Guthrie Research Tree
What Are You Trying to Find?
You do not need to understand the entire Research Tree before you begin. Start with what you already know.
Search for the ancestor—or a less-common spouse—and follow the documented family through the tree.
Show me how → I Know My Guthrie Family GroupGo directly to the established Guthrie Family Groups and explore the documented branches associated with your GFG.
Explore the GFGs → My Family Has Ungrouped Family StatusFind the public DNA Project directory of Ungrouped Guthrie Families and the project participants associated with those lineages.
Browse Ungrouped Families → My Branch Has Inferred GFG StatusLearn how a verified paper trail can support an inferred Family Group connection before that branch has its own Y-DNA participant.
Understand inferred status → I Don’t Know Where My Family FitsBegin with your earliest documented Guthrie ancestor. Dates, spouses, locations, descendants, DNA status, and existing research may point you toward the correct lineage.
Help me get started →How to Use the Guthrie Research Tree
Enter the Tree
Open the Ancestry Research Tree using the link on this page.
Find Your Ancestor
Use Tree Search to locate a known Guthrie ancestor or spouse.
Check the Lineage
Follow parents, spouses, children, descendants, notes, and Family Group information.
Check the DNA Evidence
Look for Family Group designations, DNA icons, and project participant information.
Having trouble opening the Research Tree?
If you already use Ancestry, open the link while signed into your account.
If access is still unavailable, use the Guthrie Genealogy Contact Form to request guest access.
Understanding Family Group Status
These terms describe different evidentiary situations within the Guthrie DNA Project. They should not be used interchangeably.
A Guthrie Family Group consists of Guthrie lineages represented by matching Y-DNA results.
Each group is genetically unique and is formed by two or more matching project participants.
The common progenitor may be known, or the group may contain several branch progenitors who share an unidentified common paternal-line ancestor.
The indicated branch is inferred to belong to an established Guthrie Family Group because a verified paper trail connects it to that group.
That branch does not yet have a Y-DNA participant representing it in the Guthrie DNA Project.
The status remains inferred until Y-DNA testing verifies matching genetic-profile results.
A Guthrie lineage in Ungrouped Family Status is not currently represented by a Y-DNA candidate with a match to an established Guthrie Family Group.
It also has no verified historical ties to one of those groups.
The family may nevertheless have autosomal DNA representation or a Y-DNA participant whose results do not currently match an established GFG.
Understanding the Tree Icons
Custom profile images provide quick visual clues about DNA participation, Family Group placement, and personal ancestry.
Y-DNA Needed
A qualifying direct paternal Guthrie-line participant is needed to provide Y-DNA evidence for this branch.
GFG / Y-DNA Tested Line
Marks a paternal Guthrie line represented by matching Y-DNA. The number on the icon identifies the Guthrie Family Group.
Autosomal DNA Participant Line
Indicates a lineage represented by Family Finder / autosomal DNA participants in the project.
My DNA Match
Marks lineages associated with autosomal DNA matches used in Ann’s own Guthrie family research.
Direct Ancestor
Marks Ann’s direct ancestral line within the larger Research Tree.
Ungrouped Guthrie Families in the DNA Project
The public Ungrouped Family Status pages document Guthrie families associated with Guthrie DNA Project members that have not been assigned to an established Guthrie Family Group.
Browse Ungrouped Guthrie Families by Earliest Known Progenitor
Families are indexed alphabetically by the given name of their earliest known Guthrie progenitor.
A Family Profile Built Around the Earliest Known Progenitor
An entry may identify the earliest known Guthrie progenitor and spouse, provide known dates and children, summarize research notes and historical context, link directly to the family in the Guthrie Research Tree, and identify the DNA Project participants who descend from that lineage.
Earliest known Guthrie ancestor, spouse, children, dates, and places.
Follow the family and its descendants directly in the larger working tree.
Documentary observations, historical background, and unresolved research questions.
Family Finder / autosomal kits or Y-DNA participants associated with the family.
The Research Tree Goes Beyond DNA Project Membership
A Large Research Collection—but Not Every Guthrie Who Ever Lived
The Guthrie Research Tree contains all Guthrie DNA Project member lineages plus many, many additional Guthrie families assembled through ongoing genealogical research.
Many of those additional families currently have no DNA Project participant. They are included because preserving and comparing their documentary lineages may eventually help answer wider Guthrie research questions.
Even with thousands of Guthrie individuals in the tree, it is not intended to represent every Guthrie family that has ever existed. A family not found in the Research Tree is simply a family that may not yet have been added or researched there.
DNA Project Lineages
These are the families associated with Guthrie DNA Project participants. Their project status may be GFG, Inferred GFG, or Ungrouped Family Status depending on the evidence.
