About us
Current Results
The Howland DNA Project has identified several genetically distinct paternal families using the Howland surname and related historical forms, including Howlen, Howlyn, Howlin, and Howling.
The project does not assume that every family using one of these surnames descends from a single paternal ancestor. A nonmatching Y-DNA result is valuable because it may identify an independent surname origin and prevent unrelated families from being combined.
Fenstanton and East Kent Paternal Relationship
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
This structure establishes that the two families descend from an earlier shared paternal ancestor.
The DNA evidence does not yet identify that ancestor, determine where he lived, establish the number of generations separating the branches, or prove a direction of migration.
R-A9703
R-A9703 is presently defined by 11 equivalent SNP mutations:
- A9703
- A9702
- A9704
- A9706
- A9707
- FGC58199
- FGC58202
- FGC58206
- FGC58207
- FGC58217
- Y378838
The Fenstanton and East Kent paternal families share these 11 mutations and all older upstream mutations.
Equivalent SNPs are mutations currently grouped together at the same position on the Y-DNA haplotree. They did not necessarily arise in one man or during one generation.
The mutations may have accumulated over an unknown number of paternal generations. Future Big Y testing may identify intermediate branches and divide the present block into an earlier and later order.
Fenstanton Howland Family
Documented direct paternal descendants of Arthur Howland, Mayflower passenger John Howland, and Henry Howland, Jr., belong to R-A9708.
Because tested descendants of all three sons carry R-A9708, their father, Henry Howland of Fenstanton, also carried R-A9708.
The mutation defining R-A9708 may have arisen in Henry himself at conception or in an earlier direct paternal ancestor.
Current downstream branches include:
- R-FT62874 in tested descendants of Arthur Howland
- R-FTA35340 in a tested line descending from Mayflower passenger John Howland through his son Jabez
- R-FGC58211 in tested descendants of Henry Howland, Jr., through his sons Samuel and Zoeth
These downstream haplogroups represent mutations that arose after R-A9708 in particular descendant lines.
Arthur Howland Line
Tested descendants of Arthur Howland are currently placed in R-FT62874.
Earlier Big Y testing also identified FT62411 in tested Arthur-line kits. Additional testing from independent paternal branches below Arthur Howland II is needed to determine where these mutations arose and whether further downstream branches can be identified.
A useful supporting STR value in portions of the Arthur line is:
- DYS464a=16
STR evidence may support a proposed paternal placement, but confirmed SNP testing provides stronger evidence.
Mayflower Passenger John Howland Line
A tested paternal line descending through John Howland’s son Jabez is currently placed in R-FTA35340.
Other tested descendants remain within R-A9708 or have private variants that require additional testing before they can be recognized as confirmed family branches.
Earlier testing reported candidate or private variants in the lines descending through Lieutenant John Howland II and Jabez Howland. A variant found in only one tester should not be treated as a mutation shared by every descendant of that historical ancestor.
Additional Big Y-700 testing is needed from independent descendants of John Howland’s sons:
- John
- Jabez
- Joseph
- Isaac
Testing descendants through different sons and grandsons may identify a mutation shared by all paternal descendants of Mayflower passenger John Howland, as well as mutations associated with particular descendant branches.
Henry Howland, Jr. Line
Tested descendants through Henry Howland, Jr.’s sons Samuel and Zoeth belong to R-FGC58211.
Earlier Big Y testing also identified FGC58203 in this paternal group. Because R-FGC58211 is represented through both Samuel and Zoeth, the branch was carried by Henry Howland, Jr., or by an earlier paternal ancestor between him and Henry Howland of Fenstanton.
Supporting STR values found in tested members of this line include:
- DYS485=14
- DYS505=11
These STR values may help identify possible members of the line, but SNP testing is preferred for final haplogroup placement.
East Kent Howlen and Howland Family
Two Big Y-700 testers descend through separate sons of Thomas Howland, who lived from 1787 to 1871.
One tested line descends through his son George Howland, born in 1819 at Norton, Kent.
The other tested line descends through his son James William Howland, born in 1828 at Teynham, Kent.
Both tested paternal lines belong to R-FTE45147.
Because the two tested lines separate through George and James William, both sons and their father Thomas carried R-FTE45147.
R-FTE45147 is presently defined by five equivalent SNP mutations:
- FTE45147
- FTE43612
- FTE43613
- FTE43614
- FTE43615
These five mutations may have arisen in one man or accumulated over 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 present DNA results establish that Thomas Howland 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 direct paternal descendant of one of John Howlen’s other sons could help determine when R-FTE45147 developed.
Other Howland Paternal Families
Not every Howland family belongs to R-A9703.
Testing has identified genetically unrelated paternal families using the Howland surname and related forms.
These include a Monks Horton paternal family belonging to I-S16030 and other separate English and international paternal lines.
A similar surname does not prove shared paternal ancestry.
Mitochondrial DNA Results
Full mitochondrial DNA testing of maternal-line descendants of Elizabeth Tilley places her maternal line in haplogroup H1a1+16209.
The available results represent unbroken maternal descent through more than one of Elizabeth’s daughters.
A matching full mitochondrial DNA result may support a proposed maternal-line relationship to Elizabeth Tilley.
Because the 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.
Interpretation of the Results
Y-DNA can:
- establish that two paternal lines share a common male ancestor
- identify separate branches within a documented family
- disprove a proposed paternal relationship
- show that similar surname families are genetically unrelated
- guide documentary research toward the correct family or geographic area
Y-DNA cannot by itself:
- identify an unnamed common ancestor
- prove every father-to-son connection in a pedigree
- determine exactly where an ancestor lived
- prove a direction of migration
- replace documentary evidence in every genealogical or lineage-society application
Current Testing Priorities
The project especially seeks:
- Additional Big Y-700 testers from independent Arthur Howland branches
- 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, Howlen, Howlyn, Howlin, and Howling families
- Qualified 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.