Lucas "Luke" Dillon

-https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Dillon-431
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown] [siblings unknown]
(but you can follow the COA JPG TAGs for his medieval tree)

Luke Dillon, a Northern Irish immigrant, fell off his horse in a snowstorm and froze to death after a bender.

(Excerpt from the book "History of Dillon, Fletcher, and Kindred Families" by Henry Dillon 1909)

Notes of James Rees on the Dillon Family

"Luke Dillon, a red-headed weaver of Kilkenny, Ireland, won the heart and hand of Susanna Garret, daughter of a man of wealth and fame. Susanna's father disinherited her for marrying one whom he styled a "snotty-nosed weaver" but he may have had another objection as Luke had a failing as we shall hearafter see. They emigrated to Pennsylvania where Susanna learned to weave and they supported themselves by their calling. Luke was a drinking man and went to mill horseback five miles away, started home in the evening facing a snowstorm with a bottle of liquer in his pocket, got off the horse, sat down by a tree, and there froze to death and was not found for six weeks.

This tradition came down through different families and is doubtless true."

From http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~lukedillon/pafn368.htm#6932

From a letter written by Barbara Inez (Dillon) Thorn to a Miss London on 6 July, 1960: (Barbara Thorn was the first certified genealogist in Salem, Oregon)

Luke and Susannah moved from Kilkenny, Ireland in 1724, to Nantucket Island, settling in Virginia

(Wayne's note: This is amazing since Luke is supposed to have froze to death in 1717 in Pennsylvania.)

1173 8th St. Salem, Ore. July 6, 1960 Dear Miss London:

I received your most welcome letter on the Dillon family and was so anxious to write to you by return mail but I've been working and this is the first chance I have had to write any letters.

I am corresponding with a lady in Penn. who is a descendant of John Dillon (b. 1751) and Lydia Gest. Also a descendant of Susannah Dillon and George Haworth. I am a descendant through Hannah Dillon who married Edward Wright and our common ancestor is William Dillon born 1715 in Ireland? I see your records say Penn.

Here is a copy of a letter written by David Dillon Wright (son of Hannah Dillon & Edward Wright, grandson of William Dillon) to his son John in 1885.

"William Dillon, son of Luke and Susannah (Garrett) Dillon, was born in Ireland in 1715. He came with his parents to America when he was nine years old. He settled near Winchester, Virginia and raised a family of two boys and five girls. Hannah Dillon, the youngest child was born in Frederick Co., Va. in 1760 and died in Ohio Oct. 17, 1855, aged 95 years, 5 months. In Virginia in 1780 she married Edward Wright who died in Ohio in 1801. (I have this from several sources). After their marriage Edward and Hannah remained in Virginia until after the birth of their second son, William. When William was four weeks old in 1782 they started for Tennessee where they settled on Lost Creek near Holson River in Jefferson County and where they remained until1801 when they went to Ross Co., Ohio where they found a few other settlers. They stopped at the Falls of Paint near the present town of Bainbridge. The entire family had chills and fever and Edward and his daughter, Ruth died leaving Hannah and eight children alone in the wilderness. William was 19 years old. He and his mother, as soon as they were able to be around, bought land on Buckskin Creek near Green field. In 1803 they traded it for other land and William, Solomon, and John built a cabin of round logs with split slabs for the floor. It was coveredwith four foot boards with hickory plys for joists. The school house in the neighborhood was a small log cabin with a log cut out for a window and paper pasted over the opening. The seats were benches made of slabs and placed around the ten foot wide fireplace."

I see you are a descendant of the Rees family also. Do you by any chance know anything about the Lydia Rees born 19 Dec. 1774 who married Thomas Ellis 17 April 1793 Rowan Co., N.C. (Westfield MM) she died 1 Feb 1863 in Ohio. Their daughterMargaret Ellis married David Dillon Wright (grandson of William Dillon).

