The Purpose of the Project is to determine the common ancestry of the Tienken/Tiencken and Tieken families. I have done extensive research on several of the early Tien(c)ken lines in New York, North Carolina and California. These families all came from the Beverstedt Parish, Hannover, Germany. The Tieken family comes from the Oldenburg Parish of Germany, and is not genetically linked to the other above mentioned lines. The US immigration records show that 5 Tien(c)ken males immigrated to America between 1820 and 1850, 17 between 1850 and 1870, 34 between 1870 and 1900 and 134 between 1900 and 1950. The vast majority of these immigrants sailed from Bremer or Bremerhaven in Hanover, Germany. The US Census records indexes do not list any Tien(c)ken families before 1860. There are several here but their names are mispelled. In the 1900 US Census there are 13 Tien(c)ken males listed who were born in Germany, again there are probably twice that many whose names are misspelled. This project is open to all males who have the Tienken, Tienken, Tiinken and Tieken surnames worldwide, and any other close variations.