Y-DNA supports shared paternal ancestry among the lines of James, Alexander, and Robert. The project’s published framework places their cluster at R-BY64289, within the broader American R-BY12121 branch. These findings strengthen the documentary investigation of their association with the elder John.

Project pedigrees identify kit 645225 through James’s son Henson; kit 208725 through Alexander’s son John; and kit 129769 through Robert’s son Preston. Big Y participation is documented for 208725 and 129769. Autosomal participation is also recorded through Mary “Polly” and James Kitchen.

The pedigree labels are research conclusions attached to modern tests. The results do not independently name John as the father of these men, identify his wife, or prove the daughters’ parentage. Autosomal participation alone is not a demonstrated match to a particular eighteenth-century ancestor.

Explore GFG3 and the wider American–Ayrshire comparison →

This elder John is distinct from Robert and Esther’s son John, born about 1756, who married Mary Fuller. The younger man would have been about thirteen in 1769 under the current reconstruction, but was old enough to appear in the Revolutionary-era oath material. Robert’s will directly names his son; it does not name an adult brother or identify the elder John’s parents.

The proposed link to Francis Guthrie Sr. draws on the Pennsylvania family reconstruction and John’s repeated association with Robert. No surviving birth, baptism, or parental will yet supplies the complete relationship. The broad 1730–1750 birth range is estimated. Assuming a will witness was at least twenty-one is not a verified rule establishing John’s birth cutoff.

The Skiles will is cited to Frederick County, Liber A1, pp. 340–341; DGS 005647682, images 356–357 of 610. The earlier article also links a digital copy of the will; the different image locators still need to be reconciled against the actual will and attestation. Its estate papers include several different instruments. The executor’s bond names John Levingston and securities; it must not be mistaken for the will’s witness clause. The final account, DGS 005643676, images 168–169 of 431, pp. 140–141, records the Guthrie payments and was sworn on 20 November 1770.

In the printed Revolutionary Records of Maryland, John appears on p. 14, no. 61, in the continuation of Richard Davis’s return. Robert is separately indexed on p. 19, no. 87. The 17 April 1779 heading lower on p. 14 starts another return and should not be assigned to John’s entry. Find the published oath-list transcription.

The 1783 Elizabeth Hundred, Washington County, Maryland, assessment lists Robert Guttery with 150 acres of part of Salisbury Plain and John Guttery without acreage, with two horses and one head of cattle. View the assessment and its transcript. The theory that this John was Robert’s younger son remains to be tested. The assessment does not by itself resolve the namesake problem or establish where a landowner physically resided.

Keep the elder John separate from the John Guthrie–Margaret Gilkeson family and from the Pennsylvania John Guthrie–Ann Hill line. Likewise, the John witnessing James Ochiltree’s 1800 Rockbridge will may be Robert’s son who remained there. The record cannot simply be used to move the elder man back from western Virginia.

Francis Guthrie Sr. family hub · Robert Guthrie & Esther Giles · John Guthrie & Mary Fuller

James’s 1850 census gives age 76 and birthplace Maryland; an index misreads these as age 26 and Massachusetts. The schedule was taken on 19 November but describes the household as of 1 June. It therefore does not contradict the reported death on 18 June 1850, also stated in the later Hardesty biography of his son John.

His marriage to Elizabeth Casdorph is reported about 1800. The groom’s variant surname, later read as “Gullory,” should not become a proved middle name; the bride also appears as Castor. Some compiled marriage years were inferred from ministers’ returns. Elizabeth’s death is placed between 1821 and James’s 11 July 1826 marriage to Judah / Judith Henderson, identified in family research as Judith Hensley, widow of John Henderson. No children are known from the second marriage.

The nine-child legacy family: Henson (Elizabeth “Betsy” Cavender); Elijah (Jane B. Thomas); Mary “Polly” (John Selman/Silman); Nancy (no known marriage or children); Martha “Patsy” (Thomas Fauber); Sarah (William Hensley); James (Paulina Melton, then Elizabeth Ann Dawson); John (Mary Wallace); and Julia Ann E. (Simeon Peter Tate).

