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The goal of this project is to build a single validated and documented family tree for the Hauri, Haury, Howery, Howry and Howrey families, from their earliest origin in 13th century Switzerland to near modern times.
Common variants: Hauri Haury Howery Howry Howrey
Background
by Justin Swanström, 2013
The Hauri family originated at Beromünster, Swizerland. The earliest certain ancestor of the family was Richenza, called "Hauri's wife", who in 1313 agreed to pay 40 shillings a year to have charge of provisioning the canons of the collegiate church. The tax records of the parish show that her husband was probably Ulrich Hauri. Ulrich was probably a son or grandson of the Conrad Hauri who was named in 1282 as a tenant of Werner von Steffisburg. Ulrich apparently came to Beromünster as a servant of Hugo von Jegistorf, one of the canons there.
Descendants of the Beromünster Hauris spread through cantons Luzern and Aargau, and later into southern Germany. The North American Howerys, Howrys and Howreys descend from one of two colonial immigrants:
- Hans Hauri, a Mennonite who came to Pennsylvania from Switzerland in 1718
- Jacob Howry, a Lutheran who came to Pennsylvania from Germany in 1738
The North American Haurys typically descend from:
- Johannes Haury, a Mennonite who came to America from Germany about 1850.
Howrytown, Virginia was founded by Jacob Howry, son of the immigrant Jacob Hauri.
Origin of the Hauri Surname
For more information see Hauri Surname.
Key Profiles
- Conrad Hauri, the earliest known person with the surname Hauri
- Hans Hauri (1641-?), a Mennonite deported from Switzerland in 1711
- Hans Hauri (1678-1737), a Mennonite immigrant to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1718
- Johannes Haury (1817-1893), Mennonite immigrant to Summerfield, Illinois.
- Jacob Howry (1719-1755), immigrant to York County, Pennsylvania in 1738
- Jacob Howry (1734-1809), founder of Howrytown, Virginia
- Metzger Hauri, a Burgher of Freiburg-im-Breisgau who fatally stabbed the Bishop of Strassburg during a war between the city and its overlord
- Ulrich Hauri (c1283-c1324), of Beromünster, Switzerland, the most distant provable ancestor of the family
- Ulrich Howry (1694-1723), a Mennonite immigrant to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1718
Notable Hauris
- Bobby Dean Howry (1973- ), Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.
- Hon. Charles Bowen Howry (1844-1928), Assistant U.S. Attorney General (1893-1896) and Associate Justice of the U.S. Court of Claims (1897-1915). His descendants lived at Howry Hundred, Chevy Chase, Maryland.
- Edward F. Howrey (1903-1996), founding partner of Howrey LLP, an internationally known law firm in Washington, DC.
- Emil Walter "Doc" Haury (1904-1992), head of the Department of Anthropology and director of the Arizona State Museum.
- Hon. James Moorman Howry (1804-1884), was one of the founders and first trustees of the University of Mississippi in 1844. Howry Hall was named for him.
- Keenan Rashaun Howry (1981- ), an American football wide receiver and kick returner who currently plays for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League.
- Ken Howery, one of the founders of Paypal, and now Managing Partner of The Founders Fund.
- Lucien Beverley Howry (1869-1944), the earliest known Howry genealogist.
Unconnected American Howrys
There are several Colonial Howrys who have not been been connected to other known Howry families:
- Andrew Howry, of Chester County, Pennsylvania, from Ireland, appears on a muster roll in 1758, dead the same year
- Burrell Howry, a soldier from North Carolina in the American Revolution
- George Howrey, a soldier from North Carolina in the American Revolution
- Jacob Hawry, husband of Maria Post, who was born 1778 in Rockland, New York
- James Howry, of Sussex, New Jersey, had an unclaimed letter at Trenton in 1780
- Zacharia Howry, of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, appears on a militia muster roll in 1781
Habsburg Connection
by Justin Swanström, 2013
Some branches of the Hauri family have a tradition that the family descends from the early Counts of Habsburg. According to the story, back in the Middle Ages a Swiss count named Ulrich von Habsburg went on a Crusade, fell into love with a Muslim woman and brought her back home to Switzerland. He couldn't marry her, but they had a son named Ulrich. He took the last name Houri because his mother was a houri -- she was like the beautiful virgins of Muslim paradise. The name Houri became Hauri. And even after the Habsburgs got the Imperial throne they still knew the Hauris were their cousins and gave them land in Switzerland.
The origin of this story is unknown. It seems to appear only in American branches of the family. It might have been a theory developed by Lucien Beverley Howry. The possibility has been extensively investigated, but no evidence has been found of such a connection.
Source: Habsburg Connection at swanstrom.org.
Russian Connection
by Justin Swanström, 2013
Rudolf Hauri of Zofingen wrote an article in 1961 claiming that the Hauris are descendants of Hovri, a Russian merchant who settled in Switzerland in the 13th century with a group of other merchants who were granted lands by Werner von Steffisburg (Rudolf Hauri, "Die Familie Hauri" in Zofinger Neujahrsblatt (1961), 94-105 (citing J. Meier, of Reinach, Etwelches über den Name Hauri):
The reference is to Chuondradus dictus Hovri, who was mentioned as a tenant of Werner von Steffisburg on 8 February 1282. However, there is no evidence he was a Russian. The connection to Russia seems to draw on an old legend that the Reuss river in Switzerland takes its name from a settlement of Russians there. A similar legend says that the Swiss canton Schweiz takes its name from a settlement of Swedes.
Source: Russian Connection at swanstrom.org
South Carolina Connection
by Justin Swanström, 2013
The 1939 edition of Burke's Landed Gentry says the Howrys were originally French Huguenots. This information seems to have been provided by Lucien Beverley Howry, the first Howry genealogist. His theory seems to have been that the Howrys of Howrytown, Virginia were descended from Elias Horry, a Huguenot and ancestor of a prominent South Carolina family. By the late 1960s it was known that the Virginia are actually descendants of Jacob Howry, immigrant to York County, Pennsylvania.
Naming Convention
To ensure uniformity, please follow Geni's Naming Conventions.
How to Participate
If you would like to contribute to this page, please contact the Project Manager or one of the Project Collaborators.