Lindy Guthrie, my Dad ...

Here is my dad's high school picture. He would be so excited about this site if he were still here. Really Genealogy is about family, roots and traditions. Growing up there was only My Dad, Mom, Grandmother and Sister, we were a small family. No bunch of cousins, crazy Aunts and Uncles, to deal with. So, for me its a way to connect to family. I have met several cousins, several times removed and it has been exciting to find out about them and how we are connected. I think after this class I will keep my blog going. What about you?

Now Let's Start at the Begining

Since your hooked :) and really want to find out where to start to look for your own dead people. Let me help you get started. You start with yourself and work backwards. I included several links of the top genealogy sites, to help you out if you are interested. Plus their are tons, of books on the subject, but the best one to get started with is 'The Genealogist's Companion and Sourcebook' and 'The Unpuzzling Your Past Workbook' by Emily Anne Croom. She does a great job of breaking the information down and her workbook is full of all the necessary forms you will need to keep track of all the people you will find.

After you record your own information, you work on your parents and their siblings, then their parents and siblings, and so on. Until you end up with a room full of people. It will take over your office. But if you love researching, digging in courthouses, trekking through cemeteries and taking road trips to stand on ancestral lands. Than you'll love this hobby. Its a great way to learn about the lives of your ancestors, their trail and tribulations, their skeletons, how you came to be and how they really aren't so different than you. It can be a revealing and exciting journey.

Another Line Added - Sarah E. Eye

This is Sarah E. Eye, the wife of Andrew Jackson Guthrie. This is her wedding picture. I obtained both pictures when my grandfather passed away. They are in a leather case that folds in half and snaps closed. Sarah would be my gg-grandmother. The interesting things about going back a generation is you pick up a whole new direct descendant line, through your grandmothers. The Eye family came to America in the early 1700's (as far as we can tell), there is much was much debate as to whether the line is English (from a place near the Scottish border) or German. Since they settled in the Virginia's in an area with in the Scottish-German Settlements it was hard to say.

Then a researcher Professor Walter Eye found her ggg-grandfather Christopher S. Eyewho, spelled his name a Christafur Stophel Au, listed in the 'Pennsylvania German Pioneers' as one of the three brothers that immigrated to this country, Gremany entering Philadelphia on 23 Oct 1754.

The History of Guthrie

The Guthrie Crest

Motto: "I stand for Truth"

Clan History

Origins of the Name
The name Guthrie almost certainly derives from the barony of the same name near Forfar. Other theories are that it is a corruption of Guthrum, which was the name of a Scandinavian Prince.

Wars of Scottish Independence
The first of the name Guthrie on record in Scotland was one Squire Guthrie in 1303 during the Wars of Scottish Independence. had been sent to France to request the return of William Wallace, who had retired there having resigned the guardianship of Scotland. He was successful as William Wallace did indeed return to Scotland. However Wallace was later captured and executed by the English. The Guthries of Guthrie received their estates by a charter from King David II of Scotland between the years 1329 and 1371.

15th Century
In 1457 Sir David Guthrie of Guthrie was Armour- Bearer to King James III of Scotland and the Sheriff of Forfar; he became Lord Treasurer of Scotland in 1461 and continued in this office until 1467 when he was appointed Comptroller of the Exchequer. In 1468 he obtained a warrant under the Great Seal to build Guthrie Castle near Friockheim in Angus, which remains standing to this day.

16th Century & Anglo-Scottish Wars
In the 16th Century during the Anglo-Scottish Wars the Clan Guthrie fought at the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513, against the English where Sir David Guthrie's eldest son Sir Alexander was killed. The Guthries were supporters of the young King James VI of Scotland against his own mother Mary, Queen of Scots who had been portrayed as a challenge to his authority as King. It was around this time that Alexander Guthrie was murdered following a feud with the neighboring Gardynes which continued until 1618.

