The project results from a Conference of local societies on the theme of DNA & Family History. It is managed by the Saddleworth Historical Society. The aim of the project is to establish a DNA database of early Saddleworth names that are known to be most common in the locality before 1642. This can be used by family historians to add to the documentary evidence that is avalaible. Saddleworth is a parish in the West Riding of Yorkshire situated on the west side of the Pennines. It contains several villages including Denshaw, Delph, Diggle, Dobcross, Greenfield, Grasscroft, Lydgate, Roughtown, Springhead and Uppermill. In the C18 & C19 major turnpike, canal and rail routes connecting Manchester with Leeds & Huddersfield. During the Industrial Revolution Saddleworth became a major textile centre. At first handloom weaving prospered in the hillside hamlets and water powered mills. Later steam powered mills and industrial villages were established in the valley bottoms. Emigration, both within the region and overseas, has long been a feature of Saddleworth life. There were opportunities where skills & enterprise were in demand or there was the need to escape the recurring slumps in the cotton or woollen industries. One of the aims of the project is to, through family histories, to investigate this.