2A-D: William Guthery Sr
Guthrie Family Group 2A · Branch D · Child Page
William Guthery Sr.& Catherine Theobald
The John Guthery & Lydia Baldwin Family
Pennsylvania · Ohio · Illinois
William Guthery, born 4 January 1772, was the eldest child of John Guthery and Lydia Baldwin. His life connects the family’s Pennsylvania beginnings with its settlement in the Scioto country of Ohio and the next generation’s movement west.
Family history identifies his wife as Catherine Theobald, also written Theobold. Deeds, marriage records, census households, and descendants’ accounts help reconstruct their family, while several relationships and dates remain uncertain.
Family at a Glance
William Guthery Sr.
- Parents
- John Guthery and Lydia Baldwin.
- Born
- 4 January 1772, recorded in the family Bible; the family’s home was in the Monongahela region of present-day southwestern Pennsylvania.
- Residence
- Pennsylvania, then the part of Ohio later organized as Pike County. Later family testimony places his death in Illinois.
- Died
- Reported about 1829. The precise date and Illinois locality are not established. Burial place unknown.
Catherine Theobald
- Name
- Catherine Theobald / Theobold in family history; Cathrine or Catherine in the 1824 deed.
- Parents & Birth
- Parents unidentified. Her birth date and place have not been independently established.
- Marriage
- Reported about 1793. An original marriage record has not been identified.
- Died
- Reported about 1836 in Illinois; date, locality, and burial remain unverified.
William & Catherine
A reported marriage about 1793; nine children retained in the working family, with individual qualifications below.
William’s sister Lydia Guthery Peters reported six children. The current research tree links nine. These are different source statements, and the table does not treat all nine relationships as proved. Lydia and George are explicitly retained as uncertain placements.
| Child & Dates | Marriage | Family & Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Lydia Guthery Reported born 17 October 1794 | Amos Howard | Parentage unresolved. The birth date comes from a Geneanet Community Trees Index entry, not an original birth record. Their reported marriage was 26 September 1811. |
| John Guthery About 1793–about 1823 | Margaret Sowders | Married 28 February 1814 in Ross County, Ohio. William, Moses J., and John Jr. belong to the working child list; Levi and Sally remain provisionally placed. John’s death is estimated from Margaret’s remarriage. |
| Elizabeth Guthery About 1795–reported 1860 | John William Sowders | Married 30 July 1812 in Ross County, Ohio; later lived in Vermilion County, Illinois. Named with her husband in the 1852 quitclaim abstract. Her reported Pennsylvania and Ohio birthplaces conflict. |
| George Guthery About 1791–1795; reported died 1868 | Elizabeth “Betsy” Prye | Parentage unresolved. Married 10 July 1828 in Pike County, Ohio. Census ages and birthplaces vary. The younger George in his 1860 household has not been identified as a son. |
| Priscilla Guthery 1799–reported 1887 | Benjamin Malone | Married 21 January 1816 in Pike County, Ohio. Evans’s History of Scioto County identifies her as William’s daughter. Use 1799 as her birth year; an exact day is not independently established. |
| Nancy Guthery About 1803–after 24 June 1880 | John Nicholas; Henry Yeager; William Lane | Marriages: 13 August 1822, 29 July 1830, and 23 May 1852. She appears as Nancy Yeager in the 1852 quitclaim abstract and with daughter Catherine Shumate in the 1880 census. |
| William Guthery Jr. About 1804; death unresolved | Christina Butcher; Sarah, surname unknown; Jane Wyatt | Married Christina on 18 September 1823; Sarah appears with him in later records. Married Jane (Wyatt) Bryan Bingham on 21 May 1859. His children’s maternity and final death date require further evidence. |
| Michael Ruhama Guthrie 1811–21 August 1890 | Elizabeth Osborne / Osborn | Married 5 November 1836 in Vermilion County, Illinois. His family moved through Indiana and Illinois to Missouri; the state intended by the reported 1854 Wayne County move remains unresolved between Iowa and Missouri. Sources disagree between 5 March and 5 May 1811 for his birth. Descendants through Perry represent this line in Y-DNA and Big-Y testing. |
| James Guthery Birth and death dates unknown | Not established | An abstract of his 28 July 1830 oath identifies Nancy as his sister. His absence from the 1852 quitclaim does not establish that he had died by then. |
Notes on the Next Generation
John & Margaret Sowders: the reported births of Levi in 1810 and Sally in 1813 precede the couple’s 1814 marriage. Their placement and mother require evidence; an unnamed-spouse entry in a tree does not establish an earlier marriage. The later sons are William (1817), Moses J. (1819), and John Jr. (1821).
