Guthrie Family Group 3A
WILLIAM GUTHRIE c1779TN – Aft.1804 and HANNAH SMILEY
of Greene County, Tennessee, USA

WILLIAM GUTHRIE
Parents (Theoretical): Francis Guthrie Jr and Susannah (MNU)
Birth: Abt. 1779
Birth Location: Unknown, Virginia or Tennessee, USA
Marriage: Hannah Smiley on 1 Feb 1800 in Greene County, TN
Occupation: Unknown
Death: Unknown, after 1800
Death Location: Unknown

HANNAH SMILEY
Parents: Unknown
Birth: Est. 1775-1784
Birth Location: Unknown
Guthrie Children: Unknown
Death: Unknown
Death Location: Unknown

NOTES:

The main fact know about William Guthrie is that his name is similar to countless others making him an easy target for misidentification. Understand that his placement here in GFG3A remains theoretical, but there are a few key facts that suggest he is in the right place.

William Guthrie’s marriage to Hannah Smiley in Greene County, Tennessee is the hub for gathering all other data on this man and his family. Their marriage occurred on 1 February 1800. Robert Smiley and James Hays were their bondsmen. Note that Robert Smiley is likely a close relative, but not necessarily Hannah’s father. More data is required.

There is a William Guthrie listed in the 1783 Greene County, TN Early Tax List Records, but that would not be the son of Francis Guthrie as he would not yet be an adult. The earliest potential record is the 1798 Court Record for Greene County, TN listing a William Guthrie as a juror in the case of George H Hinds vs John Kyle, an appeal.

In 1798, both James Guthrie and William Guthrie, among others, were assigned as hands set down to work on the road from Blue Spring to Bulls Gap. John Conolly was assigned as the overseer. This entry increases the odds that William Guthrie is related to James Guthrie as they are residence in the same part of Greene County.

William Guthrie participated in court activities twice more in 1798. First as a second juryman on the case of Abraham Broyles vs. James Penney and Daniel Kennedy. Next providing testimony on behalf of Benjamin Bogart, an apprentice of John Burns, stating that his master had been ill-treating him. Neither entry provides clues as to William’s origins other than a continued presence in Greene County.

This is still prior to his marriage to Hannah Smiley. On 2 January 1800, just a month before the ceremony, William Guthrie sold to Robert Smiley, both of Greene, for $500, 105 acres of land on the South Side of Lick Creek, part of a tract obtained from George Hallmark from NC, Patent dated 20 Sep 1787. Witnesses were James Scott and John M Blackburn Sr. The location of this property is important because his theorized brother James W Guthrie also owned property on Lick Creek, which again puts James and William in the same place at the same time. Also, with the added component of the Robert Smiley connection.

On 3 April 1800, William Guthrie was listed as a witness to an indenture between John Love of Knox Co., by his atty Phillip Love, Greene Co., TN, and Samuel Ashmon of Greene, TN. 199 acres on Lick Creek. This is the last entry in which William is found in Greene County Deeds.

A Robert Smiley married Betsy Messimer in Greene County, TN on 24 May 1802.

Four years later, on 11 August 1804, William Guthrie is mentioned in an indenture between Robert Smiley & Alexander Smiley of Greene Co., TN sell 105 acres on Lick Creek, 1/2 tr that David Hutson & William Guthrie bought from John Blair, part tr patented to George Hallmark 20 Sep 1785.

Presumably, William and Hannah (Smiley) Guthrie sold up and moved out of the county, but where did they go? Maybe to Hawkins County, TN?

Tennessee Early Tax Lists – Hawkins, TN
1812 – Guttary, William – 50 acres, 1, 0

Smiley Children: Unknown
Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A – No Known Descendants
Autosomal DNA Participants: N/A – No Known Descendants

READING and RESOURCES

MISTAKEN IDENTITIES: Keeping in mind that the clues point toward GFG3A ancestry, William would not be linked to any other known Guthrie Family Group. He is not the GFG2A William Guthrie married to Hannah Barnett. This William Guthrie should also not be confused with the man who died in Greene, TN in 1883. That William Guthrie (1812SC-1883TN) was of a younger generation and different lineage. He was married to Clementine Thomas.

DOCUMENTS: General Index to Real Estate Conveyances – Greene County, TN – REVERSE (Grantees)
FHL Film #007896705 Images 367 – 370 of 536
Guthrey, James from James Stevenson (Atty) for Robert Stevenson, 300, Book 2, Page 455
Guthrie, Adam from North Carolina Grant – 123, Book 3, Page 454
Guthrie, James from James Ashmore – 13 Aug 1796 – 230, Book 6, Page 5
Guthrie, John et al from Elizabeth Morgan (Rufus Morgan Est) – 450, Book 16, Page 374
Guthrie, John from Peter Brown – Land – Book 16, Page 423
Guthrie, James from James Hays – 2 Trs – Book 24, Page 81
Guthrie, James G from Tennessee Grant – 3200 – Book 25 – Page 460
Guthries, Lewis & James from Andrew G Rader – 102, Book 29, Page 477
Guthery, William from John H Craig (By Shff) 130, Book 36, Page 394
Guthrie, William from Nancy Craig, INT, Book 36, Page 609

DOCUMENTS: General Index to Real Estate Conveyances – Greene County, TN – DIRECT (Grantors)
FHL Film # 007896705 Images 96 – 99 of 536
Guttery, William to Robert Smiley, 105, Book 4 – Page 319
Guthrie, James (By Shff) to James Hays – 580, Book 4 – Page 374
Gutherie, John to Charles Miller – 4 Trs, Book 17 – Page 273
Guthrie, John et al to George Gordon 17 July 1829 – 1500, Book 19 – Page 20
Guthree, John to John Henderson, Land, Book 20, Page 228
Guthrie, James G. et al (By C & M) to Caroline & James Lee – Decree, Book 22, Page 412
Guthrie, James G. to John C Martin – 500, Book 25, Page 432
Guthrie, William to D.R. Gass TR, T.D., Book 36, Page 280
Guthrie, Andrew to Henry Dean – 11 Mar 1867 – Land – Book 37 – Page 43

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