3A: Ann Guthrie

Watercolor homestead scene with a sampler bearing the names of Robert and Esther’s children: Ann, John, Phebe, Mary, James, Sarah, Richard, and Robert Guthrie.

Guthrie Family Group 3 · Branch A · 3A-1-1

Ann Guthrie & Unidentified King

Ann: born about 1755 · Elizabeth Hundred, Frederick County, Maryland

View in Guthrie Research Tree →

Ann’s name survives in Maryland’s 1776 enumeration, where she is listed at age twenty-one. She is placed as the eldest daughter in the reconstructed family of Robert Guthrie and Esther Giles.

A second clue appears in Robert’s will: a five-pound bequest to his grandson, John King. The family study proposes that Ann married a man named King and was John’s mother. That connection remains a working reconstruction because the will does not identify the grandson’s parents.

Family at a Glance

Ann Guthrie

Birth & baptism
About 1755, calculated from her age of 21 in 1776. Birthplace unknown; Pennsylvania and Maryland are possibilities. No baptism identified.
Parents
Placed as a daughter of Robert Guthrie and Esther Giles. Esther’s surname is under investigation as Giles versus Skiles.
Residence
Elizabeth Hundred, Frederick County, Maryland, in the 1776 enumeration.
Marriage
A proposed marriage to a man surnamed King. His given name, the marriage date, and the place remain unknown.
Death & burial
Unknown. Death before Robert’s will of 28 February 1788 has been proposed from her omission, but is not established. No burial identified.

Unidentified King

Identity
The proposed husband of Ann Guthrie. No given name has been established.
Birth & parents
Unknown. No birth range or parental couple is established.
Marriage
The King–Guthrie connection is inferred from Robert’s named grandson, John King.
Residence & occupation
Unknown. Maryland is a starting point for research, not a confirmed residence for this man.
Death & burial
Unknown.

The Proposed Child

Child Birth & Baptism Marriage & Later Life
John King Born by 28 February 1788, when Robert named him in his will. Exact date and place unknown; no baptism identified. Named as Robert Guthrie’s grandson and left £5. His placement as Ann’s son is proposed. No marriage, descendants, death, or burial has been securely connected to this beneficiary.

One proposed child: John King is the only child currently associated with Ann in this reconstruction. This does not establish that she had only one child.

Why Is Ann Proposed as John King’s Mother?

Robert’s will names daughters Phebe, Mary, and Sarah, as well as grandson John King. Ann appears in the earlier Maryland enumeration but is absent from the will. Researchers have used that combination to propose Ann as the missing link to the King grandson.

The proposal is plausible, but the will does not call John “Ann’s son,” name a King son-in-law, or explain Ann’s omission. A marriage record, baptism, guardianship, or estate distribution naming the relationship would strengthen the connection.

Historical Highlights

Watercolor colonial surveying instruments and field notes.

Ann’s surviving record trail is brief. The Maryland enumeration supplies her name and age; Robert’s Virginia will preserves the King grandson whose parentage may explain what happened next.

Robert’s move into Virginia does not establish that Ann accompanied him. Her own later residence remains to be found.

  1. About 1755

    An Estimated Birth Year

    Ann’s age of twenty-one in 1776 places her birth about 1755. This is an estimate derived from an age entry, not an exact birth date.

  2. 1776

    Ann in Elizabeth Hundred

    The enumeration lists Ann, aged 21, among females aged sixteen to fifty, near Esther and Pheeb. The age-and-sex arrangement does not record household relationships or marital status. Read the published facsimile, page 242 →

  3. 28 Feb 1788

    A Grandson Named in Robert’s Will

    In Rockbridge County, Virginia, Robert Guthrie leaves five pounds to his grandson John King. Ann is not named. The document establishes the grandfather–grandson relationship without identifying John’s parents. Read the recorded will →

  4. 7 Apr 1789

    Robert’s Will Is Proved

    The will is presented in Rockbridge County by Esther and Richard. This dates Robert’s probate; it does not establish Ann’s death date or show where she or John King lived.

The 1776 Entry and the Proposed Birth Range for John King

The legacy study estimated John’s birth between 1777 and 1788 because Ann appeared under the Guthrie surname in 1776. That reasoning assumes she was unmarried and had no child then. The enumeration does not state either fact.

John’s birth is therefore described here as by 28 February 1788. The narrower 1777–1788 range remains a research estimate, not a demonstrated limit. His age and birthplace are not supplied by Robert’s will.

Does Ann’s Absence from the Will Establish Her Death?

Death before the will is one possible explanation for Ann’s omission. The bequest to a grandson could fit that interpretation, but the document does not say that Ann was deceased.

The family’s earlier “before 1788” death entry is retained as a research hypothesis. No exact death year, death location, or burial place is established.

Explore the Research

DNA and This Descendant Line

Family / Child Line Y-DNA Participation Big Y Participation Autosomal Participation
Ann Guthrie → proposed son John King N/A N/A —

N/A refers to transmission of the Guthrie paternal Y chromosome through Ann. — means participation is not documented in the reviewed project material; it does not mean no descendant has ever tested.

Ann did not transmit her father’s Y chromosome. A direct male-line descendant of John King could investigate the King paternal family through Y-DNA, but that result would not by itself identify Ann as John’s mother. Documentary evidence and carefully evaluated autosomal comparisons would be needed to investigate the proposed maternal connection.

King Names in the 1776 Maryland Returns

The legacy study identified these King entries as starting points for research. They belong to other hundreds within the county and are not identified as Ann’s husband or his relatives:

  • North West Hundred: Edward King Jr., 36; Rebackah, 34; Elizabeth, 13; Mary, 9; Charity, 7; Benjamin, 4; Edward, 2; and Rebackah, 1.
  • Lower Potomac Hundred: Samuel King, 23, and Mary King, 19.

Names, ages, and a shared county are insufficient to connect any of these people to Ann. Each candidate needs an independent record trail, including any existing marriage and later family.

Reading & Sources
Most Wanted Records
  • A marriage entry, bond, licence, or consent connecting Ann Guthrie to a King husband.
  • A baptism or family Bible identifying John King’s parents and birth date.
  • An estate account, receipt for the £5 bequest, guardianship, or deed identifying the grandson and his residence.
  • A later record tracing Ann herself, or a contemporary death or burial record.

Search the Maryland communities associated with the Guthries and the Virginia estate records together. A record naming the relationship will be more useful than attaching an otherwise plausible King family by location alone.

Help Build the Family Story

Watercolor family keepsakes with a plain slate-blue wool blanket.

A five-pound bequest preserves a family connection that is still only partly understood. A King family Bible, an estate receipt, or a marriage record may supply the names that Robert’s will leaves unstated.

If your King family has a Guthrie connection in Maryland or Virginia, please share the record and its source. Even a small detail may help distinguish this John King from others of the same name.

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Researched & Curated by Ann Guthrie