Several clans of Virginia Dilleys claim to have been born near or raised in the Potomac River area, yet we have few records for Dilleys in this region. Only three men (John, Richard and Joseph), who were post-war residents of this area, have been found in local records. If John, the oldest with two or three sons :>16 years of age by 1790, was the father of these Dilleys, he had to have been born during the 1750s.

Jesse Dilley, who appeared in the 1820 and 1830 censuses for Shenandoah Co., Va., with a sizeable family in 1820, reappeared in 1840 and 1850 censuses with the "Cumberland" Dilleys in Morgan and Guernsey Co., OH. The 1840 census for Morgan Co. shows a 70-80 Year old man living with James, and in 1850 Jesse was living with the family of Jonathan Dilley in Guernsey Co. A biography of Jonathan Dilley reported that he had been born on the Potomac R., but was raised in Shenandoah Co., VA. Jesse was 80 years of age in 1850 which puts his birth year at 1770. Evidently, Jesse migrated to Ohio with his sons in 1839, and his father emigrated from New Jersey soon after Jesse was born there in 1770. The "Cumberland" Dilleys settled in the town of Cumberland in the SW corner of Guernsey Co., OH. The 1839 settlement included James, Jonathan, Hiram and Luke who tended to be shopkeepers or craftsmen. 

An earlier contingent of VA-born Dilleys arrived in this same area about 1812 and Moses and John appeared in the 1820 census. Moses enlisted for the War of 1812 from Guernsey Co. in 1812 or 1814. They lived in the SE corner of Muskingum Co. (Meigs twp) or the NW corner of Morgan Co. Noble Co. OH was not established until after 1850; parts of Guernsey, Monroe, Morgan and Washington counties were taken to make Noble Co. This probably accounts for the changes of residence by counties, but probably they continued to live around the Cumberland area from 1812 to 1870 at least. 

There is no record of the "Cumberland" Dilleys in the Potomac River area unless John of Stafford Co. was the father of Jesse. The land records for Shenandoah Co. show John Dilley buying land in 1773 and later in that decade selling land from a 400 acre tract that he acquired from Thomas Sixth Baron Fairfax, land proprietor of the Northern Neck of Virginia by grants from the King. Surely, this was not the same John Dilley who leased land in Stafford Co. in 1793, although the two (?) Johns were about the same age. Since John of Shenandoah Co. was a mature man in 1773, he could have been the father of Jesse and the immigrant from New Jersey. 

The younger Cumberland Dilleys, who probably were children of Jesse, were younger than the Potomac River clan of John, for whom only Joseph and Richard are known. James and Jonathan were born in 1807 and 1809 respectively. Luke Dilley b 1800 appeared in Guernsey Co. with the other Cumberland Dilleys about 1839; he and Hiram may be brothers of James and Jonathan. Aaron and Moses Dilley were born in l780 and l784, they were older and could not be sons of Jesse. also, they arrived in Guernsey Co., OH about 1812, much earlier than Jesse's sons (?). Moses and John Dilley may be brothers of this Aaron of Allen Co., IN, who probably lived in Muskingum about that time because his son (?) George was born in Muskingum Co. in 1819. In the 1870 census George had moved back to Muskingum Co. Therefore, I presume that Moses and Aaron were probably brothers who migrated together--possibly directly from Shenandoah Co. VA. They could be sons of the John who bought land in Shenandoah Co. in 1773. By 1870, Moses had moved to Ross Co., OH where a probable son Moses was living with a family. 

One wonders what happened to John of Shenandoah. It appears that the old couple in James Dilley’s family for the 1840 census in Morgan Co., Ohio, were Jesse and his wife. Therefore, they probably moved with their sons, the Cumberland Dilleys, directly from Shenandoah Co., Va. to Morgan Co. in 1839. The John Dilley in the 1820 census for Muskingum Co. could not be John of Shenandoah Co. because he was too young. A11 of the "Cumberland" Dilleys of both contingents were Virginia-born according to the census records. 

Where would John Dilley of Dunmore Co., VA now Page Co. & Shenandoah Co.:) fit into these VA Dilley clans? He was on Capt. John Dentons's list of eligible military men in 1775. I suspect that he was the same as John Dilley of Shenandoah. Who was the John Dilley age 44 in a Maryland census in 1776? The names in this family were quite different from those of most VA-born Dilleys--although he did have a son named John age 1 year. Where do Henry and Martin Dilley of old Augusta Co., VA (really Pocahontas Co. W. VA.) fit into the Dilley clans? They were earlier than the generation of Jesse's sons--James, Jonathan, Luke and Hiram. 

John!!

Christian Dilley of Greenbrier Co., W. VA., appears to be the father of the Lawrence Co., OH. family. They appear to have come down the Kanawha R. to Gallipolis about 1814 to 1816. The names Barnet, James and Abner are found in Lawrence Co., OH. for this clan. 

(See p. 26 for age categories)