DFA Most Wanted is a weekly spotlight on one specific Dillman family group with no representation yet in the Dillman DNA Project — who they were, what’s still unknown, and what a single Y-DNA test could resolve. Know this family, or think you might be connected? Read on.

Family Group 27: Joseph Dillmann of Niederbuchen, Nassau, Germany

Joseph Dillmann emigrated from Niederbuchen, Nassau in November 1856; his migration is documented through a compilation of announcements published in the local Nassau newspaper between 1806 and 1866. His son went by Anton in Germany but Adam in the United States, where he settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and worked as a saloon keeper alongside his brother Jakob. Descendants of the family still lived in the Milwaukee area in later generations.

What’s Unresolved

No DNA testing has been done from this family, so there’s no way yet to connect Joseph’s Niederbuchen line to any of the DFA’s other documented Nassau-area families. Adam/Anton’s name change is also a good real-world example of the anglicization patterns discussed elsewhere on this site.

What a Test Could Answer

A Y-DNA test from a descendant of Joseph, Adam, or Jakob Dillmann could confirm whether this Milwaukee line connects to other tested Nassau-origin families already in the DFA’s records.

Are You Connected?

If you’re a male-line descendant of Joseph Dillmann of Niederbuchen, or of his sons Adam or Jakob of Milwaukee, the DFA would like to hear from you. Contact the DNA project administrator at dnaprojectadmin@dillmanfamilyassociation.org to get connected and learn about testing.

This spotlight is drawn from the Dillman Family Association’s Family Group Sheet Database and written with the assistance of Claude, an AI assistant developed by Anthropic.