Howland (Y-DNA)

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Status summary

Completed as of May 18, 2019:

  • Big Y-500 (original Big Y) test completed for a descendant of "Pilgrim" John Howland
  • Y Elite test for Henry Howland Jr. descendant completed (kit E8PEF, tested previously at FTDNA as kit #37929).
  • Big Y-700 test completed for a male Howland who cannot trace his Y-DNA line (via the traditional "paper" trail) to one of the Howland brothers. This test confirms he descends from one of the brothers (and hints where he may descend from Arthur Howland, brother to "Pilgrim" John and Henry {II}).
  • Comparing the above tests, a SNP (A9705) has been found in a descendant of "Pilgrim" John Howland, which not found in the other Howland results. This SNP available for testing at YSEQ DNA Origins Project for $18.00 (plus an additional fee for the DNA swab) and may be available or for $15 (plus fee for the DNA swab) at Full Genomes Corp.
  • Recruiting additional Howlands for further SNP testing - anyone interested in submitting their DNA for testing should contact Raymond T. Wing (email: wing.genealogist AT gmail DOT com)

Still to do as of November 13, 2016

  • Identify where in the line of Pilgrim John Howland the A9705 SNP is found by testing select folks.
  • Next Generation Sequence (NGS) test other lines of Pilgrim John Howland to find other SNPs unique to descendants of Pilgrim John.

Background

Speculative Origins

The Pilgrim John Howland Society has hired a noted Mayflower passenger origins researcher (Caleb Johnson) to trace the origins of the Howland family. His first report was printed in The Howland Quarterly MAR 2016, pp. 10-20.

Johnson reported he found no evidence of the Howland family in Fen Stanton prior to the time of Henry Howland (father of Pilgrim John). We know Henry was living there as early as 1604, when his son, Simon, was baptized (from the Bishop's Transcript records). Unfortunately both the Parish records, and the Bishop's Transcripts are mostly missing from this time period, so we cannot state when Henry moved to Fen Stanton, nor know whether any of the other children were born there or elsewhere.

Johnson did find Howland families in nearby Cambridgeshire. He was able to conclusively prove the Henry Howland of Ely, Cambridgeshire (who had a son John bp in 1602/3) was not the Henry Howland of Fen Stanton, but instead, likely a cousin to some degree.

Johnson did note there was a Howland family at Horningsea, Cambridgeshire in the early part of the 16th Century to the early part of the 17th Century. This family had a history of naming sons Henry & John, so it is possible this is the area where Henry (father of John) originally was from.


An early version of the Pilgrim John Howland Society website had the following under "John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley Biographies"

"An original letter from a genealogist in England, in 1879, mentions "the extraordinary fact that I find the surname of Howland in no other county in England than Essex, and originally in no other locality in that county except at Newport and Wicken and their immediate vicinity. Wherever at later periods I have found Howlands in other counties, as Hertfordshire, Surrey , Berks, etc., I have invariably traced them back to Newport and Wicken. It is clear that several families of the name were living there contemporaneously and equally so that they were all in some way connected ..."


In addition, DNA testing has shown the Howland Y-DNA to be a subclade of the A96 clade. This clade has, to date, been found in the following families: Maybury, Baldwin, Rogers, Bishop, Foat, Wing & Howland. Of these families Some (Foat & Bishop) have a tradition of having an origin from what are now the Low Countries of Belgium, Luxemburg & The Netherlands. Essex, England (supposedly the ancestral origin of the Howland surname) was settled by the Saxons during the Germanic invasion of the 5th Century, and the Wing family is thought to arise from Wing, Buckinghamshire, located in part of Alfred the Great's Wessex Kingdom (which was also of Saxon origin). Recently a Rogers has tested positive for A9701 which was previously only found in the Howland Family. He tested negative for all of the other Howland SNPs (A9702-A9709). This individual was able to trace his paternal line to Cornwall, England, with a family tradition of them being of Norman origin.

Biography

John Howland was the son of Henry Howland and his wife Margaret of Fen Stanton, Huntingdonshire (now part of Cambridgeshire), England. His death record[1] stated he died 23 Feb 1672[/3] in his "eightieth yeare". The Pilgrim John Howland Society as well as the General Society of Mayflower Descendants accepts an estimated birth date of 1592 for John based on this death record.

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.

John came aboard the Mayflower as a servant to Gov. John Carver. Howland's incident during the voyage was duly cataloged by William Bradford:

In sundry of these storms the winds were so fierce and the seas so high, as they could not bear a know of sail, but were forced to hull for divers days together. And in one of them, as they thus lay at hull in a mighty storm, a lusty young man called John Howland, coming upon some occasion above the gratings was, with a seele of the ship, thrown into the sea; but it pleased God that he caught hold of the topsail halyards which hung overboard and ran out at length. Yet he held his hold (though he was sundry fathoms under water) till he was hauled up by the same rope to the brim of the water, and then with boat hook and other means got into the ship again and his life saved. And though he was something ill with it, yet he lived many years after and became a profitable member both in church and commonwealth.

