October 2026 Research Update

The Howland DNA Project continues to refine the paternal relationships among English, American, and international Howland families. A significant new Y-DNA development now provides additional evidence for the direct paternal haplogroup of Mayflower passenger John Howland.

The Fenstanton and East Kent paternal families share the older haplogroup R-A9703 but belong to separate downstream branches:

• R-A9703
  • R-A9708 — Fenstanton Howland paternal line
  • R-FTE45147 — East Kent Howlen and Howland paternal line

R-A9703 is presently defined by 11 equivalent SNP mutations shared by the Fenstanton and East Kent paternal families.

The term equivalent means that current testing has not yet identified intermediate paternal branches that would place the mutations in an earlier or later order. The 11 mutations may have accumulated across an unknown number of paternal generations.

Documented direct paternal descendants of Arthur Howland, Mayflower passenger John Howland, and Henry Howland, Jr., belong to R-A9708. Their results establish that their father, Henry Howland of Fenstanton, carried R-A9708.

Current downstream branches include:

• R-FT62874 — tested descendants of Arthur Howland
• R-FTA35340 — direct paternal line of Mayflower passenger John Howland
• R-FGC58211 — tested descendants of Henry Howland, Jr., through his sons Samuel and Zoeth

These downstream branches distinguish the tested paternal families descending from sons of Henry Howland of Fenstanton.

Earlier project results identified R-FTA35340 in kit #677188, a Big Y-700-tested paternal descendant of Mayflower passenger John Howland through his son Jabez.

A second paternal line is represented by kit #63563, whose reported paternal ancestry extends to Crocker Howland. On October 5, 2026, FamilyTreeDNA formally updated kit #63563 from R-M269 to R-FTA35340.

The project presently interprets the paternal line represented by kit #63563 as descending through John Howland, son of the Mayflower passenger, while kit #677188 descends through Jabez Howland.

The presence of FTA35340 in two paternal lines presently representing different sons of Mayflower passenger John Howland is significant. Tested direct paternal descendants of John's brothers Arthur Howland and Henry Howland, Jr., do not carry FTA35340 and instead belong to separate downstream branches beneath R-A9708.

Taken together, the current results support placing R-FTA35340 with Mayflower passenger John Howland himself.

The present structure is therefore:

• Henry Howland of Fenstanton — R-A9708
• Arthur Howland branch — R-FT62874
• Mayflower passenger John Howland branch — R-FTA35340
• Henry Howland, Jr. branch — R-FGC58211

A positive result for FTA35340, or for a confirmed downstream subclade of FTA35340, provides Y-DNA evidence of membership in the direct biological paternal lineage of Mayflower passenger John Howland.

This does not mean that FTA35340 identifies every intervening ancestor or determines automatically through which of John's sons a particular paternal line descends. Documentary research and downstream SNP testing remain important for resolving those questions.

Additional Big Y-700 testing remains important from independent paternal descendants of John Howland's sons:

• John
• Jabez
• Joseph
• Isaac

The purpose of additional testing is now to confirm FTA35340 in additional independent branches and to identify downstream mutations associated with particular sons, grandsons, and later paternal lines.

Testing through Joseph and Isaac would be especially valuable because those branches may provide additional independent support for the placement of FTA35340 and reveal previously unknown downstream subclades.

Additional testing through independent branches of John and Jabez may help identify mutations that distinguish those two paternal families.

Tested descendants of Arthur Howland are currently placed in R-FT62874.

Additional Big Y-700 testing through independent paternal branches below Arthur Howland II may determine where known downstream mutations arose and may identify additional Arthur-line subclades.

Tested paternal descendants through Henry Howland, Jr.'s sons Samuel and Zoeth belong to R-FGC58211.

Because R-FGC58211 is represented through descendants of both Samuel and Zoeth, Henry Howland, Jr. carried this mutation. Tested paternal descendants of his brothers Arthur and John belong to different downstream branches, supporting the placement of R-FGC58211 with Henry Howland, Jr.

Additional testing through independent Samuel and Zoeth branches may identify further downstream structure.

Two Big Y-700 testers from separate paternal branches of the East Kent family belong to R-FTE45147.

One tested line descends through George Howland, born in 1819 at Norton, Kent.

The other tested line descends through James William Howland, born in 1828 at Teynham, Kent.

George and James William were sons of Thomas Howland, who lived from 1787 to 1871. Because both tested descendant lines carry R-FTE45147, Thomas and both of his sons carried this haplogroup.

R-FTE45147 is presently defined by five equivalent SNP mutations:

• FTE45147
• FTE43612
• FTE43613
• FTE43614
• FTE43615

The five mutations may have arisen in one man or accumulated across several paternal generations.

A reconstructed paternal line connects Thomas Howland with John Howlen of Brabourne through five father-to-son links. Several of these genealogical connections remain probable rather than conclusively proved.

The current tests establish that Thomas carried all five R-FTE45147 mutations. They do not yet determine whether John Howlen carried none, some, or all five mutations.

A Big Y-700 test from a documented paternal descendant of one of John Howlen's other sons could help determine when R-FTE45147 developed.

The project welcomes direct paternal descendants of documented Howland, Howlen, Howlyn, Howlin, Howling, and related surname families.

English testers are especially needed from families historically associated with:

• Kent, including Brabourne, Brook, Wye, Charing, and nearby parishes
• Fenstanton and other parts of Huntingdonshire
• Cambridgeshire and Ely
• Monks Horton
• Essex
• London
• Other English communities with established Howland families

A tester does not need to match the Fenstanton family to make an important contribution.

A nonmatching result can identify an independent paternal origin, establish a new genetic branch, and prevent unrelated surname families from being incorrectly combined.

Four mitochondrial DNA tests representing maternal-line descendants through three daughters of Elizabeth Tilley place her maternal line in haplogroup H1a1+16209.

A matching full mitochondrial DNA result may support a proposed unbroken maternal descent from Elizabeth Tilley. Because this haplogroup is much older than Elizabeth, documentary evidence is also required.

A nonmatching full mitochondrial DNA result can disprove a proposed unbroken maternal-line descent.

The project is especially interested in:

• Additional Big Y-700 testers from the Arthur Howland line
• Independent descendants of Mayflower passenger John Howland's sons John, Jabez, Joseph, and Isaac
• Additional descendants of Henry Howland, Jr., through different branches of Samuel and Zoeth
• Direct paternal descendants of John Howlen of Brabourne through his sons William, John, or Richard
• Direct paternal descendants of documented English Howland and related surname families
• Maternal-line descendants of Elizabeth Tilley and other early Howland wives

Prospective testers should contact the project administrators through FamilyTreeDNA before ordering or upgrading a test.

Project funding may sometimes be available when a proposed test could answer an important research question.