The purpose of the project is to understand the genetic relationships among various families with the surname Brees and variants. The project began as a Y-DNA-only study but expanded in early 2016 to include autosomal DNA. Membership is now open to males with the target surname or variant, who take the Y-DNA test, as well as to men and women who believe they have a Brees ancestral line and take the Family Finder test. In particular, the project began with an attempt to understand the connections among four Brees men who were born in New Jersey in the mid-to-late 18th century and moved over several decades through Pennsylvania and Ohio to Indiana. These men were Moses, David, John and Timothy. The project has determined the likely Y-DNA of the four above men and others carrying the surname. Their precise family connection has not yet been established through the paper trail, however. The project has also established numerous autosomal connections among individuals with Brees ancestral lines. Y-DNA tests have long shown that the descendants of Timothy Breese match mostly people with the surname Doty/Doughty. Since Timothy was married to Elizabeth Doty, some have theorized that Timothy and Elizabeth adopted a young relative of hers, who then carried on the Breese name but with "Doty" Y-DNA. That theory has now been disproved through Big-Y testing completed in July 2024.. Two descendants of different sons of Timothy are very close matches to each other and also have "Doty" Y-DNA. Clearly, Timothy himself carried "Doty" Y-DNA.