Announcement (12/27/2020): A Y-37 test kit (value: $119) has been donated to the Van Riper-Yereance Surname Project for the purpose of testing a descendant of colonial immigrant Jurian Thomasse via any male line other than Jurian's son Harmen. If you are such a descendant or know of one who might be willing to participate, please contact the project administrator via the email link on the left side of this web page. Candidates will likely have the surnames Van Riper (or derivatives--Riper, Van Rype, Vanderipe, etc.) or Yereance, but not necessarily so, if there has been a documented surname change on the male line. Your help in expanding this project is most appreciated! Overview: The Van Riper-Yereance Surname Project helps researchers identify ancestors and their origins. Through Y-DNA testing, we seek to identify persons who are genetically related on the male line with Jurian Van Riper, who immigrated to New Netherland in 1663 and became the patriarch of the American Van Riper and Yereance families, and to differentiate that family from those of similar names but who are not related on the male line.