17th Century & Civil War
The Guthries were religious leaders in the time of Martin Luther. They were also supporters of Presbyterianism against the Roman Catholic church and were ready to back up their beliefs with their lives. In 1640 during the Bishop's Wars the position of Bishop of Moray was held by a Guthrie at the fortified seat of Spynie Palace. However during the year of 1640 the palace was laid siege to by General Robert Monro (d. 1680) of the Clan Munro and Bishop Guthrie was forced to surrender. The bishops third son Andrew followed the campaign of James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose. He met a similar fate, after being taken prisoner at the Battle of Philiphaugh he was transported to Edinburgh and beheaded by Edinburgh's infamous 'Maiden' A smaller version of the French guillotine. This macabre device is still on display in Edinburgh's Museum of Antiquities. However James Guthrie was a minister, ordained minister of Lauder in 1638 and unlike other Guthries he supported the Covenanters. When he moved to Stirling in 1649 he preached openly against the king’s religious views. The Church of Scotland stripped him of his office but he carried on unperturbed until his arrest in 1661, after a swift trial he was executed later that year.

James "the Martyr"Guthrie
James "the Martyr" Guthrie was a Guthrie who was executed for his beliefs in Edinburgh in 1661. He was described by Oliver Cromwell as "The little man who refused to kneel".

The Oldest Guthrie, so far ...

...this is Andrew Jackson Guthrie, born 1840-1844, on his wedding day or there about 23rd Dec 1869. He served in the Confederacy during the Civil War. According to his military record, he enlisted as a private in Pendleton Co. West Virginia, on 09 June 1861. He was a POW on 06 August 1863, took an Oath of Allegiance on 06 August 1863 and was released. He was 5'5" with auburn hair and blue eyes, his occupation was listed as a farmer. This is as far back as we can trace in this main line of GUTHRIE. We know his parents are Page / Allie (short for Alexander) Guthrie and Frances Smith, according to his death record. We believe him to be the grandson of Rev. George Guthrie (the same one from my previous post) and Frances Smith, but have not been able to prove it with out a doubt, all our evidence thus far is circumstantial.

Here's My Castle

This is the Guthrie Castle in Scotland. The original square tower was built in 1468, by Sir David Guthrie. Today the original tower houses the family library. The castle was built under a warrant granted by King James II of Scotland, to Sir David, who was his treasurer. Sir David was permitted to build an "iron yett" (gate) a symbol of trust, in a time when the King wasn't anxious for his subjects to be heavily fortified. The original tower walls are 14 feet thick and discouraged invaders until the invention of modern artillery. Living quarters were added in 1760, when the family moved out of the original tower. In 1848, the current head of Clan Guthrie commissioned an to have the tower and living quarters connected by the entrance hall. Unfortunately, it was sold in 1984 and is no longer held by the clan chief. I just wish I would have known, maybe I could have written a check :) Actually a visit here is on my Bucket List. I always try to picture it as it must have been back in the 15th and 16th century and wonder why those three brothers left?

His Grandpappy's Grandpappy Told Him the Story

...of three brothers, who left Scotland for the Americas in the 1600's. Younger brothers of the clan Guthrie and one was a preacher or so the story was told to my father.

Yeah, O.K. I went looking for these three brothers, because how hard can it be to find three dead guys from the 1600's? I hated to tell my dad that it wasn't that simple. But since he passed away before we really got started my daughter and I went diggin' for them. Instead of the brothers we first found cousins, OMG cousins we didn't even know existed and landed slap dab in the middle of a family scandal (who knew?). But, the interesting thing was they all knew the story of the brothers, with little variation, each one with a new little piece of the story. There was a preacher, yeah he was from NY, moved to Virginia or maybe Kentucky, went out west somewhere, he died struck by lightening, wife came back, he had a bunch of kids....yadda, yadda, yadda.

Did I mention, I love puzzles. So, we started diggin' harder, my daughter and me. OMG we searched census records, birth records, death records, on and on. Guess what? We found him. Maybe not one of the brothers, maybe a son of one of the brothers, maybe not our brother (because we have been working on him for 10 years). But we found George Guthrie, a Baptist Preacher, whose first records where some baptisms he performed in the mid 1700's at Canoe Brook, N.J. in the church that was held in a barn on someones farm. He was sent to help build the first Baptist Church in Northfield, Livingston Township, Essex Co. N.J., From there we found an old Church History written in long hand, held by the Historical Society, and for $4 they sent me a copy. There in long hand from the late 1700's reads "... Guthrie it is said, came from Kentucky to which state he after returned, he married a sister of the wife of deacon Thomas Force, and was killed by lightening."

So, I'm guessing that those old stories that keep getting passed down have a grain of truth in them. Now, if I can just find my mom's uncle who is a federal fugitive, hunted by the Pinkerton's for stealing all his fathers money from the bank.