The Dymen of Hudson's River Y DNA Project Summary

The use of Y chromosome DNA (yDNA) technology for surname studies began in 2001/2002. By capturing yDNA from a simple inner cheek swab it became possible to identify membership in  specific defined paternal lineages.

This is not the same as the commonly thought of use of DNA which identifies an individual among a general population.It can determine whether a male is descended from a common father at some point back in time. It will either include or exclude a male from membership in a specific defined paternal lineage.

This is because yDNA is passed father to son, father to son down through time virtually unchanged. Females do no have yDNA.  yDNA follows the same path as the surname making it ideal for surname projects and biological paternal lineage studies. 

The ability to define lineage signatures using yDNA  led to the yDNA study of the D*mon(d) surname in Colonial America. Many nineteenth and twentieth century genealogists and family historians guessed at connections based merely on the common surname and geographic location. yDNA has disproved many of these early published trees and verified others.

After seven years in the spring of 2007  the yDNA signature of the seven primary D*mon(d) surnamed American Colonial family groups had been defined by their yDNA signature. At the same time their ancestral roots were defined.

In July of 2007 the Dymond Lineage of Hudson's River (DHR) Study Project  was spun off from the greater D*mon(d) yDNA surname study. This was to focus attention on the Edward Dimond family of Beekman Patent, Dutchess County, New York Province c. 1720.

The DHR study verifies descent from Edward Dimond and the resulting haplotype data is collected, charted, and used in the construction of an early family tree that conforms to biologic possibility. This is important because records in the pre 1800 years are few. Additionally those familiar with the family will know that many given names were used numerous times. For example the names Jacob and John were given to many. Knowing which Jacob or John a particular record is referring to has been a problem from the beginning. yDNA has solved this problem.

The DHR study is actively using traditional methods of research and is collecting documents and photos. The study is a means to connect cousins that family history may be shared.

Participation from all branches is welcome and encouraged. Though many branch lines have now participated your participation or that of your male D*mon(d) relation could greatly aid the process of refining and verifying early tree construction.

Edward D*mon(d) and his descendants have been researched by many over the years and three publications exist. All three are inaccurate to varying degrees.

Genealogy of the Dymond, Williams and Related Families 1981 by Robert H. Dymond
This covers the Descendants of Matthew Dymond of Poughkeepsie and Woodstock NY and his children many of whom migrated to Luzerne/Wyoming County, Pennsylvania between 1800 and 1807.
There are many errors and omissions in this book. The first dozen pages or so are especially inaccurate. Where the book does well is the authors personal descent from John Dymond 1768 forward along that branch line. A corrected and expanded version of the Matthew Dymond branch of the greater Dimond family now exists.
 
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER by Herbert James Malone, presented to United Empire Loyalist Archives, Adolphustown, 1992 covered the Fredericktown, Ontario branch.
Malone's work covers the branches of the family left New York Province in 1783 as members of the Loyalist exodus to Canada. The greatest problem with this branch tree is in the earliest generations. A corrected and updated expansion of this branch line tree has been completed and is available.

The Settlers of the Beekman Patent, Dutchess County, Historical and Genealogical Study of All the 18th Century Settlers in the Patent Vol. 4 by Frank Doherty
This is an amalgamation of the earlier two previously mentioned works with the addition of Frank Doherty's research related to his published series The Settlers of Beekman Patent in Dutchess County, NY. Here too, in regard to the Dimond lineage, there are many errors. The reason being that the Dimond tree outline was based on the two earlier works picking up the errors within them. The real asset of Doherty's work is in his document research. The problem is in attribution of facts and the resulting tree.

There are now hundreds of Dymond-Diamond-Dimond genealogies of this lineage in personal ancestry program files and on the World Wide Web based on these publications. It has  now been  thirty years since the first was published. Errors have been found and corrected. New branch linkages have been discovered and erroneous linkages corrected. 

In 2010/2011, in the course of yDNA testing branch offshoots within the lineage, a distinctly different Diamond/Dimond lineage had been mistakenly included as descendants of Edward of Beekman Patent.This lineage lived in the Greenbush-Albany-Sandlake-Stephentown, New York vicinity that Edward's descendants were living in the late 1700s. Previous researchers not having the benefit of yDNA technology assumed these people were members of the Edward Dimond lineage. Erroneous linkages were to Edward's son Marcus 1726 and to Matthew 1740s son William.

yDNA has identified this NY lineage as being a branch of the Diamond/Dimond lineage of Newfoundland. The Newfoundland branch is rooted in Europe and their history is of being a mariner-fishing family working the coastal waters from Newfoundland southward.

The project is exploring whether they are linked to the mariner-fishing family of Marblehead, Massachusetts and/or that of the mariner-fishing-boat building-rope making Diamond family of Kittery, and if they are the source of the adopted D*mond surname of the Amerindian Edward Dymen lineage.

The Dymen of Hudson's River Study Project now includes both lineages. They are labeled by their deep ancestral yDNA root. yDNA Haplogroup Q-M3 and haplogroup I-Z140.

**A WORD of CAUTION**
There are a number of genetic genealogy testing companies. They of equal quality. There is also an array of testing options and their practical use and value in genetic genealogy is not the same. We have the knowledge and experience to keep you from making mistakes, wasting time and money. Contact us so that we can help steer you in the correct direction.

Testing Fund Grants
There are limited funds available for the testing of specific branch lines. These are lines that have yet to have been tested and their testing would be significant to the study going forward.

You Can Help
We would like to hear from you if you have branch family information you would like to share, or correct/add to lineage histories, or to discuss the project.

Scans or photo copies of early D*mond ancestor images (pre 1900) and other images such as homesteads, gravestones, documents, records, etc. are appreciated and add to everyone's experience.

CONTACT STUDY
Project Administrators and their areas of focus:

Steve Dimond;  
Genetics
New York and Pennsylvania Dymond/Dimond M3 lineage 
CONTACT: DymondLineageProject@gmail.com

Jack Diamond;
Diamond Loyalist: Ontario and New York M3 lineage
CONTACT: Diamond.UEL@Gmail.com 

Marilyn Pilkington;
Newfoundland Diamond/Dimond and New York Dymond/Dimond M253 Lineage
CONTACT: DymondLineageProject@gmail.com
 

Dymond of Hudson's River yDNA Project
Dymond of Hudson's River yDNA Project at FTDNA
Specific to these pages

Diamond, Dymond, Dimond and Surname Variants Project Worldwide
Diamond and Diamond variants Surname Project at FTDNA

SMGF Animations that explain molecular genealogy

Y Chromosome Browser

Ensembl

International Society of Genetic Genealogy