Samuel Guthrie was born around 1817 in Harrison County, Ohio. He married Catherine Long around 1844, and they had at least three children: Amos, born around 1844; Sarah, born around 1848; and Mary, born around 1851. They lived in Rumley, Ohio, and Guthrie worked as a stone mason. In 1850, he owned $400 of real estate; a decade later, they had $800 of real estate and $200 of personal property. He probably died sometime in the 1880s.