Guthrie Family Group 6 – Branch B
ADAM GUTHRIE (1740 ENG – aft. 1785 ENG) and ELIZABETH NESBIT
of Northumberland and Durham, England

ADAM GUTHRIE

Parents: Adam Guthrie and Elizabeth Nesbit (of Harbottle, Northumberland)
Birth: 8 January 1762, Harbottle, Northumberland, England
Marriage: 16 November 1779, Kelloe, Durham, England to Isabella Morrison
Occupation: Likely agricultural labourer or early industrial worker transitioning into the Tyneside coal economy (exact occupation unstated in records)
Death: 1803, Gateshead, Durham, England (age approximately 41)
Burial: Unknown (no monumental inscription or burial register detail identified in compiled sources)
Notes: Eldest known son of Adam Guthrie and Elizabeth Nesbit in Branch B of GFG6. Married at age 17 in the neighbouring Durham mining parish of Kelloe, reflecting typical late-18th-century mobility across the Northumberland-Durham border for economic or family reasons. The couple settled in the industrialising Tyneside area (Blaydon, Ryton, Gateshead), a major hub for coal production and river transport during the early Industrial Revolution. No evidence of military service, land ownership, or emigration; the family remained firmly rooted in the North East of England.

ISABELLA MORRISON

Parents: Unknown (Morrison is a common Anglo-Scottish border surname)
Birth: Estimated c. 1760–1761 (based on marriage age and first child’s birth)
Marriage: 16 November 1779, Kelloe, Durham, England to Adam Guthrie
Death: March 1839, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, England
Burial: Unknown
Notes: Isabella outlived Adam by approximately 36 years, raising their seven known children (including two who died in infancy) as a widow during the Napoleonic Wars, enclosure movements, and rapid expansion of the coal trade. Her survival into the early civil-registration era places her death in the Newcastle area, where many of her adult sons and their families were active in the keelman trade.

FAMILY NOTES / HISTORY

Adam and Isabella’s marriage in the mining parish of Kelloe was followed by a clear relocation to the Blaydon/Ryton/Gateshead corridor along the River Tyne — the heart of Britain’s coal-export economy in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Multiple sons worked as keelmen (specialised boatmen who loaded and transported coal down the Tyne to seagoing ships), a physically demanding, dangerous, and low-paid occupation central to the region’s industrial wealth but notorious for high injury and mortality rates. The family experienced the typical high infant and child mortality of the pre-vaccination, pre-sanitation era: two youngest children (Septimus and Margery) died in 1793.

Nuances and edge cases include: (1) spelling variations in parish registers (Guthrie/Guthery/Guthry); (2) possible unrecorded additional children lost to incomplete baptism coverage; (3) minor discrepancies in compiled birth years and marriage dates common before standardised civil registration (1837); and (4) the challenge of distinguishing this nuclear family from other contemporary Guthries in the same parishes. No surviving wills, probate records, or poor-law documents have been located to illuminate economic status or hardships, but widow Isabella’s long survival suggests she relied on the support of her adult working sons in the tight-knit Tyneside communities.

One notable implication is the single documented transatlantic move: grandson Adam Crozier Guthrie (son of James) emigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the mid-19th century — an early example of the broader Guthrie diaspora from the North East. The paternal line is strongly confirmed by Y-DNA testing through son George, providing the genetic bridge back to Adam/Elizabeth Nesbit despite the sparse paper trail. This branch remained largely English-based, in contrast to many other GFG6 lines that emigrated to North America or Australia.

GUTHRIE CHILDREN: 7 (known)

CHILD 1: WILLIAM DOUGLAS GUTHRIE (General Laborer) 30 June 1780, Blaydon, Northumberland – Jul-Aug-Sep 1861, Tynemouth, Northumberland (age 81)
Spouse: Catherine Arrowsmith (b. 1784 Felling, Durham; m. ~1800/1808 Ryton, Durham; d. July 1860 Sunderland, Durham, age 76)
Children: 7 known
Y-DNA Project Participants: NONE
Autosomal DNA Participants: NONE
Notes/History: Longest-lived child; family spread across Northumberland, Durham, and into Scottish counties (Lanarkshire, Fife) via descendants. Represents the non-Y-DNA-tested male line.

