Debunking Tradition

Charters Rewrite Guthrie of Hiltoun Pedigree

With the launch of new ‘Research & Resource’ pages for Guthrie of Eassie and Guthrie of Hiltoun, it’s time to revisit one of the most persistent ancestral lines in Angus genealogy—and why primary charters now tell a different story.

Genealogy enthusiasts know the frustration all too well: we inherit beautifully compiled family trees that have been copied, reprinted, and trusted for generations—only to discover they rest on shaky foundations. Traditional pedigrees, even those published in the 19th century, were often built from secondary summaries rather than original charters, retours, or sasines. The people who compiled them faced the same obstacles we do today: conflated names, missing dates, and the ever-present temptation to connect dots that don’t quite align. Sometimes all it takes is one overlooked document to turn “settled fact” into a fascinating question mark.

This is precisely the case with the identity and parentage of John Guthrie, 1st of Hiltoun.

The Traditional Pedigree – Fact or Fiction?

For nearly 150 years, since Alexander J Warden wrote the first volume of Angus or Forfarshire (1880), John Guthrie, 1st of Hiltoun (also styled of Hilton or Hilltoun), has been placed as a younger son of Sir Alexander Guthrie, 2nd Baron of Guthrie and 3rd of Kincaldrum (d. 1513 at Flodden) and his wife Hon. Margaret Lyon.

Several children are credited to the couple:

  • David Guthrie, the eldest son who d. 1513 at Flodden by whom the Guthrie of that Ilk line continued via his son, Andrew Guthrie, 3rd of Guthrie.
  • Alexander Guthrie, who inherited the title and lands of Kincaldrum, splitting the line into two branches.
  • John Guthrie, a younger son who inherited Hiltoun
  • Modern pedigrees also list George Guthrie of Kincreich, and a daughter, Elizabeth Guthrie.

This made Hiltoun a direct late cadet of the senior Guthrie line — a virtually uncontested story that has been repeated time and again in Burke’s Landed Gentry, Stirnet, and countless family trees.

If you descend from the Guthrie of Hiltoun and Guthrie of Craigie lineages, these are the things you need to know about the origins of your ancestors.

Did You Know…?

The designations “2nd of Guthrie,” “3rd of Kincaldrum,” etc., were popularized by Warden and later compilers for clarity. They were never official legal styles in the 15th or 16th centuries — Scottish charters used territorial descriptions (“of Guthrie,” “of Kincaldrum”) or heirship phrases (“son and heir”), not numbered succession. Modern genealogists have adopted the system as a convenient shorthand, but it remains a later convention rather than a contemporary or legal title.

The 1495 Bombshell and the Compressed Timeline

Sometimes, all it takes is one new fact to open your eyes to other connections. Before we get to John Guthrie, 1st of Hiltoun, we need to focus our attention on Margaret Lyon of Glamis whose marriage contract creates a serious chronological problem for the traditional pedigree.

No doubt you have read that the wife of Sir Alexander Guthrie, 2nd of Guthrie, 3rd of Kincaldrum, was Margaret Lyon, the daughter of John Lyon, 3rd Lord Glamis, and Elizabeth Scrymgeour. She was one of seven daughters (Violetta, Janet, Christian, Agnes, Margaret, Mariota, and Elizabeth), all of whom have spouses identified in The Scots Peerage.

Except–there is no mention of a Guthrie marriage.

Even Warden could not name her.

“Sir Alexander [Guthrie] married a daughter of Lord Glamis.” — Alexander J. Warden, Angus or Forfarshire, Vol. III, p. 389

The specific identification of Alexander’s wife as Margaret Lyon appears consistently only in later 19th- and 20th-century secondary sources (Burke’s Landed Gentry, Stirnet, etc.). The Lyon of Glamis connection has remained especially appealing to Guthrie descendants because any daughter in that line serves as a gateway ancestor to royal Stewart descent.

No other Margaret Lyon from any branch of the Lyon family (Glamis main line or the Cossins/Wester Ogil cadets) appears in contemporary or near-contemporary records at the right age to have been Alexander Guthrie’s wife.

What is an Anchor Date?

In genealogy, an “anchor date” (also called an anchor point) refers to a highly verified, primary source date—such as a specific birth, marriage, or death certificate—used as a baseline. Researchers use this confirmed date to estimate missing or contradictory dates for surrounding events and family members.

