GFG5
Guthrie Genealogy
Guthrie Family Group 5
Virginia · The Carolinas · Kentucky · Georgia & westward
Eight family branches share a paternal DNA connection, with stories reaching from colonial Virginia and the Carolinas to communities across the country. Follow a family’s records, explore the links still being investigated, and help discover where the branches meet.
Open the GFG5 Research Tree →Origin Theories
Family traditions, early Guthrie publications, historical records, and DNA clues all contribute to the search for our origins. The theories below give us families to investigate and connections to test. Can your research help support a theory, rule it out, or point us in a new direction?
Virginia · Proposed immigrant family
John Guthrie & the Tidewater Families
One theory places John Guthrie of York, Gloucester, and King & Queen Counties at the beginning of GFG5’s colonial story. His proposed sons are Edward, Daniel, James, and John Guthrie Jr.
In this proposed family, Edward leads toward Branch A’s William Guthrie, while Daniel and his wife Mary Little lead toward the Carteret County families. Following these lines could help connect families scattered across Virginia and North Carolina.
Help investigate: trace the proposed sons through land, court, parish, and estate records, and identify documented male-line descendants for Y-DNA comparison.
Explore the Virginia theory
The regional records and reconstructed pedigrees provide the starting point. The proposed father-to-son links still need evidence connecting each generation.
Edward has also been proposed as the father of Thomas Guthrey of GFG4. The different paternal DNA of the tested William and Thomas lines raises a question that further research must address. It does not identify which proposed relationship needs correcting or establish an adoption.
John of King & Queen is a separate research subject from John of Middlesex, associated with GFG1A. Keeping their records distinct helps both investigations.
South Carolina · Land records & DNA clues
The Thickety Creek Connection
Could Matthew Guthrie and Elizabeth be the parents of Frederick Guthrie, Ann Guthrie Price, and Shadrack Guthrie? This theory brings together the Guthrie and Price families found around Thickety Creek.
Land records, recurring family names, and autosomal clues encourage a closer look. The Shadrack in those records may be Branch C’s Shadrick Guthry, providing a possible link to an established GFG5 branch.
Help investigate: look for records naming these relationships. A documented male-line descendant of Frederick Guthrie and Mollie Louallen could provide a particularly useful Y-DNA comparison.
Explore the Thickety Creek theory
The shared locality establishes a promising area of research. Matthew and Elizabeth’s proposed parentage, and the identity of Shadrack, remain questions to resolve.
Deed witnesses, adjoining landowners, estate papers, and records of the families after they left South Carolina may help distinguish siblings, parents, and other relatives.
North Carolina · A wider family connection?
Daniel Guthrie & Mary Little
The Carteret families associated with Daniel Guthrie and Mary Little are another proposed part of GFG5. Branch E’s Caroline Guthrie is traced through this family, while her husband James’s parents remain unknown.
James’s paternal line has a GFG5 Y-DNA match. That makes the wider family worth exploring, while leaving Caroline’s paternal ancestry and their possible relationship to be tested.
Help investigate: compare documented male lines from different Carteret branches. Another tested Carteret line has a different paternal profile, so each tester’s exact descent matters.
Follow the Branch E investigation →Virginia · An alternative for Branch A
David Guthrie & Susannah Thurston
Another theory proposes David Guthrie and Susannah Thurston as William Guthrie’s parents. Their 1723 Middlesex marriage and the later appearance of Susannah and Thurston among William’s descendants’ names prompted this line of inquiry.
The naming clues offer a place to start. Records following David and Susannah beyond their marriage could show whether William belongs to their family.
Help investigate: seek evidence of their children, residences, and family connections. Their presence in Middlesex alone does not assign them to the GFG1A family there.
Explore William’s origin theories →How Might the Established Branches Connect?
Some theories concern the generations between branches already matched by Y-DNA. Each of these leads offers a different place to look for the missing connection.
Levi & William · Branches B & A
William’s son Henry described Revolutionary War service in place of an uncle Levi. Could that be the Levi who married Elizabeth Yamons? Identifying the uncle could connect these two branches. Explore Levi’s family →
Jack’s Kentucky Family · Branches F & H
A published biography links a possible brother of Jack with an uncle named Caleb. This has prompted investigation of the Guthrie–Howell family, including John Guthrie and Molly Bridgeford as possible parents. Kentucky family and estate records may help test that connection. Explore Jack’s family →
Henry’s Georgia Family · Branches G & A
Estate and land-lottery records point toward Gabriel Guthrie and Jane, later Osborn, as possible parents of Henry. If confirmed, this would connect Henry through John Guthrie and Anna Smith to Branch A. Records identifying Gabriel and Jane’s children could help resolve the question. Explore Henry’s family →
Most Wanted Documents
- Virginia parentage: records identifying the parents of William, Levi, or Thomas Guthrie, or establishing the proposed links to John and Edward.
- Thickety Creek relationships: deeds, estate papers, or family records that name how Matthew, Frederick, Shadrick, and the Price family were related.
- Georgia children and guardians: records identifying Gabriel and Jane Guthrie’s children and connecting them with Henry’s later household.
- Carteret pedigrees: sourced father-to-son lines that identify which Guthrie family a potential DNA comparison represents.
Please include the source of any record you share and enough of the document to preserve its context.