1.) Ralph Guthrie abt. 1800 – 1801 – buried 17 Nov 1801 at Heworth, Jarrow, Durham, England (FHL 894911)
2.) Mary Guthrie born 5 Dec 1805, baptized 9 Jun 1805 at Heworth, Jarrow, Durham, England, married John Clark, 8 known children, died 9 May 1872.
3.) William Guthrie (laborer) born 27 Jul 1807, baptized 11 Oct 1807 at Heworth, Durham, England, married Dorothy Bell on 2 Oct 1830, 2 known children, died abt. 1873 in Durham, England.
4.) Henry Arrowsmith Guthrie (keelman) born 1813, baptized 8 May 1814 at Heworth, Durham, England, married Euphemia Thompson on 27 Jan 1833 at Prestonpans, East Lothian, Scotland, 3 known children, died 1883 at Alwick, Northumberland, England.
5.) John Guthrie (engineer) born 1818, married Mary Forrest about 1836, 6 known children, died 11 Feb 1892 in Markinch, Fife, Scotland
6.) Jane Guthrie born 1823, married Henry Thompson 8 Nov 1845 at Longbenton, Northumberland, England, 7 known children, died 12 May 1870 in Durham, England.
7.) Ralph Guthrie born abt. 1823, married 1st Jane Rankin in 1845 at South Shields, Durham, 8 known children, Jane died in 1876. Ralph remarried to Margaret Learmouth on 26 Apr 1885 at Christ Church, Tynemouth, Northumberland, England, no children, He died about Oct 1896 at Walker, Northumberland, England

CHILD 2: JOHN GUTHRIE (Keelman) b. Abt. 23 June 1782, Ryton, Durham – d. unknown/deceased
Spouse: Barbara Parker (m. 28 May 1799, Ryton, Durham)
Children: 2 known. Isabella (1800); John or Adam (1803)
Y-DNA Project Participants: NONE
Autosomal DNA Participants: NONE
Notes/History: Keelman occupation aligns with the family’s Tyneside economic pattern. Note that the birth record for John Guthrie lists the father as Adam Guthrie. Possible the transcription is reversed: father John, son Adam (named for grandfather).

1.) Isabella Guthrie – born 12 Mar 1800, baptized 10 Jan 1802 at Ryton, Durham, England (FHL Film 91110)
2) John or Adam Guthrie – born 11 Jul 1803, baptized 29 Sep 1805 at St John, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England (FHL Film 0095014, 0095015)

CHILD 3: JAMES GUTHRIE (Keelman) 1784 – 1840 (age 56)
Spouse: Ann Crozier (b. 1783; m. 21 June 1808, Ryton, Durham; d. 1845, age 62)
Children: At least 2 (Adam Crozier Guthrie b. ~1816 Blaydon d. 1866 Philadelphia, PA, USA; Isabella b. ~1819 Blaydon d. 1887 Newcastle upon Tyne)
Y-DNA Project Participants: NONE
Autosomal DNA Participants: NONE
Notes/History: Son Adam Crozier Guthrie’s emigration to Philadelphia represents the only documented 19th-century transatlantic branch from this nuclear family.

1.) Adam Crozier Guthrie born 1816, baptized 20 Oct 1816 at Ryton, Durham, England, married Sarah Ann (MNU) about 1842, 4 known children, emigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, US Civil War Soldier, died 21 May 1866 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2.) Isabella Guthrie born abt. 1819, baptized 11 May 1819 at Blaydon, Durham, England, married Thomas Barron on 5 May 1839 at Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England, 5 known children, died about 1887 England.

CHILD 4: JOSEPH GUTHRIE (Keelman) b. 20 September 1787, Blaydon, Durham – d. abt. 1841, Durham, England
Spouse: Catherine Graham (m. 15 May 1808, Ryton, Durham)
Children: 9 known
Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A
Autosomal DNA Participants: None noted
Notes/History: Another son fully engaged in the keelman trade.

1.) Mary Guthrie born 6 Feb 1809, baptized 21 May 1809 at Ryton, Durham, England, died 13 Dec 1810 at Blaydon, Durham, England, burial 14 Dec 1810 at Holy Cross Church of England Churchyard, Ryton, Durham, England.
2.) Isabella Guthrie born 22 Feb 1811, baptized 2 Jun 1811 at Ryton, Durham, England, married George Kennedy on 22 Nov 1832 at St John’s Parish, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, 6 known children, died aft 1861.
3.) Margery Guthrie born abt. 1814, baptized 10 Feb 1814 at Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England, married Charles Kellet, no verified children, death date unknown.
4.) Mary Guthrie born 21 Nov 1814/16, baptized 18 Nov 1818 at Gateshead, Durham, England
5.) Adam Guthrie born 30 Jun 1815, baptized 19 Feb 1817 at St Nicholas, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England
6.) Mary Guthrie born 21 Nov 1816, baptized 19 Dec 1824 at High Street-Wesleyan, Gateshead, Durham, England
7.) Joseph Guthrie born 21 Feb 1819, baptized 16 May 1819 at High Street-Wesleyan, Gateshead, Durham, England.
8.) Mary Ann Guthrie born 20 Dec 1823, baptized 19 Dec 1824 at High Street-Wesleyan, Gateshead, Durham, England
9.) William Guthrie born 1 Oct 1829, baptized 10 May 1830 at Gateshead, Durham, England

