Hauri Test Results

All male Hauris and Haurys in Switzerland, France and Germany, and their Howery, Howry and Howrey cousins in America, theoretically should have nearly identical y chromosomes, because they almost certainly belong to the same male line, originating in Beromünster, Switzerland in the early 1300s. There hasn’t been time for many mutations in our y chromosomes.

The Hauries in France, the Haurys in Poland, and the Howries in Scotland should have different y chromosomes, because they almost certainly originated independently. And, that’s what our results show.

Justin Howery and Fred Haury launched the Hauri yDNA project in October 2000, when they had yDNA tests. The results were surprising. They matched exactly on 12 out of 12 markers, proving that they belong to the same male lineage. Current genealogical research suggests they probably share a common male-line ancestor who lived about 1400, perhaps in Reinach, Aargau, Switzerland.

STR Tests

The initial results have since been supplemented with additional tests. The chart below shows the reported results as of March 2010.

SampleOriginHaplo39339019/
394
391385a385b426388439389-1392389-2
140SwitzerlandG2a3b1b1152215101313111311121129
152GermanyG2a3b1b1152215101313111311121129
1799SwitzerlandG2a3b1b1152215101313111311121129
2522SwitzerlandG2a*152215101313111311121129
23374GermanyG2a3b1b1152215101313111311121129
26560FranceR1b1b2*132114111215121212141330
92939UnknownI2a*132515121313111111131130
123506PolandE1b1b1*13241391617111213131131
Modal G2*Central EuropeG2*142215101314111311121129
In the chart above, haplogroups in green show tested results. Haplogroups in red show predicted results. 
The numbers across the top (393, 390, etc.) are numbered locations (DYS) on the y chromosome. The numbers in the body of the chart show the number of times the pattern of nucleotides repeats at that location.

* The modal G2 values are for the Central European Modal G2 Haplotype (as defined at ysearch.org). This haplotype is found primarily in Germany, Sweden and Finland. There are different G2 modal haplotypes for the Southern European, Eastern Britannic, Southern Britannic, Indian (Brahmin), and Arabic (al-Quraishi) groups.

Some participants have had extended tests for 25 markers and 67 markers. Additional data is available at Family Tree DNA.

Virginia Howerys and Howrys

Samples number 140, 1799 and 2522 in the chart above represent the Virginia Howerys and Howrys, descended from Jacob Howry, of Howrytown. This family has been traced to the hamlet of Ruedi in the Aargau, Switzerland. The family probably originated in Reinach. Jacob Howry, the immigrant, came to Pennsylvania in 1737. His descendant Jacob Howry founded Howrytown, Virginia about 1784.

Bavarian Haurys

Sample number 152 in the chart above represents the Bavarian Haurys, who claim descent from Jakob Haury, son of Hans Hauri the Woolweaver, a Mennonite refugee. He left Schöftland in the Aargau, Switzerland in the early 18th century, and settled in Bavaria in Germany. His descendants came to America in the mid-19th century. This result probably also represents the Mennonite Howrys in Pennsylvania. They claim descent from Hans and Ulrich Hauri, early immigrants to Pennsylvania, who were probably sons of Hans Hauri the Woolweaver.

German Howerys

Sample number 23374 in the chart above is a descendant of Rudolph Howery, who was born in Germany about 1842 and later came to America. His ancestry is unknown, but the test results show he belongs to the same male lineage as the Swiss Hauris.

French Haurys

Sample number 26560 in the chart above is a descendant of the Swiss family and has the Haury surname, but his line descends from a man in the 17th century who took his mother’s maiden name. As expected, his results show that he belongs to a separate male lineage. He has not had a haplogroup test, and his test results have not been predicted by Family Tree DNA. However, Whit Athey’s haplogroup predictor shows 100% probability he belongs to R1b. No matches have been found to other families.

Polish Haurys

Sample number 123506 is a Haury from a Polish family. Test results show that this family belongs to a separate male lineage from the Swiss Hauris, and even to a different haplogroup (E1b1b1). He is an exact match for an Ortega Salazar family, but no further information is available.

Other Howerys

Sample number 92939 in the chart above was thought to be a descendant of the Virginia Howerys, but his test result does not match. He belongs to a different male lineage from the Swiss Hauris, and even to a different haplogroup (I2a). The reason for the mismatch is not known. No matches have been found to other families.

What the Hauri Tests Tell Us

The test results show that the Virginia family, Bavarian family, and German family match on 12 of the 12 loci in the basic test. Therefore, they all belong to the same male lineage, and are all descended from a relatively recent common paternal ancestor, who probably lived after about 1250 to 1300, with a 50 percent chance that the ancestor lived after about 1550 to 1625. In short, the results confirm our genealogical research, which apparently shows that our common male ancestor lived about 1400.

Based on these results, these men almost certainly belong to the same male lineage. None of them are likely to have a “non-paternal event” (undiscovered adoption or illegitimacy) in the direct paternal line, unless that event involved another male Hauri. Genealogical research shows that the apparent male-line ancestors of the Bavarian and Virginia families have not lived in the same localities since at least 1700, so there is almost no chance that they are related paternally in any way other than the records show.

The mutation rate in the y chromosome is relatively slow. A single difference in results would indicate that the closest common ancestor probably lived 25 to 40 generations ago. However, because mutations are random, they can happen any time and even two brothers might have a difference at one locus. Therefore, we cannot be sure how long the Hauri y chromosome has remained unchanged or how long ago our common ancestor lived.

Statistically, the most likely estimate (MLE) for their most recent common ancestor (MRCA) is 15 generations ago. There is 50 percent probability that they share a common ancestor within the past 15 generations, and a 90 percent probability that they share a common ancestor within the past 50 generations. Genealogists typically estimate a generation as 25 to 30 years, so there is a 50 percent chance that their common ancestor lived within the past 375 to 450 years, and a 90 percent chance that  their common ancestor lived within the past 1,250 to 1,500 years. Because they share the same surname, their common ancestor almost certainly lived after about 1250 to 1300, when the Swiss began to adopt surnames.

We will include information here about the families who do not match the Swiss Hauris as it becomes available.

SNP Tests

  • Members 140, 2522, 26560 and 92939 have had SNP tests, which confirm their haplogroups, both for themselves personally and for all their male-line cousins in the same lineage.
  • Members 140 and 2522 both tested positive for P15, a mutation that allows them (and by extension their Hauri cousins) to be classified as haplogroup G2a.
  • Member number 140 tested positive for the P303 mutation, showing that he (and by extension his Hauri cousins) belong to Haplogroup G2a3b2.
  • Member number 140 tested positive for the L43 and L42 mutations, showing that he (and by extension his Hauri cousins) belong to Haplogroup G2a3b1a2a1.

Dr. Rudolf Hauri-Bionda, a forensic scientist at the Institut für Rechtsmedizin at Universität Zürich-Irchel in Zürich, Switzerland, has agreed to be tested, probably in his own lab. We originally became aware of Dr. Hauri as a possible candidate for the Hauri yDNA project when he appeared as a forensic expert on a NOVA program about the Siberian Ice Maiden in 1998. Dr. Hauri’s ancestors belong the family at Reitnau in the Aargau, Switzerland. This family came from Staffelbach in the 16th century.

Widening the Search

See Related Families for information about the Hauris in a wider context.

Author: Justin Durand

Retired attorney. Genealogist. Ethnic Mormon. Moving Left. He/Him. My husband and I own Shining Lotus Bookstore in Denver.