Lineage I-A11341

England

European Haplogroup: I-Z140 > A196/Y5497 > Y6910 > Y6908 > Y6900 > F4138 > A11359 to A11341 [DIAMOND HALL] formed 3100 BP, TMRCA 225 Years Before Present

Prior to Y-DNA testing, the New York (Greenbush/Sand Lake/Stephentown) branch of this lineage was thought to descend from Marcus [Deymon] Dymond 1726 of Beekman Patent, as outlined in the Settlers of Beekman Patent by Frank Doherty.  (Marcus married Marytje Sim(p)son; he died around 1813 at Stephentown.) This has been disproved. There is no biologic connection. What is known for certain is that the I-Z140 lineage had a very large presence in Rensselaer County (Greenbush, Sand Lake, and later Stephentown) from at least the 1780s. It is found in Newfoundland by 1773. It is also found in Devon, England, around 1725.

The Stephentown branch has a strong family lore of Native American heritage.  Currently the thinking is that the native connection was along a maternal line, possibly emanating from Angeline Sweet, the wife of John Ives Diamond (son of John 1808 and Avis Diamond of Stephentown), who is reputed to have been the natural daughter of Berlin Comer, the son or grandson of a Comee who fought at the Battle of Ticonderoga. 

Whether the lineages in New York and Newfoundland represent extensions of the Kittery or Marblehead Diamond mariner families that are found along the New England coast in the 1600s is unknown at this time. It is also possible they are connected to the Peter Dimond mariner family inside Boston in the 1700s.

October 2016:

Two group members have taken the Big Y test. Detailed analysis by YFull confirm that they represent two closely related lineages, sharing a common ancestor approximately 225 years before present. It is believed that a non-parental event (NPE)--undisclosed adoption, name change, illegitmate birth--has taken place, and research continues to see if we can establish where and with whom it occurred. 

August 2016

A descendant of the Kittery Diamond mariner family has tested. He is not related to the Diamond/Hall families in this group.