6-C: John F Guthrie
Guthrie Family Group 6 – Branch C
JOHN F GUTHRIE (1820 PA – aft 1860) and CATHARINE WOLF
of Lycoming & Jefferson Counties, Pennsylvania, USA
JOHN F. GUTHRIE
Parents: James P. Guthrie (c. 1801 – after 1840/possibly ~1847) and Martha Fansey (1801–1893)
Born: About 1820
Birth Location: Lycoming County, Pennsylvania (likely Mifflin or Muncy Township area)
Married: About 1840–1841, Pennsylvania (presumed Lycoming/Jefferson County)
Spouse: Catharine Wolf
Occupation: Farmer or general laborer; probable involvement in the regional lumber/rafter economy of the Susquehanna River valley (common for GFG6 men of this generation).
Resided: 1850: Ringgold Township, Jefferson County, PA; 1860: Mifflin Township, Lycoming County, PA
Died: After 1868 (youngest child born c. 1868); exact date and circumstances unknown.
Death Location: Unknown (likely Lycoming or Jefferson County, PA).
Burial:Unknown.
CATHARINE WOLF
Parents: Unidentified at present (Wolf/Wolfe families were common in north-central Pennsylvania German and Scotch-Irish communities).
Born: About 1822, Pennsylvania.
Married: About 1840–1841 to John F. Guthrie.
Guthrie Children: 9 (see full list below).
Resided: Same locations and timeline as husband.
Died: Unknown (survived at least until after 1868).
Death Location: Unknown.
Burial: Unknown.
Y-DNA PROJECT PARTICIPANTS: YES
AUTOSOMAL DNA PARTICIPANTS: YES
NOTES:
John F. Guthrie was the eldest confirmed son of James P. Guthrie and Martha Fansey in GFG6 Branch C. The family’s movement between Lycoming County (core lumber capital region) and Jefferson County reflects the economic realities of mid-19th-century north-central Pennsylvania: seasonal lumbering on the Susquehanna and its tributaries, land availability in newer townships, and the search for stable farming or wage work amid the booming timber trade that defined Williamsport as the “Lumber Capital of the World.”
The 1850 U.S. Census (Ringgold Township, Jefferson County) places the young couple with at least their first two or three children, confirming early relocation westward within Pennsylvania. By 1860 they had returned to Mifflin Township, Lycoming County. A notable gap exists between the 1859 twin daughters and the youngest son in 1868—common in frontier families due to high infant/child mortality, miscarriages, or unrecorded births during periods of mobility or economic stress. No 1870 U.S. Census record has been located for John, Catharine, or the full household, which raises possibilities of John’s early death, Catharine’s remarriage/widowhood under a different name, children dispersing for work, or migration. No probate, obituary, military, or burial records have surfaced yet despite targeted searches.
Family lore and downstream patterns in GFG6 suggest many sons and grandsons continued in logging, farming, or related trades before some branches moved west (e.g., to Kansas). Catharine’s maiden name “Wolf” aligns with numerous Pennsylvania families in the area, but her exact parentage requires further deed, church, or orphan’s court research.
CONSIDERATIONS:
The long childbearing span (nearly 30 years) is biologically plausible but hints at possible unrecorded children who died young or were raised elsewhere (e.g., apprenticeships). The family’s working-class status means fewer formal records than wealthier lines. Civil War-era timing overlaps with several GFG6 brothers/cousins serving; John himself would have been in his 40s—too old for most enlistments but possible for home-guard or support roles (none confirmed).
GUTHRIE CHILDREN: 9
Children are listed in approximate birth order based on available census and vital data. Details are limited for most due to the era’s record gaps for non-prominent families. DNA participation is noted where relevant.
CHILD 1: Martha E. Guthrie (c. 1842 PA – unknown)
Marriage and descendants: Unknown; further research pending.
Resided with parents in 1850 Jefferson County census (age ~8).
Resided with parents in 1860 Mifflin, Lycoming County, PA census (age ~18); disability condition: idiotic
Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A (female line).
Autosomal DNA Participants: NONE. Descendants unknown.
CHILD 2: James Wesley Guthrie (c. 1845 PA – 15 May 1914)
Marriage 1: Rebecca “Becky” Spiegel bef. 1868 probably in Lycoming County, PA +children
Marriage 2: Mary Lucretia Montague on 11 Jan 1896 in Williamsport, Lycoming, PA -no children
Occupation: Laborer / Day Laborer
Civil War Soldier: US Army, Company E 149th Pennsylvania Infantry, Rank: Private
Burial: Wildwood Cemetery, Loyalsock Twp, Lycoming County, PA
Guthrie Children: 5
Y-DNA Project Participants: NONE.
Autosomal DNA Participants: NONE
- Florence C Guthrie: 20 Mar 1868 PA – 15 Apr 1910 PA m1. George Burris (1892), m2. Samuel Arnold (1902), no children
- Gilbert Guthrie: abt. 1870 PA – 9 Mar 1928 MO, unmarried
- George Wesley Guthrie: 3 May 1873 PA – 6 Apr 1951 PA, marital status widowed at time of death.
- William Nelson Guthrie: 1875 PA – 15 Nov 1941 NY (machinist/laborer), m. Alice Emmaline Hall +children
- Annie Guthrie: abt. 1878 PA – aft. 1880, survival to adulthood, marriage, children unknown
CHILD 3: Mary Catharine Guthrie (25 Nov 1850 PA – 27 Mar 1922 PA)
Resided with parents in 1850 Jefferson County census (age ~1).
Resided with parents in 1860 Mifflin, Lycoming County, PA census (age ~9).
