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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
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:
The North American Haurys typically descend from:
Howrytown, Virginia was founded by Jacob Howry, son of the immigrant Jacob Hauri.
For more information see Hauri Surname.
There are several Colonial Howrys who have not been been connected to other known Howry families:
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.
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
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.
To ensure uniformity, please follow Geni's Naming Conventions.
If you would like to contribute to this page, please contact the Project Manager or one of the Project Collaborators.