There are two vital “anchor dates” to consider in this Guthrie family: 1495 and 1513.

  • On 10 June 1495, Margaret Lyon entered a formal marriage contract with James Rynd, younger of Broxmouth (tocher (dowry): 400 merks). The original document still rests at Glamis Castle and is explicitly cited in The Scots Peerage.
  • On 9 September 1513, Sir Alexander Guthrie and his son, David Guthrie, were both killed at the Battle of Flodden.

No primary marriage contract or charter has ever been found naming her in connection with Alexander Guthrie. If he married a Lyon daughter (Full Table in Reference Section), the marriage contract has not been indexed.

A marriage to Margaret Lyon is still definitely possible, but it would have to be after 1495 when she was contractually available for marriage. No primary documents have been found to indicate that James Rynd inherited Broxmouth, or that he had children by Margaret Lyon. If James Rynd died soon after 1495, or their contract of marriage was never solemnized, a Guthrie-Lyon marriage could have taken place between 1495-1513.

Any children for the couple would have to be born between 1495 and 1513–roughly a window of 18 years. This still seems plausible until those birth year estimates and current pedigrees show their children born between the 1460s – 1490s.

By September 1513 the following had supposedly occurred:

  • Eldest son David Guthrie was old enough to fight and die at Flodden and already had a son, Andrew Guthrie, who was old enough to succeed to the main Guthrie estates immediately after the battle.
  • Both Alexander Guthrie and his son David fell together at the Battle of Flodden on 9 September 1513. There is no single official list of Flodden casualties, but contemporary legal records confirm their deaths. Warden notes that Alexander “surrounded by friends and vassals, attended his sovereign to the fatal field of Flodden, and there fell, with his eldest, David, his three brothers-in-law, David, William, and George Lyon, and his nephew, Sir Thomas Maule.”
  • Just a few months later, on 15 May 1514, an Instrument of Sasine was granted in favour of Andrew Guthre as (grand)son & heir of the deceased Alexander Guthre of Guthre, kt., of the lands of Guthre. (In 16th-century Scottish feudal practice a minor heir’s sasine normally named a tutor or curator; none is mentioned here.)

If Margaret Lyon was Alexander Guthrie’s only wife and the mother of any children, this timeline is highly improbable. Even if their eldest son, David Guthrie, was old enough to fight at the Battle of Flodden, his son Andrew would likely only be an infant rather than being considered old enough to receive title over the lands and barony of Guthrie the following year. Room is also required for the younger Alexander Guthrie to inherit the title and lands of Kincaldrum.. John Guthrie is in place as a younger son who was said to inherit Hiltoun either before or shortly after his father’s death in 1513.

Our search into the Traditional Pedigree of John Guthrie 1st of Hiltoun has highlighted a problem with the identification of his mother. Yet there has been nothing shown to shake up his listed father, Sir Alexander Guthrie, 2nd of Guthrie, 3rd of Kincaldrum.

Lifetime Grants to Younger Sons

There was no single fixed rule about the timing of lifetime grants to younger sons in early-16th century Scotland. The practice was flexible and could happen at any time the father chose subject only to the terms of the family entail or any prior marriage contracts. Most common triggers: 1) upon or shortly after the son’s marriage to provide a portion or torcher-equivalent for the younger son, 2) when the son reached legal majority (age 21) so he could be infeft and manage the lands himself, 3) at the father’s convenience any time the father wanted to reduce his responsibilities, reward the son, or secure the cadet line while still alive. A father could also grant lands to a minor son if he wished; the sasine would simply not a tutor/curator until the son turned 21. In practice, most documented lifetime charters for younger sons occurred when the son was already an adult (18-25 range).

The lands of Guthrie and Kincaldrum were distributed either before or after Sir Alexander Guthrie’s 1513 death. He had already granted the Kincaldrum lands to his younger son Alexander by charter dated 23 August 1508 (RMS ii, 3259), a common practice for younger sons during the father’s lifetime.

Hiltoun seems to have been a division of the Guthrie lands, but there was no division or grant to any John Guthrie specifically documented as a son of Sir Alexander Guthrie of Guthrie & Kincaldrum either before or in the thirty year period after his death.

