The Yoder Family in the United States is primarily believed to have originated in Steffisburg, Switzerland and spread in the 1690s onward into Alsace and Germany before arriving in the US at the start of the 18th century. This Project is being sponsored by the Yoder Newsletter. See www.yodernewsletter.org for detailed family data collected since 1983, and for copies of the semi-annual newsletter. The Yoder DNA Project is intended to complement the genealogical work of defining the Yoder family through the ages. The goal of the Yoder DNA Project is to use focused testing of Yoder male descendants to YDNA profile of the earliest known common ancestors, and to establish, to rule out, links between the various family lines. Please coordinate with Chris Yoder at cyoder@tds.net to identify and discuss your family pedigree before initiating any testing. Partial funding may be available to ensure adequate coverage of key family lines.