Each of us has inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), along with the mutations that have accumulated in our individual family lines. Geneticists can test for these accumulated mutations. Individual test results are called a haplotype or mitotype. People with the same cluster of mutations belong to the same haplogroup, and are descended from the same female line. There are 36 known mitochondrial...
The Scottish Horries and Houries (Hauries, Howries) bear a similar name to the Swiss Hauris, but a relationship is unlikely. The Scottish family apparently takes its name from a farm named Horrie in the Toab district of St. Andrews parish on Orkney Mainland. The farm was part of the earldom estate. It appears in records between 1510 and 1560, when there was a dispute over its ownership. “Hourie...
The Mandans and Minnitarees looked to an Old Woman Who Never Dies as the force behind growing crops. She lived in the south and sent migratory birds as her emissaries. Each type of bird represented a particular crop — the swan for gourds, the goose for maize, and the duck for beans. When each type of bird arrived in the spring, it was time to plant that crop. (Sir James George Frazer, The...
“Schneggen” the home of the Hauris in Reinach One branch of the Hauris came from Beromünster to Reinach about 1400. Beginning in the 1500s, members of the family were frequently mentioned as farmers and millers. Some of them were members of the local “college of judges.” Heini Hauri was Untervogt of Reinach in 1512. An Untervogt was a “Deputy Bailiff,”...
“Commit Thy Work to God” John Sinclair was captured at the Battle of Worcester in 1651, and deported to America. An article written at the turn of the century identified him with Major John Sinclair, son of Henry Sinclair of Lybster, but the identification is unlikely. Lineal Genealogy 1. George Sinclair, Earl of Caithness (c1527-1582). He married Elizabeth Graham (c1520-bef 1576)...