GFG2A
GUTHRIES of PITFORTHIE SCT & LONDONDERRY IRE / CAN / USA
CT / DE / PA / VA / WV / OH / NC / SC / TN / GA / AL / VT / NY / NJ
and pretty much everywhere after that.
GUTHRIE FAMILY GROUPS consist of genetically unique lineages descended from a common paternal ancestor at some point in their shared past. This might be as distant as the Middle Ages when surnames developed or more recently during the Modern Age. This is the largest of all groups represented in the DNA Project, with the majority of surname matches at the Y-111 testing level being GUTHRIE.
Due to the size and scope of the group, it has been divided into alphabetical Branches, each one headed by its BRANCH PROGENITOR (the furthest proven/theorized common ancestor). All branches within the group descend from a single male GUTHRIE who most likely lived during the 1500s making it a very old GUTHRIE FAMILY TREE.
Additional genetic studies at the Y-111 marker level for many of the group’s participants have also allowed for additional grouping of these branches into genetic clusters as we speculate on which of the branches are more closely related.
CLAIMS TO FAME
Dr Samuel Guthrie 1782MA-1848NY An American chemist, inventor and physician. He discovered Chloroform, which radically changed the medical field by providing an anesthetic. He also invented percussion pills, an appliance that superseded the flint lock in firearms. The process by which potato starch could rapidly be converted to molasses was another discovery. Samuel Guthrie was a descendant of Branch F’s John Guthrie & Abigail Coe via their son James Guthrie & wife Abigail Betts.
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill 1874CT-1965ENG British politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940-1945 and 1951-1955. He was the first person to be made an honorary citizen of the United States. His 2ndGGM was Sarah Guthrie, daughter to Branch F’s John Guthrie & Abigail Coe of CT.
Janet Guthrie Race Car Driver, Athlete. Janet Guthrie was the first female race car driver to compete in a NASCAR Winston Cup stock car race, the Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500. She was named to the Women’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1980, and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2006. Janet Guthrie is a descendant of GFG2 Branch E.
THE BRANCHES OF GUTHRIE FAMILY GROUP 2A
BRANCH A
Descendants of James Guthrie C1720IRE-1800NC & Elizabeth (MNU)
Ireland to Maryland to North Carolina
BRANCH B
Descendants of Robert Guthrie c1699SCT-c1750PA & Miss Darlington
Scotland to Pennsylvania
BRANCH C
Descendants of Samuel Guthrie c1700-1746DE & Mary (MNU)
Scotland or Ireland to Connecticut to Pennsylvania to Virginia/West Virginia
BRANCH D and BRANCH D
Descendants of Archibald Guthery 1753-1779PA & Rebecca Phillips
Descendants of John Guthery 1744-1823OH & Lydia Baldwin
Pennsylvania to Ohio
BRANCH E
Descendants of Robert Guthrie c1700IRE-1782PA& Bridget Dougherty
Northern Ireland to Pennsylvania
BRANCH F
Descendants of John Guthrie 1700CT-1756CT & Abigail Coe
Connecticut
BRANCH G and BRANCH G
Descendants of James Guthrie c1720-p1801PA & Jeanette Wilson
Descendants of John Guthrie 1725IRE-1797PA & Jane Reed
Northern Ireland to Pennsylvania
BRANCH H
Descendants of John Guthrie 1708IRE-1790PA & Ann Hill
Northern Ireland to Pennsylvania
BRANCH I
Descendants of James Guthrie c1703SCT-c1778PA & Miss Bissell
Scotland to Pennsylvania
BRANCH J
Descendants of Joseph Guthrie 1825IRE-1909TN & Julia McCarthy
Ireland to Ohio to Tennessee
BRANCH K
Descendants of Robert Guttery 1750SC-1799GA & Betsy (MNU)
South Carolina to Georgia
BRANCH L
Descendants of George Guthrie c1830IRE-c1875/80NY & Margaret Walker
Ireland to Canada to Vermont to New York
BRANCH M
Descendants of Samuel Guthrie c1830SCT-1889IL & Catherine Stevenson
Scotland to New Jersey to Illinois
BRANCH N
Descendants of William Washington Guthrie 1859TN-1937TN & Savannah Mary Wheeler
Tennessee
DEVELOPING THEORIES
The books ‘Records of the Guthrie Family, of Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Virginia‘ by Harriet Nancy Dunn and Eveline Guthrie Dunn, published in 1898, and ‘American Guthrie and Allied Families‘ by Rev Laurence Rawlin Guthrie, originally published in 1933, are excellent sources of collected family histories for Guthrie Family Group 2A. The focus is on the locations frequently settled by our Guthrie ancestors, however, mixed in with the vast amount of accurate information are a few mistakes or incorrect theories about who is related to whom. We amatuer genealogists must do our best to discover the truth. Genetic testing has done wonders to fill in many missing blanks, but it takes collaboration between long-lost cousins to take that final journey between the known and the unknown if we are to discover the identity of our Family Tree’s Progenitor.
Guthrie Family Group 2A has a huge number of descendants across the globe. We have known ties to Scotland, Ireland, England, Unites States of America, Canada, and Australia. Lineages in the Unites States appear to have been the result of multiple immigrations directly from Scotland or via a Scotch-Irish connection through County Derry.
Some of the early colonial American branches have family legends about their origins. These are detailed in the Dunn & Dunn and Laurence R Guthrie books, but are these stories true or are the facts lost to the mists of time? DNA can reveal some of the details by confirming or disproving family ties to one Guthrie Family Group or another. It can also bring to light evidence of paternal events, adoptions, name changes, and the like.
One thing we know is that Guthrie Family Group 2 stretches back at least as far as the late 1600s. The family legend that seems to provide a background for all of the various branches is that GFG2A descends from the Guthries of Pitforthie. However, historical notes on the Laird of Pitforthie indicate that he was a descendant of the Guthries of Guthrie. The main branch of the Guthrie line is believed to be connected to Guthrie Family Group 1 because the Y-DNA of a descendant of the Guthries of Craigie, historically considered lineal descendants of the Guthries of Guthrie, matches that group. Time will tell if there is anything new to be gleaned from future DNA tests on that matter.
For now, we are simply trying to prove genetic connections back to that mysterious common ancestor, whether or not he is James Guthrie, Laird of Pitforthie. To do so, we have to look at the origins of each GFG2 branch to determine if there is a common story linking it to another branch, and examine the details of the DNA results to see if there are any patterns to be found. Pattern Markers are genetic variances that have been passed down to one or more branch from a common ancestor.
Is This Your Piece of the Puzzle?
COLLABORATION REMINDER
Consider helping everyone out by sharing your knowledge about your family line. There may be only a handful of people in your immediate family, but hundreds or thousands more around the globe who share your more distant Guthrie ancestry. A little bit of research can potentially provide someone with the clue they need. Contact Ann if you have info to share, want to write an article, or collaborate to create one.