Priscilla & Benjamin Malone: the county history reports twelve children. Ten linked profiles and nine non-widow estate recipients are not interchangeable counts. The family roster should not be expanded simply to make those totals agree.
William Jr.’s family: Sarah is named in 1852–1853 deed abstracts, so 1850 is not a supported death year for her. The assignment of children to Christina or Sarah remains qualified. The proposed identification of their George with the man who married Sarah Jane Swank is unresolved.
Michael & Elizabeth: the 1882 biography reports twelve children. The identities behind the working roster still need correlation, including Elizabeth and Melissa. Son Perry Guthrie married Oceanna Amanda Willey; Perry died on 8 November 1937.
John Guthery & Margaret Sowders — Descendant Roster
Working family entries and reported associations; unresolved identities are retained as leads, not proved relationships.
| Child | Birth | Family & Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Levi Guthery | Reported 25 September 1810 | Provisionally placed; mother and later identity unresolved. |
| Sally Guthery | Reported 19 September 1813 | Provisionally placed; reported death 21 December 1819. Mother unresolved. |
| William Guthery | Reported 30 January 1817 | Reported death 11 April 1856; no spouse established. |
| Moses J. Guthery | Reported 4 March 1819 | Rebecca Thompson; their line is represented by Y-DNA kit 902807. |
| John Guthery Jr. | Reported 20 August 1821 | Delilah Thompson; their line is represented by Y-DNA kit 425544. |
Elizabeth Guthery & John William Sowders — Descendant Roster
Working family entries and reported associations; unresolved identities are retained as leads, not proved relationships.
| Child | Birth | Family & Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Catherine Sowders | About 1814 | Charles Phillips. |
| William Sowders | About 1815 | Nancy Osborn. |
| Rebecca Sowders | About 1816 | William Dickson / Dixon. |
| Fannie Sowders | About 1820 | Squire Edward Lee. |
| Cynthia Ann Sowders | About 1822 | Nathaniel Cline; later Enoch Van Vickle. |
| John Sowders | About 1823 | Caroline Davis. |
| Martha Sowders | About 1833 | William Henry Bonnett. |
| Jackson Sowders | About 1834 | Reported death in childhood in 1844. |
| Elizabeth Sowders | About 1841 | George Cannon; later Samuel Shofner. |
Priscilla Guthery & Benjamin Malone — Descendant Roster
Working family entries and reported associations; unresolved identities are retained as leads, not proved relationships.
| Child | Birth | Family & Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Unnamed daughter Malone | Estimated 1816–1820 | Identity not established. |
| Isaac Malone | About 1820 | Mary Ann Utt. |
| Joseph Malone | About 1823 | Vienna Finley. |
| Samuel Malone | About 1827 | Later identity not established. |
| Andrew Jackson Malone | About 1830 | Emily Virginia Calvert. |
| Feribee Malone | About 1832 | Lewis A. Smalley; later Harvey H. McMillin. |
| Benjamin Malone Jr. | About 1835 | No marriage established. |
| Christopher Malone | About 1836 | Mary Elizabeth (McWhirt) Callaway. |
| C. Malone | About 1838 | Provisional separate entry; do not merge with Christopher or assume a distinct identity without correlation. |
| George Washington Malone | About 1842 | Martha McWhirt. |
Nancy Guthery’s Children — Descendant Roster
Working family entries and reported associations; unresolved identities are retained as leads, not proved relationships.