CHILD 5: GEORGE GUTHRIE (Keelman) 29 November 1788, Blaydon (Bladon), Northumberland
Spouse: Mary Smart (b. 1791 Gateshead, Durham; m. 26 May 1814, Ryton, Durham; d. unknown)
Children: At least 4 (Adam b. 1821 Newburn Hall; Isabella b. 1824 Gateshead d. 1850; Edward b. 1825 Scotswood d. 1896 Bolton, Lancashire; Ann b. 1828 Gateshead)
Y-DNA Project Participants: YES (male-line descendants confirm GFG6 haplotype R-YP371 and matches to Branch B)
Autosomal DNA Participants: YES (kits tracing through Edward Guthrie m. Margaret Stobbart → later generations)
Notes/History: This is the key DNA-verified line. Family remained in the Gateshead/Newcastle area before some descendants moved into Lancashire; provides the genetic anchor for the entire Branch B.

1.) Adam Guthrie (engine wright) born 1821 Newburn, Northumberland, England, married Ann Anderson in Oct 1844 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England, 5 known children, died April 1894 in Salford, Lancashire, England.
2.) Isabella Guthrie born 1824 Gateshead, Durham, England, married Joseph Towns April 1846 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England, 1 child, died Jan 1850 in Gateshead, Durham, England
3.) Edward Guthrie born 1825 Scotswood, Northumberland, England, married 1st on 24 Aug 1845 Margaret Stobbart in Gateshead, Durham, England, 10 known children, Margaret died 1879. Edward remarried in 1885 to Ann Rothwell, no children. He died in 1896 at Bolton, Lancashire, England.
4.) Ann Guthrie born in 1828 at Gateshead, Durham, England

CHILD 6: SEPTIMUS GUTHRIE b. Abt. 25 October 1789, Blaydon, Durham, baptized 25 Oct 1792 at Holy Cross Church, Ryton, Durham, England, died 1793, Durham (age 3)
Spouse: N/A
Children: None
Notes/History: Died in early childhood, typical of the era’s high infant mortality.

CHILD 7: MARGERY GUTHRIE b. Abt. 28 October 1792, Blaydon, Durham, baptized 28 Oct 1792 at Holy Cross Church, Ryton, Durham, England, died 1793, Durham (age ~1)
Spouse: N/A
Children: None
Notes/History: Died in infancy; another example of the family’s experience with early-life loss.

Primary Sources

• Harbottle, Northumberland Parish Register (Baptisms): Adam Guthrie, son of Adam Guthrie and Elizabeth Nesbit, baptised 8 January 1762. (Accessed via compiled genealogies and Ancestry/FamilySearch indexes; original at Northumberland Archives or online transcriptions.)
• Kelloe, Durham Parish Register (Marriages): Adam Guthrie and Isabella Morrison, married 16 November 1779. (Durham Diocese records or Bishop’s Transcripts; confirms union in mining parish.)
• Corbridge, Northumberland Parish Register (Burials): Adam Guthrie, buried 2 April 1803. (Primary confirmation of death; note minor discrepancies in secondary trees listing Gateshead.)
• Longbenton, Northumberland Parish Register (Baptisms, c. 1781): William Douglas Guthrie, son of Adam and Isabella. (Indexed records align with Tyneside location.)
• Woodhorn, Northumberland Parish Register (Marriages 1800 and Baptisms): George Guthrie and Mary [MNU/Johnson] marriage; baptisms of their children 1801–1813. (Supports continuation of line.)

Secondary Sources

• Guthrie DNA Project (FamilyTreeDNA): Y-DNA and autosomal matches confirming GFG6 Branch B haplotype R-M512 > R-M198 > R-YP371; specific kit tracing Adam/Isabella → George → Edward → Matthew line. (See project results for Big Y and STR markers; autosomal kits link maternal lines.)
• Historical Context Resources: Parson & White, History, Directory, and Gazetteer of the Counties of Durham and Northumberland (1828) – details regional economy, parishes like Harbottle, Kelloe, Corbridge, Spittal, Longbenton, and Woodhorn during Adam’s lifetime (coal, agriculture, border life). Available via archive.org or local history libraries.
• Northumberland & Durham Family History Society (NDFHS) or Durham Record Office guides to parish registers and bishop’s transcripts (essential for verifying pre-1841 data).