GFG11
Guthrie Genealogy
Guthrie Family Group 11
Virginia · Tennessee · Indiana · North Carolina · Georgia · Alabama · Texas
Three Guthrie family trails. A shared paternal connection with the Ballou and Ballew families. Explore the records and DNA clues that could reveal where their stories meet.
Open the GFG11 Research Tree →Origin Theories
The DNA gives us connected paternal lines to investigate. Family traditions, migration routes, and local records may help put names to the missing generations. These theories are invitations to investigate, with room for evidence that supports or changes them.
Colonial origins · A change of surname
A Virginia Connection?
George Guthery’s reported Virginia birth in 1769, Tobias’s Virginia origins, and the matched line of William Belew, born about 1755 in Virginia, make that colony a useful place to begin.
One theory proposes that a child from a Ballou or Ballew paternal line entered a Guthrie household or took the Guthrie surname. An adoption, an undocumented parentage connection, or another name change could explain the pattern.
Help investigate: look for these families together in tax lists, deeds, guardianships, court records, and estates. A shared county or named relative would give the theory a firmer starting point.
What the DNA has not settled
The match does not establish which surname came first, when a change occurred, or why. Having more Ballou testers than Guthrie testers is not proof of the direction of that change.
The connection might also predate the families’ arrival in Virginia. Follow the documented generations before selecting a particular adoption or parentage event.
Guthrie connections · Branches A, B & C
George’s Descendants—or His Earlier Family?
George’s line provides a starting point in 1769. Could the other lines descend from him, or do they meet through a brother, uncle, or earlier paternal ancestor?
Tobias has been proposed as a younger brother or another relative. John Franklin Guthrie’s connection is also unresolved. George and Mary already had a son John, born in 1797, who must be distinguished from John Franklin, born in 1802.
Help investigate: identify George’s parents and siblings, establish Tobias’s age, and trace John Franklin’s family before his marriage. A Big-Y comparison from Branch A would add an important missing piece.
A local lead · Franklin County, Tennessee
John Franklin’s Swoap Connection
The family of John’s wife, Mary Swoap, offers a route into his early life. Her father, George Swoap, is associated in the branch research with Franklin County, Tennessee, where a James Guthrie household appears in 1820.
That household includes a young male in John’s age range. Could James have been his father or another relative?
Help investigate: trace James’s deeds, estate, children, and neighbors alongside the Swoaps. A matching census age is a lead; a record naming a relationship could take it further.
Earlier origins · A theory to investigate
A Huguenot or Continental Connection?
Another theory considers whether the matched Ballou or Ballew line had an earlier connection with France or continental Europe, possibly through a Huguenot family, before reaching Britain or the American colonies.
The surnames and deeper Y-DNA connections prompted this question. They do not establish a French birthplace, Huguenot affiliation, or a continental origin for GFG11.
Help investigate: seek an identified immigrant and a documented trail through church, naturalization, refugee, or family records. The research must follow the particular genetically matched family; the similar surnames include more than one paternal lineage.
Most Wanted Documents
- George Guthery’s Virginia family: records identifying his parents, home county, siblings, or associates before his 1794 marriage.
- The Guthrie–Ballou connection: a document placing the matched families together and explaining a relationship or change of surname.
- Tobias and Posey: a will, deed, court record, or family paper explicitly naming Posey Jackson Guthary as Tobias’s son.
- John Franklin’s parents: records connecting him with the James Guthrie household or another identified family in Tennessee or Alabama.
- The Texas children: Bible, probate, or other records naming John and Mary’s children, including the relationship of George Washington Guthrie to this couple.
Have a family record or a promising lead? Share it with Ann →
Explore the Branches
Choose the family closest to your own research. Each branch page brings together its households, descendants, historical records, and unanswered questions.
Branch A · Guthery–Young
George Guthery & Mary Young
Virginia → Tennessee → Indiana
George was born in 1769. The family Bible records his marriage to Mary on 29 November 1794. Their descendants spread through Tennessee, Indiana, and farther west.
The published Y-DNA lines all pass through their son Young Guthery. Another son’s male-line descendants could provide an independent comparison.