Some speculate Howland came above board in order to get a breath of fresh air. However, others speculate he may have been used by Gov. Carver as an intermediary between the passengers and the crew. It is rumored their landing at Cape Cod (which clearly fell outside of the land the company was originally chartered) may have been a deliberate attempt to re-negotiate this charter for terms more favorable. If true, it is possible John Howland may have served a vital role in this decision.

John Howland survived the great sickness during the winter of 1620-21 and apparently took over as the head of Gov. Carver's household after the Governor's death in Apr 1621. At this time, "households" were not only family members, but was a means of housing the passengers in the new colony.

It is believed John married Elizabeth Tilley sometime after Aug 1623. This was presumably the fifth marriage in the colony (after Edward Winslow, Francis Eaton, John Alden & William Bradford [married 14 Aug 1623]). It is also believed they were married sometime prior to the 1623 division of land, which actually occurred during what we now consider the first three months of 1624 (Jan - Mar.) This date of marriage is also consistent with the births of their two oldest children (Desire ca 1625 & John who told Judge Sewell he was born 24 2[mo, Apr] 1627.) These two were also included in the 1627 division of cattle.

Nathaniel Morton's eulogy:
The 23th of February 1672 Mr. John Howland senir of the Town of Plymouth Deceased; hee was a Godly man and an ancient professor in the wayes of Christ; hee lived untill he attained above eighty yeares in the world, hee was one of the first Comers into this land and proved a usefull Instrument of Good in his place & was the last man that was left of those that Came over in the shipp Called the May Flower, that lived in Plymouth; hee was with honor Intered att the Towne of Plymouth on the 25 of February 1672.

It is said John was the first individual buried at Burial Hill[2], and likely in the area where a memorial stone for John was erected in 1897. This stone replaced a stone erected in either 1836 or 1844 (which incorrectly stated John's wife was a daughter of Gov. John Carver, so was replaced. This stone is said to have been buried under the new stone).[3]

  1. ↑ Plymouth Church records I:147(173)
  2. ↑ Handbook of Old Burial Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts: Its History, Its Famous Dead, and Its Quaint Epitaphs by A.S. Burbank, 1896, p. 13
  3. ↑ John Howland bio

Y-DNA Descendants

John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley had ten children: Desire (c1625) (Lieut.) John (II)(1627-1699), Hope (1629), Elizabeth (1631), Lydia (1633), Hannah (1637), (Capt.) Joseph (1640-1703), (Lieut.) Jabez (1644-1711), Ruth (1646) and (Ens.) Isaac (1649-1723). Several descendants of (Lieut.) John have done Y-DNA testing as well as one descendant of (Capt.) Joseph and one descendant of (Liet.) Jabez. The DNA test results (primarily STR testing) show all of these descendants are genetic/biological cousins and have identified the Y-DNA haplogroup for the Howland family.

Second Generation:

(Lieut.) John had ten children: Mary, Elizabeth, Isaac, Hannah, Mercy, Lydia, Experience, Anne, Shubael & John (III). Descendants of Isaac & John (III) have tested.

(Capt.) Joseph had nine children: James, Nathaniel, Lydia, (Capt.) Thomas, Elizabeth, Sarah, Joseph (d.y.), Mercy and Benjamin (d.y.). However, both James & Thomas' lines eventually daughtered out and a descendant of Nathaniel has tested.

(Lieut.) Jabez had eleven children: Jabez (II), John (d.y.), Bethiah (d.y.), Josiah, John (d.y.), Judah (d.y.), Seth (d.y.), Samuel (Esq.), Experience (d.y.), Elizabeth and (Lieut.) Joseph. However, Jabez (II) & Josiah's lines eventually daughtered out. A descendant of Joseph has DNA tested.

(Ens.) Isaac had eight children: Seth (no children), Isaac (II), Priscilla, Elizabeth (d.y.), Nathan, Jael, Susanna and Hannah.