| Child | Birth | Family & Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Jackson J. Nicholas | About 1823 | Child linked to John Nicholas; reported wives Lucinda Lewis and Eliza M. (Grisham) Jett. |
| Catherine Nicholas | About 1825 | Child linked to John Nicholas; reported husbands Michael Snider, John Cluster, and John Shumate. |
| Matilda Yeager | About 1834 | Child linked to Henry Yeager; reported husbands Washington Lee and Isaac M. Johnson. |
| Elizabeth Yeager | About 1837 | Child linked to Henry Yeager; later associated with George Kinman’s household. |
| William Franklin Yeager | About 1842 | Child linked to Henry Yeager; reported wives Ruth Jane Fansler and Sarah Elizabeth Lollar. |
William Guthery Jr.’s Children — Descendant Roster
Working family entries and reported associations; unresolved identities are retained as leads, not proved relationships.
| Child | Birth | Family & Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Unnamed daughter Guthrie | Estimated 1821–1825 | Census-based placement; an earlier parental marriage is not established by the estimate. |
| Jason Guthrie | About 1825 | Rebecca, surname unknown. Do not equate him with Ralph J. Guthrie without evidence. |
| Michael Guthrie | About 1830 | Catharine Cannon; later Julia Helen Davis. Distinct from Michael Ruhama, born 1811. |
| Mary Guthrie | Reported 22 March 1831 | William Milliner; census ages differ from the precise birth claim. |
| Eva Guthrie | About 1833 | Appears in later family households; no spouse established. |
| Andrew Guthrie | About 1834 | Nancy Ellen Adamson; reported death 18 January 1865. |
| John Guthrie | About 1838 | Aged 12 in the 1850 family material; later identity not confirmed. |
| George Guthrie | Aged 14 in 1850; competing later birth claims | Proposed identification with George Washington Guthrie, husband of Sarah Jane Swank, remains unresolved. |
| William Guthrie III | About 1843 from the 1850 age | The proposed Emma Nora Swank marriage and later Arkansas identity require their own supporting linkage. |
Michael Ruhama Guthrie & Elizabeth Osborne — Descendant Roster
Working family entries and reported associations; unresolved identities are retained as leads, not proved relationships.
| Child | Birth | Family & Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Sarah Guthrie | About 1839 | Married Isaac Devault on 26 January 1862, Nodaway County, Missouri. Exact death remains unproved. |
| Mary Jane Guthrie | Stated 1 February 1840; 1850 age 13 implies about 1837 | Charles Carr; reported marriage 4 June 1857. Preserve both birth claims with their sources. |
| William Guthrie | Stated 29 April 1844; 1850 age 9 implies about 1841 | Michael’s 1867 petition explicitly identifies a son William. His proposed later Oklahoma identity and marriage to Rebecca M. Barker require a documentary bridge. |
| Elizabeth E. Guthrie | About 1845 in the working roster | Named in the 1850 material; relationship to the separately listed Melissa remains unresolved. |
| Samuel Guthrie | Stated 9 August 1846; 1850 age 7 implies about 1843 | Married Estella Russell on 23 October 1875, Nodaway County, Missouri, as confirmed by the original return. |
| Hannah Guthrie | About 1847 | Named in the 1850 material; later identity not established. |
| Melissa E. Guthrie | Stated 14 February 1849 | John Calvin Tibbetts; proposed identity with Elizabeth E. remains unproved. The two entries are retained provisionally. |
| Mariah / Maria Guthrie | About 1851 | Uriah Warren Baxter; later associated with Nebraska. |
| Nancy E. Guthrie | Reported 17 January 1853 | Edward Russell. |
| Emmaline Guthrie | Reported March 1855; later census age differs | Milton J. Lamme. Birthplace and age still require correlation with the migration chronology. |
| Perry Guthrie | Reported 16 March 1860 | Oceanna Amanda Willey. Death 8 November 1937 and burial 10 November 1937 at Braddyville, Iowa. |
Lydia Howard, George Guthery & James Guthery — Remaining Family Leads
Lydia’s proposed Howard family includes George Washington Howard in the existing family history and William Henry Howard in the Geneanet-derived entry. Their identities and the proposed connection to William and Catherine require corroboration.
The younger George in George and Betsy’s 1860 household has not been identified as a biological son, adopted son, or other relative. James’s later household, marriage, and children remain unknown.
