- INTO THE WILDERNESS -

The story of our ancestors, to and ever Westward through the States, may be traced by a study of group movements and of certain individuals among them. Generally, it may be said that the 1st and 2nd generations came from Great Britain to New England; the 3rd generation came to or were born in Mass.(or Conn.), then removed, or came direct to New Jersey; where the 4th to 7th generations were born; the 8th were born in Washington Co., Pa.; the 9th in Mercer Co., Pa.; the lOth in Warren Co., Ill.; and the 11th, etc. still further West, many like myself in Kansas.

By years, our own ancestors spent from 30 to 100 yrs. in Mass., 50 to 100 yrs. in N.J., (lastly Mendham Township., Morris Co.), 10 to 25 yrs. in Washington Co., Pa., approximately 40 yrs. in Mercer Co., Pa., and 35 yrs. in Warren Co., Ill., before moving to Kansas in 1873, where we celebrated the 75th anniversary of the event in 1948 with a re�union of more than 75 O'Hara relatives present, on the farm 3 mi. S.E. of Partridge where my father homestead.

The origin of the Axtell family is definitely English, from Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire. The origin of the Condit family is English or Welsh (Norman). The origin of the Dilley family is presumed English, ours possibly Scotch-Irish (see separately). The origin of the O'Hara family is definitely Northern Ireland (County Sligo).

The migrations to the Western Hemisphere took place at different times and by various routes. Thomas Axtell came in 1643 when he bought 4 acres from his friend Edmund Rice at Sudbury, Mass. (where we attended an Axtell Family reunion in 1952 with descendants of Rice and Goodnow families - his oldest daughter Mary married a Goodnow). George Dill (e or y purposely or not left off?) came as Capt. of the ship "Goodfellow" to Salem, Mass. in 1639, where he received 1/2 acre as an Inhabitant, later removed to Boston, where to him and wife Abigail Hands, were born John 1645, Samuel 1647, Joseph 1649, and Benjamin 1652. Abigail, widow of George Dill, married Capt. John Hanniford in 1655, in whose will were mentioned Samuel, Joseph and Benjamin, sons of Abigail and George Dill - no mention of John. In 1659 we find mention in Court proceedings at Salem of one John Dilly of the age indicated, who may have been apprenticed out. Of our Allied families, the Tuttle family from Northampton came in 1635 in the ship "Planter" to Boston but settled in Conn. George and Susan Merriam of Kent came from London in the ship "Castle" in 1638. Daniel Dod and wife are first found at Bradford, Conn. in 1646, and Thomas Beach at New Haven in 1640. Other associated early families in New England were Moore, Newton, Hayden, Linkon, Pratt, Gobel, Drury, Cook, Burt, Edmister, Cooper, Reed, Blachly and Ward.

Some families or individuals returned to England, such as Thomas' brother Nathaniel Axtell, who started back from Conn. but died at Boston in 1640. Others tried life in So. Carolina, like the Pratts, Gobels, and Dillys, but returned to Mass. or N. J., many removed to N. J. from New England. - Typical is that of Daniel Axtell, who possibly accompanied Elder William Pratt from Mass. to So. Carolina, married his daughter, Thankful Pratt there, had their first children in S.C. but returned to Mass. where they raised a large family. After Daniel died in 1735 his widow and children removed to Mendham Township., Morris Co., N.J. The Dods had moved from New Haven to Newark in 1657. John Dilly and wife Sarah came to Woodbridge, N.J. in 1668. In 1678 John Condit and son Peter came from England to Newark. Families from Newark,Elizabeth, Woodbridge, etc. on the coast moved inland westward, most of these families inter married and with others in Mendham Township., Day, Lincoln, Baldwin, Price, Thompson, Tunis, Andrews, Lumm, Lindley, Ross, Cozad, Byram, Riggs, Leonard, Pitney, Lyons, Wade, Pierson, and Dille. Concerning the last named, there is the story that brothers David and Ichabod Dilly went from England to Jamaica, thence they or sons of the same names went to So. Carolina, and thence to Amboy, N.J. apparently about 1740-5, a feud or something caused them to at least spelled their family name differently. Thus we find David Dille, born about 1719, and large family at Mendham 1754-1771 as members of the Presbyterian Church, and find that Ichabod born about 1725, and Abigail Dilley buried sons John (4 months.) in 1749 and Thomas (1 year) in 1751 in Newark's "oldest burying ground".