Howland (Y-DNA)
Contents
Status summary
As of December 30, 2015:
- Howland surname project contacted
- Recruiting Howland for Y Elite test
Background
Paper trail
John Howland was the son of Henry Howland and his wife Margaret of Fen Stanton, Huntingdonshire (now part of Cambridgshire), England. His death record[Plymouth Church records] stated he was in his "eightieth yeare" but it is quite possible this was an exaggeration.
Per Caleb Johnson[]
It has been traditionally reported that John Howland was born about 1592, based on his reported age at death in the Plymouth Church Records. However, ages at death were often overstated, and that is clearly the case here. John Howland came as a servant for John Carver, which means he was under 25 years old at the time (i.e. he was born after 1595). William Bradford, in the falling-overboard incident, refers to Howland as a "lusty young man," a term that would not likely have applied to a 28-year old given that Bradford himself was only 30. Bradford did call 21-year old John Alden a "young man" though. Howland's wife Elizabeth was born in 1607: a 32-year old marrying a 17-year old is a relatively unlikely circumstance. Howland's last child was born in 1649: a 57-year old Howland would be an unlikely father. All these taken together demonstrate that Howland's age was likely overstated by at least 5 years. Since he signed the "Mayflower Compact", we can assume he was probably at least 18 to 21 years old in 1620.
Previous Y-DNA testing
Several descendants of Pilgrim John Howland have had their Y-DNA tested at Family Tree DNA. In addition, one descendant of John's brother, Arthur, and several descendants of his brother, Henry, have also been tested. See the Howland Surname Y-DNA Project
Most of the descendants have only undertaken (to date) STR testing, but a couple of descendants of Pilgrim John have done Y-SNP testing as well. They fall under Haplogroup R1b-U106 where they have been classified as: Z9>Z30>Z2>Z7>Z8>Z1>Z344>Z6>A96>S10415> PF1165
Results
(to be added)
Summary of findings
(to be added)
