The objectives of this project are to: 1. Determine whether Hochreiter immigrants to America came from the same regions of Europe, shared a common ancestor and were closely related. 2. Determine whether similar surnames such as Hochreuter, Hochreither, Hochreuther and other variations are related to the Hochreiter family. 3. Determine whether the Hochreiter families of America and the Hochreiter families of Germany and Austria are closely related and share a common ancestor. 4. Determine a DNA signature for the Hochreiter family and use it as a tool to help connect males to specific branches.