Additional Research Lineages
These families have been added for documentary research, geographic comparison, identification problems, historical study, or possible future connections, but may currently have no DNA Project representation.
The Tree Shows the Family. The Website Shows the Evidence.
The Guthrie Research Tree and Guthrie Genealogy are designed to work together.
Use the Research Tree to Navigate
Follow parents, spouses, children, descendants, branch progenitors, and collateral families in one connected working environment.
Family Group information and DNA icons provide quick clues about the project’s current evidence.
Use Guthrie Genealogy to Investigate
Family Group profiles, Y-DNA analysis, historical records, lineage studies, Scottish archival research, and Special Collections provide the deeper evidence behind the tree.
The website also provides room to explain uncertain, contradictory, inferred, or still-unresolved relationships.
Need Help Finding Your Place in the Tree?
Start with Your Earliest Documented Guthrie
If you are unsure whether your family belongs to an established Guthrie Family Group, has Inferred Guthrie Family Group Status, appears among the Ungrouped Guthrie Families, or has not yet been included in the Research Tree, begin with the earliest Guthrie ancestor you can document with reasonable confidence.
Include the spouse, approximate dates, principal locations, and known line of descent whenever possible. Those details are often more useful for identifying the correct family than the Guthrie surname alone.
Follow the Line. Check the Evidence. Keep Testing the Tree.
The Guthrie Research Tree is a working research collection rather than a finished pedigree. New documents may clarify a family connection, Y-DNA may verify an inferred branch, an Ungrouped Guthrie Family may match an established group, or matching testers may reveal a genetically distinct Guthrie Family Group not previously recognized.
Explore the Guthrie Research Tree →
Ann:
My name is Joan Dunn Hann. My greatgrandfather was a Thomas Guthrie, who married Elizabeth ? Thomas lived in San Francisco, and died there in 1920. Elizabeth died in San Francisco in the 1930s. They had three children: William Lugie b 9/21/1895 in San Francisco, Alice, and Elizabeth.
I have just joined Clan Guthrie-USA, but haven’t had much luck moving around the website. It seems several of the click-on site are no longer valid.
I would appreciate your advice on how to proceed to find about more about my family. I would be willing to submit a DNA sample if I could figure out how to go about that.
Joan Hann
Hi Joan,
Clan Guthrie-USA is working on reorganizing its genealogical presence online. I have no other information on the status of their website. Questions about genetic testing and the Guthrie DNA Project usually come to me.
The first step in your venture is some basic traditional genealogy research. I use Ancestry.com to house my tree, but it does require a subscription fee. Since I use it every day it is worth the cost to me. You can also try out a trial subscription to see if you like it. There is a lot of information already there. For example, my Guthrie Research tree already includes your ancestors, Thomas Guthrie and Elizabeth Curran and three prior generations going back to the Orkney Islands. You have options to keep your tree public or private.
Another awesome resource that is completely free is Family Search. There are billions of original records provided free of charge.
You can also build a tree there, but there are other online services for tree-building.
The DNA component is another interesting part of your family story. With luck, you can trace your ancestors to a larger population of relatives. If you cannot, your DNA matches might provide some clues as to other regions your Guthrie relatives might have lived.
The most direct way of determining Guthrie ancestry is for a male Guthrie of that line to take a Y-DNA test. So, if William Lugie Guthrie had a son, Guthrie grandson, or Guthrie great-grandson to take the test it would allow a direct match with a Guthrie Family Group.
We women do not have Y-DNA and so must utilize our Autosomal DNA (inherited from all of our various ancestors) to look for genetic clues. Sometimes the results show obvious matches to a specific Guthrie Family Group, and other times the answers are not so clear. It all depends on whether we’re lucky enough to find enough Guthrie cousins out there who have also tested.
I recommend starting with an AncestryDNA test. Their database is the largest and will get you the most number of matches. Once results come in, you can contact me to help you analyze them, and also transfer them to the Guthrie DNA Project.
Hallo Ann,
I am using MyHeritage to build a family tree. At present my wife, who’s maiden name is Guthrie, is the subject of my quest to find ancestors.
Patricia (my wife) had her DNA done and it reports she is made up of 100% of three of the six Celtic tribes (Scottish, Irish and Welsh).
Unfortunately a lot of the “trees” out there have conflicting info. and makes for difficult reading.
I have only successfully traced some of her Irish roots (lots of Irish documentation destroyed).
I have also used her DNA matches to try and link the matches together.
Basically it’s a nightmare.
Would you advice me to transfer her DNA to the Guthrie DNA Project, (how ?) or is their an official family tree I can view to try and follow.
Your help in this would be much appreciated.
