About us
The purpose of the Horth Families DNA project is to promote exchange of information and solution of genealogical issues using DNA in all interested Horth, Hoerth, Hörth and Orth families worldwide. The name has arisen on at least six separate occasions, but it is rare everywhere.
1. The name has existed in various spellings in the Norwich, Norfolk County, England, area since at least the 1300's. Horths from this family have migrated to North America on at least three separate occasions; New England in the 1720's, British Columbia in the 1860's and Chicago in 1869. At least one Norwich Horth has migrated to Australia. Most Horths in the U.S. now are descendants of the New England immigrant.
2. The Horth family of Québec Province has been traced to the Montreal area in 1796, and may be of German origin with a change in spelling, possibly from Orth or Hoerdt. Until recently, all members of this large French-speaking family lived on the Gaspé peninsula, but are now found spread over Québec and elsewhere. Y-DNA testing may help resolve the origin of this family.
3. The Horth family of Austria comes from one small town near the Hungarian border where many people are of Croatian descent. One member of this family migrated to the U.S. in 1929.
4. The name Hörth (o with an umlaut) is fairly common in Germany. To German speakers, ö (o-umlaut) and o are very different vowels. Some Hörths who lived in the Alsace ended up in France as borders have shifted over the years. Some dropped the umlaut. Others changed the ö to oe. The names Horth and Hoerth now occur occasionally in both France and Germany. One French family moved to the U.S. in 1828. Another moved to French Guiana in South America, and while leaving no biological descendants, did adopt, so the name continues there. Another French family may have moved to Russia and then Bassarabia near the Black Sea in the early 1800's, where they sometimes spelled the name Hert or Hordt. One daughter eventually ended up in Alberta, Canada. A Hörth family also moved from Germany to the US in the 1920's and changed the ö to o.
5. A name of similar pronunciation occurs in Cambodia, but is written in the Khmer script. At least one member of this family migrated to Austrialia, where the name is spelled Horth in the Latin alphabet.
6. The name Hjorth, pronounced approximately like "Yort," is fairly common in Scandinavia. At least one Hjorth migrated to Australia and dropped the j.
Acknowledgments
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Many Horths have worked on the genealogy of the families over the years, and this will be extremely helpful in interpreting the DNA results. Here are some of them.
James R. Horth of Goodmayes, Essex, England, now deceased, did the principal research on the Horths of England, who all seem to have come from Norwich originally. He published his results in 10 volumes which occupy at least 6 inches (15 cm.) of shelf space. This was all done before computers. Jim typed the pages and hand-drew the charts despite crippling arthritis. Copies of these volumes are available on paper in the U.S. at the LDS library in Salt Lake City and the NEHGS library in Boston. They may also be available in England at the Ilford & District Historical Society in Ilford. In addition, your project administrator has a personal set. See the page on the Norwich Family for more detail on Jim's work.
Ronald A Horth of Redhill, Surrey and later Hexham, Northumberland, now also deceased, assisted Jim and carried on the work after Jim's death, publishing several more papers. Ron also researched the Horth Family of France and Guiana. Both Jim and Ron would be thrilled at the new possibilities opened up by DNA genealogy.
Raynald Horth of Rimouski, Québec, has done extensive research on the Québec Family and published a book on their history and genealogy, of which I have a copy.
Alan Horth of Canberra, Australia, has done research on the various Horths in that country, including those who came from Norwich, Cambodia and Scandinavia.
Thomas C. Horth of Newburyport, Massachusetts, U.S.A., the administrator of this DNA project, has researched the Horth families of the U.S. and western Canada, including those from Norwich, France, Germany, Austria and Québec.
1. The name has existed in various spellings in the Norwich, Norfolk County, England, area since at least the 1300's. Horths from this family have migrated to North America on at least three separate occasions; New England in the 1720's, British Columbia in the 1860's and Chicago in 1869. At least one Norwich Horth has migrated to Australia. Most Horths in the U.S. now are descendants of the New England immigrant.
2. The Horth family of Québec Province has been traced to the Montreal area in 1796, and may be of German origin with a change in spelling, possibly from Orth or Hoerdt. Until recently, all members of this large French-speaking family lived on the Gaspé peninsula, but are now found spread over Québec and elsewhere. Y-DNA testing may help resolve the origin of this family.
3. The Horth family of Austria comes from one small town near the Hungarian border where many people are of Croatian descent. One member of this family migrated to the U.S. in 1929.
4. The name Hörth (o with an umlaut) is fairly common in Germany. To German speakers, ö (o-umlaut) and o are very different vowels. Some Hörths who lived in the Alsace ended up in France as borders have shifted over the years. Some dropped the umlaut. Others changed the ö to oe. The names Horth and Hoerth now occur occasionally in both France and Germany. One French family moved to the U.S. in 1828. Another moved to French Guiana in South America, and while leaving no biological descendants, did adopt, so the name continues there. Another French family may have moved to Russia and then Bassarabia near the Black Sea in the early 1800's, where they sometimes spelled the name Hert or Hordt. One daughter eventually ended up in Alberta, Canada. A Hörth family also moved from Germany to the US in the 1920's and changed the ö to o.
5. A name of similar pronunciation occurs in Cambodia, but is written in the Khmer script. At least one member of this family migrated to Austrialia, where the name is spelled Horth in the Latin alphabet.
6. The name Hjorth, pronounced approximately like "Yort," is fairly common in Scandinavia. At least one Hjorth migrated to Australia and dropped the j.
Acknowledgments
---------------
Many Horths have worked on the genealogy of the families over the years, and this will be extremely helpful in interpreting the DNA results. Here are some of them.
James R. Horth of Goodmayes, Essex, England, now deceased, did the principal research on the Horths of England, who all seem to have come from Norwich originally. He published his results in 10 volumes which occupy at least 6 inches (15 cm.) of shelf space. This was all done before computers. Jim typed the pages and hand-drew the charts despite crippling arthritis. Copies of these volumes are available on paper in the U.S. at the LDS library in Salt Lake City and the NEHGS library in Boston. They may also be available in England at the Ilford & District Historical Society in Ilford. In addition, your project administrator has a personal set. See the page on the Norwich Family for more detail on Jim's work.
Ronald A Horth of Redhill, Surrey and later Hexham, Northumberland, now also deceased, assisted Jim and carried on the work after Jim's death, publishing several more papers. Ron also researched the Horth Family of France and Guiana. Both Jim and Ron would be thrilled at the new possibilities opened up by DNA genealogy.
Raynald Horth of Rimouski, Québec, has done extensive research on the Québec Family and published a book on their history and genealogy, of which I have a copy.
Alan Horth of Canberra, Australia, has done research on the various Horths in that country, including those who came from Norwich, Cambodia and Scandinavia.
Thomas C. Horth of Newburyport, Massachusetts, U.S.A., the administrator of this DNA project, has researched the Horth families of the U.S. and western Canada, including those from Norwich, France, Germany, Austria and Québec.