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 35: Gerhard Dillmann of Hesse, Germany

Gerhard Dillmann and his wife Elisabeth sailed for Baltimore in June 1844 alongside Heinrich Dillmann and his wife Adelheid, both bound for Cincinnati, Ohio. The two men’s paths diverged from there: Gerhard later served in a Missouri regiment during the Civil War, while Heinrich stayed in Ohio and remarried after Adelheid’s death. A younger brother, Peter, later turns up in census records living with Heinrich’s household.

What’s Unresolved

The family’s precise origin within Hesse isn’t recorded — only the state, not the town. And while Gerhard, Heinrich, and Peter travelling and living together strongly suggests brothers, no direct record confirms the relationship. No DNA testing has been done from any branch of this family.

What a Test Could Answer

A Y-DNA test from a descendant of any of the three men — Gerhard, Heinrich, or Peter — could confirm whether they really were brothers, and could help narrow their Hessian origin by matching against other tested Hesse-area lines already in the DFA’s records.

Are You Connected?

If you’re a male-line descendant of Gerhard, Heinrich, or Peter Dillmann, or know someone who might be, 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.