GFG4
Guthrie Genealogy
Guthrie Family Group 4
Virginia · Georgia · Kentucky · Tennessee & beyond
GFG4 follows the family of Thomas Guthrey and Sarah Oakes of colonial Virginia, together with a genetically matching Georgia branch whose connection is still being traced. Explore their descendants, compare the records, and help fill the gaps between the families.
Open the GFG4 Research Tree →Origin Theories
Could the Georgia branch lead us back to Thomas and Sarah? Does Thomas belong to Edward Guthrie’s earlier Virginia family? And what can the Oakes and King connections tell us? Family traditions, published research, surviving records, and DNA give us several leads to investigate.
DNA & a missing generation · Branch B
William of Georgia’s Virginia Parents
William Guthrey, husband of Mary “Polly” Warren Musgrove, may be a grandson of Thomas Guthrey and Sarah Oakes through one of their older sons.
His estimated birth in Virginia about 1770–1775 fits that possibility, and his descendants’ Y-DNA matches the Thomas Guthrey family. The connection might also reach further back through a related line.
Help investigate: follow Thomas’s older sons and their households alongside William’s earliest Georgia records. A deed, estate paper, marriage record, or family letter may name the missing parent.
Follow William & Polly’s family →
Clues to carry between Virginia & Georgia
Georgia deeds and Musgrove estate records help identify William and Polly there. Compare relatives, witnesses, and neighbors with the Virginia families, while checking that each record concerns the same William.
A family Bible is reported to list their children, including twins Barnett and Harrison. A copy could help settle details of the household and may preserve other family clues.
The DNA establishes a shared paternal line. William’s placement as a grandson still needs documentary support.
Published family history · Thomas’s parentage
Edward Guthrie & the Cumberland Families
Was Edward Guthrie of King & Queen County the father of Thomas Guthrey? Earlier researchers placed Thomas alongside William Guthrie of GFG5 in Edward’s proposed family.
The theory draws on the families’ Virginia locations and a tradition of brothers moving to Cumberland County. Thomas’s 1750 land records identify him as a resident of King William County before his move.
Help investigate: look for records naming Thomas’s relatives or connecting his property and household with Edward’s family. Surviving papers outside the counties that lost records may preserve the missing link.
Explore the Edward Guthrie investigation →
The brothers tradition & the DNA question
American Guthrie and Allied Families repeats a tradition of three brothers—Lawrence, Thomas, and William—moving from eastern Virginia to Cumberland County. The identity of the third man, called Lawrence or Henry in different reconstructions, also needs clarification.
Tested descendants of Thomas and William have different paternal DNA profiles. Their proposed parentage could be mistaken, or a family relationship could involve adoption or another change in the paternal line.
The difference does not establish Edward’s own DNA profile or locate such an event in his household. His proposed connection to each family needs its own evidence.
Family tradition · Earlier Virginia origins
An Earlier English Connection?
A longer proposed pedigree traces Edward to John Guthrie of York and King’s Creek, described in family tradition as an English immigrant.
John’s land history along the York and Poropotank rivers offers a route into the earlier family. If the proposed generations can be established, this could help explain GFG4’s origins before Thomas appears in the Cumberland records.
Help investigate: compare land patents, later property transfers, inheritance records, and family papers for John’s proposed descendants. Look for relationships stated in the records.
Follow the early Virginia families →
Keep the John Guthrie identities distinct
John of York and King’s Creek should be researched separately from John Guthrie of Middlesex, associated with GFG1A. Similar names, nearby properties, and overlapping parish records have led to combined pedigrees.
The proposed John-to-Edward and Edward-to-Thomas connections are separate questions. Family tradition gives us a direction to explore; it does not yet establish an English birthplace or an unbroken line of descent for GFG4.
A grandmother’s name · The maternal family
Sarah, Elizabeth Oakes & the King Connection
Thomas’s son Alexander King Guthrey named Elizabeth Oakes as his grandmother. Could the name King point to another part of this family’s story?
A published theory proposes that Thomas married a daughter of Alexander King, baptized in 1689, and that Elizabeth later became an Oakes through remarriage. It offers a specific family to investigate when tracing Sarah’s identity.
Help investigate: compare Elizabeth Oakes’s reported 1784 will, Alexander Guthrey’s will, and the King and Oakes land and marriage records. Can they establish how these families connect?
Explore the Oakes–King research →
What is recorded & what remains a theory?
