2A-G: William Guthrie
Guthrie Family Group 2A · Branch G · Child Page
William Guthrie & Elizabeth Guthrie
William: reported birth 9 July 1751; died 10 March 1828
Elizabeth: reported birth 1755; died 11 February 1842
Westmoreland & Armstrong Counties, Pennsylvania
Revolutionary service and a family in western Pennsylvania. William was a son of James Guthrie and Jeanette Wilson. He married Elizabeth Guthrie, widow of Joseph Brownlee, bringing together two of the principal Branch G families.
His own service declaration, his father’s land records, and the papers preserved by his family provide the foundation for this brief account. Elizabeth’s separate page tells their shared family story and follows their children.
The Family at a Glance
William Guthrie
- Parents
- James Guthrie and Jeanette Wilson, formerly Moore. The 1817 partition of the elder James’s land names William among his children.
- Birth
- Reportedly 9 July 1751. Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and Ireland are competing reported birthplaces. The year conflicts with ages given in his 1818 declaration and the certified family Bible entry.
- Home & Service
- Associated with Westmoreland County and later the Redbank area of Armstrong County. His own declaration recounts Revolutionary service and subsequent frontier ranger service; family accounts call him Captain William Guthrie.
- Death & Burial
- 10 March 1828, after a wagon accident. The certified Bible entry gives age 73. The precise accident location and his burial place remain unestablished.
Elizabeth Guthrie
- Parents
- John Guthrie and Jane Reed, the latter identification preserved through the Guthrie Family Papers cited by Anna L. Warren.
- Birth
- Reportedly 1755, Londonderry, Ireland. Her certified death entry gives age 87.
- Earlier Marriage
- Joseph Brownlee, who died in 1782. Her surviving daughter Jane Brownlee became William’s stepdaughter.
- Death
- 11 February 1842, at son Joseph’s home in the Redbank area, then Clarion County. Coffin and burial testimony concerns 12 February; the cemetery remains unknown.
William Guthrie & Elizabeth Guthrie Brownlee
Married about July 1784; the marriage is explicitly established by the court order of 7 November 1786.
The order records William’s care of Brownlee’s daughter beginning 7 July 1784. It does not expressly identify that day as the wedding date.
Their Shared Family
The working register contains ten Guthrie children: William, James, Elizabeth “Betsy,” Mary, the infant Jane, Jane “Jennie,” an unnamed infant, Nancy, Joanna, and Joseph Brownlee Guthrie. The competing infant lists and several daughters’ later identities remain research questions.
Elizabeth’s page preserves the detailed child register, descendant accounts, captivity history, and pension testimony. Jane Brownlee is kept distinct from both Guthrie daughters named Jane.
Read Elizabeth’s Page & the Children’s Families →
This William is Elizabeth’s husband and James and Jeanette’s son. Her brother William, born in 1777 and married to Agnes Dixon and Mary Hill, belongs to a different household.
Historical Highlights
William’s Own Account
On 12 May 1818, William signed a declaration describing his Revolutionary service and reduced circumstances. He recalled service with the Flying Camp, the campaigns at Trenton and Princeton, and later duty as a frontier ranger.
The declaration survived among family papers and was forwarded with the later claim based on Joseph Brownlee’s service. Its survival gives William a voice in the record, although it does not establish that he received a federal pension.
A Death Remembered by the Family
The obituary transcript in the Gazette of 15 March 1828 describes an accident at a bridge while William was coming to town with a wagon. His son escaped. The notice’s reference to Monday evening agrees with the 10 March death date in the certified family Bible entry.
William’s son Joseph later preserved both parents’ death dates in the evidence submitted for Elizabeth’s claim. Their testimony helps distinguish the date of death from later burial arrangements and from errors in office summaries.