I have several letters written by Roy H. Dillon, Normal, Illinois. The earliest 1928 to Mr. F.A. Virkus, editor of the Compendium of American Genealogy. In these letters he states that Luke Dillon and Susannah Garrett came from Kilkenny, Ireland to Nantucket Island settling in Virginia. Luke Dillon froze to death and his wife Susan Garrett remarried and moved to near Philadelphia and became wealthy.

Their son Daniel Dillon was born 1713 married Lydia_____ moved from Fredericks Co., Va. to Guilford Co., N.C. where he died 22 Nov 1805.

William Dillon wa born 1715 in Ireland. Came to America in 1724. His will was probated Nov. 3, 1762 and was written Oct. 13, 1762. I have a copy of it. He names his wife, Mary and the children.

In a deed of release in Berkley Co., W. Va. where the Dillons had land, Deed book 4 page 14 "James Dillon and Sarah his wife and Mary Bridges mother of said JAmes Dillon and the late wife of William Dillon deceased of Frederick County--further completing conveyances of land above in which they all have interest--considering 100 pounds Va. money. Recorded son maned Dillon Bridges.

Do you by any chance know who the Luke Dillon was in Frederick Co., Va in 1761? I have a copy of a land grant made to him by Lord Fairfax in 1716. I suppose he is the son of Luke Dillon and Susannah Garrett. I also have copies of land grants made by Lord Fairfax to William Dillon.

What was the source of your information on the death of Luke Dillon b. Kilkenny, Ire., died 1717 Penn.?

In a book by Charles Raymond Dillon called "Dillon Ancestorss", it is indicated that this Luke Dillon isa descendant of James Dillon, baron of Kilkenny West in 1620 and Earl of Roscommon in1622. Died 1641. The tradition in our family has been that the immigrant Dillon ancestor had large estates in Ireland. In records made by Maggie Huff in 1910 in Ohio,--"When Hannah Dillon's grandfather (Luke Dillon) came to America he leased his estate in Ireland for ninety-nine years. The Dillon estate was located in Ireland where the flourishng city of Kilkenny now stands. William Dillon's wife remarried after his death and had a son, Dillon Bridges.

From a history by Levi S. Wright (I've been trying to locate one of these but evidently was never published) "John Dillon (son of William Dillon) was often called upon to settle disputes between different parties and his honesty and judgment were so well respected that his decision usually ended the controversy. He is noted as being a man of great muscular strength. It is said that he could take two ordinary men, one in each hand and hold them at arms length with a grip so strong thay could hardly move. When Lord Cornwallis' army was captured at Yorktown a part of it was marched into camp near Winchester, Va. and john Dillon would often go down to camp and wrestle with the soldiers but there was but one man in all of Cornwallis' army that could throw him down." L.S.W.

From the records by Maggie Huff, Leesburg, Ohio, made in 1910 I have a lot of the descendants of William Dillon down 4 or 5 and 6 generations.

Also from the history of Levi S. Wright, "William Wright (son of Hannah Dillon and Edward Wright) was born in Frederick Co., Va. 9-24-1782 married Rachel Stofford in 6-27-1805 Ohio. In 1826 he built the two story stone house still standing on his farm. David Black did the stone work for $100.00 and the carpenter work was performed by McPherson and Smithson." L.W. What was the name of the book on the Dillon family at the library in Indianapolis?

Do you know anything about Robert Dillon who died at Kokomo, Ind. 27 Sept. 1863? His parents were James Dillon and Rebecca Gray both born in Maryland. Robert Dillon was also born in Maryland. Robert's daughter, Emma Dillon married George Haggard in May 18, 1890 in Kokomo, Indiana.

Also, do you know anything of Nathan Patrick Dillon of Quincy, Illinois born 1820? He married Zylpha Van Luvan.

I would be glad to send you what I have on the children of William Dillon, births, marriages, deaths, and names of their children and marriages. A lot of it I got from the Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. My grandfather is 97 years old, and was born in Leesburg, Ohio, on the farm where Hannah (Dillon) Wright lived. He was born 8 years after she died. He has pictures of the farm, etc. and also one of Anna Wright, granddaughter of Hannah (Dillon) Wright and one of David Dillon Wright, son of Hannah (Dillon) Wright. He, my grandfather, says he remembers hearing the Wright family talk of the Dillon estates in Ireland.