Regards. Stan Makin (Husband of Patricia)
Hi Stanley,
There are a lot of trees out there with so much misinformation, lineages that have been duct-taped together, and many that legitimately have run into those proverbial brick walls. Yes, you should transfer Patricia’s DNA test to the Guthrie DNA project. You’ll need to download her raw DNA results by whatever process Heritage DNA requires. (Check your Settings/Account section.) Next, go to Family Tree DNA’s homepage. Click the link at the top that says ‘Upload DNA Data’. This will begin the process for you to sign up for an FTDNA account and allow you to use their free transfer process to add the kit to their database. Once they assign you a Kit Number and Password, you can use those to sign up for the Guthrie DNA Project by completing a Join Request form. http://www.familytreedna.com/group-join-request.aspx?group=Guthrie&vGroup=guthrie
Email me at anngu3@icloud.com if you have questions about the transfer process. I’ll need Patricia’s lineage beginning with her and going back to her furthest known ancestors. Nothing fancy. You can use my ‘Ann’s Ancestors and Guthrie Research’ tree on Ancestry as a guide. Once I know more about Patricia’s line, I’ll be able to tell you more.
Thanks Ann,
Will attempt transfer. Meanwhile I have invited yourself to be a member of my site.
Just search Patricia Makin (nee Guthrie), as I said before I have been linking her DNA matches to the tree to try a connection, so it is very disjointed at the moment.
Thanks for prompt reply.
Regards: Stan Makin
Hi Ann,
Have hopefully successfully transferred uploaded DNA file and joined the project.
Thanks, Stan
Ann Guthrie; Will the Y DNA Autosomal test be appropriate in my case seeing that my 3rd greatgdmother died in 1858. This my last blood Guthrie.
Craig — Y-DNA and Autosomal are two different types of DNA tests. Your Y-DNA (direct paternal line testing) is not eligible for the Guthrie DNA project. Your Autosomal DNA (Ancestry DNA test, FTDNA Family Finder test) is the only eligible test for the project. It captures matches with cousins who share DNA with you from all of your ancestral lines. Each person is different as to how much DNA they inherit. The further back the ancestor is in our tree, the less DNA we have inherited from that generation. About 3.125% of your DNA was inherited from your 3rd great-grandmother. Some people have very strong matches to many cousins from their own line. Others don’t show enough matches to be conclusive. That’s why I recommend starting with the Ancestry DNA test. It has the largest database and you will get many more matches there than with any other provide. Once the results are in, you can use FTDNA’s free transfer process to be included in their database as well.
Dear Ann; On this past Monday I transfered my AncestryDNA Data to FamilyTreeDNA. Will I be notified by Email or other of the inclusion of my file and of which sub-group if any, that I might belong to. At the present till I hear from Ruth Guthrie Blevins who is looking into Guthrie records in Giles Co VA, I’m trying to locate baptismal records for my Jane Guthrie born MD in 1780 daughter of William Guthrie.Craig
Now that you have transferred your results to FTDNA, you must take the next step by joining the Guthrie DNA Project. Sign in at FTDNA and go to “myProjects” at the top of the screen. Look for GUTHRIE under the Surname Projects. Complete the form. I will send you a follow up email with more info at that time.
Dear Ann; I tried to join the Guthrie Project, but I doubt it went thru so I’ll try again. 1815 Tax List of Giles Co. VA {191} Ibid. pg. 277.Martain Moody & Patsy his wife, Philip Ballard & Eleanor his wife, John Spar & Mary, his wife,Jane Guthrie { heirs of William Guthrie} to John Moody-$200, land granted to William Guthrie 24 Nov. 1790, the in Botetourt County, now in Giles on Sinking Cr.joining land of Thomas Eaken, Philip William., wit: Christ. Champ, Jacob Duglas, William Ferrier, Philip Williams, Jr. 140 a 1810. Jane Guthrie is my 3rd great grandmother. I’ ll submit this into the block following instructions, but didn’t find any submit botton. Craig
Craig, please contact me with your email address and I will try to send you a link or further instructions for adding your DNA kit to the project.
Ann Guthrie; I wish to ask a favor. Is there any confirmation that FTDNA has my Holland Tree data?. It seems as transmissions only cite Joan or Joan Farkas. I looked at “matches” and found a number of families from my tree. My tree has about 3360 entries, Joan’ has about 775. Both are on my computer. Thanks Craig.
The DNA test you attached to the project is for Joan Farkas. There is no Family Tree data attached to that kit. There is no way for me to tell if you successfully transferred a second test to FTDNA until it gets attached to the project. FTDNA would have sent you Username and Kit Number from them for your own kit if you uploaded it. I sent you an email with a link for a join request form. Complete that to add your own kit to the project. If you are still having difficulty, contact FTDNA directly for assistance. You can also just send the names of your ancestral line from you to your furthest Guthrie in an email. Same for Joan. I don’t need your whole tree for this review.
