During the past few years, many records have been found that indicate two clans of Dilleys were descended from ancestors in a four-county area in northwest Virginia (Stafford, Fauquier, Prince William, and Loudon counties) near the Potomac River in the Washington, D.C. area. One group called the "Belpre" Dilleys was descended from John, Richard, and Joseph Dilley who lived in Stafford County from 1789 to about 1810; then they moved to Belpre Township, Washington County, Ohio in time to appear on the 1810 Census. The other group called the "Cumberland" Dilleys migrated from Virginia to Morgan County, Ohio about 1839; they settled near Cumberland in the southwest corner of Guernsey County. Because Jesse resided in Shenandoah County, Virginia for approximately 30 years from 1810 to 1839, it was suspected that he was a son of John Dilley Sr. who appeared in Shenandoah County in 1773. Jesse (born 1770 in New Jersey) appeared in the 1820 and 1830 censuses for Shenandoah County. His son Jonathan reported in his biography that he was born in the Potomac area near Washington, but that he was reared in Shenandoah County. Jesse was in Loudon County, Virginia for the 1810 census; he must have moved to Shenandoah County late that year because his son George W. reported in a letter to Jesse Brooks Dille in 1893 that he was born in 1810 in Shenandoah County. Jesse's two sons, James and Jonathan were back in Loudoun County living together for the 1830 census there. The relationship between these two branches on the Potomac River clan is not known.

Several other Dilleys in Jesse's generation were linked to the Cumberland Dilleys by residence in three counties adjoining southwest Guernsey County (Morgan, Muskingum, and Noble counties, the last created in 1851). These Dilleys include Moses, John, Aaron, Ichabod, and Abraham who all appeared in census records as born in Virginia. John and Moses arrived in Morgan County, Ohio about 1812 to 1814, and Ichabod and Abraham were recruited in Guernsey County for the War of 1812.

Data collected by Thelma Reeder, indicate that a German immigrant, Johannes Dilli, was naturalized in Carroll County, Maryland in 1762, and had two children christened in the Manchester Reformed and Lutheran Church. Anna Maria Dilley was christened 22 May 1764 with her parents listed as Johannis Dilly and Anna Maria Heerin (sp?). Christian Dilly was christened 8 Jan 1769 with his parents listed as Joh. Dilley and Catharina Himpin (sp?). In 1773, a John Dilley bought land in Shenandoah County, Virginia, and later he sold three parcels of the land in 1778 and 1780; then he disappeared except possibly for an appearance in tax records in Augusta County, Virginia, in 1782. John Dilley, Jr., was born in Shenandoah County 13 March 1774; he married Elizabeth Ackland in Bath County, Virginia 24 December 1794. Creation of new counties by division of large, old ones, resulted in changing counties continuously in the same localities, including Bath, Pocahontas, and Nicholas counties, which became homes for Dilleys after their erection. This included Martin and Henry Dilley born about 1780, and who married about 1810 in Pocahontas County, (then Bath County). Catherine, John Sr.'s probable widow, was a resident of these same counties in 1800 and 1810 by tax and census records.

All of the four brothers whom Thelma Reeder believes were sons of John Sr. became residents of Pocahontas and Nicholas counties in West Virginia. This compilation is a source of data on Virginia-born Dilleys. Some families have been presented by Thelma, Marvin Hill and others, but most of the collection of records is intended as a data source. Users should check these data and attempt to find proof for them. census records have been provided for checking family and ages. There is a separate census index before page 25. The general index covers all other items except the tentative family compilation pages 63 to 75, which are intended only for work bases. The index includes fathers when known and sometimes wives to help searchers find names of their ancestors. Those tables that are alphabetized are easier to use without the index; therefore have been omitted from the general index. Use the list of contents for entry into alphabetized tables. Several letters have been included to show the evolution of VA Dilley research; many speculations are presented. Please be cautious in accepting all records. The Timeline is provided as another index of important events and participants in chronological order.

The primary sources for this account are:

1. biographies of Martin and Henry Dilley of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, by William T. Price of Marlinton, 1902
2. Thomas Ray Dille, a lawyer who lived in Morgantown, West Virginia, and who collected Dilley records from 1920 to 1939 when he died; his records are deposited in the Library of the University of West Virginia at Morgantown. I have some copies from over 1000 pages of microfilm that I obtained in 1950 from Thomas Ray's records;
3. The Dilley Family, Three Hundred Years in America by George Earl Dille and his wife and son, provided a genealogy of Martin and Henry Dilley in the appendix of the book.
4. Thelma Reeder of St. George, Utah, who has collected Dilley records from a network of descendants for nearly 40 years;
5. Marvin Hill of Beverly, West Virginia, who has lived in West Virginia all his life and knows many Dilleys and their living sites. Others who have contributed data are Don Dilley of California, now deceased, and Neville Dille of Louisville, Kentucky. Both are descendants of VA Dilleys from the Cumberland and Belpre branches respectively

I am the compiler of this account for which I accept responsibility; but I am most grateful for the generous contributions of the two co-authors. Thelma Reeder of St. George, Utah who has long compiled data an VA Dilleys; and Marvin Hill of Beverly, West Virginia, who is a direct descendant of Henry Dilley; Marvin has a large collection of data on descendants of Martin and Henry Dilley whose living sites he has visited throughout his life. We welcome corrections and additions to our account. We probably will submit this genealogy to the library of the Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City for possible Microfilming.

Comments regarding this page to: Deborah Johnson.