2A-D: William Guthery Sr
WILLIAM GUTHERY SR
Parents: John Guthery 1744PA-1823OH & Lydia Baldwin
Birth: 4 January 1772
Birth Location: Disputed territory between Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Marriage: about 1793 in Greene County, Pennsylvania, USA
Death: About 1829
Death Location: Vermilion County, Illinois, USA.
Burial: Uncertain, possibly in Pioneer Cemetery in Vermilion County, Illinois.
Notes:
William Guthery was the eldest son of Lt Col. John Guthery and Lydia Baldwin. His parents had married in 1771 and settled on the Monangahela River near the mouth of Big Whiteley Creek. Even after the creation of the Mason-Dixon line designating the boundary between Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, this area was claimed by both Virginia and Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania, the land was part of Westmoreland County, which covered a large western portion of the state, which divided in 1781 to form Washington County. That county also divided in 1796 forming Greene County (1796). The family attended the church at Big Whiteley Creek while William’s father maintained Fort Guthery, one of the protective forts then considered on the frontier. His father was a patriot soldier in the Revolutionary War. William married Catherine Theobald about 1793 (no record found). When John & Lydia (Baldwin) Guthery sold their land in Greene County and moved to a land claim in the Northwest Territory in what is now Pike County, Ohio, William and his family went with them, along with the remainder of the Guthery family. William purchased property from his father in Ross Township, Ohio. He and his brother James were in the War of 1812 and present at Hull’s surrender. The last documentation found for William is in 1829 when was still serving as the administrator of his brother Aaron Guthery’s estate. Sources place his death at different dates and locations. His sister Lydia Guthery Peters reported that William died in Illinois. There may be some confusion over Vermilion, Illinois and Vermillion, Indiana when people have speculated about William’s place of death. William and Catherine’s son Michael Guthery initially resided in Vermillion, Indiana for 18 months prior to moving to Vermilion, Illinois about 1829. Neither William nor Catherine are found listed as a Head of Household during the 1830 census, but Michael isn’t listed until 1840. Catherine reportedly died about 1836 in Vermilion County, Illinois.
CATHERINE THEOBALD
Parents: Unidentified
Birth: 9 May 1772 (Source?)
Birth Location: Pennsylvania, presumably (German Township, Fayette, Pennsylvania – Source?)
Children: 6 (credited with 6 – 8 children, but identities unconfirmed)
Death: about 1836
Death Location: Vermilion County, Illinois, USA (reportedly)
Burial: Uncertain, possibly in Pioneer Cemetery in Vermilion County, Illinois, USA
Notes:
We have very little actual data on the wife of William Guthery. She is named as “Catherine Theobold” in Mary Gray May’s book quoting Lydia Guthrie Peters’ newspaper interview. The Theobald surname is found in colonial Pennsylvania. There is also a question of the identity of the children, who would have likely been born in Washington or Greene County, Pennsylvania, or in Pike County, Ohio. There is another William Guthrie, who married a Katharine Lehre, living in Ross County, Ohio at about the same time. He is also a descendant of GFG2A (Branch H). Y-DNA results should be the same, but Autosomal DNA might reveal Theobald vs. Lehre connections. Maria, for example, often assigned to this Guthery-Theobald family, actually appears to be a Guthrie-Lehre member. She married and lived in Ross County, Ohio. John, born about 1823, who married Margaret Sowders was married in Ross County, Ohio, but settled in Pike County, Ohio, so his placement is uncertain, even though a descendant is a confirmed GFG2A YDNA match.
CHILDREN: 8 – 9
( ? ) MARIA GUTHERY
1790-1800 – p1840
Maria may actually be Anna Marie Guthrie 1798KY-1855OH, daughter of William Guthrie & Katherine Lehre. The estimated birth range of 1790-1800 comes from the household of Richard Ritter as the age range for his inferred wife Maria.
( ? ) JOHN GUTHERY SR
1793PA-1823OH
John Guthery was born about 1793 (or census-estimated 1795-1804) presumably in Pennsylvania. He married Margaret Sowards in Ross County, Ohio on 28 February 1814. Although this couple has a Ross County connection (see GFG2A-BranchH: Guthrie-Lehre mentioned above) another Soward family member married Elizabeth Guthrie, who is definitely found in Guthery-Theobald family documents. John and his wife Margaret settled in Beaver, Pike County, Ohio after their marriage. They had three children: William (1817), Moses (1819), and John (1821). The family bible also includes mention of two other Guthery births suggesting that John may have been previously married. They are Levi (1810) and Sally (1813). Margaret also happened to be a few years older than John, and these could have been her children added with the Guthery name. John Guthery died about 1823 (between 1820-1824) of unknown causes. Margaret remarried 3 February 1824 to James Allison with whom she had 2 sons: Alfred Allison (1825), James Allison Jr (1827).