Useful land targets include Jacob Casdorph’s 1821 conveyance to James, Book E, p. 401, DGS 008218959, image 209 of 266; the related 1822 disposal, images 249–250; and the reported 1825 transfer to Henson, Book F, p. 124, DGS 008211431, image 70 of 593. The 1822 court entry for a deed from James and wife to Solomon Casdorph does not name the wife.

Open James Guthrie’s family page →

Rayma Casdorph Atkinson’s The Casdorphs from Hamburg to the Kanawha Valley, West Virginia, 1625–1995 identifies Henry’s wife as Susan Guthrie. A deed dated 20 September 1838 directly names Henry Casdorph and Susan his wife, conveying Two Mile Creek land to Joel Edens for $1. It establishes Susan as his wife and living on that date; it does not state her maiden surname or father. View the deed, DGS 008292549, image 186 of 611.

The reported marriage about 1801 has not been located in the records searched in the legacy study. Henry’s earlier 24 November 1790 marriage to Hannah Smith is essential to interpreting the children. The eight-name Casdorph list should not automatically become eight children of Susan.

Henry’s reconstructed children: Azariah (Mary A. Jones); Mahala (Benjamin Newhouse); Jane/Jenny (John Shoemaker); Henry (Hilly Angeline Shoemaker); Elizabeth “Betsy” (Henry Newhouse); John (Delilah Ann Lacy); Susan; and Jacob (Zerelda Reno/Ryno). Azariah and Mahala are assigned to the earlier marriage in the research reconstruction; the other maternal assignments need individual evidence. Daughter Susan’s “died young” label is unproved.

A second instrument, 24 October 1840, Book M, pp. 2–3, DGS 008218960, image 21 of 678, names Azariah, Jacob, Susan, Jenny Casdorph, and John Shoemaker as part of Henry’s heirs, conveying to John Casdorph for $150. William and James Guthrie are witnesses. Susan is not expressly called widow, and there is also a proposed daughter Susan. Her identity must be resolved before extending the widow’s life from this deed.

The 5 March 1841 date at the bottom begins a later clerk’s entry, continued on the following page. It is not the deed’s execution date or, by itself, proof that the widow personally appeared then. The clearly established survival date for Henry’s wife Susan is 20 September 1838.

The combined name “Elizabeth Susan” is not established. The unsupported Scottish pedigree may have encouraged the Elizabeth identification, but the origin of that naming error is itself uncertain.

Casdorph book catalog · Digitized Casdorph history · Susan and Henry’s family page →

Alexander appears with John and James in the 1797 Greenbrier tax research and with the western Virginia Guthrie cluster in 1802. His reported marriage to Eleanor Amis is assigned to 1802 and minister James Johnston; a transcription gives Elinor “Runs.” Amis remains the working surname pending a clear reading of the return.

A Mason County, Kentucky, tax reference is dated 9 June 1803. The family subsequently appears in Brown County, Ohio, and Marion County, Indiana. His 1850 census birthplace is Pennsylvania; some descendant records say Virginia. These differences should remain visible.

Alexander’s will, Marion County, Indiana, pp. 273–275, was recorded 24 August 1850. It provides for an unnamed wife; names sons John, James, Grandison, and Anderson Peters; names Rhoda Moore, Mary Ann, and Matilda; and refers to Margaret’s heirs. The house and lots “in Augusta” concern a place, not another daughter.

The eight-child legacy family: Margaret; Rhoda (Moore); Mary Ann (Moses Reveal); Matilda (Thomas Carr); John (Amanda J. Talbert); James (Highly Isaac); Grandison Austin (Eliza Hollingsworth); and Anderson Peters (Polly Clingler, then Sarah Cobb/Coble). The proposed additional Alexander Jr. rests on an unnamed census male and is not established by the will.

Alexander’s exact death is reported as 30 July 1850; the will independently establishes death by probate. Eleanor’s reported death is 11 April 1868, and both are associated with Bethel Cemetery, Indianapolis. The will proves relationships within Alexander’s family, but does not name his father.

