Background

This is the New Netherland Y-DNA(Y-chromosome) project.  It concentrates on the men who inhabited New Netherland between 1609 and 1675.  We will gain insight into where these men came from and develop a better understanding of the families that are directly descended from them.

Objective

This project aims to trace and document the genetic profiles, or "fingerprints", of male ancestors who lived in New Netherland between 1609 and 1675.  The project should prove to be valuable in helping their descendants discover their own New Netherland roots and learn more about their history.

For millions of Americans, New Netherland is the place where their immigrant ancestors arrived from their homelands.  Many of these ancestors have been thoroughly researched and are well documented.  In other cases, records may have been sparse to non-existent.  As time went on and their descendants moved into other parts of North America, they multiplied and now have millions of descendants that live in North America and other parts of the world.  This project intends to provide a means to bring these families back together based on their similar DNA and increase collaboration in documenting their histories.

Scope

This is a Y-DNA project specific to the New Netherland geographic area.  This means the project is focused on testing the Y chromosome of men that are descended from male ancestors who lived in New Netherland between 1609 and 1675.  The Y chromosome is useful for tracing direct, male lineages and thus for tracing surnames. 

Joining This Project

Qualifications for joining this project include:

·        You must have your Y-chromosome DNA tested. If you are female, you must have a male relative submit Y-DNA for the family line you are testing/researching.

·        You must be able to trace your direct-paternal line to a male ancestor who lived in New Netherland between 1609 and 1675.  In other words, the lineage must be you, your father, his father, his father, his father, …, to the male New Netherland ancestor.  If the line goes through a female ancestor at any point, that is no longer a direct-paternal line and not qualified to join this project.

·        If you suspect that you are descended from an ancestor who lived New Netherland, send an email to dna-admin@new-netherlanders.org and we will do our best to help you.  You may also compare your Y-DNA results with the results of this project to see if you match any individuals that are already in the project.

Our upcoming sister project for the female ancestors of New Netherland will be the New Netherland mt-DNA project.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please email us at dna-admin@new-netherlanders.org.