  • On 15 Oct 1545, a Precept of Clare Constat by Alexander Guthrie, 4th of Guthrie, to John Guthrie of Hilton of Guthrie. (NLS, Saltoun Papers, Ch.14167)
  • On 10 May 1546, A Charter and Instrument of Sasine by Alexander Guthrie (4th) of Guthrie, son of Andrew Guthrie (3rd) of Guthrie, to John Guthrie of Esse of parts of Hilton and Easttown of Guthrie. (NLS, Saltoun Papers, Ch.14168–14169)

Importantly, the documents reveal that John Guthrie was styled “of Esse” prior to his acquisition of Hiltoun. There is one other key record:

  • Eleven months earlier, on 3 November 1544, a Precept of Clare Constat by James, Lord Ogilvy had already recognized John Guthrie “as heir of deceased David Guthrie of Esse” in the lands of Kirktoun of Esse (NRS GF16/3/42). This confirms that John was already an established landholder “of Esse” before receiving the Hiltoun grant from Alexander Guthrie, 4th of Guthrie.

This is not evidence that John was simply a “son or relative” being handed land as a new vassal. It shows he was already a recognized, landed heir in the Eassie line (under Ogilvy superiority) by late 1544. The 1545/46 Hiltoun grant was therefore an additional infeftment of an established local laird — not the first time John was being “set up” with property.

Significance of the Precept → Charter → Sasine Sequence

In mid-16th-century Scottish feudal law (when lands were held of a subject superior rather than directly of the Crown), the standard three-step process to give a vassal legal title was:

  • Precept of Clare Constat (15 Oct 1545): Issued by the superior (Alexander Guthrie, 4th of Guthrie) to formally recognize the grantee’s right to enter the lands held of him. It is essentially a warrant directing the superior’s bailie to proceed.
  • Charter (10 May 1546): The actual deed granting the lands (or portion of them) from the superior to the vassal.
  • Instrument of Sasine (immediately following): The final act that put John in legal, heritable possession (symbolic delivery of earth and stone on the ground, then recorded).

This sequence was routine feudal procedure — not a special inheritance mechanism. It did not require John to be a direct heir under the main Guthrie entail. It simply infefted him as a vassal in a sub-portion of the barony lands that the Guthries of that Ilk had long held superiority over.

The Primary Evidence Continues

These primary documents represent 2 or 3 Guthrie of Eassie men named John Guthrie.

There are only a few surviving documents mentioning the Guthries of Eassie, either with or without a connection to Hiltoun. Based on the date of the first record in 1454, we can surmise that the John Guthery of Esse was not the same man as John Guthrie of Eassie & Hiltoun from the 1540s, since he would already have been of legal age in 1454. He could be the same John Guthrie from the 1490 or 1493 documents. We also have two sets of father-son combination: John and son Alexander (1493) and David and son John (1544). These are a great place to speculate on the formation of John Guthrie of Eassie & Hiltoun’s ancestral pedigree.

Pedigree Possibilities for John Guthrie of Eassie/Hiltoun

That 1544 document solidifies John Guthrie of Eassie & Hiltoun’s parentage. He was the son of David Guthrie of Eassie, not the son of Sir Alexander Guthrie and Margaret Lyon.

These documents were not the first time “Guthrie of Eassie” has come up. The Guthrie1 Pedigree on Stirnet assigns “William Guthrie of Eassie” as a son of Alexander Guthrie, 1st of Kincaldrum, and his wife Marjory Guthrie. No primary records have been found so far identifying him in connection to that family, but it does create speculation as to whether Eassie was a cadet branch of the Kincaldrum line.

Kincaldrum, Eassie, and Hiltoun occupy the same compact corner of central Angus. Ordnance Survey / Google Maps data show:

  • Kincaldrum → Eassie: ≈ 5 miles (8 km) (Kincaldrum House ruins lie just northwest of Gateside on the A90; Eassie village/church is west of Glamis on the A94.)
  • Kincaldrum → Hiltoun (Hilton of Guthrie): ≈ 9–10 miles (14–16 km) (Hiltoun lies north of Guthrie Castle, roughly 7 miles east of Forfar.)
  • Eassie → Hiltoun: ≈ 8 miles (13 km)

Proximity lends itself to consider the likelihood of relatedness. If Alexander Guthrie, 2nd of Guthrie, 3rd of Kincaldrum, is not John Guthrie of Eassie & Hiltoun’s father, perhaps the Eassie line is tied to the family in another way. If William Guthrie of Eassie turns out to be a legitimate option the Eassie line would be a Cadet Branch of Kincaldrum.