Sincerely, Mrs. Donald Thorn

P.S. Did you know there was a John Dillon Sr. who married Ann Yates. He was born 1690, in James St., Dublin, Ireland and died 1760 in Bucks Co., Penn. They had 7 sons and 2 daughters. The children moved to Loudoun Co., Va. from Wrightstown MM Bucks Co., Pa. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Luke has been reported as having been born abt 1689 and 1691. Both agree he was born in Kilkenny (Kilkearney) Ireland.

(Excerpt from the book "History of Dillon, Fletcher, and Kindred Families" by Henry Dillon 1909) Notes of James Rees on the Dillon Family "Luke Dillon, a red-headed weaver of Kilkenny, Ireland, won the heart and hand of Susanna Garret, daughter of a man of wealth and fame. Susanna's father disinherited her for marrying one whom he styled a "snotty-nosed weaver" but he may have had another objection as Luke had a failing as we shall hearafter see. They emigrated to Pennsylvania where Susanna learned to weave and they supported themselves by their calling. Luke was a drinking man and went to mill horseback five miles away, started home in the evening facing a snowstorm with a bottle of liquer in his pocket, got off the horse, sat down by a tree, and there froze to death and was not found for six weeks. This tradition came down through different families and is doubtless true." __________________________________________________________________________________________

Notes from the research of Barbara Inez (Dillon) Thorn, 1607 Orchard Hts. Rd. Salem, OR 97304:

From: David Dillon Shrader, 1985. "I am almost certain that Luke Dillon was the son of Viscount Henry Dillon, who was disposed by the treaty of Limerick 1688 and the fallen fortunes of the stuarts, went to France and fought with French-Irish Brigades - Dillon Regiments - and was still living as a so called Colonial proprietor in France in 1708. This would be the Dillons of drumrany line. Now this is some guess work but Luke Dillon was probably a 2nd or 3rd son so the rule of primogenture did not apply too much as regards any inheritance. Richard, his brother, was next in line for the titles that were still left after the Irish demise at this time. For espousing the Stuart cause, the Dillons were proscribed by Cromwell and had their lands confiscated. their leaders had to seek temporary refuge in France. Under Charles II they regained their titles and power. But loyalty to the Stuarts, while bringing them military renown, brought material disaster with the defeat of James II and the confiscations that followed the infamous Treaty of Limerick. __________________________________________________________________________________________

Subj: Re: Wm & Susannah Dillon Date: 7/26/2002 10:04:48 AM Pacific Daylight Time From: marjmorgan@earthlink.net (Marjorie Morgan) Reply-to: marjmorgan@earthlink.net To: WDillon896@aol.com

Wayne,

I have not forgotten your email and the 4 questions you asked. I will try to answer them as best I can.

If you mean the Peter Dillon who came to Am with Luke, I do not think his father came to Am. I have read some answers to that question - mostly speculation - that Lukes father was Thomas Dillon. I do have a large chart of Dillion English Ancestors, but much of it is not readable because of sloppy copy work. I would like to get a good copy. I have not heard that a Peter was Luke's father, but could be.

My records indicate that Daniel was born in Ireland.

Luke and Susannah probably were not Quakers. I have found no Quaker records that indicate that they were. They may have a ssociated with Quakers and or lived near Quakers.

The Hopewell MM, Frederick Co, VA, state on "9-18-1752 Daniel Dillon and Peter Dillon were granted certificate to Cane Creek MM, North Carolina" then Cane Creek Monthly Meeting shows that they did indeed go there: "1-6-1753 Daniel Dillon rcf (received on certificate from) Hopewell MM, Virginia, dated 9-18-1752" (this date would be the new calendar, the Gregorian Calendar). (The last day of the Old Style, or Julian Calendar was Wednesday, 2 Sep 1752. The next day, the first day of the New Style Calender of the Gregorian Calendar was Thursday, 14 September, 1752. (they lost 11 days). January became the first month of the year. Formerly March was the first month.