Open Alexander and Eleanor’s family page →

Robert and Frances’s marriage is estimated about 1806; no marriage record has been established. Their trail runs from Kanawha to Cabell County, Virginia, with later Lawrence County, Ohio, connections. Gallia County tax appearances need to be distinguished from residence: a man could hold taxable property across the river.

The legacy reconstruction lists: Jane (Benjamin Johnson); John (Hannah Ansel); an unidentified possible daughter; Mary A. (Thomas Alexander Clark); James (Hester Bassett); William (Mary Marks); Preston (Eleanor/Ellen Sprouse); Lewis (Hannah White, then Arabella Gillette); Almeda (Bocock); and Edward (Martha White).

Jane and Mary A. remain marked parents unverified in the research profiles. The extra girl inferred from an early household count is a proposed household member, not a named, proved daughter. Almeda’s legacy birth year also conflicts with her 1850 census age and needs review.

The family research reports Robert’s death as 17 June 1855, while a memorial index gives 1853. A legible stone image or other death evidence is needed to settle that conflict. Frances’s death is reported as 2 February 1866. Her proposed Fowler parents remain unverified.

Open Robert and Frances’s family page →

The Virginia State Library’s compiled Botetourt marriage register places 4 November 1794 in the Date of Bond column, names Elijah Fowler and Anne Guthrie, and expressly identifies John Guthrie, father. James and Robert Guthrie appear in the security-and-witness column. Read p. 77, film 00030734, image 82 of 733.

This is direct father information within a derivative source. The underlying bond or consent remains important for confirming the transcription and identifying the signers. The register does not call James and Robert Anne’s brothers, and the father must still be correlated with the elder John’s record trail.

Anne is presumed to have died before Elijah’s reported 1809 marriage to Jane Bogan/Bogins. No children are securely identified for Anne and Elijah. The seven children associated with Elijah’s later marriage should not be assigned to Anne. She is also distinct from the proposed Ann Guthrie–King daughter of Robert and Esther.

Open Anne and Elijah’s family page →

The marriage of Mary Guthrie and James Kitchen is indexed on 4 September 1798 in Greenbrier County. It does not name her father. Her placement with John depends on the wider family and migration study. The Indiana research leads through Fayette County toward Rush County.

The ten-child legacy list: Rebecca (John M. Newhouse Jr., then Robert Curry Jr.); Margaret “Peggy” (John M. Furry); Clark (Malinda Womack); Mary “Polly” (Samuel Newhouse); Elizabeth “Betsy” (Isaac Newhouse); James S. (Elizabeth McCarter); Lucinda “Cena” (William Bussell); Lewis Morgan (Matilda Gorman); Nancy (John Conn); and William H. H. (Elizabeth Archer, then Isabel Rachel Sheets).

The memorial material lists Lucinda Kitchen Hanes and Cena Kitchen Bussell separately, whereas the legacy tree combines Lucinda/Cena. That discrepancy needs resolution before the child count or identities are treated as settled.

Polly’s death is reported as 17 August 1831, with burial at John Looney Farm Cemetery near Gings, Rush County. A July 1780 birth conflicts with the memorial biography’s age of fifty years eleven months. A clear inscription is needed before assigning an exact birth date.

James reportedly married Mary Lane on 16 July 1836. Her absence from his 1850 household does not establish death or divorce. The research profile’s 1854 death for James conflicts with 1871 in the older theories article; the underlying records must identify the correct man and date. Neither later wife nor a tree hint supplies the identity of Polly’s mother.

