William Guthrie 1735 – 1829PA
of Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties, Pennsylvania, USA

WILLIAM GUTHRIE
Parents: James Guthrie b.1691-1711SCT – 1778PA and (FNU) Bissell (Presumed/Theoretical 
Birth: Abt. 1735
Birth Location: Unknown Location
Marriage: Uncertain – Remained Single or had an Unidentified Wife who died before him.
Occupation: Trader and Soldier
Military Service: Revolutionary War Patriot Soldier
Death: 1 or 8 August 1829
Death Location: Washington Township, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, USA
Burial: Unknown, Presumably in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, USA

NOTES:
As with most things about this branch of the GFG2A Family, facts are a little fuzzy when it comes to William Guthrie’s birth year. There are several documents for consideration. Pension application statements identify him as 84 years old on 9 June 1819, which would make his DOB about 1735. Documents at his death indicate that he 84 years old in 1829, and a death notice indicating that he was in his 95th year. Taking all of these accounts into consideration, he was likely 94 years of age in 1829. A DOB of either 1735 or 1745 would fit into the family profile.

There is also a question of whether this William Guthrie ever married and had children. He wrote a will in 1828 naming his brother James’ children and a his (unidentified) sister’s children. He does not identify a wife, any children, or grandchildren of his own. This seems to be the hallmark of a single man rather than one with a family.

The section on William Guthrie in American Guthrie and Allied Families [LRG, pp.301-308] notes that there were three men named William Guthrie living in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania at the same time, and that it is difficult to distinguish one man’s record from the others.
#1: William Guthrie (1735-1829), presumed son of James Guthrie & Miss Bissell – lived in Washington Twp.
#2: William Guthrie (1751-1828), son of James Guthrie & Jeanette Wilson – moved Westmoreland to Armstrong, married to cousin Elizabeth Guthrie. Also a soldier.
#3: William Guthrie (1777-1865), son of John Guthrie & Jane Reed, lived in Salem Twp. and m1.Agnes Dixon, m2. Mary Hill.

Author LRG credits this William Guthrie, #1, with an unidentified wife, with whom he was living at Fort Pitt during his days as an Indian Trader. That he left during the beginning of Pontiac’s War and found refuge in the Westmoreland Settlement. The section in ‘American Guthrie and Allied Families’ includes the identification of a “supposed” son, James Guthrie, who married Sally Cochran, and moved from Westmoreland to Armstrong County in 1805. Both #2 and #3 had sons named James that are already accounted for.

William was a patriot soldier during the Revolutionary War and was at one time a British prisoner for 18 weeks, released likely during a prisoner exchange about 1 Jan 1777. After a possibly furlough, he signed up again on 1 March 1777 serving in the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown being discharged at Valley Forge 1 Jan 1788 at the end of his term of enlistment. He next joined Col. Broadhead’s Regiment.

At his death, the Westmoreland Democrat published: “William Guthrie of Washington Township died Aug. 8, 1829, in the 95th year of his age. He was one of the pioneers. Mr Guthrie enlisted in May, 1777, and continued in the service for four years in the 7th Pennsylvania Regiment Continental Line. He participated in many engagements with the Indians on the Westmoreland frontier and was noted for his great bravery.” William lived in the settlement around Fort Wallace in Washington Township, Westmoreland County.

CHILDREN: None confirmed

Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A – No Confirmed Descendants
Autosomal DNA Participants: N/A – No Confirmed Descendants

Primary Sources

William Guthrie (c. 1735–1 or 8 August 1829, Washington Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania) was a frontier Indian trader (active at Fort Pitt/Pittsburgh by 1761), Revolutionary War Continental soldier (7th Pennsylvania Regiment and later Col. Brodhead’s Regiment), and pensioner who resided in Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties. He is theorized—without direct primary proof—as a son of James Guthrie (Scotland/Chester or Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, d. ca. 1778) and an unidentified wife known only as “Miss Bissell/Bussell” (sometimes rendered Ann Bissell or Russell in user trees).

This placement fits the Guthrie Family Group GFG2A Y-DNA profile (confirmed via descendants of brother James and a sister Ann), but two other theorized sons of the same hypothetical couple—Robert (GFG2C) and Thomas (GFG5)—have been definitively ruled out by Y-DNA mismatches. William left no known male-line heirs (his 1828 will names only nieces/nephews via siblings and makes no provision for a wife or children), rendering confirmatory Y-DNA testing impossible. Autosomal DNA is likewise inapplicable without proven descendants.

Nuances and challenges: Three contemporary William Guthries appear in Westmoreland County Revolutionary records and tax lists, creating frequent misattributions. The subject here (Washington Township trader/soldier) is distinguished by his 1829 will, obituary, and pension details from (1) William Guthrie (1751–1828, son of James & Jeanette/Janet Wilson/Culbertson, who married cousin Elizabeth (Guthrie) Brownlee and moved to Armstrong County) and (2) at least one other local militia/private. Birth-year estimates conflict slightly (pension implies ca. 1735; obituary implies ca. 1734), a common frontier-record issue. No birth, baptism, or marriage record for William or his hypothetical parents has surfaced in surviving church, Chester/Cumberland, or Pennsylvania vital collections. The Bissell/Bussell link originates in 20th-century synthesis and remains unproven by any marriage bond, will, or deed; some modern analyses suggest the name may attach to a different Guthrie branch or that “Ann” (wife of a theorized brother James) could be the Bissell in question.