Children:
1) Levi Guthery 25 Sep 1810 OH – 18?? – Status Unknown. Identity unconfirmed.
2) Sally Guthery 19 Sep 1813 OH – 21 Dec 1819 OH died in early childhood at 6 years of age.
3) William Guthery 30 Jan 1817 OH – 11 Apr 1856 IN was listed as ‘idiotic’ during the 1850 census. He was single and living with his mother and step-father.
4) Moses J Guthery 4 Mar 1819 OH – 2 May 1908 IA married Rebecca Thompson +children
5) John Guthery Jr 20 Aug 1821 OH – 9 May 1881 IN married Delilah Thompson +children
Y-DNA Project Participants: Yes
Autosomal DNA Project Participants: Yes
ELIZABETH GUTHRIE
1795PA or OH-1860IL
The 1850 census tells us that Elizabeth’s birthplace was Ohio. This would actually have been the Northwest Territory at the time as Ohio was not partitioned until 1 March 1803. She grew up in Pike County, Ohio, but married John William Sowders on 30 July 1812 in Ross County, Ohio. They resided in Pike County, Ohio during the 1820 census and moved to Vermilion County, Illinois by 1830 where they remained and raised their children. On 11 Feb 1852, John and Elizabeth, along with her Guthery siblings William Guthery (and wife Sarah), Michael Guthery (and wife Elizabeth), and Nancy Yeager, filed a Quit Claim for the same of 40 acres. John died 12 November 1858 and Elizabeth in 1860. They are buried at Gordon Cemetery in Vermilion.
Children:
1) Catherine Sowders 1814OH – 18?? married Charles Phillips on 29 April 1832 in Vermilion, IL. +children
2) William Sowders 1815OH – 1870-80IL married Nancy Osborn +children
3) Rebecca Sowders 1816OH – 18?? married William Dickson/Dixon +children
4) Fannie Sowders 1820OH-1893IL married Squire Edward Lee + children
5) Cynthia Ann Sowders 1822OH-1906IL married 1st Nathaniel Cline +children, 2nd Enoch Van Vickle
6) John Sowders 1823OH – p1850IL married Caroline Davis +children
7) Martha Sowders 1833OH/IL-1901IL married William Henry Bonnett +children
8) Jackson Sowders 1834OH/IL-1844IL died in childhood at 10 years, 9 months, and 11 days and is buried at Pentecost Cemetery.
9) Elizabeth Sowders 1841IL-1911MN married 1st George Cannon in 1856 +children, 2nd Samuel Shofner in 1865 +children
Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A – Descendant of a female Guthrie
Autosomal DNA Project Participants: Yes
( ? ) GEORGE GUTHRIE
1795PA-1868OH
George is found in trees connected to the family of William Guthery and Catherine Theobald. The 1850 census records list his birthplace as Pennsylvania, but the 1860 as Virginia. As this was in the disputed territory era, either designation could have been appropriate. Note that George is not named in the 1852 Quit Claim document with his prospective siblings. However, as he remained in Pike County, Ohio, and they were in Vermilion County, Illinois, it may be that he did not receive a portion of the property. The one document found connecting George Guthery with a member of the Guthery-Theobald family is from the Pike County Commissioner Records wherein George Guthery is a witness in the State of Ohio vs. William Guthery Jr who had been indicted for fisticuffs. The verdict was not guilty. George married Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Prye in Pike County, Ohio on 10 July 1828. They lived in Seal Township. They are living on their own in 1830 and 1840. They may have adopted a son between 1850-1860 because the 1860 census lists them with a 14 year old boy named George. He could also be a relative who is living with them during that census period. Use caution as there are relatives of George Guthrie and Margaret Keys from GFG6 living in Carroll and Sidell, Vermilion County in the 1850s-70s.
Children:
1) George Guthrie 1846OH – ???? – Status Unknown. George remains unidentified.
Y-DNA Project Participants: No
Autosomal DNA Project Participants: No
PRISCILLA GUTHERY
1799OH – 1887OH
Priscilla is documented as a daughter of William Guthrie in ‘History of Scioto County’ [Evans, p.776]. She was born on 2 March 1799 in Ohio, and married Benjamin Malone in Pike County at the age of 16 on 21 January 1816. Their marriage produced 12 children, but not all have been identified with a record search. The Malone family was originally from Virginia. Benjamin Malone was born there or in Kentucky on 25 Dec 1787 coming to Ohio by way of Kentucky. He was a farmer. His death is listed as 15 Jan 1881 in Chillicothe, with Priscilla’s death coming sometime in 1887.
