The Oden yDNA Project is actively seeking men with the Oden surname to participate in this genetic testing project for genealogical purposes. Four men have already been tested. One was a descendant of Solomon Oden who lived out his life in Williamson County, Tennessee. This test participant did not match the other three testees, and the haplogroup of this individual is I1a, which indicates ancestral origins in Northern Norway or Sweden. The yDNA of the other three men matched to the extent that they are believed to be descendants of brothers, Thomas Oden of Loudoun County, Virginia, and Hezekiah and Alexander Oden of Edgefield County, South Carolina. The haplogroup of these three descendants is R1b1, which indicates Celtic ancestral origins of Western Europe. Documentation exists showing that these three men came from Frederick and Charles Counties in Maryland. I have reason to believe they were descendants of Francis Oden and Elizabeth O'Caine, who were first documented in Charles County, Maryland in 1716. The problem is that the evidence is all circumstantial. We know there are other descendants, in the male line of Francis and Elizabeth, who migrated out of Maryland to Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri. We also have reason to believe that the Francis Oden of Maryland was a descendant of the Odens who lived in Lower Norfolk County, Virginia and Beaufort County, North Carolina. On 28 April 1665, headrights were applied for, for the transprotation of Richard Odeon, William Odion, the yournger, and Ellen Odion, to Lower Norfolk County, Virginia. Their father, also William Odean wrote a will in Lower Norfolk, dated 25 January 1662, naming his children as Richard, William and Ellen. Richard Odeon as the oldest son, inherited the bulk of his father's estate. Richard Odeon moved to Beaufort County, North Carolina, where he lived out his life, and his surname evolved to Oden. In his will, Richard Oden left the land he inherited from his father in Lower Norfolk County, Virginia, to his son William. His land in Beaufort was divided among his other sons. Descendants of Richard Oden were still living in Lower Norfolk and Beaufort Counties at the beginning of the 20th Century. The Oden yDNA Project is actively seeking men with the Oden surname to participate in the testing, in order to prove or disprove the genetic/biological connection between the Odens of Maryland; Lower Norfolk, Virginia; and Beaufort, North Carolina. If you are and Oden male, or know an Oden male who might be willing to participate in the project, please contact Bill Coles, the project co-ordinator, at WmTempCo@aol.com, or me at msvnhrn@jps.net. We will be more than happy to answer your question and help you register for the test. In the interest of full disclosure, neither Bill nor I have any financial interest in the Relative Genetics, the lab, where the testing is being done. We volunteer our time, co-ordinating the project and issuing reports on the test results. Marleen Van Horne descendant of Alexander Oden