GFG16
Guthrie Genealogy
Guthrie Family Group 16
Dunbartonshire · Lanarkshire · Renfrewshire
Scotland to Canada & Australia
From a grocer’s household and a gardener’s family to descendants across the world. Explore the family of Robert Guthrie and Janet Andrew—and help uncover the generations before them.
Open the GFG16 Research Tree →Origin Theories
These are active research leads. Keep the proposed earlier generations separate from the family connections already supported by records and DNA.
Robert’s parents · Leading candidate
William Guthrie & Elizabeth McNair
A 5 July 1776 baptism in New or East Kilpatrick names a Robert Guthrie whose parents were William Guthrie and Elizabeth McKenais/McNair. The locality makes this a promising candidate for Janet Andrew’s husband.
The proposed 2 April 1827 death of a Robert Guthrie, miller, in Partick also needs confirmation. His children’s later records describe their father as a roadman or agricultural laborer. Those differences deserve investigation.
Neither record is securely assigned to this Robert yet. A documented male-line descendant of another son of William and Elizabeth would provide a useful Y-DNA comparison.
Open the other local candidates
The branch research also identifies Robert Guthrie births or baptisms in 1771 to Robert Guthrie and Margaret Currie of Cardross, and to William Guthrie and Margaret MacKimm of Bonhill.
Age and location help build a shortlist. Records connecting each candidate to a spouse, occupation, residence, or later family are needed to distinguish them.
Earlier paternal origins · Still open
A Guthrie Line Waiting for More Cousins
Both Y-DNA participants descend from Robert and Janet. Their results establish a shared paternal profile for the represented lines, but do not yet connect this family to an earlier Guthrie lineage.
Other branches carrying this profile may simply be untested. An adoption or another change in the paternal line before the represented branches is also possible, but the small match list does not establish that explanation.
Help investigate: trace other Guthrie families in New Kilpatrick, Govan, and Renfrewshire, and encourage descendants with documented male lines to participate.
Most Wanted Documents
- Robert and Janet’s marriage: a record identifying their residences, parents, or witnesses. Their first known child was recorded in 1801.
- A link to Robert’s parents: parish, estate, poor relief, employment, or other records connecting the adult Robert to one of the candidate families.
- The 1827 death: evidence establishing whether the Partick miller was Janet Andrew’s husband.
- Janet Andrew’s origins and later life: her parents, death, and any evidence of remarriage. The conflicting maternal surname in son John’s death record needs checking against the original.
- The wider family: records tracing Robert and Janet’s daughters and the descendants of sons Robert and William.
- The overseas journeys: passenger records, letters, photographs, and family accounts for the Canadian and Australian lines.
One Family, Two Tested Descendant Lines
Branch A
Robert Guthrie & Janet Andrew
The family’s eight recorded children span 1801–1814, with births or baptisms in Govan and New Kilpatrick. Drumry appears as a family residence. The two lines below belong to this same established branch.
Thomas’s line · Big Y-700
Thomas Guthrie & Agnes Munn
Thomas: 1812–1861 · Govan & Erskine, Scotland
Scotland → Carleton, Ontario, Canada
Thomas married Agnes Munn in 1835. He worked as an agricultural laborer and later as a grocer. They raised six known children.
Their son Thomas Robert Guthrie (1842–1936) married Christina Rae and settled in Ontario. This descendant line is represented by kit 494364.
John’s line · Y111
John Guthrie & Janet Munn
John: 1814–1882 · Govan, Erskine & Dumbarton
Scotland → Victoria, Australia · 1930s
John married Janet Munn in 1837 and became a master gardener. They also raised six known children.
Kit IN904498 descends through their son Stewart Guthrie and Janet McFadyen, then James McFadyen Guthrie and Agnes McLean. The next generation left Scotland for Australia in the 1930s.
Two Guthrie Brothers Married Two Munn Sisters
Agnes and Janet Munn were daughters of Stewart Munn and Jane Donald. Descendants of these marriages share ancestry through both families. When comparing autosomal matches, consider the Guthrie and Munn connections together; Y-DNA follows the direct paternal Guthrie line.
Open Robert and Janet’s eight children
- Jane (1801) — later life unresolved.
- Elizabeth (1802) — later life unresolved.