CHILDREN:
1) (FNU Daughter) Malone born 1816-1820 – No further details
2) Isaac Malone 1820OH-1884OH m.1844OH Mary Ann Utt +children
3) Joseph Malone 1823OH-1900OH m.1848OH Vienna Finley +children
4) Samuel Malone 1827OH-aft.1860 – No further details
5) Andrew Jackson Malone 1830OH-1916KS m.1855OH Emily Virginia Calvert +children
6) Feribee Malone 1832OH-1923IL m1.1859IL Lewis A Smalley, m2.1865IL Harvey H McMillin +children
7) Benjamin Malone abt.1835OH-1912OH – Unmarried
8) Christopher Malone abt. 1836OH-p1869 m.1865OH Mary Elizabeth (McWhirt) Callaway +children
9) C Malone (male) abt.1838OH-aft 1850 – No further details
10) George Washington Malone abt 1842OH – 1907 m.1863OH Martha McWhirt +children
11) Unidentified child of unknown gender or birth order
12) Unidentified child of unknown gender or birth order
Y-DNA Project Participants: No
Autosomal DNA Project Participants: No
NANCY GUTHRIE
1803OH – 1880IL
Nancy Guthrie was born about 1803 (census-based estimate). She was married 3 times. The first marriage took place on 13 Aug 1822 in Pike County, Ohio to John Nicholas. They had 2 children: Jackson J Nicholas (1823) and Catherine Nicholas (1825). John presumably died between 1825 and 1830. Nancy remarried on 29 July 1830 in Vermilion County, Illinois to Henry Yeager. Her brother James Guthrie provided an oath stating his sister was over 18 for the marriage license. They had 3 children: Matilda Yeager (1834), Elizabeth Yeager (1837), and William Yeager (1842). Henry died in 1845 leaving Nancy a widow once again. In 1852, Nancy Yeager was part of a Quit Claim that included siblings William, Elizabeth, Michael, and their spouses selling 40 acres of property in Vermilion, Illinois. Nancy remarried again on 23 May 1852 to William Lane. She was in her late forties or early fifties at this time. The marriage was apparently not successful. In 1859, William Lane filed notice in the Vermilion County Press that “my wife Nancy Lane left my bed and board without any just cause or provocation on the 3rd of August 1859 or in the month of August 1859. Therefore this is to notify all persons not to harbor or trust her on my account as I will pay none of her debts contracting. William Lane.” During the 1860 census, Nancy is found living in Blount, Danville, Illinois in the home of her daughter Matilda Johnson. In 1870, she is living in Lincoln, Maryville, Nodaway, Missouri in the home of her daughter Elisabeth Kinman. In 1880, she is in Rossville, Vermilion, Illinois living with her daughter Catherine Shumate and family. Trees list Nancy died in Vermilion County, Illinois on 15 March 1880, but the 1880 census data lists her as being alive on 24 June 1880 when the census was taken. Nancy was still using the Lane surname in 1880, but her separation from William Lane officially ended in divorce. He remarried to Minerva E Connell on 7 Nov 1861 and died in Illinois in 1882.
Children:
1) Jackson J Nicholas 1823OH-1898IA married 1st Lucinda Lewis in 1849 +children and 2nd Eliza M (Grisham) Jett in 1869 +children.
2) Catherine Nicholas 1825IN-1895IL m. 1st 1844 Michael Snider +children, 2nd 1852 John Cluster +children, 3rd 1857 John Shumate +children
3) Matilda Yeager 1834IN – 1860-70IL married 1st 1851 Washington Lee, 2nd 1856 Isaac M Johnson +children
4) William Franklin Yeager 1842IL-1906KS married 1st 1861 Ruth Jane Fansler +children, 2nd 1873 Sarah Elizabeth Lollar
Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A – Descendant of a female Guthrie
Autosomal DNA Project Participants: No
WILLIAM GUTHRIE Jr
1804OH – 1865-70IL
William Guthrie was born about 1804. This date is after official Ohio Statehood granted in 1803 when Ohio was partitioned from the Northwest Territory. He lived in Beaver, Pike County, Ohio with his parents and family and was enumerated there during the 1820 census. He married in that county on 18 Sep 1823 to Christina Butcher. William was indicted for fisticuffs on 20 Jun 1826 in the case of State of Ohio vs William Guthery Jr. The verdict was ‘Not Guilty’ and witnesses included George Guthery. He is also listed in the County Commissioner Records as a witness for the case of the State of Ohio vs Dennis Hill who had been indicted on charges of assault and battery. The jury verdict in that case was ‘Not Guilty’. William served as witness on a deed by John Sowders and Elizabeth (Guthrie) Sowders, William’s sister, dated 23 May 1832 in Vermilion, Illinois. Sometime prior to the 1850 census, William Guthrie remarried to Sarah (MNU), which suggests that his wife Christina had died sometime between the date of their marriage in 1823 and this census year of 1850. This also means that we don’t have a good idea of which wife gave birth to William’s nine children.