Marriage: John Smith about 1865 probably in Lycoming, Pennsylvania
Smith Children: 6 known
Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A (female line)
Autosomal DNA Participants: NONE
- Jemima A Smith: born abt. 1866 PA – died aft. 1880
- Emmonezer Stiles Smith: Jul 1867 PA – 7 Jun 1907 PA, m. Lydia Campbell Johnson +children
- Ida Alice Smith: 6 Sep 1872 PA – 22 Aug 1924, m. Noble Norton abt 1893 +children
- Robert W Smith: 1 May 1875 PA – 27 Nov 1915 PA, m. Lucy Rebecca Snyder +children
- Laura R Smith: abt. 1878 PA – 17 Nov 1951 PA, m. Thomas S Riley +children
- Leidy Monroe Smith: 4 Sep 1892 PA – 8 Sep 1970, m. Beatrice E Knerr +children
CHILD 4: Louise Melissa Guthrie (12 Dec 1851 PA – 3 Nov 1914)
Marriage: John Umpstead (abt.1851-1929) probably in Lycoming, Pennsylvania about 1879-80.
Umpstead Children: 5 – 6
Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A.
Autosomal DNA Participants: NONE.
- Mary E Umpstead: 14 Jan 1870 – 30 Nov 1881 @ age 11. Bur. Woodward Twp Cemetery, Linden, Lycoming, PA
- Annie Melissa Umpstead: 12 Oct 1875 – 8 Mar 1952. m. Nicholas E Confer +children
- John E Umpstead: 26 May 1885 – 28 Sep 1967 m. Sarah (Powell) Whiles
- Unidentified Umpstead
- Unidentified Umpstead
- Possible 6th Child Unidentified Umpstead
CHILD 5: George Quiggle Guthrie (21 November 1855, Lycoming County, PA – 18 May 1953)
Resided: Early life in Pennsylvania; later moved to Kansas (confirmed migration pattern).
This line shows westward movement typical of post-Civil War GFG6 branches seeking new opportunities.
George Guthrie was working on the farm of Jacob Zuker in Center, Ottawa, Kansas when he met his future wife, Mary Frances. The 1880 census indicates that she was Jacob’s adopted daughter. She was born in Illinois about 1866, the daughter of Benjamin Stauffer and Sarah Rokenbrodt.
Married: 15 August 1880, Ottawa, Kansas, to Mary Frances Stauffer Zuker.
Sometime between 1885 and 1895, George and Mary Frances divorced. Their only son died about 1890. Mary Frances remarried to William Schlotz. They had a daughter, Geneva, born about 1895.
George continued to live in Minneapolis, Ottawa, Kansas. He worked as a “hired man” or “farm laborer”.
Burial: Highland Cemetery, Minneapolis, Ottawa County, Kansas, Plot info: Blk 6, Lot 49
Guthrie Children: 3
Y-DNA Project Participants: NONE.
Autosomal DNA Participants: NONE.
- Frances Katherine Guthrie: 7 Oct 1880 KS – Mar 1983 CO, m1. Lewis E Chapin +children, m2.Henry Roy Richards
- Jacob Frederic Guthrie: 9 Sep 1890 KS – 10 May 1890 CO @ 7 years old (KS State Census Collection)
- Maude Ellen Guthrie: 7 Dec 1884 KS – 28 Dec 1918, m. William Anthony Standage +children
CHILD 6: Caroline Guthrie (c. 1857 PA – unknown)
Resided with family in 1860. Marriage and descendants: Limited records.
Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A – Female Line.
Autosomal DNA Participants: NONE.
CHILD 7 & 8: Sarah Guthrie and Mary J. Guthrie (twins, c. 1859 PA – unknown)
Twin daughters; resided with family in 1860. Marriage and descendants: Limited individual records.
Y-DNA Project Participants: N/A. Female line.
Autosomal DNA Participants: NONE.
CHILD 9: Amos Miller Guthrie (10 Jul 1865 PA – 27 Nov 1942 PA)
Youngest child, born near or after John’s last confirmed record.
Marriage: Della Bodecker at the First United Methodist Church, Williamsport, Lycoming, PA on 4 Mar 1895.
Y-DNA Project Participants: NONE.
Autosomal DNA Participants: NONE.
Notes on completeness: Nine children are consistently cited across family compilations and the parent James P./Martha Fansey page. Gaps (e.g., 1845–1851, 1859–1868) are common and may indicate unrecorded births/deaths or children who left home early for lumber work or apprenticeships.
Primary Sources & Vital Records
- 1850 U.S. Census, Ringgold Township, Jefferson County, PA: John Guthrie (age 30), Catharine (28), Martha E. (8), and additional young children.
- 1860 U.S. Census, Mifflin Township, Lycoming County, PA: Full household enumeration (images available via FamilySearch/Ancestry).
- FamilySearch record for George Quiggle Guthrie (LZ4K-DG7): Confirms exact birth date, parents, marriage to Mary Frances Stauffer (1880, Ottawa, KS), and death 1953.
- Parent page: James P. Guthrie & Martha Fansey (GFG6 Branch C) on this blog—provides overarching citations and Family Bible links.
Newspapers & Contextual Resources
- Lycoming County and Jefferson County historical societies and digitized newspapers (via Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive or Newspapers.com) for potential marriage notices, land transactions, or lumber industry mentions.
- Lycoming County Historical Society collections on the Susquehanna lumber boom and township settlement patterns.
Secondary & Online Resources
- Guthrie DNA Surname Project (FTDNA/WikiTree): Full GFG6 haplogroup and branch details.
- Find A Grave / Pennsylvania vital records indexes for potential later burials or marriages.