This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Harden Hardin Harding Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/SSB.2ACE/2273 Message Board Post: I am Bill Hardin, the volunteer coordinator of the Harden/Hardin/Harding yDNA project. YDNA testing can help you connect with other researchers who share a common ancestor. yDNA is passed along the surname line from father to son. Females do not possess a y chromosome thus the test is limited to male participants. However, as long as you can find a male relative with the surname that you are researching, you could get a sample from him. Obtaining an yDNA sample is quick, easy and painless. The kit contains two cotton swabs, with which you use to rub the inside of your cheek. You put the samples in a test tube and mail them back for analysis. You don’t need to understand the science. The company that conducts the testing and the volunteer coordinator of your surname project will analyze the results and link you to other researchers who share the same yDNA (an thus share a recent common ancestor). The test is also useful in disproving suspected pedigrees if ! your sample does not match with others from that same line. Privacy is assured. You can read more about this testing at familytreedna dot com. At that site, you can check to see if a surname project has been started for a surname that you are researching. I urge all of you to investigate this new genealogy tool. If your surname happens to be Harden or Hardin or Harding, I invite you to join our group.