Online trees have grabbed the marriage of a William Guthrie to Sarah J Morris in 1875 Edgar, Illinois, but there are 2 issues here. The first is that the records indicate that William’s DOB is about 1848. The second is that there is another established branch of the Guthrie family living in Edgar, Illinois at that point in time. The same branch that has previously caused confusion: GFG2A-Branch H descendants William Guthrie and Katherine Lehre’s family who had moved from Ross County, Ohio to Edgar County, Illinois in 1843. So, William’s wife Sarah does not appear to be Sarah J Morris. Sarah apparently died between 1850 and 1860 when William is listed in the census with a new wife, Jane, 3 boys with the Bryan surname, and his son George. A statewide marriage index reportedly lists William’s marriage date to Jane as 21 May 1859.
William’s third wife was Jane Wyatt, born in England about 1821, presumably immigrating to the USA with her parents. She married Robert Bryan *or Bryant on 17 April 1839 in Vermilion County, Illinois. They had 3 sons: Robert S Bryan (1843), William Bryant (1846), and John Milton Bryan (1854). The husband died on 8 Oct 1853 in Vermilion, Illinois. Probate data can be found in the Illinois records. Jane married John R Bingham in Vermilion on 29 Oct 1854. Jane Bingham married William Guthery on 21 May 1859. Jane and her boys are listed with William Guthrie in the 1860 census and he is listed on the 1865 IL State Census, but by 1870 Jane appears to be a widow. Only she and her son John are listed in the household. Jane remarried on 13 May 1871 in Vermilion, Illinois to John Phillips. They moved to Harwood, Champaign, Illinois by 1880 where the household consisted of John M Bryan and his mother Jane Phillips.
Children:
1) (FNU Daughter) Guthrie born 1821-1825 (census-based estimate), likely 1824 or 1825. No further data.
2) Jason Guthrie 1825OH – p1850IL married Rebecca MNU (abt 1845) +children (Could he be Ralph J Guthrie ?)
3) Michael Guthrie 1830IL-1900IL married 1st Catharine Cannon (1854) +children, married 2nd Julia Helen Davis (1893)
4) Mary Guthrie 1831IL-1912IL married William Milliner (1851) +children
5) Eva Guthrie 1833OH or IL was single in 1860 and living with brother Andrew Guthrie & family. No further details.
6) Andrew Guthrie 1834IL-1865IL married Nancy Ellen Adamson (1851) +children
7) John Guthrie 1838IL-p1850 was last confirmed as a 12 yr old in the 1850 census. Possibly in Carroll, Vermilion, IL in IL State Census.
8) George Washington Guthrie 1841IL-1909AR married Sarah Jane Swank (1868) +children
9) William Guthrie (III) 1843IL (or 1833) – 1897AR married Emma Nora Swank (1884)+children
Y-DNA Project Participants: No
Autosomal DNA Project Participants: No
MICHAEL RUHAMA GUTHRIE
1811OH – 1890MO
Michael was born on 5 March 1811 in Ohio. Pike County was official formed in 1815 from Ross, Highland, Adams, Scioto, and Jackson Counties. According to the biographical sketch found in History of Nodaway County, Missouri, Michael lived in Vermillion County, Indiana for 18 months before moving to Vermilion County, Illinois. When he was 21, he served two months as a soldier in the Black Hawk War, a brief conflict in 1832 between the US and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader, after a group cross the MS River into Illinois with plans to resettle land ceded to the USA in an 1810 treaty.
Michael married Elizabeth Osborne on 3 (or 5) November 1836 in Vermilion County, Illinois. They resided there until about 1852 when Michael and Elizabeth, along with his siblings William, Elizabeth, Nancy, and their spouses, sold some property filing a Quit Claim. Michael moved his family to Wayne County, Iowa in 1854, but by 1855 had already relocated to Nodaway County, Missouri. He was a farmer and cooper.