Historical Highlights
From the Monongahela to the Scioto country
William grew up in John and Lydia’s Pennsylvania household. He was already an adult when the extended family moved west to Ohio. His sister Lydia Peters’s later recollections preserve the family’s migration and mill story; they provide context for William’s life without establishing that the mill was his own.
The land records give firmer points of contact. His parents’ 1806 conveyance placed 103 acres in his hands. Later transactions connect him with his brother Archibald, Piketon property, and a younger group of men named William, Moses, and John.
A family remembered across several states
The next generation followed several paths. The Malone family remained in Ohio; Elizabeth Sowders and Nancy’s family appear in Illinois records; Michael Ruhama’s family moved through Indiana and Illinois to Missouri. For the reported 1854 Wayne County move, the profile says Iowa and the printed biography says Missouri; that state remains unresolved.
Repeated given names make those paths difficult to separate. William Sr., his son William Jr., and younger Williams must be distinguished by their spouses, land descriptions, associates, and dates. The same care is needed with the several Johns, Georges, and Moseses.
Family Timeline
| Date | Event & Evidence |
|---|---|
| 4 Jan 1772 | William’s BirthThe family Bible records William as the eldest child of John Guthery and Lydia Baldwin.Family Bible record. |
| About 1793 | A Reported MarriageFamily history places William’s marriage to Catherine Theobald about this time; the exact date and place remain unverified.Family-history account; original marriage record not identified. |
| About 1797–1798 | The Move to OhioWilliam’s family joined John and Lydia’s migration from Pennsylvania to the Scioto country.Family recollections and the chronology discussed in the Family Hub. |
| 21 Oct 1806 | Land from John & LydiaJohn and Lydia conveyed 103 acres to William in section 6, township 5, range 22, for £100.Recorded deed, volume 1, p. 97; acreage read from the deed image. |
| 29 Jun 1815 | Archibald’s ConveyanceThe original names Archibald and Rachel his wife, of Franklin, Indiana Territory, conveying 83 acres to William of Pike County. The abstract gives $800 and recording on 15 September 1815.Pike County deed book A, p. 14; original image 008330634_00153.jpg. The acreage should not be mistaken for a numbered town lot. |
| 15 Jun 1819 | A Piketon LotMaxfield Gallaher conveyed Piketon lot 164 to William for $65; recorded 22 June 1819.Pike County deed book A, p. 344; abstract. |
| 1820 | The Beaver Township HouseholdThe census index places William Guthrie in Beaver Township, Pike County, Ohio. The age-category household cannot be converted into a named child roster without additional evidence.1820 U.S. census index; household categories overlap for males aged 16–18. |
| 24 Jan 1824 | A Deed to John Guthery’s HeirsWilliam and Catherine conveyed land to William, Moses, and John Guthery, named as heirs of deceased John Guthery.Recorded deed, pp. 329–330; the text names heirs without explicitly calling them sons or labeling the deceased Senior or Junior. |
| About 1829 | William’s Reported DeathLydia Peters’s later account places William’s death in Illinois. About 1829 remains a reported estimate.Family testimony; exact death and burial records not established. |
| 11 Feb 1852 | A Later Illinois ConnectionA quitclaim abstract names William Jr. and Sarah, John and Elizabeth Sowders, Michael and Elizabeth Guthery, and Nancy Yeager in a conveyance of 40 acres.Vermilion County, Illinois; filed 20 February 1854. The grantor list is not a complete list of William Sr.’s children. |
Explore the Records
The evidence comes from several kinds of sources: original record images, abstracts and indexes, later family testimony, and research-tree attachments. Their different strengths matter when reconstructing William and Catherine’s household.
The Bible & Lydia Peters’s Family Account
The family Bible supplies William’s birth date, 4 January 1772. His sister Lydia Guthery Peters’s recollections, associated with an April 1872 newspaper interview and preserved in later family-history material, identify his wife as Catherine Theobold and report six children.
That account is valuable family testimony, but it does not resolve every later child attachment. The working list of nine remains a research reconstruction, with Lydia and George’s parentage specifically unproved.
