Dillman/Stillman Connection

The objective of this outline is to be both brief and clear. Brief may be a problem because there is much pertinent information to be included. In order to keep this to a manageable length, we will post several key documents on our web site located at Dillman Documents

This incredible story actually began during the Revolutionary War but only came to light because G. Andrew Stillman and Frank Stillman, of Canada, and several Dillmans joined the FamilyTreeDNA program. Initially, Robert Dillman and Earl Dillman both started at the 12 marker level. Those test results brought an exact 12/12 match with both Andrew and Frank Stillman.

At that point, Andrew Stillman and Earl Dillman began exchanging e-mails and soon a working hypothesis was in place.

Andrew had seen some evidence that his ancestor, George Stillman ca 1762, might have been captured by the British in New York during the Revolutionary War. Earl had information about a George Dillman who, following the August 27, 1776 Battle of Long Island, was reported missing at the September, 1776 muster at King's Bridge - near present day Harlem. Earl, being initially unaware there were two brothers named George in that family, had thought the reference was to his ancestor George Michael who was known to have lived until 1830.

Thanks to the research efforts of Barbara Dillman Jensen, we know from church records that a George Adam Dillman was born 1749 to Hans George and Margaretha Dillman in Germany. George Michael was his younger brother, born ca 1764 in Pennsylvania and was therefore too young to have served in the war. When George Adam didn't return from the war, it was assumed he had been killed in the Battle of Long Island.

After the initial surprise wore off, the next step was for the Dillmans to upgrade to the 25 marker level. Again, there was a perfect match with both Stillmans.

At that point, Earl Dillman upgraded to the 37 marker level while Don A. Dillman joined our project at the 37 marker level. Don's 37 marker upgrade was available only days before Cincinnati.

When the following results came back, it was time to get some outside help to interpret the results.

Earl Dillman matches both Andrew and Frank Stillman 35/37.

Don A. Dillman matches both Stillmans 36/37.

Don also matches Earl 36/37.

What does all this mean?

Andrew Stillman, utilizing all the factual information available along with some of our family folklore, put together a PowerPoint slide presentation that summarizes all the above and then begins to project what this data may be telling us. That presentation will be available on our web site or via e-mail - for an e-mail copy just contact either Andrew [andrew.stillman@unb.ca] or Earl [edillman@frontiernet.net]. Note: If you don't have Microsoft Office, you can download a free program called Open Office from the net that will open PowerPoint files - you'll find this program at: http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/source/1.0.3/

Barbara Jensen's primary research shows Hans George Dillman had four sons:

George Adam b. 1749 in Germany

Andrew b. 1753 in PA

George Michael b. ca 1764 in PA
Conrad b. 1765 in PA

The available data was suggesting that Andrew Stillman descends from George Adam; Robert, Don A., and Phillip T. Dillman descend from Andrew, and Earl Dillman descends from George Michael. Now the question is: how can we prove this theory in light of the DNA test results shown above?
At our Dillman Reunion on August 20, 2004, Dr. James M. Freed, retired Professor of zoology, who taught genetics at Ohio Wesleyan University and a genealogist for 35 years, helped us clear up many of the remaining questions. It will be helpful to refer to the attached PDF copy of his handout entitled "Genetic Genealogy: Fracturing Brick Walls." You'll also find this PDF file on our web site. Then you'll want to review the PowerPoint presentation and read the summary of Dr. Freed's reunion presentation by Andrew Stillman. All will be available on our web site shortly.

Dr. Freed concluded, based on our DNA results backed up by Barbara Jensen's primary research, that George Adam, Andrew, and George Michael were indeed brothers and were sons of the Hans George Dillman born in 1724. This effort has finally laid to rest the lingering questions if not controversy over the birth date and father of the Andrew who fought in the Revolutionary War - both 1751 and 1753 dates are claimed and both Andrew and Hans Georg have been shown as his father. We now know he was born 27 Dec 1753 and was christened on 27 Jan 1754 in Lebanon County, PA. His parents were Hans Georg Dillman and Margaretha Murr.
Check our web site regularly for updates on our rapidly growing DNA project. We are appealing to everyone reading this update to help us further expand our DNA research. We know there are a lot more connections out there just waiting to be discovered. If you know of a possible candidate for DNA testing (must be a male-to-male Dillman descendant), please contact me with some basic information about that person. The actual DNA test requires no blood sample; instead a Q-Tip sized swab is used to collect a sample from inside your cheek. Couldn't be easier.

Earl Dillman Pittsford, New York