Lineage of tested descendants

We currently have One Big Y-700 result of a Y-DNA descendant of Pilgrim John Howland and a second Y-DNA descendant has taken the older Big Y-500 test. The lineage of these individuals are as follows: 

 (Pilgrim) John Howland (1592-1672)
   (Lt) John Howland (II) (1627-1704)
     John Howland (III) (1674-1737/8)
       (Rev) John Howland (IV) (1720-1804)
         James Howland (1760-1850)
           John Howland (1795-1870)
             John Howland (II) (1834-1908)
               John Anton Howland (1868-1959)
                 Arthur Eastman Howland (1893-1969)
                   _____________ Howland
                     (tester) Howland
   Jabez Howland(1644-1711)
     Joseph Howland (1692-1737)
       Joseph Howland (II)(1717-1775)
         (Maj.) Benjamin Howland (1768-1818)
           Henry Augustus Howland (1806-1897)
             Henry Balcom Howland (1836-1872)
               Charles Henry Howland (1861-1928)
                 Hawthorne Howland (1889-1968)
                   (Capt.) John Brown Howland (1917-1962)
                     ______ Howland
                       (tester) Howland

DNA Results A9703

Previous Y-DNA testing

Several descendants of Pilgrim John Howland have had their Y-DNA tested at Family Tree DNA. In addition, three descendants 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>A9703

This last SNP is one of 9 SNPs (of which six are currently available for testing at YSEQ.org) discovered only in one individual (a descendant of John Howland) through a Big Y test. Of these 9 SNPs, the Y-Elite test of a descendant of Henry Howland was positive for 7 of these 9 SNPs (meaning they are ancestral to the Howland family). There were two Big Y SNPs (A9705 & Z18598) which were not found in the Y-Elite test, therefor, these two SNPs were found somewhere along the line of the John Howland descendant.

The A9705 SNP is available for testing at YSEQ, but the Z18598 SNP cannot be made available due to technical reasons. While any male Howland who tests A9705+ would be a descendant of Pilgrim John Howland, it is also likely that some Pilgrim John Howland descendants will be A9705-. The Big Y line comes down from (Lt) John Howland (II), the son of (Pilgrim) John Howland. Ideally, we would like NGS testing completed on descendants of other sons of Pilgrim John Howland to see what SNPs they would have different from the other known Howland SNPs.

Usefulness of Big Y and Y-Elite tests

DNA mutations are random events, like the roll of a dice. As they are random, we can't say exactly how long it has been since a mutation occurred. However, just like rolling a seven on a pair of dice, we know how often a mutation should occur on average. For the part of the Y chromosome covered by a typical Big Y-700 test, this is about once per two to three generations, but it could vary from having more than one mutation in a generation to going four to six generations without a mutation.

Consequently, most of the time, we don't expect to separate a father and a son with a mutation we find. Indeed (while it isn't generally recommended), there have been a number of cases where both a father and his son have taken a Big Y test. In most cases, neither test shows a mutation the other doesn't. However, there are exceptions to this. These are caused not only by new mutations in the son's test, but also slight differences between the two Big Y tests.

Big Y, like all such tests, reads chunk-sized pieces of DNA. Depending on how these chunks are split up, slightly different parts of the Y chromosome will be tested. So two Big Y tests might only overlap on 98% of the mutations they test. The other 2% of mutations will only be called in one test or the other. Alternatively, they may be accurately read in one test, but read below the threshold for quality control in the other test. Consequently, there may be more "private" mutations that separate two people than we expect.

The real importance in doing the Big Y or Y-Elite test is the ability to compare your results with others. This works at all different levels.

We currently have a small number of Big Y (and similar test) results across the Howland family. This has allowed us to determine where the A9703 clade belongs the Howland family, descendants of Henry Howland (c1565-1635) of Fen Stanton, England. As more Howlands take this type of test we will be able to determine subclades defining his descendants, eventually separating the families of his three sons (John, Henry & Arthur) and later defining more recent branches.

It also works in the opposite level, in discovering related surnames. Originally, the Wing family was the closest non-surname match to the Howlands. However, recently another Big Y tester came in and was found to be positive for a SNP not found in the Wing family, but found within the Howland family (A9701). This other tester descends from a Rogers family (NOT related to Thomas and Joseph Rogers of the Mayflower). Going further back in time, Big Y results shows where the Howland/Rogers, Wing & other surnames Maybury, Baldwin, Rogers, Bishop, Foat are all related via the A96 clade (which is immediately above A9703). More families are found at each clade level above A96 which shows the degree of relationship similar to first, second, third etc. cousins.

All of this is done by comparing the Big Y results of individuals. Another related item is the ability to estimate the age of each of these clades. We know the age of the Howland family in America starts with the birth of their father, Henry Howland ca 1565. The Howlands all share at least 8 SNPs not found in the next closest family (Rogers). While the mutations are random events, so we cannot state precisely how much time elapses between one mutation and another, on average, we can say one mutation happens roughly every 80 years. Thus the Rogers family is roughly 80*8=650 or so years before ca 1565 (or roughly 900 AD).The other surnames at the A96 level is one SNP above, so dates roughly to 825 AD or so.


