The origins of the Dillaby family are somewhat clouded. There are some records of the family which indicate the family was principally found in the state of Connecticut.
The earliest information we have of the Dillaby family is Philip Dillaby. We know little of him save for the fact that before 1794 he married the widow Abigail Stone Osborn, b. 21 Nov 1767 in Connecticut, daughter of John Stone. She died 15 March 1843 in Norwich, CT. Philip died in 1863.
Children of that marriage included: Eliza, John, Nathan, Charles and Philip.
Charles Dillaby was born 14 June 1799 in New London, CT. He married Harriet Derby or Darby, daughter of Rufus and Polly Jones Darby of Norwich.
Children of that marriage included Harriet Elizabeth, Mary Lucretia, Maria, Charles Henry, Helen Louise, Frances Esther and Henrietta Jane.
Charles Henry Dillaby was born 1 Nov 1833 in Norwich, CT. He married Julie Bennett Johnson of Victor, N.Y. on 15 Oct. 1867. He died 6 Oct 1889.
Their children included Julian Riley Dillaby, born 18 June 1873, d. 10 Nov. 1917; Charles Paine Dillaby, b 30 Apr 1878; and my grandfather, Frank Henry Dillaby, b. 20 June 1875.
Frank Henry Dillaby married Martha Day, however, the marriage dissolved.
Before the divorce of Frank Henry Dillaby and Martha Day Dillaby, my father, Edwin Frank Dillaby, was born 15 Aug. 1907, in Somerville, MA.
Edwin Frank Dillaby married Barbara Wilcox of Manchester, MA., on 19 April 1940 in Granby, VT, and had a church wedding on 22 June 1940 in Beverly, MA, performed by his uncle, the Rev. John B.W. Day.
Both were employed at Hytron Corp. in Salem, MA. He was a vacuum tube engineer, designing electron tubes, the forerunners of today's semiconductors. He also held patents on a transistor which he developed. He was also involved in the design and development of magnetrons, microwave tubes used in radar equipment during WWII.
An avid amateur (Ham) radio operator, he designed and built many of his early pieces of equipment using components developed at work. He held the amateur callsign W1DWY.
Photos of him demonstrating early mobile two-way radio can be found here.
The complete decendency of Philip Dillaby can be found here.
Web site questions or comments to Webmaster