Welcome to the "Dillon ~ McGruder Family Home Page".

Our African-American genealogical research focuses on the Dillon & McGruder families of South Mississippi.  Geographically, the research centers mainly on the Mississippi counties of Amite, Clarke, Jasper, Jones, Smith and Pike and the countries of India and Trinidad & Tobago.

In addition to DILLON, some of the other surnames of interest to us are: ANDERSON, BICKAN, BICKHAM, BUCKLEY, CASTON, CHAMBLISS, CONERLY, COOPER, DYESS, ELLIS, FELDER, GATLIN, HALL, HODGES, JACKSON, JAMES, JONES, LAMPTON, LOCKETT, MADISON, McKAY, McGRUDER, MILLSAP, MINGO, PRICE, QUINN, ROAR, SANFORD, SEALS, SIMPSON, SMITH, SUMMERS, VARNADO, VAUGHN and WILLIAMS.

DILLON: The Dillon branch of the family is traced back to southern Mississippi to Thomas A. Dillon and Caroline Bickhan.  Thomas was born into slavery in June 1825 on a plantation in northern Louisiana; Likewise, Caroline Bickhan was born in servitude in April 1823 somewhere in Kentucky.  Through the complexities of the slave trade, the two of them married in 1848, settling in Pike County, Mississippi in the Beartown community.  This union produced twelve children, four daughters and eight sons.  The Dillon portions of this site are geared toward an examination of these twelve ancestors and their progeny. 

 McGRUDER: The McGruder branch of the family is traced back to the almost-mythical matriarch known as 'Grandma Lucy'.  Grandma Lucy is rumoured to be of Indian descent, but very little is currently known of her date or location of birth.  Doing what she had to do as a strong mixed-race woman in pre-Civil War Mississippi, Grandma Lucy is known to have had relationships with five men.  Of these, we have found concrete information on the "Hall" and the "McGruder" men.  The McGruder portion of this site are geared toward the offspring of "Grandpa Hall" and "Grandpa McGruder" and the search for information on the "McDonald", "Dyess (Dice)?" and "Johnson" men. 

I'm anxious to hear of any friends or family members who can add pieces to these incomplete puzzles of family history!

I survived "My Middle East Vacation (Part Deux)". If (when) I have to go again, I'll take my chances with Afghanistan or Iraq, rather than the Army bureaucracy (and safety) of Kuwait!

LATEST SITE UPDATES: 21 February: Added Phoenix Cemetery to the Cemetery Page

                                                 22 February: Updated broken Cemetery Page links.

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