"1-6-1753 Peter Dillon rcf Hopewell MM, Virginia, dated 9-18-1752" This move matches so that makes us certain that they are talking about the same persons.

The 9-18-1752 date is really not the exact date they left Virginia for North Carolina. It is the date they requested a certificate to Cane Creek MM, NC. Neither can the date recorded at Cane Creek MM be the date they arrived - it is the date that the Monthly Meeting recorded their arrival in the community.

The early Hopewell MM records were lost in a fire, so we are missing the record of Daniel and Peter's arrivan at Hopewell MM, VA.

In all the Dillon records I have seen, I find no proof of Luke and Susannah coming to America. More research needs to be done on this. I too have been unable to locate the name of the ship on which they traveled

I will continue working on my Dillon document and at some point will be able to know the copy costs and will let you know.

Marjorie

WDillon896@aol.com wrote:

Marjorie,

I am interested in the Dillon package at this time. Could you give me an idea
on the cost first? I am interested in the entire thing, however, I just got
the word that tuition at the university is going up again (that's 40% this
year alone!!) so will have to postpone the 4000 page one.

Perhaps you can answer some questions?

1) What do you know about the thoughts of a Peter Dillon being the father to
Luke Dillon the immigrant?

2) Where was Daniel, son of Luke and Susannah, born? I have been told Ireland
and America

3) Were Luke and Susannah Quakers? Farthest back I have found so far is
Daniel and his brother Peter going gct Cane Creek MM, NC on 9-18-1752.

4) Has the story of Luke and Susannah coming to America been told for so long
that no one can give primary source citations anymore? I have yet to find
them on a ship's passenger registry.

Thanks for the help. I look forward to hearing from you soon,

Wayne

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Luke came to America and made a living as a weaver.

He married Susanna Garret.

Following quoted from Mary Elizabeth (Wilson) (Stewart) Robbins:

"We might consider Luke Dillon as a skeleton in our ancestral closet. He was born in Killarney, Ireland. He married Susannah Garret whose parents were well to do. Her father did not approve of the marriage and disinherited her. Because of this, Luke and Susanna came to America and landed at Nantucket, some say Virginia. They became comfortably settled in this new country and both were employed. Luke was an expert weaver and worked in a near-by mill. Like many other Irishmen he became addicted too freely, started home, became confused, lost his way and froze to death.

Susannah, woman of strong character and great courage, kept her little family together and gave them an education and all of the children married well and became useful citizens of their community.

Luke came to America and made a living as a weaver.

He married Susanna Garret.

Following quoted from Mary Elizabeth (Wilson) (Stewart) Robbins:

"We might consider Luke Dillon as a skeleton in our ancestral closet. He was born in Killarney, Ireland. He married Susannah Garret whose parents were well to do. Her father did not approve of the marriage and disinherited her. Because of this, Luke and Susannah came to America and landed at Nantucket, some say Virginia. They became comfortably settled in this new country and both were employed. Luke was an expert weaver (and) worked in a near-by mill. Like many other Irishmen, he became addicted too freely, started home, became confused, lost his way and froze to death. Susannah, a woman of strong character and great courage, kept her little family together, gave them an education, and all of the children married well and became useful citizens in the community."

"We might consider Luke Dillon as a skeleton in our ancestral closet. He was born in Killarney, Ireland. He married Susannah Garret whose parents were well to do. Her father did not approve of the marriage and disinherited her. Because of this, Luke and Susannah came to American and landed at Nantucket, some say Virginia. They became comfortably settled in this new country and both were employed. Luke was an expert weaver and worked in a near-by mill. LIke many other Irishmen, he became addicted too freely, started home, became confused, lost his way and froze to death.

Susannah, a woman of strong character and great courage, kept her little family together and gave them an education and all the children married well and became useful citizens in their community.