Edge cases include possible earlier tax appearances in Chester County (under father James), unindexed Fort Pitt trader ledgers, and post-1780 Westmoreland deeds/tax lists that may name him as “Guttery/Guthry.” Pennsylvania State Archives military muster rolls and county courthouses hold potential untapped originals. The line terminates with William, so genealogical implications center on collateral GFG2A branches.

Below is a comprehensive, repository-focused citation list. Primaries are original documents (or closest surviving equivalents). Secondaries synthesize them. All are evaluated for reliability, distinguishing this William from homonyms, and noting DNA/genealogical context.

These provide direct evidence of service, residence, death, lack of heirs, and (indirectly) trader status. No primaries confirm birth, parents, or wife.

1. U.S. Revolutionary War Pension Application File (National Archives & Records Administration; digital images on Fold3.com, ref. SH0063 or equivalent pension packet). William Guthrie/Guthery, Pennsylvania Continental Line. Application dated circa 1818–1819 (placed on roll 9 June 1819, age given as 84); service: enlisted May 1777 in 7th Pennsylvania Regiment (Capt. James Carnahan’s Company under Col. Walter Stewart; battles of Brandywine and Germantown; prisoner 18 weeks ca. 1776–1777; later Col. Brodhead’s Regiment frontier duty); discharged Valley Forge 1 Jan 1778; total ~4 years. Residence: Washington Township, Westmoreland County. Proves death 1 August 1829.
2. U.S. Pension Roll of 1835 (U.S. War Department; digitized on Ancestry.com, collection 60514). Entry for William Guthrie, Private, Pennsylvania Continental Line: annual allowance $96.00; placed on roll 9 June 1819; commencement 4 May 1818; age 84; died 1 August 1829. Confirms pension status and exact death date.
3. Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Probate Records. Last Will and Testament of William Guthrie, Washington Township. Will Book Vol. 1, p. 213 (dated 1828; proved after death in 1829). Digital image: Ancestry.com (collection 8802, image 141 of 660). Bequeaths estate solely to children of brother James and an unidentified sister; explicitly omits wife or own issue. Key differentiator from other local Guthries’ wills.
4. Westmoreland Democrat (Greensburg, Pennsylvania newspaper). Death notice for “William Guthrie of Washington Township,” published August 1829 (exact issue referenced in contemporary genealogies; verbatim extracts appear in secondary works). States death 8 August 1829 “in the 95th year of his age”; “one of the pioneers”; service recap (enlisted May 1777, 4 years in 7th Pennsylvania Regiment Continental Line; Indian engagements on Westmoreland frontier; “noted for his great bravery”). Confirms obituary details and frontier pioneer status.
5. George Croghan’s Journal (1765; original manuscript in historical archives, e.g., Pennsylvania Historical Society or published editions). Entry noting “Guttery” (house No. 43, Upper Town, Pittsburgh/Fort Pitt) as an Indian trader licensed under Croghan. Contemporary proof of pre-Revolutionary trader occupation and Pittsburgh residence; cited directly in 1933 synthesis.
6. Pittsburgh/Allegheny County Early Records (1761 “Upper Town” enumeration or tax-like list; originals in local archives). “House No. 43, William Guttery—1 man, 1 woman, no children.” Earliest residence evidence; ties to Fort Pitt trader phase before Pontiac’s War (1763) relocation to Westmoreland settlement.

Additional primary candidates (not fully digitized or specifically indexed for this William but recommended for courthouse/PA State Archives research): Westmoreland County tax lists (1780s–1820s, Washington Township), deeds (witness or grantor mentions), 1790–1820 U.S. Censuses (Washington Township), and Pennsylvania Archives Revolutionary muster rolls (7th Regiment and Brodhead expeditions). No birth/baptism or marriage record located in Chester, Cumberland, or Presbyterian church collections.

Secondary Sources

hese interpret primaries, propose parentage, and distinguish individuals. Reliability varies; the 1933 book mixes branches later corrected by DNA.

1. Guthrie, Laurence Rawlins. American Guthrie and Allied Families: Lineal Representations of the Colonial Guthries… (Chambersburg, Pa.: Kerr Print. Co., 1933), pp. 301–308 (and cross-references pp. 210, 383). Digitized: Ancestry.com (dvm_GenMono001155) and Internet Archive (full PDF). Identifies this William as Pittsburgh trader (1761 house No. 43; Croghan Journal 1765), Revolutionary soldier (detailed service from Miles/Stewart/Brodhead regiments), Washington Township settler, and pensioner. Notes three Westmoreland William Guthries; attributes unidentified wife at Fort Pitt and “supposed son” James Guthrie (m. Sally Cochran, removed to Armstrong County 1805). Parentage: “presumptive son” of James Guthrie and [Bussell/Russell/Bissell]. Cites journals, pension abstracts, and newspaper. Foundational but contains unproven assumptions later refuted by DNA (no confirmed descendants; parentage theoretical).
2. Guthrie Genealogy Project (DNA blog series). “2A-I: William Guthrie” (guthriegenealogy.blog/2a-i-william-guthrie/). Modern synthesis (post-2010s) compiling all above primaries + DNA context. Explicitly labels parents “hypothetical” and “theoretical wife Miss Bissell/Bussell”; rules out heirs; distinguishes from siblings Robert/Thomas and the 1751 William branch (GFG2A via James & Ann). Notes age fuzziness and will’s lack of own issue. Highest reliability for current genealogical consensus.
3. County and local histories (e.g., History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania (various 19th/20th-century editions); Westmoreland County Historical Society volumes on Revolutionary service). Often reprint the 1829 obituary or pension abstracts; add frontier context (Fort Wallace settlement). Derivative of primaries; useful for township maps but not original.