Here's an update on the Howery DNA test project. The first part is the update, and
the 2nd is what was originally posted that tells a little about the process.
-----Original Message-----
From: Justin Howery <beau(a)tde.com>
To: HOWERY-L(a)rootsweb.com <HOWERY-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Date: Sunday, November 19, 2000 11:05 PM
Subject: [HOWERY] Repost of original DNA message
I've had several requests to repost the original message about DNA testing,
so here it is. Some of this info is now a bit dated. We did indeed use
Family Tree DNA (
http://www.familytreedna.com/) to do the testing and I'd
use them again in a heartbeat. They were tremendously helpful and supportive
throughout the process. At this point, only two of had the test -- Fred
Haury and myself. We matched perfectly on all 12 of the areas on the Y
chromosome that the lab examines. This was a very interesting result,
considering that Fred and I can be related only very distantly. Our common
paternal ancestor must have lived before about 1700, when his family went to
Germany and mine came to America. Neither of us can prove our connection to
the Swiss Hauris with absolute certainty, yet the test supports the theory
that we're both descendants of that family. We're still hoping to gather
more test subjects. If you're interested, you are free to make your own
arrangements with the lab (this is not a structured study), but please do
let me and the rest of us know. We'll be interested both as Howery
researchers and as genealogists working on other lines. Our Hauri results
have been posted to many other surname mailing lists and I had many requests
this weekend to post our results to websites, including sites in Germany,
England, and Denmark.
---
I'm curious about whether anyone else on the list has thought about genetic
testing as it relates to genealogy.
There is a particular gene -- the Y chromosome -- that all men have and that
all men inherit from their fathers. Men's mothers don't contribute anything
to the Y chromosome, so it stays intact over the generations. Geneticists
can compare the Y chromosome of two different men and be able to tell
whether the two men belong to the same male line family. Mutations in the Y
chromosome accumulate slowly enough that men descended in the male line from
a common ancestor who lived, say, around 1200 or 1300 A.D. should be either
identical or very close to identical.
A geneticist at Oxford University in England used this type of comparison to
do a genetics study of men all over England who had the surname Sykes and
variants (by coincidence, also the surname of the researcher ). Genealogists
had theorized that the name Sykes was used by dozens of unrelated families.
However, the tests showed that about 50% of the Sykes men tested had the
same Y chromosome. Assuming an infidelity and adoption rate of about 2% or
3% per generation since the middle ages, this is about the percentage of
modern Sykes men who should have the Sykes version Y chromosome if there is
only one Sykes family. So, instead of showing that there are dozens of
different Sykes families in England, the tests seem to show that there is
only one family -- but not everyone who belongs to the family is really
descended in the male line from the first Sykes.
Pretty much the same thing happened when geneticists tested the families
that claim descent from Thomas Jefferson. Almost all of them turned out to
be part of the same male line as Thomas Jefferson -- which doesn't prove
that they're descended from him, only that they're somehow related to him.
However, one family turned out to be very different. Embarrassing for them,
because the tests narrowed down the reasons for the difference -- it can
only be the result of an affair by either their mother or their father's
mother.
Another famous test showed that a surpising number of Jewish men who have
the surname Cohen, or who have a family tradition that they are cohanim,
really do share the same Y chromosome and apparently have a common origin in
the Middle East. Researchers suggest that these men might be descended from
the Biblical Aaron, as their surname suggests.
Theoretically, all the male Hauris, Haurys, Howerys, Howrys, and Howreys in
America should have identical Y chromosomes, because there really hasn't
been time for any mutations (or if there has, they'd be only very small
variations). In fact, all the Swiss and German Hauris and Haurys should also
have the same Y chromosome, because we almost certainly belong to the same
male line. The French Hauries might or might not belong to the same line.
The Scottish Howries are probably an entirely different family. (Those are
my theories, anyway.)
To start testing this theory, I recently decided to have a Y chromosome test
and I hope that other interested Hauri males will join me. A quick look
around the web found two families that are doing genetics testing as part of
a formal project. They are the Mumma family
http://www.mumma.org/DNA.htm)
and the Duernick family (
http://www.duerinck.com/project.html). Anyone who
is interested in genetics and genealogy can find a lot more information
about how it works and what it means for genealogical analysis at their
pages.
The most likely test result is that the Y chromosomes of the different
Hauris will match and we'll know that we're descended from the same male
line -- which we pretty much know already. However, it's possible that we'll
discover something intesting, such as a some minor variation in one branch
of the family, perhaps even a variation that will tell us something we don't
already know. For example, the descendants of Hans and the descendants of
Jacob might have some minor difference that would indicate that they were
not closely related. Not likely, but possible.
Another possible result is that some Hauris will turn out to belong to a
totally different family than other Hauris. That would be significant
genealogically if there's no evidence that the two Hauri families are
related. That might be potentially embarassing if the genealogical
documentation shows that both men should be descendants of, say, Jacob. If
that happened, we'd have to wait for enough Hauris to have the test that we
could be sure which result is for the "authentic" Hauri line and which
result is apparently the result of some ancestral infidelity or adoption.
Figuring out just when the switch happened would depend on identifying the
closest Hauri cousins who have the standard Hauri Y chromosome and
identifying the furthest Hauri cousins who have the same Y chromosome as the
person who is different. (There has to be an easier way to say that!)
Perhaps someday one of the Swiss Hauris will agree to be tested. On
television about a year ago, I saw a very brief segment that had a Hans
Rudolf Hauri, a scientist at a forensic institute in Zurich, talking about
forensic evidence. Seems to me that his profession should predispose him to
being interested in this type of test -- if I only knew how to find him.
The lab I'm planning to use is Family Tree DNA
(
http://www.familytreedna.com/), which will do the test for $259, bank the
results, and notify us if anyone else who has the test also has the same
Ychromosome. They are the same bunch who identified the "Cohen gene" and
showed that a large number of Jewish men with the surname Cohen (and
variants), or from families with a tradition that they are cohanim, have the
same Y chromosome, so really might be descendants of the Biblical Aaron.
If pain is an issue, don't worry. Gathering the sample for any genetics test
is simple. They send you two swabs that you brush against the inside of your
cheek, then mail them back to the lab. It doesn't hurt at all. It feels like
brushing your check with a toothbrush.
If confidentiality is an issue, don't worry. Genetics labs won't release
your information without your consent, so you're safe. Even when you give
your permission to release the test results, the results cannot be used in
legal actions, such as establishing paternity, so if we've got any guys with
a sordid past they don't need to worry on that score.
If you decide to be tested for a Hauri Y chromosome, I'd very much like to
hear from you.
Justin Howery
justin(a)howery.net