People from the Past: William "Uncle Bill" Guthrie

I find it interesting to learn about some of the characters who lived in Raymond long before I was born, and even before my parents were born. One of those characters was William H. Guthrie.

The following information appears in a self-published book by former Raymond resident, David A. Sorrell, called “As I Remember.” The book features Mr. Sorrell’s recollections about the early days of Raymond. The stories appeared in a weekly column in The Raymond News from 1963-1972. 

Here is a man that the folks in our town called “Uncle Bill.” Uncle Bill was well known to everyone in Raymond and Harvel. He was not a big man neither was he a small man. I remember him best by his huge gray beard and his great shock of iron gray hair. As did many of the men of his day, he seemed to always have had on a pair of leather boots with his pants legs stuffed into the boot tops. He was a cane carrier, but he never seemed to use his cane to help him in getting about. He was a gregarious man who loved to talk with his fellow man, and one would often see Uncle Bill sitting in the shade of the porch that was in front of Kim Bradley’s elevator office, or in the little Post Office or in Charley Scherer’s grocery store talking with some friends or perhaps arguing the political issues of the day. Uncle Bill was what we called a strong Republican and he was not one to hesitate to state his views on a subject.

Grave of William and Elisabeth Guthrie at Asbury Cemetery 

William Guthrie was born over in Green County, Illinois, on October 3, 1840. His folks were natives of Kentucky. Milton and Catherine (Fisher) Guthrie came over from Kentucky to Madison County, Illinois, when Uncle Bill’s father was a small boy. Uncle Bill was the third son in his father’s family. He grew up in Greene County, and on November 9, 1865, he married a pretty neighbor girl by the name of Elisabeth Martin, a daughter of Josiah and Eliza Martin.

William and Elisabeth first settled in Raymond Township and later moved into Havel Township where they bought land located in Section 29 and today this land is still owned by their daughter Laura.

There were six children born to the William Guthrie’s and as a boy, I knew all of them except one. Dennis is the one best remembered for he had polio as a young man and became a life-long cripple. His father set him up in the jewelry business on Main Street (called Broad now) and Dennis became a successful businessman for a number of years.

Uncle Bill lived to a ripe old age and then one day he was no more. There are few living in the old hometown today that will remember him, but those who do will always have a pleasant memory.