- Robert (1804–1883) — married Jean/Jane Kilgour.
- William (1805–1868) — married Ann Reston.
- Thomas (1807) — presumed to have died young; a later son received the same name.
- Mary (1809) — later life unresolved.
- Thomas (1812–1861) — married Agnes Munn; represented by Y-DNA.
- John (1814–1882) — married Janet Munn; represented by Y-DNA.
The detailed branch page contains the record transcriptions and unresolved identity questions. Contributions from descendants of every child are welcome.
DNA Findings & Testing Priorities
Each Is the Other’s Only Match at Y37, Y67, and Y111
The two participants match at a genetic distance of four steps at all three levels. The reported distance stays the same as the comparison expands to 111 markers, supporting the shared paternal ancestry identified in their family records.
| Markers compared | Genetic distance |
|---|---|
| 37 | 4 steps |
| 67 | 4 steps |
| 111 | 4 steps |
Project administrator’s match review: 1 October 2026. Match lists can change as additional people test.
Kit 494364 · Thomas’s line
Big Y-700: R-F1969
This participant has a confirmed placement at R-F1969. The Big-Y result provides a starting point for finding a more specific genetic branch shared by Robert’s descendants.
A comparison with a Big-Y result from John’s line could identify shared mutations belonging to their more recent family history.
Kit IN904498 · John’s line
Y111: The Next Big-Y Comparison
The existing Y111 test already supports the paternal connection between the two lines. A Big-Y upgrade would let us compare both sons’ branches at the SNP level.
Until then, R-F1969 is the confirmed Big-Y result for kit 494364. It has not been independently confirmed by Big-Y testing of both participants.
What do the four steps tell us?
Genetic distance describes differences in the STR marker values being compared. Four steps does not mean four generations, and it does not tell us which descendant line acquired each change.
Here, the family records identify the connection through Robert Guthrie. Additional descendants could help distinguish marker patterns within his sons’ lines and test proposed connections to earlier generations.
The Haplogroup’s History Extends Far Beyond This Family
The supplied FamilyTreeDNA report estimates that R-F1969 branched from R-A25365 around 1850 BCE, with a common ancestor of the tested R-F1969 lines around 600 CE.
Those estimates describe the wider haplogroup. They do not date the connection between the two Guthrie participants, whose family records lead to Robert and Janet.
The report’s six tested descendants belong to that wider genetic branch; they are not six GFG16 project participants. More Guthrie Big-Y results could reveal a younger branch within it.
What about the Gifford connection on the Time Tree?
The Gifford line displayed on the supplied Match Time Tree joins the Guthrie path much farther back, at R-P312, thousands of years ago. The branching point places this connection in ancient ancestry.
It does not identify a recent Gifford ancestor or establish an adoption into the Guthrie family. Read the shared branching point and its estimated age alongside the match information.
Help Build the Next Generation of Research
More Cousins, More Ways to Make Progress
- Robert and Jean Kilgour’s descendants: a direct male-line tester would add another son’s branch.
- William and Ann Reston’s descendants: another priority for new Y-DNA participation.
- Thomas and John’s families: additional independently documented male lines could help distinguish changes within each branch.
- Earlier local Guthrie families: documented descendants of the proposed parents and other nearby lines may help resolve Robert’s origins.
- All descendants: contribute records, photographs, family stories, and organized autosomal match findings. The daughters’ families are part of this history, too.
Share your Guthrie ancestry from the tester back to the earliest proven ancestor, including dates, spouses, and sources where known, for review and inclusion in the Guthrie Research Tree.
Big Y is particularly useful for the next comparison between the existing participants. New testers can discuss a starting test that fits their research and budget.
Choosing a DNA Test · Joining the Project · Group Funding & Sponsorship
Follow the Family Records
Explore the children, parish entries, census households, death records, and questions behind the current reconstruction.
Open Branch A →Explore Your Matches
Organize your match information, compare family lines, and use the tools and help centers provided by your testing company.
Open the match guide →
Hello Ann! I am a Canadian descendant of Thomas Guthrie & Christina Rae (they were my 2x Great Grandparents, on my late mother’s side of our family). I was very pleased to find this page & am looking forward to learning more about our Guthrie ancestry! Thank you & have a wonderful day! Janet