Ohio Deeds — Land, Names & Relationships
21 October 1806: John Guthery and Lydia conveyed 103 acres to William, section 6, township 5, range 22, for £100. The reviewed deed image supports 103 acres.
29 June 1815: Archibald Guthery and Rachel his wife, of Franklin, Indiana Territory, conveyed their 83-acre section 6, township 5, range 22 tract to William of Pike County. The original identifies the wife and contemporary residence.
24 January 1824: William and Cathrine/Catherine conveyed land southeast of the run in the northeast quarter of section 1, township 4, range 21, to William, Moses, and John Guthery, heirs of deceased John Guthery. The deed names the heirs but does not expressly identify them as sons or label the deceased John Senior or Junior.
A related deed of 7 September 1843, recorded 30 December 1845, names Moses and John Guthery and Rebecca, wife of Moses, in a conveyance to James Allison. It refers to Moses’s prospective interest should his brother William die without children. The matching tract and family language help correlate this younger group; they should not be confused with William Sr.’s brother Moses and his wife Hannah.
Locators: 1806 deed, volume 1, p. 97; 1824 deed, pp. 329–330, image group 007900592, images 190–191; 1843 deed, pp. 63–64, image group 008097703, images 411–412.
The Illinois Family Connections
The 11 February 1852 quitclaim abstract names William Guthery and Sarah, John Sowders and Elizabeth, Michael Guthery and Elizabeth, and Nancy Yeager as grantors of 40 acres to John N. Oder. It describes the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 8, township 20 north, range 12 west, and was filed on 20 February 1854.
Joint participation connects these households, but the abstract alone does not establish every grantor’s relationship or list every child. George’s or James’s absence cannot by itself disprove a relationship or establish a death.
A separate abstract of James Guthery’s oath, 28 July 1830, calls Nancy his sister in connection with her marriage to Henry Yeager. That is useful sibling evidence; James’s later life remains untraced.
DNA Participation
Y-DNA participation is represented through the lines of John Guthery and Michael Ruhama Guthrie. Big-Y participation is documented through Michael’s son Perry. These results contribute to GFG2A comparisons alongside the documentary research.
| Child’s Line | Y-DNA | Big-Y | Autosomal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lydia Guthery — provisional | N/A through a daughter | N/A through a daughter | Not recorded |
| John Guthery | 425544 — Y37; 902807 — Y37 | Not recorded | Represented |
| Elizabeth Guthery Sowders | N/A through a daughter | N/A through a daughter | Represented |
| George Guthery — provisional | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Priscilla Guthery Malone | N/A through a daughter | N/A through a daughter | Not recorded |
| Nancy Guthery | N/A through a daughter | N/A through a daughter | Not recorded |
| William Guthery Jr. | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Michael Ruhama Guthrie | 128728; 245752 — Y111 | 128728 — Big Y-700 | Represented |
| James Guthery | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded |
John’s line: kit 425544 follows John and Margaret Sowders through John Jr. and Delilah Thompson. Kit 902807 follows the same parental couple through Moses J. and Rebecca Thompson.
Michael’s line: kits 128728 and 245752 descend through Michael Ruhama and his son Perry. Kit 128728 has Big Y-700 and a reported haplogroup of R-FTD49641. That is a kit result, not a mutation assigned to William or another named ancestor.
Both Perry-line kits share DYS715 = 25. Because both follow Perry’s branch, their agreement alone cannot show whether the value originated with Perry, Michael, William, or an earlier ancestor.
“Not recorded” describes the reviewed participation information, not proof that no descendant has tested. A daughter does not transmit her father’s Y chromosome. Autosomal participation is a separate category and does not by itself prove a particular relationship this many generations back.
The John–Lydia and Archibald–Rebecca families remain grouped for comparison within Branch D; their proposed brotherhood and shared father are not established by these results. See the Family Hub’s DNA discussion for the wider comparison.
Michael Ruhama’s Family — Accepted Dates & Source Differences
Use 5 November 1836, Vermilion County, Illinois, for Michael and Elizabeth’s marriage, and 20 August 1819 as Elizabeth’s selected birth date. Her Ohio-versus-Kentucky birthplace remains unresolved. Michael’s own 5 March/5 May 1811 birth-month difference also remains open.