Some serious family drama occurred in 1864 when Michael & Elizabeth’s son, William Guthrie, along with other soldiers from the 4th Regiment MSM stationed at Sedalia, MO, was arrested and charged with larceny. After several weeks of imprisonment, Michael was able to obtain his son’s release by giving bond for the sum of $1,000. He believed that his son was innocent of the charges. A day or two before William Guthrie was supposed to return to court, he and some of his former associates became involved in a shooting affair in which a citizen was killed. In order to prevent arrest and punishment for the new offense, William Guthrie and his comrades escaped into the night. Michael Guthrie wrote a petition to the governor, Thomas Clement Fletcher, in 1867, pleading relief from forfeiture. William escaped to Oklahoma and settled there.
Michael Guthrie wrote his will in 1890 and died on 21 August 1890 in Nodaway, Missouri at the age of 79. Elizabeth died on 22 October 1892. They are buried at the Braddyville Cemetery in Braddyville, Page, Iowa. They had 12 children according to the biographical sketch.
1) Sarah Guthrie 1839IL-1864MO married Issac Devault between 1859-1864. She died prior to his 1965 remarriage. No apparent children.
2) Unidentified Child Guthrie – Died in Infancy
3) Mary Jane Guthrie 1840IL-1873MO married Charles Carr in 1857 MO. +children
4) William Guthrie 1844IL-1903OK married Rebecca M Barker in 1872MO. They lived in Oklahoma. +children
5) Elizabeth E Guthrie 1845Il-18?? was last confirmed in the 1850 Vermilion, IL census as a 5 year old. No further records found.
6) Samuel Guthrie 1846IL-1934NE married Estella Russell 1875MO +children
7) Hannah Guthrie 1847IL-18?? was last confirmed in the 1850 Vermilion, IL census as a 3 years old. No further records.
8) Melissa E Guthrie 1848IL-1935MO married John Calvin Tibbetts in 1868MO. No known children.
9) Mariah Guthrie 1851IL-1932NE married Uriah Warren Baxter in 1873MO. They settled in Nebraska. +children
10) Nancy E. Guthrie 1853IL-1933MO married Edward Russell + children
11) Emmaline Guthrie 1855IL-1927MO married Milton J Lamme in 1873MO +children
12) Perry Guthrie 1860MO-1937MO married Oceanna Amanda Lilley +children
Y-DNA Project Participants: Yes
Autosomal DNA Project Participants: Yes
JAMES GUTHERY
18?? – 1830-52
James Guthery is presumed to be one of the younger children of William & Catherine, but we really don’t have much information about him. James provided the confirmation that his sister Nancy was over 18 years of age at the time of her marriage to Henry Yeager in 1830. He was not included in the Quit Claim document dated 1852 that named the rest of his siblings, so he probably died before that date.
Y-DNA Project Participants: No Known Descendants
Autosomal DNA Project Participants: No Known Descendants
READING and RESOURCES
BOOK: Leckey, Howard L. (2009). The Tenmile Country and Its Pioneer Families. United States: Genealogical Publishing Company.
BOOK: May, Mary Sibyl Gray (1956). The History of Lieutenant-Colonel John Guthery of Greene County Pennsylvania and of Allie Families.
ARTICLE: Editor. 2016. The Mason-Dixon Line. Southern Partisan. History of the Mason-Dixon Line.
COLLECTION of MAPS on the VIRGINIA-PENNSYLVANIA BOUNDARY
MAP: Trespass of Yohogania, Monongalia, and Ohio Counties into Pennsylvania
Newman Library – Atlas of Historical County Boundaries
MAP: David Ramsey, Historical Map Collection, State of Pennsylvania (by Samuel Lewis, 1796)
INFO: GREENE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA – WHITELEY TOWNSHIP
Whiteley and Dunkard Townships, were formed in December 1794 (division of Greene Township) and Whiteley was incorporated in 1798. The bounds beginning at the head of Smith’s Run on the state line, down said run to the mouth, across Dunkard Creek to the mouth of Glade Run, up the said run to the head, along the ridge dividing Meadow run from Watkins Run, straight to the mouth of Montgomery Run on the north side of Whiteley Creek, thence up the said run to the head till it strikes the present township line, the upper or western district, to be called Whiteley Township
BOOK: The History of Nodaway County, Missouri: Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, Etc., Biographical Sketches of Its Citizens, Nodaway County in the Late War…history of Missouri, Map of Nodaway County, Etc. Etc. (1882). United States: National Historical Company.
GOVERNORS RECORDS: Petition, Nodaway County, Michael Guthrie and citizens of Maryville, to Thomas Clement Fletcher, 1867. Missouri Digital Heritage. Hosted Collections.
BOOK: Evans, Nelson Wiley. A History of Scioto County, Ohio, Together with a Pioneer Record of Southern Ohio, Columbia University, 1903.