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A little research over the centuries since Malcolm Canmore ruled Scotland, reveals Guthrie – the King’s Falconer; Guthrie – the Herald sent to Europe to seek the liberator William Wallace ("Braveheart"); Guthrie – Commander of the King’s body guard, builder of Guthrie Castle in 1468.

Guthries were religious leaders in the time of Martin Luther and champions of Presbyterianism against the Roman church, ready to back up their beliefs with their lives. James "The Martyr" was a Guthrie – executed for his beliefs in Edinburgh in 1661 and referred to by Oliver Cromwell as "the little man who refused to kneel."

Most American Guthries can trace their lineage to pre-Revolutionary War immigrants from Scotland and Northern Ireland. Ireland was a stepping stone for many of our ancestors. James I, who assumed the English throne in 1603, ventured a plan to colonize the Emerald Isle with loyalist settlers from England and Scotland. The Scots saw this as an opportunity to both improve themselves economically and to follow their Presbyterian faith without interference from the Church of England. The resulting prosperity of the former Scots became their downfall.

English merchants saw the new industry as a threat and The Staple Act of 1663 was enacted to prohibit direct Irish exports for most goods. In 1699 this was expanded to prohibit export of goods anywhere except to England and Wales. During this period the Test Act was established by Queen Anne requiring all office holders to take the sacraments as prescribed by the Church of England.

The strong Presbyterian faith caused many to respond by crowding into ships bound for America. Since money was not available to pay for passage, the majority came as indentured servants, an arrangement which bound the servants for a term of 4 to 7 years. At the expiration of this time, the individual was given clothing, farm tools and usually some land. The arrangement was considered no more demeaning than a normal apprenticeship.

At first the immigrants avoided the southern colonies with their "Established" Church and New England with its "Puritanical ways." Central Pennsylvania was the favored haven and future jumping off point for further migration. To satisfy their hunger for land, these settlers seldom observed legal proprieties. Their clannish ways made them poor neighbors for either the whites or the Indians. It was truly observed that "the Scots kept the Sabbath and anything they could get their hands on!"