This is the New Netherland Y-DNA (Y-chromosome) project. It concentrates on the men who inhabited New Netherland between 1624 and 1674. We will gain insight into where these men came from and develop a better understanding of the families that are directly descended from them. This project aims to trace and document the genetic profiles, or "fingerprints", of male ancestors who lived in New Netherland between 1624 and 1674. 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.