Open to all males who have a direct line male ancestor with any of the following surnames; HEXTER, HOEXTER, HOXTER, HOCHSTER, HOECHSTER, HEKSTER, or HECKSCHER. You are also welcome to join if you have a known direct line male "Y" connection to this line. Known surnames would also include the WEILs of Schecklengfeld, HERZBERGs of Breidenbach, MEYER of Großfelden, ROSENSTEIN of Niedenstein and Frankfurt. We hope to be able to link many of these HEXTER lines together with the aid of Y-DNA, and also discover other surnames that may share the same common ancestor within the 8-9 generation range. In addition, we hope to uncover other clues based on haplogroup and matches within this haplogroup. Such clues might shed light on the route and time that the HEXTERs came to Germany, whether or not they might be Levite or Cohanim and if they have Sephardic roots. At this time, we have tested HEXTERs who hail from three different towns in Hessen. These towns are all within 13 miles of each other. Surprisingly, none of them match each other. That doesn't rule out a relationship, but it can not be along the direct male line. The HÖCHSTERS of Storndorf have hundreds of matches, many very close. Based on Y-DNA results, it appears that their oldest known ancestor could be EITHER ann offpsring of Jacob "Eljakim" HEILPRIN b. ca 1465 Heilbronn who lived in Frankfurt in the early 16th Century after the Jews were expelled from Heilbronn. This family probably merges several earlier with the GUGGENHEIM family. The GUGGENHEIM patriarch was Eliezer ben Moses from the Nuess on Rhein. Jews were expelled from this town in 1470. It is also speculated that Eliezer's father was an assessor at the Jewish tribunal of Prague. The HÖCHSTERS of Schweinsberg have very few matches. A match with a ROSENSTEIN from Mengerskirchen, Limberg-Weilburg, Hessen is our most promising lead as members of both lines lived in the same town at one point. (GD 2 on 37 markers). The HÖXTERS of Treysa have some intersting matches that need to be pursued. Of special interest is a HALPERIN. It's possible that this family connects maternally to the HALPERIN who match the HÖCHSTER of Storndorf. Also of interest is a WETTERHAHN match. WETTERHAHN can be found living in Frankfurt from the 17th Century to the 19th century. So futher research of the paper trail may reveal the connection!