• Rockbridge exemption, 4 April 1787: court p. 535, DGS 007898771, image 596 of 609. Compare the full 1783–1791 tax sequence and both Johns. Morton’s History of Rockbridge County and the Rockbridge research guide provide supporting context.
• Greenbrier proceedings, 1793: DGS 007617375, images 636, 637, and 652. The legacy abstracts cite jury service on 29 May; Newton and Gilkeson cases on 31 May; Skiles on 1 June; and Graham on 29 August. Printed abstract page numbers are not necessarily original court folios.
• Greenbrier taxes: 1796 and 1797. The later James entry is variously assigned to 1798 or 1799 in the research notes; check the roll heading before choosing a year.
• John v. Nicholas Chenoweth: 13 April 1801, p. 62, DGS 008218841, image 148 of 291. The older article places the case in 1800; compare its first linked image and its second linked image with the court heading.
• Kanawha taxes: 1801 transcription, with original-roll locator DGS 007849142, image 40 of 773; and the legacy 1802 image link. The second male in John’s 1801 entry is unnamed; assigning him to Alexander is an inference.
• Levy exemption, 10 June 1802: DGS 008218841, image 219 of 291; also represented in the later court-image sequence at image 82 of 857. The written 1802 date takes precedence over a viewer’s broad collection label. Nearby jury references do not necessarily identify the exempt elder John.
• Other Kanawha litigation: the older article’s 1805 Carroll/Morris case link; John Guthrie v. George Williams, 1817, DGS 008611850, image 218 of 394. The latter outcome remains unresolved.
• Administration, November Term 1819, first day: Kanawha Court Records 1819–1825, p. 50, DGS 008613718, image 32 of 525. James Guthrie receives a certificate for letters of administration of deceased John’s estate. David Cantrell is the security as read from the image; the $140 is the bond penalty, not the estate’s value.
• Administration litigation, 1822–1823: the same court-image series, images 134, 167, and 217 of 525, for the James Brown proceedings. Seek the inventory, accounts, distributions, and related case papers for named relatives. The administration entry alone does not establish that no will ever existed.

• John Guthrie’s legacy family page and the working Guthrie Research Tree. The tree is a research framework; its relationship labels are not independent evidence.
• The Forgotten Sons and GFG3 Theories: Part 2 explain the missing-generation reconstruction and the western Virginia evidence. Part 1 discusses the Ayrshire comparison. Older branch letters and conclusions should be read alongside the current GFG3 pages.
• Sissonville: A Time to Remember and the alternate Sissonville research route. The book’s assignment of James to Andrew Guthrie and Mary Robinson/Robertson of Arbirlot, Angus lacks a documented connection to the American family. The Scottish parish-register search is retained for checking that separate pedigree, not as proof of John’s ancestry.
• The Casdorphs from Hamburg to the Kanawha Valley, 1625–1995 — catalog and digitized text. Read its family account alongside Henry’s earlier marriage and the deeds.
• Kanawha marriage resources: Swango and Legg’s Early Kanawha County Marriages; Genealogy Trails transcription; USGenWeb marriage registry; DGS 007894956, item 3; and Julia Wintz’s book. The legacy search did not locate a Henry–Susan marriage in the resources it examined. This is a bounded search result, not proof that a record never existed.
• Maryland comparison material: 1783 Elizabeth Hundred assessment and assessment transcript; legacy link to Elizabeth Skiles’s will. The identity of the John in the assessment remains unresolved.
• Historic Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio map — Leventhal Map Center. Useful geographical context for the Cabell–Gallia–Lawrence research; it is not a contemporary map of John’s migration.

Some links lead to catalogs, compiled books, older archives, or records requiring repository access. A transcription, its index, and repeated copies of the same page do not constitute separate corroborating records.

1. John’s complete Kanawha estate: identify heirs, distributions, creditors, land, and James’s role beyond the initial appointment.
2. Anne’s original 1794 bond and consent: confirm the compiled father entry and compare James’s and Robert’s signatures or marks.
3. The original Skiles will and proof: verify the reported John and Robert witness clause, then connect it with the estate-account payments.
4. A year-by-year comparison of the Johns: retain dates, counties, horses, taxable males, land, and associates; follow the elder man separately from Robert’s son.
5. The Casdorph marriage, probate, and complete 1841 clerk entry: distinguish widow Susan from daughter Susan and determine which children belong to each marriage.
6. Documented descendant lines: additional independent paternal lines and well-supported female-line pedigrees can strengthen DNA comparisons, while records remain necessary to identify John’s wife and the exact family relationships.