Dear Ann: Craig Holland, Wesley Shelton Holland, Jessie Shelton Holland, Martin Shelton, Sylvester Robertson Shelton, Jane Guthrie Shelton, William Guthrie. Thank you Craig
Vivian ‘Lou’ Guthrie Tison, found you again !!! My latest DNA shows some small percentage of Africa. Do not know if from my mother or father’s side. Any indication Guthrie might have some? Thank you
Hi Lou! I took a look at your MyOrigin results at FTDNA, and don’t see any African ethnicity showing up on those test results. Note that each genetic testing company has a unique admixture of samples by which they compare everyone’s DNA. The percentages that they report as trace matches < 1% indicates that you may have a very small amount of shared DNA in common with the corresponding reference population, but those tiny DNA segments are also more likely to be misattributed. So, when you look at trace results, you might actually have 0% of ancestry from the group, or you might legitimately have a tiny amount of distant DNA in common. Is your new results at Ancestry? If it is, you can use their new Ethnicity Inheritance features that tell you which side (maternal vs paternal) your ancestral ethnicities originate. This should reveal whether your determined African ancestry is on your mother or father's side. You can also view their new Chromosome Painter tool now in beta testing to see the chromosome that DNA segment or segment is found on. As to the likelihood of you having some legitimate African DNA in your ancestry all I can really say is that you are an American with roots in the South that stretch back to colonial times. The chances are probably good. Your direct Guthrie line is not one with known mixed ancestry, although there are lineages resulting from the historical intermarriage of Guthries with free African Americans as well as lineages resulting from enslaved African in the project. If you do have an AncestryDNA test, I can take a peek at your ethnicity inheritance results to help answer your question. Just send me an invite (anngu3@icloud.com)
Got your 23andMe Invitation. It lets me view your ethnicity mix and see the associated chromosome painting, which says that your West African DNA (0.5%) would have probably originated from an ancestor that lived in the 1680-1800 time period. The DNA segments associated with that DNA are found on Chromosomes 6 and 7. This is all noted to be about “50% Speculative”, but when changed to view the report at the 90% Conservative level, those two segments are still there and still projected to be of West African, and specifically Nigerian, origin. Based on the admixture, 23andMe appears to be confident of those results. When you look at the chromosome painter, you are looking at Pairs of Chromosomes. One is maternal and the other paternal, but in this report, 23andMe is not differentiating which is which. I also have DNA tests at 23andMe, but I also have my father’s test uploaded, so I have access to a report called “parental inheritance” and so it shows me a breakdown of ethnicity on my paternal side and the remaining half is inferred as maternal side. Go to your 23andMe Sign In. Click Ancestry. Click Ancestry Composition. You should see the circle representing your DNA composition and a line of reports to “Explore More about your ancestry”. you get 3 choices: Ancestry Timeline, Parental Inheritance, and DNA Painting. If you have the option, click parental inheritance and that will show you which side of the family your designated Nigerian DNA comes from maternal or paternal if they are reporting it for you. The only other way to do it on 23andMe (as far as I know) is to review each of your matches who are sharing data to see if any have West African DNA, then do a direct comparison to see if the Shared DNA is the same.
You have been so graciouis to me and all the questions I have had. Looks like my Mom’s side of the family has the Nigerian DNA, but I have not been able to find them in North Carolina, so I am stuck here in Maury Co, TN. Thank you again for answering all my questions. Also, I have no DNA on my Mom or Dad,but do have my Mom’s brother,does that do anything for me ?
Always happy to help. Regarding your uncle, more info never hurts. Siblings inherit a different mix of parental DNA, so there is no guarantee that he would have inherited the 0.5% of Nigerian DNA, but if he did it might help you to narrow down whether it was on their maternal vs paternal side.
My name is Fay Weaver. My mother is a Guthrie from Hazelton, WV. Her dad was George Guthrie son of Cora Knox and Walter Christian Guthrie. I believe we fit in this tree but would like to know if we do. Walters grandparents were Christian Guthrie
Your ancestors are listed in my Guthrie Research tree. Walter is a descendant of Guthrie Family Group 6’s James Guthrie 1761IRE – 1833VA (now WV) and Mary Shelps. Group 6 is an old Guthrie family with a lot of branches that have shown up in England, Ireland, Canada, and the United States.
I believe I have information on Eliza Guthery (Ward) son Silas. Following family tree Silas would be great x3 grandpa and Eliza would be great x4 grandma.