Findings from Big Y and Y-Elite tests

We have a descendant of Henry Howland, Jr. (brother to Pilgrim John) who has volunteered for the Y-Elite 2.1 test. Kit #E8PEF (FTDNA 37929). We have compared this result with a prior Big Y test result of a descendant of "Pilgrim" John Howland. There were two SNPs found in the Big Y result which were not found in the Y-Elite test (Z18598 & A9705). These SNPs are found somewhere along the line of descent of the Big Y tester, and thus any Howland who is positive for either of these SNPs would be a descendant of Pilgrim John Howland. On the other hand, it is likely many descendants of Pilgrim John Howland may end up being negative for these SNPs as well. More Next Generation Sequence (NGS) testing is needed to discover other SNPs unique to the descendants of Pilgrim John Howland.

The results of a Big Y-700 test for a Y-DNA descendant of Pilgrim John Howland arrived in Mar 2021. His results prove he is a Y-DNA descendant of this Howland family (which we were reasonably confident already). In addition, this new result documented four private mutations. None of these four mutations are identical to the two private mutations previously discovered in an older Big Y-500 test result of another descendant of Pilgrim John Howland. These to Pilgrim John descendants are from two different sons of Pilgrim John: The older result is from son Jabez while the newer result is from son (Lt.) John (II). What this means is the Big Y test results has not uncovered a mutation which occurred within Pilgrim John himself. However, any Y-DNA Howland descendant who takes a NGS/WGS test and is found positive for one of the four mutations found in the new result would indicate that individual must be a Y-DNA descendant of (Lt.) John (II), while any Y-DNA Howland descendant who takes a NGS/WGS test and is found positive for one of the two mutations found in the older result must be a descendant of Jabez (son of Pilgrim John).

While not directly pertaining to Pilgrim John Howland, some preliminary results are also in for Y-DNA descendants of his brothers (Henry & Arthur).

HENRY: We currently have two individuals who are Y-DNA descendants of Henry (brother to Pilgrim John) and they share FGC58203 and FGC58211. In addition, four descendants of Henry have taken 111 STR testing and have two STR mutations in the 68-111 STR panel (from FTDNA): DYS485=14 and DYS505=11. All four of these descendants are from the following line: Henry, Zoeth, Nathaniel, (two different sons). So far no Y-DNA descendants from Henry's other son, Samuel have done 111 STR or NGS/WGS testing so it is possible some of these mutations may be common to all descendants of Henry.

ARTHUR: We currently have two individuals who descend from Arthur who have taken a Big Y-700 test. Comparing their SNP results with the other NGS/WGS results he has one SNP not found in the others: R-FT62874. They both descend from the faollowing line: Arthur, Arthur, Thomas, Samuel, (different sons) In addition, these two descendants of Arthur, plus a third Arthur descendant who has not done Y-SNP testing all have a STR result difference: DYS464a=16 (where all other Fen Stanton Howlands have 464a=15). This third individual also descends through: Arthur, Arthur, Thomas, but via a different son of Thomas. More Y-DNA descendants of Arthur are needed to test to further refine the placement of this SNP (and STR mutation) as well as to discover other SNPs unique to Arthur's branch of the family.

Summary of findings

Through Next Generation Sequence (NGS) testing, we found the following SNPs in a descendant of Pilgrim John Howland which was not found in a descendant of John's brother, Henry Howland (II). A9705 & Z18598. A9705 has been made available for individual SNP testing, but for technical reasons Z18598 is not able to be made available.

We now need to identify where along the line of descent the A9705 SNP occurred. The individual tested has the following line of descent:

Allied Families

The following families are connected to John Howland via marriage to descendants:

Gorham (Capt. John Gorham married Desire Howland). Y-DNA predicted to fall under I-M253 based on STR markers for two descendants

Chipman (Elder John Chipman married Hope Howland). Y-DNA predicted to fall under I-M223 based on 37 STR markers for a descendant

Dickinson (John Dickinson was the second husband to Elizabeth Howland).

Hawes (John Hawes married Desire Gorham). Y-DNA predicted to fall under I-M253 based on the 37 STR markers for two descendants

Baxter (Thomas Baxter married Temperance Gorham)

External links and references

  • White, Elizabeth Pearson, John Howland of the Mayflower, volume 1 (First four generations), Picton Press, Camden, ME. 1991
  • White, Elizabeth Pearson, John Howland of the Mayflower, volume 2 (son John Howland), Picton Press, Camden, ME. 1993
  • Lainhart, Ann Smith & Robert S. Wakefield, Mayflower Families through Five Generations, Volume 23 Part I (first 4 generations of John Howland) General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Plymouth, MA 2006
  • Lainhart, Ann Smith & Jane Fletcher Fisk, Mayflower Families through Five Generations, Volume 23 Part III (sons Joseph & Jabez) General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Plymouth, MA 2012
  • Anderson, Robert Charles, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633 vol. II (G-O), New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA. 1995
  • Roser, Susan E., Mayflower Passenger References (from contemporary records & scholarly journals) [www.stewartbooks.com Stewart Publishing & Printing], Canada. Second Edition, 2015
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