County records name Sarah as Thomas Guthrey’s wife, including her 1766 relinquishment of dower rights. Those references do not establish her parents.
The published King theory uses naming patterns and the families’ proximity. The proposed marriage and Elizabeth’s proposed remarriage remain unproved. The name King alone also cannot establish that Thomas had two wives.
The family page retains Sarah Oakes as the mother of Thomas’s children while explaining the unresolved evidence.
Most Wanted Documents
- William Guthrey’s Virginia origins: a record naming his parents or linking the Georgia man to a specific Virginia household.
- The William & Polly Guthrey family Bible: a copy of the pages reported to name their children, including twins Barnett and Harrison.
- Thomas and Edward Guthrie: estate, land, court, or family papers naming their relationship or identifying a different parent for Thomas.
- John of York and King’s Creek: records naming his children or tracing property through the proposed Edward Guthrie connection.
- Sarah and Elizabeth Oakes: wills, marriage records, and land papers clarifying the grandmother relationship and testing the proposed King connection.
If you have a copy, please include the record’s source and any information about who preserved it. Share a record or research lead with Ann →
Explore the Branches
Choose a family, or open its children’s pages. Guthrey is a common spelling in this group; the records also use Guthrie, Guttery, and other variations.
Branch A
Thomas Guthrey & Sarah Oakes
King William & Cumberland Counties, Virginia
Thomas, born about 1717 and deceased by 1800, is the earliest identified ancestor of the main documented branch. Follow his children through Virginia and the families who later settled in Kentucky, Tennessee, and elsewhere.
Explore Thomas & Sarah’s family →Open children’s pages
Branch B
William Guthrey & Mary Warren Musgrove
Virginia · Greene & Walker Counties, Georgia
William was born in Virginia about 1770–1775 and died in Georgia in 1854. He and Mary, also called Polly, raised their family in Georgia. Y-DNA connects this branch with GFG4, while William’s parents remain unidentified.
Explore William & Polly’s family →Open children’s pages
Barnett and Harrison share one page. A copy of the reported family Bible record would help confirm their details.
What the DNA Tells Us
The Two Branches Match
Y-DNA links tested descendants of Thomas Guthrey’s family with William and Polly’s Georgia branch. It supports a shared paternal ancestor, but does not yet identify the generations connecting them.
GFG4’s paternal profile differs from GFG1A and GFG5. Families from the same Virginia region therefore need to be followed separately, even when published trees combine them.
Where Big-Y Could Help
Comparisons between documented male-line descendants from both branches could help show where their paternal lines divide. Descendants of different sons of Thomas would be particularly useful.
For men who already have Y-DNA results, a Big-Y upgrade offers a way to investigate those connections in more detail.
Choosing a DNA test →Open the Big-Y research snapshot · December 2025
The December 2025 haplogroup review placed GFG4 within the broader I1 family and discussed matches carrying the Key and Foster surnames. It also identified a matching Guthrie tester outside the project whose family tree was unavailable.
At that time, neither established GFG4 branch had a documented Guthrie representative at the Big-Y level. The available comparisons provide leads, but do not establish which named ancestor connects the Guthrie and other-surname lines.
Further testing and shared lineages can help clarify the picture. A genetic time estimate alone does not identify a particular adoption, surname change, or parent.
Follow the Research
Tidewater Virginia Families
Explore the early Virginia Guthries, the proposed Edward connection, and the families whose records have been mixed together.
Follow the Virginia investigation →Thomas Guthrey of McMinn County
Patrick Hoggard’s research follows Thomas Guthrey (1796–1890), his paternal ancestry, and associated Guthrey–Coleman relationships. Includes the study and addenda.
Read the guest research →Cumberland County Records
Find deed, court, and estate references that help identify the families, their property, and their relationships.
Explore the record collection →Names That Need Untangling
Compare the evidence before carrying a familiar name, spouse, or place into your tree.
Are any Guthrie descendants patriots of the American Revolution?
Many Guthries served as patriot soldiers and officers during the American Revolution. One of the best places to find records is at Fold3.
My 5th Great-Grandfather is
Thomas Guthrie Moore b. 24 Jan 1760 Rockingham, Virginia d. 2 Nov 1843 Carlinville, Macoupin Co, IL. He married Edith Trent.
Son of Robert Moore & Susannah Guthrie
Grandson of Thomas Guthrey & Sarah Oakes
Thomas was a Private in the American Revolutionary War.