Family Timeline
| Date | Event & Evidence |
|---|---|
| 9 July 1751 | Reported birth The traditional date is retained as reported. William’s stated age of 62 in May 1818 and age 73 at death point to later birth estimates. Family chronology compared with W3245 declarations and certified Bible entry. |
| About July 1784 | Marriage to Elizabeth William married Joseph Brownlee’s widow. The later court order dates his care of her daughter from 7 July 1784. Certified extract of the 7 November 1786 Orphans’ Court order in W3245. |
| 7 November 1786 | Provision for Jane Brownlee The court explicitly identifies William as Elizabeth’s husband and allows eight pounds annually for the child’s board and clothing. Court order; retained copy certified 23 June 1848. |
| 15 May 1817 | His father’s land The Parr partition identifies William as a son of the elder James Guthrie and describes the disposition of his interest. Westmoreland Deeds 12:350–352; recorded 16 May. |
| 12 May 1818 | Service declaration William recounts Revolutionary and frontier service and describes his circumstances. Signed declaration preserved in Joseph Brownlee’s pension file W3245. |
| 10 March 1828 | Death after a wagon accident The certified Bible entry supplies the exact date and age 73. The newspaper account describes the accident while coming to town. W3245; Gazette obituary transcript, 15 March 1828. |
| 17 December 1833 | Six adult heirs named An Armstrong County proceeding names William, James, Jane, Elizabeth, Joannah, and Joseph. These are the heirs named at that time, not a complete lifetime child count. Armstrong County Orphans’ Court, p. 140. |
The shared branch artwork is interpretive and does not depict an identified Guthrie property.
Explore the Records
The documents below establish William’s place in the family while leaving his birth, some service details, and burial open to further research.
The 1817 Partition — William’s Father and Siblings
Westmoreland County Deeds 12:350–352, executed 15 May and recorded 16 May 1817, concern land descended from the elder James Guthrie. The reciprocal instruments identify his children James, William, and Elizabeth, wife of Isaac Parr.
They explain the elder James’s debt to Parr for board and other expenses, the younger James’s assumption of that debt, and the sheriff’s sale of William’s undivided interest to his brother James. The record distinguishes the two James generations; it does not supply the elder’s exact death date or a complete list of every child ever born.
Service and Pension Papers — Use the Correct File
William’s signed declaration is dated 12 May 1818 and survives in Joseph Brownlee’s pension file W3245, widow Elizabeth Guthrie. It recounts Flying Camp service, Trenton and Princeton, and later frontier ranger service.
The declaration was retained among William’s papers and forwarded with the family’s later claim in 1847. Later office correspondence reports that no federal pension was granted for William’s service. Elizabeth’s claim based on Brownlee and her Pennsylvania relief are separate proceedings.
The pension file S40063 belongs to another William Guthrie. The obituary’s Paoli and pension statements should remain attributed to that account rather than being used alone to settle his service history.
Birth, Marriage, Death, and the 1833 Heirs
Birth: the reported 9 July 1751 date conflicts with age 62 in May 1818 and age 73 at death in March 1828. Neither age should be converted into a newly asserted exact birthday. Cumberland County and Ireland remain competing birthplace accounts.
Marriage: the certified 1786 court order establishes that William had married Elizabeth and had cared for Brownlee’s daughter since 7 July 1784. It does not expressly call 7 July their wedding day.
Death: Justice George Means certified entries from son Joseph’s family Bible giving William’s death as 10 March 1828, aged 73. The reviewed document is the certification, not a photograph of the Bible. A proposed Old Salem burial remains unverified.
Heirs: the Armstrong County Orphans’ Court entry of 17 December 1833, p. 140, names petitioner William and James, Jane, Elizabeth, Joannah, and Joseph. The married-surname readings for Jane and Elizabeth require caution. The six named adult heirs do not replace the broader working child register.
DNA & Descendants
Y-DNA evidence supports a close paternal relationship between these Branch G lineages, consistent with the possibility that John Guthrie and James Guthrie were brothers. Their proposed brotherhood remains unproven by documentary evidence. If they were brothers, William and Elizabeth were first cousins.