The reported 1854 Wayne County move has conflicting state labels: Iowa in the profile, Missouri in the printed biography. The original 1840 census row records only two people, although later birth accounts place children near that date. Preserve the recorded household and source-specific birth claims without inventing an explanation.
The 1882 biography reports twelve children. The eleven linked profiles include an unresolved Elizabeth/Melissa identity; do not invent another child to make the counts agree. The stated births of Mary Jane, William, and Samuel remain alongside their differing 1850 census ages.
Michael’s 1867 petition concerns forfeiture of a bond for his son William and presents the petitioner’s account of the events. It establishes a father–son statement, not a conviction, gubernatorial outcome, Oklahoma destination, or Baldwin alias.
Sources & Further Reading
- John Guthery–Lydia Baldwin family Bible record, including William’s birth entry of 4 January 1772; images reviewed in the family research.
- Mary Sibyl Gray May, The History of Lieutenant-Colonel John Guthery of Greene County Pennsylvania and of Allied Families (1956), including the account attributed to Lydia Guthery Peters. Interview dated here to April 1872.
- Ohio recorded deeds: 21 October 1806, volume 1, p. 97; 24 January 1824, pp. 329–330; 7 September 1843, pp. 63–64. Also the original 29 June 1815 deed, Pike County A:14; and the 1819 abstract at A:344.
- Vermilion County, Illinois, quitclaim abstract, 11 February 1852, filed 20 February 1854; and the abstract of James Guthery’s oath, 28 July 1830.
- Ohio marriage records and indexes for John Guthery–Margaret Sowders, Elizabeth Guthery–John William Sowders, Priscilla Guthery–Benjamin Malone, Nancy Guthery–John Nicholas, William Guthery–Christina Butcher, and George Guthery–Betsy Pry.
- U.S. census material, including William’s 1820 Beaver Township household, the later Ohio and Illinois families, and Nancy Lane’s 1880 household with Catherine Shumate.
- Nelson W. Evans, A History of Scioto County, Ohio (1903), p. 776, for Priscilla Guthery Malone’s family.
- The History of Nodaway County, Missouri (National Historical Company, 1882), p. 532, for Michael Ruhama Guthrie’s biography. Its 5 May 1811 birth date differs from the 5 March date in other family material.
- Selected marriage evidence: Michael Guthery and Elizabeth Osborn, 5 November 1836, Vermilion County, Illinois, index and abstract; Sarah Guthrie and Isaac Davault/Devault, 26 January 1862, Nodaway County, Missouri, published county-marriage extract in Smoke Signals, June 1985, p. 191; Samuel Guthrie and Estella Russell, original return dated 23 October 1875, filed 21 December 1875, Nodaway County.
- Geneanet Community Trees Index entry for Lydia Guthery and Amos Howard. This is tree-derived information and is not an original vital record.
- Guthrie Research Tree; reviewed GFG2A project participation information; and the John Guthery & Lydia Baldwin Family Hub.
Most Wanted Documents
- Catherine’s identity: a marriage, church, probate, or family record establishing her parents, birth, and Theobald connection.
- William and Catherine’s final years: an estate, burial, obituary, or dated family paper narrowing their deaths and identifying their Illinois residence.
- The child roster: records explicitly identifying Lydia Howard’s and George Guthery’s parents, and fuller evidence connecting each proposed child to this couple.
- John’s household: original Bible or family records clarifying Levi and Sally’s parentage and mother.
- The Illinois connections: the full 1852 quitclaim and James’s 1830 oath, with any related estate or land file explaining the relationships.
- William Jr.’s family: evidence for Sarah’s identity, the children’s mothers, his death, and the unresolved proposed connection between his son George and Sarah Jane Swank’s husband.
Help Build the Family Story
William and Catherine’s story survives in scattered records and in the families who carried it west. A Bible page, a deed naming relatives, a cemetery inscription, or an inherited letter may help connect one of the remaining branches.
If you descend from this family, please share the records behind your lineage and let us know whether you participate in DNA testing. Contributions are especially useful when they identify the original source and explain how each generation connects.