The Hidden DNA Project

The Hidden DNA Project has the aim of bringing together Hiddens from all over the world and linking them into broad family groups.

This new and exciting technique for genealogical research has made this a realistic prospect.

It is already suspected from conventional genealogy that many Hiddens of U.K. origin are descendants of a single person or group of persons living near Hungerford, Berkshire in about 1500 a.d.

For some U.K. branches where there is a gap in the documentary evidence and the DNA tests are capable of overcoming that gap.

There are also groups of Hiddens in several other European countries.  In these countries the name may have arisen in a different way or they may be linked in some way to the U.K. Hiddens. It would be very interesting to be able to decide between these alternatives.

It is especialy to be hoped that Hiddens from the U.S.A. will participate in the project in order to establish or confirm their links with the European groups.

The surname Hidden has appeared in many guises over the years and in some instances a branch has adopted one of these alternative spellings as their family name. It is therefore quite possible that for example Hiddins and Headings are genealogically connected with the Hiddens.  Bearers of other surnames are therefore welcome to participate in the project if they suspect that they are related.

The company which has been entrusted with the testing is Family Tree DNA and their website at www.familytreedna.com has much background and detailed information about the technique.

The actual test procedure is very simple and only requires the collection of a some cells scraped from the lining of the mouth.

The test results are identified only by a code, and the link between the code and a person's identity is kept strictly confidential. The company will only reveal this link with the express permission of the participant.

The markers which are used for genealogical tests are entirely unrelated to any medical condition, inherited or otherwise.

With the agreement of the participant his coded test results may be displayed on the project web site. This will allow the results to be sorted and displayed in matching or near matching groups.