Explore George & Mary’s family →
Open the children’s names
- Elizabeth “Betsy” Guthery
- John Guthery
- William Guthery
- Nancy Guthery
- Susannah “Susan” Guthery
- Mary Guthery
- Jane / Jean “Jenny” Guthery
- Rhoda Guthery
- George L Guthery
- Sarah “Sally” Guthery
- Young Guthery
- Leah Guthery
- Lucinda Guthery
- Milly Ann Guthery
- Timothy Carpenter Guthery
- Wesley Guthery — probably a child of this couple; see the branch notes.
Branch B · Guthrey–Sarah / Guthary–Hayes
Tobias Benjamin Guthrey & Sarah
Virginia → North Carolina → Georgia
This branch is represented through Posey Jackson Guthary and Elizabeth Hayes. Posey’s proposed connection to Tobias and Sarah rests on household and neighboring-family evidence that still needs a record explicitly naming the relationship.
Follow the trail through Macon County, North Carolina, and Rabun, Union, and Fannin Counties, Georgia. The rare Guthary spelling continues in this branch today.
Explore Tobias, Sarah & Posey’s family →
Open the family connection
Proposed son: Posey Jackson Guthary, born in 1817, married Elizabeth Hayes. Their family later moved from Georgia to Arkansas.
Posey and Elizabeth’s children: Rachel Matilda, Elisha Washington, Andrew Jackson, Sarah, and Nancy Guthary.
Tobias’s reported age varies between censuses. Reconcile those entries before using his estimated birth year to choose a father, brother, or nephew relationship with George Guthery.
Branch C · Guthrie–Swoap
John Franklin Guthrie & Mary Swoap
Tennessee & Alabama → Texas
John, born in 1802, married Mary Swoap about 1822. Their family lived in Alabama before settling in Texas, where John died in Burleson County in 1858.
His birthplace is reported as Tennessee in the 1850 census and Alabama on his gravestone. Both locations remain relevant to the search for his parents.
Explore John & Mary’s family →
Open the children’s names
- George Washington Guthrie
- Elizabeth Guthrie
- William Carpenter Guthrie
- Alexander Guthrie
- John Franklin Guthrie
- Nancy Ellen Guthrie
- Minerva Guthrie
- Mary Elizabeth Guthrie
- Samuel David Guthrie
- Ulysses Guthrie
- Thomas Blakely Paschal Guthrie
- Sarah Guthrie
- Franklin Guthrie
These are the children listed in the branch research. Additional records explicitly naming the relationships remain welcome.
Find your connection
Guthrie, Guthery, Guthary & Guthrey
The spelling changes across these families and their records. Search the variants alongside an ancestor’s spouse, children, and location.
Begin with your earliest proven ancestor. A shared name or a nearby household can provide a clue, but each generation needs its own supporting evidence.
If you recognize a branch, share your descent and sources for inclusion in the Guthrie Research Tree. If you are unsure, bring the part of the line you have established.
DNA Findings & Testing Priorities
Five project kits currently represent GFG11; two have completed Big-Y testing. Y-DNA links the represented Guthrie branches with a wider Ballou/Ballew paternal family. Big Y is helping distinguish the more recent branches within that shared ancestry.
The Guthrie Big-Y Branch: R-FT404666
Kit 234794, carrying the Guthary surname in Branch B, and kit 152669 in Branch C share R-FT404666. This places their tested paternal lines together on a branch beneath R-A10673.
The neighboring R-FTD22724 branch belongs to Ballow testers. Branch A’s precise place in this more detailed tree still needs a Big-Y comparison.
DNA summary updated 1 October 2026. Branch labels and date estimates may be refined as more results become available.
| Branch | Kit numbers | Represented line |
|---|---|---|
| A |
20740 376264 502831 |
George Guthery & Mary Young, through Young Guthery. No Big-Y representative yet. |
| B |
234794 Big Y |
Posey Jackson Guthary & Elizabeth Hayes. R-FT404666 · Guthary |
| C |
152669 Big Y |
John Franklin Guthrie & Mary Swoap. R-FT404666 · Guthrie |
Branch B is represented through Posey Jackson Guthary. His proposed descent from Tobias and Sarah remains a documentary research question.
The missing comparison · Branch A
Where Does George Fit?
A Big-Y result from George and Mary’s line could show whether Branch A joins Branches B and C at R-FT404666 or connects farther back in the paternal tree.
The listed Branch A testers all descend through Young Guthery. Testing a male-line descendant through another son would also help confirm the profile one generation earlier, at George.
