3A: James Guthrie
Guthrie Family Group 3 · Branch A · 3A-1-5
James Guthrie
Born about 1762 · Living in 1776
Elizabeth Hundred, Frederick County, Maryland
View in Guthrie Research Tree →
James appears in the 1776 Elizabeth Hundred enumeration as a boy of fourteen. His age and the other Guthrie names in the same locality support his placement in Robert and Esther’s reconstructed family, although the enumeration does not identify his parents.
His later story remains unknown. He is not named in Robert’s 1788 will, but that omission does not establish a death date, an unmarried life, or the absence of descendants.
The Family at a Glance
James Guthrie
- Birth & baptism
- About 1762, calculated from age fourteen in 1776. No baptism or exact birth date identified.
- Birthplace
- Unknown. Pennsylvania and Maryland have been suggested from the family’s history, but the enumeration establishes residence, not birthplace.
- Family placement
- Presumed son of Robert Guthrie & Esther Giles. The placement is based on the reconstructed family, rather than an explicit parent–child statement. Esther’s maiden surname remains under investigation as Giles versus Skiles.
- Documented residence
- Elizabeth Hundred, Frederick County, Maryland, in 1776. No subsequent residence has been securely identified.
- Marriage & children
- No spouse or children have been securely connected to this James. His marital status is unknown.
- Occupation
- Unknown.
- Death & burial
- Unknown. He was living when enumerated in 1776. The proposed death before 28 February 1788 rests on his absence from Robert’s will and remains unproved.
An Unfinished Family Line
No verified descendant line is currently identified. That gap should remain open to research; it is not evidence that James died young or had no children.
Why James Is Placed with Robert and Esther
James’s approximate birth year fits between Mary, born about 1760, and Sarah, born about 1765, in the reconstructed family. The 1776 lists also contain the names used to identify Robert, Esther, and their other proposed children.
The lists separate people by age and sex. They do not show James within a named parental household. His placement is plausible, but an estate, church, land, or court record explicitly connecting him to Robert or Esther would provide stronger evidence.
Mary Gutry, aged sixty-one, appears elsewhere in the enumeration. Her relationship to James or Robert is unresolved. Her age and surname alone do not justify assigning her as James’s mother or as a particular relation of Robert.
Historical Highlights
A name and an age provide the starting point for James’s story. The family’s later Virginia estate records provide context, but they do not yet explain what became of him.
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1776
A Boy of Fourteen
James is recorded among males aged sixteen and under in Elizabeth Hundred, supporting a birth about 1762.
Open the Enumeration and Source
The facsimile in Gaius M. Brumbaugh’s Maryland Records, volume 1, page 250, shows James’s entry near the bottom of the left column, followed by Richard and Robert. The ages read fourteen, nine, and six.
The Maryland State Archives index identifies Guttry, James, Elizabeth Hundred, Frederick County, 1776: MSA S1419-6-6846, box 2, folder 7, page 19. The archival page reference differs from the printed book’s pagination.
Open the published census facsimile →
Neither proximity on this list nor a shared surname states a sibling relationship. Those relationships belong to the broader family reconstruction.
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28 Feb 1788
Absent from Robert’s Will
Robert names six children and a grandson. James is not among the named beneficiaries.
Open the Will and Its Limits
The children expressly named are John, Phebe, Mary, Sarah, Richard, and Robert. The will also names wife Esther and grandson John King.
James’s omission has been used to suggest that he died before the will was signed. That remains a possibility, not a demonstrated conclusion. The document does not describe his death, explain an exclusion, or identify a wife or children for him.
Other explanations cannot be selected without evidence. The will also does not independently prove James’s placement as Robert’s son.
Read the recorded will, Rockbridge County Will Book 1, page 329 →
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7 Apr 1789
Robert’s Will Is Proved
The probate entry records Esther and Richard presenting the will. It adds no identification of James or account of his later life.
Open the Probate Context
The probate belongs to Robert Guthrie’s estate in Rockbridge County, Virginia. It should not be used as a death date for James or as proof that James accompanied the family to Virginia.
Estate accounts, distributions, receipts, and related court proceedings may offer evidence beyond the will itself. Until such a record identifies him, James’s trail remains unresolved after 1776.
Explore the Research
DNA and the Unidentified Descendant Line
| Family Line | Y-DNA | Big Y | Autosomal |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Guthrie, born about 1762 | — | — | — |
—: no verified descendant participation is documented for this line. These tests are not biologically inapplicable; the missing element is an established line of descent.
What DNA Could Help Establish
If a documented paternal-line descendant of James is identified, Y-DNA and Big Y could be compared with the established Guthrie Family Group 3 paternal lines.
Autosomal matches could assist the documentary investigation, but a match to the wider Guthrie family would not, by itself, identify this James as the ancestor. The connections between generations must still be demonstrated.
Other Men Named James Guthrie
Two other James Guthrie family studies within the wider group should remain separate from this boy’s unresolved identity:
- James W. Guthrie & Isabella Carmichael, associated with eastern Tennessee and a birth about 1769.
- James Guthrie & Elizabeth Casdorph, associated with Kanawha County and a birth about 1774.
A familiar name, a related family, or a broadly similar migration route is insufficient to merge these identities. Any proposed identification must reconcile the 1776 age and supply a documentary connection.
Reading & Sources
- 1776 enumeration: Gaius M. Brumbaugh, Maryland Records: Colonial, Revolutionary, County and Church, from Original Sources, volume 1 (1915), page 250; Elizabeth Hundred, males aged sixteen and under. Published facsimile.
- Archival index: Maryland State Archives, Census Index, 1776–1778; Guttry, James, MSA S1419-6-6846, box 2, folder 7, page 19.
- Robert Guthrie’s recorded will and probate: Rockbridge County, Virginia, Will Book 1, page 329; signed 28 February 1788, proved 7 April 1789. FamilySearch image group 007646171, image 500 of 603; Ancestry copy.
- Working reconstruction: James in the Guthrie Research Tree and the Robert Guthrie & Esther Giles family study. The proposed parentage and earlier death estimate should be evaluated against the cited records.
Most Wanted Documents
- A church, estate, land, or court record explicitly identifying James as a son of Robert and Esther.
- Records tracing the boy enumerated in 1776 into adulthood, especially tax lists, deeds, marriage records, and court proceedings in the family’s Maryland and Virginia localities.
- Robert’s estate accounts or receipts naming James, a representative, or an otherwise unidentified family member.
- A death, burial, or estate record supporting—or replacing—the proposed death before 1788.
- A documented spouse or child whose records can connect a later James Guthrie household to the Elizabeth Hundred boy.
Help Build the Family Story
James’s name survives in a Maryland age list, while the rest of his story remains to be recovered. A later record may reveal a life that the family’s surviving will does not describe.
If you have evidence connecting a James Guthrie to this family, please share the record and its source so the identity can be compared carefully.
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Researched & Curated by Ann Guthrie