Any timeline for the discussion of Rev. James Guthrie's family must begin with one irrefutable date, his death on 1 June 1661. We can all agree that one is well documented.
The subject of his parents or other family members can be reserved for a separate discussion thread. Let's use this one to focus on William Guthrie.
There seems to be general confusion about whether William died as a young, single man, or an older married one. He is also frequently exchanged for Rev. William Guthrie, Minister of Fenwick, likely a cousin.
THE YEAR 1661:
In his last letter to his wife Jane (Ramsey) Guthrie on the day of his death, he mentions their children, unfortunately not by name.
However, this 1880 source listing other works on the "Life of Guthrie" provide these details...
"At the time of his father's death he was a child not more than four or five years old. Yearning over him with all the affection of a parent's head, Guthrie, in a last interview, took him upon his knee, and gave him such religious advices as were suited to his infant mind."
Anderson, J. (1880). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Ladies_of_the_Covenant/VG4... The Ladies of the Covenant: Memoirs of Distinguished Scottish Female Characters, Embracing the Period of the Covenant and the Persecution. United States: A. C. Armstrong. pp.111-118.]
This source, pulled from
[https://archive.org/details/analectaormateri03mait Analecta: or Materials for a history of remarkable providences; mostly relating to Scotch ministers and Christians.]
"When he ascended the fatal platform, and had prayed for a few minutes, he went two or three steps up the ladder, but no higher, fearing giddiness in his head, and then made his dying address to the spectators; after which he gave a copy of it sealed and subscribed, to his friends, to be kept for his son William. until he had become older."
"The head was set up on the Nether Bow Port, as a spectacle for the finger of scorn to point at." ... "One little boy was often seen gazing fixedly upon that countenance with looks of love and terror, -- and still returning day after day, and hour after hour, as if there was for him a language in that silent head which none else could hear. And who could that child be, but Guthrie's young son, the little "Willie" of the martyr's last affectionate counsels and cares?"
Despite the author's sensationalization of events, he makes it clear that at the time of James Guthrie's death, William was only about 4 to 5 years old, giving us a rough estimate of his DOB: 1656-1657.
There are no OPR birth/baptismal records in Scotland for boys named William Guthrie (or variations) between 1655-1658 to fathers named James. (Sometimes I think these ministers recorded the baptism of their own family members in their personal bible and failed to copy them into the official church record.)
GROWING UP
The sources above indicate that William Guthrie spent much of his time in solitude, and when asked his whereabouts would reply, "I have been seeing my father's head!" He resolved "to walk in his father's footsteps, directed his studies to the church, and became a scholar of excellent promise; but he died in early youth, when he was entering upon trials to be licensed as a preacher."
What exactly is "early youth"....pre-teen? Was there a specific age-range for boys to become licensed preachers during the mid to late 1600s? Much of what is shown in Search Results about "William Guthrie" studying for the ministry is actually the details of the life of Rev. William Guthrie, Minister in Fenwick, son of James Guthrie of Pitfirthie and Janet Lyon, so it may be difficult to pull out any specific details.
MOTHER & SISTER in the TOLBOOTH
"in the beginning of the year, 1666, Mrs Guthrie was put to trouble on account of a book entitled 'An Apologetical Relation of the Particular Sufferings of the Faithful Ministers and Professors of the Church of Scotland since August, 1660'" The book included a vindication of the marquis of Argyll and Mr James Guthrie, and "exposed the illegality, injustice and cruelty of the proceedings of the government against them." Naturally, someone had given the widow a copy. The book was discovered upon her home being searched for Covenanters who were suspected of taking shelter under her roof. Both Mrs Guthrie and her daughter Sophia were brought before the privy council on 8 Feb 1666. They remained prisoners until the next council meeting on 2 March 1666, after which "Mrs Guthrie was banished for some years from Edinburgh."
ILLNESS
The information about her banishment was noted in a petition she presented to the privy council about the beginning of January 1669, "Showing that her only son was in Edinburgh under a sad distemper, to the hazard of his life, and therefore supplicating that, notwithstanding her confinement, she might be licensed for some time to come to Edinburgh and wait upon her son. The council, at their meeting of the 15th of January (1669). Mrs Guthrie was granted permission to come to Edinburgh and reside there until the 15th day of February (1669).
William Guthrie was alive and living in Edinburgh as of 15 January 1669.
The DOB calculation est. he was born 1656-1657. That means in 1669, when he was in poor heath, he was about 12 - 13 years old.
"He devoted himself to the work of the ministry, he prosecuted the preparatory studies with success, and gave indications of much future usefulness; but being always of a delicate constitution, he was cut off when about to receive license as a preacher of the gospel. By his early death his mother's hopes of seeing him useful in the church below were disappointed."
These sources do not state if his mother's care improved his heath for a time, or not. If he lived no longer than 18 years of age, his death date range would be between 1669 and 1674.
An OPR search for William Guthrie deaths in all of Scotland between 1669 - 1674 returns two results, and one of them is for William Gutrie, father James Gutrie, 14 Apr 1674 in Edinburgh.
[https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/image-viewer/opr_deaths/opr_reco... 1674 Gutrie, William OPR Deaths 685/ 1 Edinburgh page 100 of 199.]
Attempted Transcription: Mr William Gutrie son to ____ Mr James Gutrie ____ minister at _____
Can anyone else interpret the rest?
Do any of you have other information on William Guthrie you would like to share with the group? Do you agree to the proposed estimated for William's DOB/DOD or have other ideas to share?
(This is my first time trying to link threads into a discussion and I'm not 100% sure it can be done here, and this doesn't allow a preview. )