These comparisons could help evaluate the proposed family relationships. They would not, by themselves, identify the date of a surname change.
Shared ancestry · Different family names
Follow the Matched Ballou Lines
The wider R-A10673 connection includes the Guthrie branch and several related lines carrying Ballou, Ballew, Belew, Ballow, and other surnames.
Compare their documented paternal ancestors, especially their earliest locations and migrations. The useful question is where these particular families meet, rather than whether everyone with a similar surname belongs to the same group.
Reading the Big-Y dates and branch labels
A haplogroup names a genetic branch. R-A10673 describes an earlier shared branch; R-FT404666 identifies the more recent connection reported for the Branch B and C testers. A participant with only a broader assignment should not automatically receive another tester’s more specific label.
Formation and shared-ancestor dates describe different points. The current Haplogroup Story places the split from R-A10673 at about 1650 CE. It estimates the most recent common ancestor of the two R-FT404666 testers at about 1850 CE.
These are estimates, not recorded birth dates. The later estimate falls after the births of John Franklin and Posey Jackson. It needs comparison with the full estimated range and both documented paternal lines before drawing conclusions about their relationship.
More participants and additional results can refine the tree and its estimates. A date estimate alone cannot prove an adoption, disprove a documented pedigree, or identify the person who first used the Guthrie surname.
Who Could Help Answer the Next Question?
- Branch A: a Big-Y volunteer from the George Guthery–Mary Young line, plus a Y-DNA participant through a son other than Young.
- Branch B: another independently documented paternal line from Posey Jackson Guthary, together with records testing the proposed Tobias connection.
- Branch C: additional male-line descendants through different sons of John Franklin Guthrie, with complete lineages for comparison.
- Matched Ballou/Ballew families: collaboration on the earliest proven ancestors and the records that might connect their lines with the Guthries.
Contact Ann before purchasing or upgrading so the test can be matched to the research question and your budget. Big Y is a useful targeted upgrade here; a new participant can begin with an appropriate Y-DNA test.
Choosing a DNA Test · Joining the Project · Group Funding & Sponsorship
All Descendants Are Welcome
Family records, photographs, local knowledge, and carefully compared autosomal matches can all contribute. Share your ancestral line with dates, spouses, and sources where available so it can be studied and included in the Guthrie Research Tree.
If you are working with autosomal matches, collect their family information and compare the connected trees. Bring your organized findings and questions when you need help. DNA testing is not required to participate at Guthrie Genealogy.
Related Research
Names and relationships to check in your tree
Mary Young: the Branch A research uses Mary. The additional name “Sarah” found in some trees has not been supported there by an original source. Rhoda and Sarah “Sally” are listed as separate daughters.
Tobias and Benjamin: do not merge Tobias Benjamin Guthrey with Benjamin Guthrie, son of Henry Guthrie and Penelope Johnson. The latter family belongs to GFG1A, a different paternal group.
Two Johns: George and Mary’s son John Guthery, born in 1797, and Branch C’s John Franklin Guthrie, born in 1802, have different family histories. Their shared group does not make them the same person.
Posey’s parents: neighboring households and shared residence support investigation of Tobias and Sarah, but those records do not explicitly state the parent–child relationship.
The GFG11 Big-Y Update
Read the March 2026 Guthrie–Ballew discussion and compare the published Time Tree with the questions still facing the group.
Open the project update →The Ballew DNA Project
Explore the project’s distinct paternal groups and the matched families associated with GFG11.
Explore the DNA results →Follow the Texas Trail
Continue the Guthrie–Swoap investigation through Texas records, places, and research resources.
Explore Texas research →Mistaken Identities
Compare the evidence behind familiar names and learn how unrelated families become tangled in shared trees.
Explore the research cases →
As a chapter registrar of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, I’m interested in finding proof that George Washington Guthrie (1824-1902) is the son of John Franklin Guthrie (1802-1858) and Mary Swoap (1802-1855). A will, probate records, Bible records, obit or other documentation is needed. This information is for a descendent who is seeking membership in our organization and would be very much appreciated.
The 1850 census lists the George Guthrie household on the same census page as several other siblings. His parent’s names are at the bottom of the previous page. No relationships given for that census. Neither George Guthrie’s marriage record nor his obituary list his parent’s names. I do not have an Obit or Family Bible for this family, but others directly associated with them might have that information.