Dara, so sorry I have not been in in quite a while....
My Howe family (husband's family) was a brick wall for many years also.... when he completed his YDNA testing, we found that he is not a Howe at all.... GGrandmother was a busy gal... He is actually from the de Freitas family or Portugal.....
Strangely I have a Browne connection in my line... they were in Surrey, ENG and the daughter emigrated to New England in 1645...
Hope you are still around... would love to continue the conversation...
Kate