Explore the Branches
Choose a family, or open its linked family pages. Shared paternal DNA places these branches together; it does not mean that every branch descends from William and Eleanor of Branch A.
Branch A
William Guthrie & Eleanor Harris Abbott
Hanover, Virginia · Halifax, North Carolina · Madison, Kentucky
The earliest identified couple in the group’s established branches. Their descendants spread through the South and westward, while William’s own parents remain unidentified.
Explore this family →Branch B
Levi Guthrie & Elizabeth Yamons
Goochland, Virginia · North Carolina · Adair, Kentucky
Levi and Betty married in Goochland in 1764. Y-DNA connects the families studied under this branch with GFG5. A possible relationship to William of Branch A remains under investigation.
Lucy Guthrie Vinson’s proposed placement remains unproved.
Explore this family →Open family pages
Some child placements are reconstructed from shared locations and family associations. Lucy’s parents remain unidentified.
Branch C
Shadrick Guthry & Malinda Badley / Ruah Ann Roberts
South Carolina · Kentucky · Mississippi
Follow the family from South Carolina through Kentucky to Mississippi. Big-Y connects this branch more closely with Branch H than with the tested line associated with Branch A.
Malinda’s surname “Badley” is unverified. The family page discusses a possible Thompson identification and questions about Ruah’s earlier family.
Explore this family →Open family pages
The family page explains the children associated with each marriage. Lewis Henry’s separate research page is retained below while his placement is investigated.
Branch D
James C. Guthrie & Nancy Corn
Georgia · Ohio · Jasper County, Iowa
Georgia-born James married Nancy Corn in Ohio, and their family later settled in Iowa. A family account names his father as John Guthrie; identifying that John and proving the connection remain research questions.
This is a different family from James C. Guthrie and Caroline Guthrie in Branch E.
Explore this family →Open family pages
The family overview also discusses children who died young and remain unidentified.
Branch E
James C. Guthrie & Caroline Guthrie
Carteret County, North Carolina
Y-DNA places James’s paternal line in GFG5. Caroline also had Guthrie ancestry, but their exact relationship, if any, remains unknown. Their children’s pages follow this particular Carteret family.
This match does not assign Caroline’s ancestors or all Carteret Guthries to GFG5.
Explore this family →Open family pages
The unidentified children’s placements are inferred from census records.
Branch F
John “Jack” Guthrie & Fairvilla Riddell
Kentucky · Napa & Sonoma Counties, California
Jack’s family carried the Guthrie name west to California. Records suggest a possible connection with the Guthrie–Howell family in Branch H, but his parents have not been established.
Explore this family →Open family pages
The list includes Mary Elizabeth from Jack’s earlier relationship, as well as the children associated with Fairvilla.
Branch G
Henry Guthrie & Manerva Lyon
Newton & Cobb Counties, Georgia · Alabama
Henry’s descendants match GFG5. Georgia estate and land-lottery records provide a lead toward Gabriel Guthrie and Jane, later Osborn, and a possible connection with Branch A.
Gabriel and Jane remain proposed parents.
Explore this family →Branch H
Thomas Guthrie & Mildred Howell
Fauquier County, Virginia · Woodford County, Kentucky
Y-DNA corrected this family’s former placement in GFG2A. The Guthrie–Howell family belongs here in GFG5 as Branch H. Thomas’s parents and the exact connection to the other branches remain unknown.
Explore this family →Open family pages
The family includes a descendant line with different paternal DNA, studied separately as subgroup GFG5C. See the subgroup notes below.
What the DNA Tells Us
A Shared Paternal Family
Y-DNA connects the main branches shown here and distinguishes their paternal line from GFG1A and GFG4. The remaining work is to identify the ancestors and generations linking those branches.
The Guthrie–Howell result is an example of why testing matters: it changed the direction of research after a long-standing published theory had placed the family elsewhere.
Where More Testing Could Help
Documented male-line descendants of the Carteret and Thickety Creek families could help establish which proposed lines belong to GFG5.
For men already matched to the group, Big-Y upgrades from additional branches could help clarify when their lines separated and which connections deserve closer study.
Choosing a DNA test →Open the Big-Y research snapshot · December 2025
The December 2025 review compared testers associated with Branches A, C, and H. The C and H testers share a more recent paternal ancestor with each other than with the tested line associated with Branch A.
| Branches compared | DNA branch | Estimated ancestor’s birth |
|---|---|---|
| C & H | R-FTE68872 | About 1699 |
| A, C & H | R-FTC19905 | About 1487 |
These are genetic estimates, not recorded birth dates. More results may change the estimates and the arrangement of branches. The DNA labels do not identify a particular historical person without supporting family research.
Follow the Research
The Guthrie–Howell Discovery
Read how Y-DNA changed this family’s group assignment and opened a different direction for research.
Follow the discovery →Frederick Guthrie & Mollie Louallen
Explore the records behind a proposed Thickety Creek connection that still needs paternal DNA evidence.
Read the Family Focus →Woody Guthrie & a Musical Family
Woody’s family belongs to GFG5 through Branch C. Visit Claim to Fame to explore his story and the musical legacy continued by Arlo and later generations.
Explore Claim to Fame →Names That Need Untangling
A borrowed spouse or a merged identity can send a family tree in the wrong direction. Compare these cases with your own records.