Kits 282078, 494912, and 1004186 follow William’s paternal line through son James → James B. Guthrie and Elizabeth Bish. They represent the same later paternal route, not three separately tested sons of William. Elizabeth did not transmit her father’s Y chromosome to her sons.
| Child Line | Y-DNA | Big Y | Autosomal |
|---|---|---|---|
| William / Jane | No kit identified | Not verified | No participant identified |
| James | 282078, 494912, 1004186 through James B. / Elizabeth Bish | Not verified for these kits | No participant identified |
| Elizabeth “Betsy” / Boles | No Guthrie paternal route through a daughter | Not applicable through Betsy | No participant identified; later family unresolved |
| Mary | Reported unmarried, without children | Not applicable | No descendant line identified |
| Jane, infant twin | Reported infant death | Not applicable | No descendant line |
| Jane “Jennie” / Mathews | No Guthrie paternal route through a daughter | Not applicable through Jennie | No participant identified; adult identity unresolved |
| Unnamed infant | Reported infant death | Not applicable | No descendant line |
| Nancy / Coon | No Guthrie paternal route through a daughter | Not applicable through Nancy | No participant identified; Mary Coon linkage needs work |
| Joanna / Alexander Brown | No Guthrie paternal route through a daughter | Not applicable through Joanna | No participant identified |
| Joseph Brownlee Guthrie | No kit identified | Not verified | No continuing descendant line established |
Kit 1004186 appears in the reviewed STR export and is not described here as Family Finder only. Big Y status has not been verified for these three kits. No new live-results audit is implied.
Jane Brownlee’s descendants belong to her Brownlee family through this relationship; William’s role as stepfather does not establish biological descent from him. The detailed descendant discussions remain on Elizabeth’s page.
Sources & Further Reading
- Westmoreland County Deeds 12:350–352: reciprocal partition instruments, 15–16 May 1817. Supplied record images reviewed during the branch research.
- Joseph Brownlee pension file W3245, widow Elizabeth Guthrie: National Archives, RG 15, M804, roll 383. Relevant documents include William’s 12 May 1818 declaration, the certified 1786 court order, Joseph’s September 1847 statement and certified Bible entries, and later office correspondence. Fold3 may require a subscription.
- Gazette, 15 March 1828: supplied obituary transcript for William. The accident narrative, age, and service claims retain that source attribution.
- Armstrong County Orphans’ Court, p. 140, 17 December 1833: proceeding naming William’s six adult heirs.
- Laurence R. Guthrie, American Guthrie and Allied Families (1933): Branch G family accounts and descendant material, compared with the original records rather than treated as proof of every date or relationship.
- Anna L. Warren, A Captive’s Tale: The Story of Elizabeth Brownlee Guthrie (1977): family papers and later accounts. The competing child lists are discussed on Elizabeth’s page.
- Guthrie Research Tree and the reviewed Guthrie DNA Project material: working chronology, descendant routes, and kit participation. Reported family details remain distinct from directly documented events.
Most Wanted Documents & Research Questions
- William’s birth and origins: an original family Bible, baptism, or contemporary age statement that helps resolve 1751 versus the later age-based estimates and the competing birthplaces.
- Service identification: muster rolls, commissions, and pay records linked securely to this William, especially for the ranger captaincy and the obituary’s Paoli statement.
- Marriage and burial: a marriage record distinct from the child-maintenance order, and contemporary evidence identifying William’s grave.
- The estate and descendants: complete distributions, receipts, and releases clarifying the married daughters named in 1833 and connecting their later households.
The supplied county records and W3245 documents are already part of the research collection. These requests concern the remaining gaps.
Help Preserve William’s Family Story
William’s declaration and his son’s careful preservation of family dates keep part of this household’s history within reach. A Bible, estate receipt, or documented descendant connection may help fill the remaining gaps.
Please include the source and the generations connecting your family. Records and corrections are welcome with or without DNA results.