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 33: Joseph B. Dillmann of Pennsylvania

Joseph B. Dillmann, a confectioner by trade, migrated from Germany to the United States in 1849. He settled in Millvale, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and married Hannah Bauer.

What’s Unresolved

This is one of the sparser entries in the DFA’s records: no specific German town of origin is documented, only the country. No DNA testing has been done from this family, so there’s no way yet to connect it to any of the DFA’s other Pennsylvania or German-origin lines.

What a Test Could Answer

A Y-DNA test from a descendant of Joseph B. Dillmann could match this family against other tested lines in the DFA’s records — potentially narrowing “Germany” down to a specific region for the first time.

Are You Connected?

If you’re a male-line descendant of Joseph B. Dillmann of Millvale, Pennsylvania, 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.