The Guthrie DNA Project has revealed the presence of multiple unique genetic lines in Angus, which may require us to consider the possibility that the Guthries of Eassie, Hiltoun, and by extension the Guthries of Craigie originate from their own individual family group. If this is the case, the earliest documented Guthrie of Eassie is the John Guthrie from the 1454 inquest.

Read more details. See Guthrie of Eassie and Guthrie of Hiltoun.
  • Traditional Kincaldrum to Guthrie to Hiltoun line has been ruled out for John Guthrie. If Alexander Guthrie, 2nd of Guthrie, 3rd of Kincaldrum, did have a son named John Guthrie, he does not appear to be connected to the lands of Eassie & Hiltoun as the 1544 document specifically named “John Guthrie of Esse ” as their son & heir of “David Guthrie of Esse.”
  • Eassie Cadet via Kincaldrum: In this scenario, John Guthrie descends from Alexander Guthrie, 1st of Kincaldrum, through the speculative son William of Eassie. The first verifiable John of Eassie appears too early to be the same man who acquired Hiltoun in 1545/46. Outcome: Connected to the Kincaldrum branch, but bypasses the main Guthrie of that Ilk line that begins with David 1st of Guthrie / 2nd of Kincaldrum. So, John would descend from Kincaldrum & Eassie, but not Guthrie of that Ilk.
  • Independent Eassie Branch: The Eassie line has no proven link to William or the Kincaldrum Guthries as there are really no documents to support it. The earliest documented John of Eassie could represent a completely separate Guthrie family that later acquired Hiltoun. Outcome: People tend to forget that there were other living Guthries prior to Alexander Guthrie, 1st of Kincaldrum. Any connection to the broader Kincaldrum/Guthrie of that Ilk tree is uncertain.

Why This Matters – Methodology and Ripple Effects

This correction is a textbook example of why primary sources (charters, precepts, sasines) must take precedence over 19th-century compilations. The new pages are designed as living research hubs exactly for this reason: every document is transcribed or imaged, with direct links to the National Library of Scotland where possible.

The re-identification also affects descendant lines, most notably the Guthries of Craigie and any branches that trace through Hiltoun. It does not diminish the prestige of the main Guthrie of that Ilk line — it simply restores John to his proper cadet-branch context.

Continued Research Needed

Plenty of work remains:

  • Full transcriptions of the Glamis Castle contract and any later Lyon-Guthrie instruments.
  • Closer examination of the Eassie cadet line (possible William of Eassie link).
  • Full transcriptions of the primary Eassie / Hiltoun documents.
  • Clarification of George of Kincreich’s exact parentage.

We welcome your input! If you hold transcriptions from the Register of the Great Seal, Arbroath Abbey records, or unpublished Glamis material, please share in the comments or email the blog. The Eassie and Hiltoun pages will be updated as new evidence surfaces.

Read the full research:
→ Guthrie of Eassie – Resources & Research
→ Guthrie of Hiltoun – Resources & Research

References / Full Citation List (Chicago-style, ready for blog footer)

  1. Warden, Alexander J. Angus or Forfarshire: The Land and People, Descriptive and Historical. Vol. III. Dundee: Charles Alexander & Co., 1882. (Internet Archive link in blog).
  2. Paul, James Balfour, ed. The Scots Peerage. Vol. VIII. Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1911.
  3. Burke’s Landed Gentry (various editions).
  4. Stirnet Genealogy Database – Guthrie01.
  5. National Library of Scotland, Saltoun Papers: Ch.14167 (Precept 1545), Ch.14168 (Charter 1546), Ch.14169 (Sasine 1546).
  6. Guthrie Genealogy Blog primary research pages (linked above), drawing on NLS manuscripts and contemporary charters.
  7. National Records of Scotland (NRS), Saltoun Papers, GD188/1/1: Instrument of Sasine, 15 May 1514, in favour of Andrew Guthre as (grand)son and heir of deceased Alexander Guthre of Guthre, kt., of the lands of Guthre.
  8. Paul, James Balfour, ed. The Scots Peerage. Vol. VIII, pp. 272–278 (Lyon of Glamis family).

Daughters of John Lyon, 3rd Lord Glamis and Elizabeth Scrymgeour: