GUTHRIE RESEARCH BY LOCATION

North Dakota joined the Union as the 39th state on November 2, 1889, having previously been part of Dakota Territory (organized 1861). Settlement accelerated after the Homestead Act of 1862 and the arrival of railroads in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, drawing many families—including Guthries—from eastern states, Canada, and Europe. Early records are often tied to Dakota Territory documents, with county-level vital records, land patents, and probates becoming more formalized post-statehood. Guthrie presence in North Dakota includes homesteaders, educators, public officials, and railroad-related naming (e.g., the short-lived town of Guthrie).

NORTH DAKOTA ONLINE GENEALOGY RECORDS

NORTH DAKOTA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY – HISTORY & GENEALOGY

(State Archives at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum, Bismarck; includes manuscripts, newspapers on microfilm via interlibrary loan, and the Orin G. Libby Memorial Reading Room for in-person research)

LIST of NORTH DAKOTA COUNTIES, FORMATION DATES, and MAPS
(For historical county boundaries and parent counties, also see: https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/North_Dakota_County_Creation_Dates_and_Parent_Counties)

GUTHRIE FAMILY GROUP CONNECTIONS in NORTH DAKOTA: No established Guthrie Family Group (GFG) branches from the Guthrie DNA Project are currently documented as primarily North Dakota-based in available online sources. However, individual Guthries and families appear in territorial/state records, often as homesteaders or later migrants. Known examples include:

• Archibald Guthrie (b. 25 Dec 1844, son of James and Margaret (Reid) Guthrie of Scottish/Canadian origin) — associated with the naming of Guthrie town in McHenry County (not a resident, but contractor for Great Northern Railroad).
• Eben George Guthrie (1861–1935) of Fargo, Cass County — deputy county auditor and secretary of the Fargo Board of Education; family papers include Guthrie name history.
• Louise Guthrie Blankenship (early 1900s) — homesteader and teacher in Divide County; documented in State Historical Society photos and claim shack images circa 1904–1908.
• Other scattered mentions in 20th-century censuses (e.g., Dennie S. Guthrie in 1940s records) and family histories linking to later North Dakota residents.

Researchers are encouraged to cross-reference with Guthrie Y-DNA Project results or contact the blog for potential grouping.

SOURCE: Eben G. Guthrie Family Collection (NDSU Institute for Regional Studies) This collection (SC 819, 1886–1945, ~100 items) at North Dakota State University Libraries (Fargo) contains correspondence, family history on the Guthrie surname, poetry, pamphlets (including tributes to Eben G. Guthrie upon his death), clippings, and a historical sketch of Alice Rutledge (early ND teacher). It documents Eben’s roles in Cass County government and Fargo education, plus connections to son-in-law Brig. Gen. Maxon S. Lough (Fargo native, WWII POW). Access is open to researchers; contact ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu. This is a key primary source for one documented Guthrie line in eastern North Dakota.

NORTH DAKOTA LAND & HOMESTEAD RECORDS Homestead, preemption, and railroad land patents are primary for early Guthries. Many are indexed on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) General Land Office Records site (glorecords.blm.gov) or FamilySearch. North Dakota’s digital collections at the State Historical Society include some land records and plat maps. County-level deeds remain at courthouses (or transferred to State Archives for older volumes).

Example context: Divide County homestead claims (e.g., Louise Guthrie Blankenship’s claim shack photos held by the State Historical Society) illustrate typical early 20th-century settlement patterns.

NORTH DAKOTA PROBATE & VITAL RECORDS North Dakota probate records (dockets, wills, guardianships, estate files) are held at county courthouses or microfilmed at the State Archives/FamilySearch. Colonial/territorial-era records are sparse; most date post-1880s. FamilySearch offers indexed images for select counties (e.g., probate estate files 1796–1940 analogs, though ND-specific coverage varies). Search “North Dakota Probate Records” on FamilySearch for digitized dockets.

Vital records (births, marriages, deaths) are centralized at the ND Department of Health but historical ones appear in county registers or church records. Online indexes exist on FamilySearch and Ancestry for select years.

CENSUS & DIRECTORY MENTIONS U.S. Federal Censuses (1880–1940) and North Dakota state censuses (e.g., 1885, 1905, 1915, 1925) are the richest sources for Guthries. Examples from public indexes include families in Cass, McHenry, Divide, Ward, and Burleigh Counties. Directories and township plat books often list Guthries as farmers or business owners. The 1940 Census, for instance, captures individuals like Dennie Guthrie in North Dakota households.

NEEDED DATA:

• Full transcriptions or images of any Guthrie probates, wills, or land patents from Dakota Territory/North Dakota counties (pre-1920 preferred).
• Details from un-digitized State Archives manuscript collections or county-level vital registers.
• Y-DNA testers or family Bibles connecting North Dakota Guthries to established GFG branches.
• Scans of homestead files, teacher records (e.g., additional Louise Guthrie materials), or railroad/settlement histories.

If you have access to the North Dakota State Archives, NDSU Special Collections, FamilySearch affiliate libraries, or local county courthouses and can check for GUTHRIE entries, please share findings in the comments or via the blog contact form. Contributions help build this page!