Project Administrators and their areas of focus:

Steve Dimond; 
Genetics
M3 lineage: New York and Pennsylvania Dymond/Dimond
The Diamond Loyalist's of Ontario  

Jack Diamond;
M3 lineage:

Marilyn Pilkington;
M253 Lineage: Newfoundland Diamond/Dimond and New York Dymond/Dimond

The purpose of this site is to research and share Lineage histories. 

The study uses Y chromosome DNA to better understand linkage of our early ancestors in an era where there are few if any records. It is also a conduit to connect cousins that family history may be shared. Participation from all branches is needed and welcome. Even if you find that your line already has participated in the study it could be that your participation will greatly aid our understanding.

Contact the study managers to discuss whether your participation makes sense.

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.

The Dymen of Hudson's River Y DNA Project Summary

Site rewritten and restructured autumn 2010.
(Please report any error of fact on these pages and broken or missing links)

The introduction of yDNA technology as a tool in 2002 led to the yDNA study of the D*mon(d) surname in colonial America. The goal was to learn whether any of these early family groups were/are linked. This goal was reached in the spring of 2007.

In July of 2007 the Dymond Lineage of Hudson's River was split from the greater Diamond yDNA surname study to focus attention on the one lineage of primary interest.

Link to the broader Diamond and Diamond variants Surname Project at FTDNA

At the outset the paternal outline of the Dymen of Hudson's River was based primarily on three publications. They included:

Genealogy of the Dymond, Williams and Related Families 1981 by Robert H. Dymond covering the Luzerne County, PA branch [A much expanded version now exists].
 
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER by Herbert James Malone, presented to United Empire Loyalist Archives, Adolphustown, 1992 covered the Fredericktown, Ontario branch.

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 works with Doherty's research related to the Settlers of Beekman Patent in Dutchess County, NY.

Beekman Patent Outline
There are now hundreds of Dymond genealogies in personal ancestry program files on the World Wide Web based on these three publications. It has been nearly thirty years since the first was published. A great deal has changed. Errors have been found in each of these genealogies. This is to be expected. As Robert H. Dymond said in his book,  "A genealogy is never completed, for there are always new events occurring, new discoveries made, and ever-present errors to be corrected. Many defects spring from the very nature of what is attempted and no one can avoid them.........".  
Numerous corrections and additions have been made to the genealogies. The information presented by this project is updated as required to remain current and as accurate as possible.

The lineage as theorized in the Settlers of Beekman Patent begins with Edward Dimond of Beekman Patent and his sons, Johannes¹⁷²³, Marcus¹⁷²⁶, and Jacob¹⁷⁴⁴ and links Pennsylvania and Ontario branches of Matthew Dymond^1740-1839 , Jacob Diamond ^1756-1813 , John Diamond ^1762-1848 to Edward thru these sons.

1- Edward Dimond
           2- Johannes ¹⁷²³
                   3- Matthew Dymond^1740-1839 married to Anne Mosher
                   3- Jacob Diamond ^1756-1813 married to Margaret Loyst
                   3- John Diamond ^1759-1845 married to Christina Loyst
           2- Marcus ¹⁷²⁶
           2- Jacob ¹⁷⁴⁴
                   3- John² Diamond¹⁷⁶⁰ married to Katreen Gordanier 

The study has cast doubt on the accuracy of this outline. Because of this we have chosen to base our paternal trees on yDNA and Loyalist records.

Discussion
When Hendrick Hudson navigated the river which now bears his name in 1609 the land on both sides of the river was inhabited by eastern woodland Algonquian. To the west of Albany in the Hudson- Mohawk Valley were Mohawk of the Iroquois Nation.

The map below was drawn in 1776. The area shown on the map below roughly outlines territory where D*mond's are found in the early 1700s. The territory along the eastern border labeled Beekman Patent is where the Edward Dimond family is first recorded. The area was included in New Nederlandt under Dutch rule until 1674 when the British took control and it became New York Province.

The Hudson River was the water route between New Amsterdam and Fort Orange (Albany). During Netherlands' occupation there were few inhabitants between these two points other than Native Amerindians. 

The earliest records, in the first half of the 1700s, of D*mond men and their families are found from Marbletown in the northwest corner of the map to Beekman Patent to the east in the middle third and south to Phillips Patent. The record begin with Edward Dymen (Dimond) at Poughquag, Beekman Patent in 1720.

In the early 1760s after the French and Indian War some D*mond men and their families are found migrating north following the river north to Kinderhook. By the early 1770s they are in Albany County and Saratoga.

Dutchess County during these years that led up to the Revolutionary War experienced unrest due in large part to the Three Life Lease manorial system of leased land. This was the first of the Rent Wars. From  southern Dutchess County at Phillipstown to Saratoga north of Albany the Dymen's were caught up in the politics of the day. The Dymen's of Hudson's River were divided. Some were 'Rebels' others were Tory/Loyalists who found their leased land confiscated at the end of the War.

We know that the Beekman Patent D*mond family headed by Edward migrated north to Kinderhook in the 1760s. Edward's son Marcus left a clear and copious trail of documents. Marcus¹⁷²⁶ first settled at Kinderhook in the early 1760s. By 1790 Marcus was settled at Stephentown, NY.  The Dymond/Dimond name in Stephentown was recorded in the Stephentown area well into the 1900s.

Prior to 2007 it was assumed that all D*mond along the Hudson River were members of the Edward Dimond family of Beekman Patent.

Two Distinct Lineages- Q-M3 and I-M253

Between 2007 and 2009 several Y DNA participants thought to descend from Marcus Dymond¹⁷⁹⁰ of Stephentown, NY were yDNA tested. While matching each other they were not a match to the previously defined Q-M3 rooted D*mond lineage that was thought to be linked to Edward Dimond.

These men were found to share the same yDNA haplotype and are members of yDNA haplogroup I-M253. In other words a second D*mond Y DNA signature discovered and defined. These results mean the idea that the Edward Dimond lineage as outlined previously must be rethought or at the least the differences in yDNA must be explained.

In 2010/2011 it was found that a seperate branch of the I-M253 lineage was in Newfoundland in the 1700s.


Project Labels-   Q-M3 and I-M253

With the discovery of the second lineage a need to differentiate the lines became necessary.  The solution was to label them using their from respective deep ancestral root origins Q-M3 and I-M253. M3 and M253 are the SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) of the haplogroup population each lineage is rooted to. From here forward each group will be identified by either M3 or M253. M3 in rooted in pre-contact Amerindians and M253 rooted in northern Europe and only present in the Americas post contact.

At this time and until research proves otherwise the Genealogies of Edward Dimond of Beekman Patent and that of the yDNA Q-M3 lineage are now separated.

It is to soon to draw conclusions given what we now know. If the biological paternal lineage of I-M253 is indeed that of Marcus Dymond¹⁷²⁶ the second son of Edward Dimond idea of inserting the Q-M3 men into Edward's family is incorrect.

The lineages do appear to be living side by side in time and geography. Y DNA alone cannot tell us whether the two lineages were somehow linked either directly via inclusion of the M3 lineage into the M253 family via an adoption or by some unknown association or for that matter whether there was a connection at all.
 
There is the question of the source from which the Amerindian D*mond lineage acquired their adopted surname. It would seem that the M253 Dimond/Diamond lineage is the most parsimonious answer.