican church would be reformed. The Covenanter army thereafter took part in the English Civil War and received Charles I’s surrender in 1646. In December 1647, however, Charles agreed to the Solemn League and Covenant and secured military assistance from the Scots. They also fought for Charles II, who signed the covenant in June 1650. In both campaigns they were defeated by the English.
The religious settlement forced upon Scotland by Commonwealth rule failed to satisfy the more rigid Presbyterians. The restoration of the English monarchy in 1660, however, began the Covenanters’ period of martyrdom. All legal sanctions of Presbyterianism were removed, episcopacy was reestablished, and covenants were denounced as unlawful oaths. For 25 years the Covenanters suffered brutal persecution, and three rebellions (1666, 1679, 1685) were cruelly suppressed. After the English Glorious Revolution (1688–89) an ecclesiastical settlement reestablished Presbyterian church government in Scotland but did not renew the covenants.
WESBSITE/ARTICLE: ‘The Covenanters in America: A Brief History‘, by TJH
WEBSITE: Discover Ulster-Scots – Emigration and Influence