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.

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 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.

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 or in an earlier direct paternal ancestor.

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 haplogroups distinguish paternal branches descending from sons of Henry Howland of Fenstanton.

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.

Current Y-DNA evidence places the direct paternal line of Mayflower passenger John Howland in R-FTA35340, a downstream branch of R-A9708.

A Big Y-700-tested descendant through John Howland's son Jabez is positive for FTA35340.

A second Big Y-700 test was attempted using an older stored DNA sample from a deceased tester whose documented paternal ancestry extends to Crocker Howland. Although the sample did not produce a complete Big Y-700 result meeting normal quality-control requirements, usable SNP and STR data were recovered. The recovered SNP data include a positive result for FTA35340.

The project presently interprets this second paternal line as descending through John Howland, son of the Mayflower passenger, while the fully reported R-FTA35340 tester descends through Jabez Howland.

This is important because FTA35340 is therefore found in paternal lines representing two different sons of Mayflower passenger John Howland.

Tested direct paternal descendants of John's brothers Arthur Howland and Henry Howland, Jr., are negative for FTA35340 and instead belong to their own downstream branches below R-A9708.

Taken together, these results place the origin of FTA35340 with Mayflower passenger John Howland.

Under the current project interpretation:

• Henry Howland of Fenstanton carried R-A9708
• Mayflower passenger John Howland carried R-FTA35340
• Arthur Howland's paternal descendants form a separate downstream branch
• Henry Howland, Jr.'s paternal descendants form another separate downstream branch

A male who tests positive for FTA35340, or for a confirmed downstream subclade of FTA35340, has Y-DNA evidence that he belongs to the direct biological paternal line descending from Mayflower passenger John Howland.

This does not mean that Y-DNA automatically identifies every intervening father and son in the tester's pedigree. DNA can establish membership in the paternal lineage even when one or more intermediate documentary generations remain unresolved.

An additional descendant of the line through John Howland's son John previously received the older Big Y-500 test and remains publicly classified at R-A9708.

This should not be interpreted as evidence that the tester was negative for FTA35340.

The older Big Y-500 test examined less of the Y chromosome than the later Big Y-700 test. FamilyTreeDNA reports that Big Y-700 provides substantially greater SNP coverage than Big Y-500.

The region associated with FTA35340 was not available for determination from that older test result. The tester's continued placement at R-A9708 therefore does not contradict the placement of FTA35340 with Mayflower passenger John Howland.

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 no longer simply to search for a SNP associated with all paternal descendants of Mayflower passenger John Howland. FTA35340 presently fills that role.

Instead, additional testing can:

• independently confirm the placement of FTA35340
• identify mutations associated with particular sons and grandsons
• establish downstream subclades within the John Howland paternal family
• help place paternal lines whose documentary ancestry is incomplete
• distinguish private variants from mutations shared by an entire historical branch

Testing descendants through Joseph and Isaac would be particularly valuable because those branches could provide additional independent confirmation of FTA35340 and reveal new downstream structure.

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.

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.

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.

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 this mitochondrial 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.

Y-DNA can:

• establish that two paternal lines share a common male ancestor
• identify separate branches within a documented paternal family
• identify membership in a direct paternal lineage when a defining SNP has been securely placed with a historical ancestor
• disprove a proposed paternal relationship
• show that similar surname families are genetically unrelated
• guide documentary research toward the correct family or geographic area

For Mayflower passenger John Howland, the current project interpretation places FTA35340 with John himself because the mutation is found in paternal lines representing two different sons while tested paternal descendants of his brothers Arthur and Henry are negative for it.

A positive FTA35340 result, or a positive result for a confirmed downstream subclade, therefore provides genetic evidence of direct patrilineal descent from Mayflower passenger John Howland.

Y-DNA cannot by itself:

• identify every intervening ancestor in a paternal pedigree
• determine the exact documentary relationship between every intermediate father and son
• determine exactly where an ancestor lived
• prove a direction of migration
• apply to descendants through daughters or other non-paternal lines

Genetic evidence and documentary evidence answer related but different questions.

A defining Y-SNP can establish biological membership in a paternal lineage. Documentary research is still required to reconstruct the precise chain of named ancestors within that lineage.

The project especially seeks:

• Additional Big Y-700 testers from independent Arthur Howland branches
• Independent Big Y-700 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

For the John Howland paternal family, additional testing should concentrate on confirming and refining R-FTA35340 and identifying downstream branches associated with particular sons, grandsons, and later paternal lines.

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.