Patrick Dillon is the earliest recorded person in our branch of Dillon family found to date. He was born in about 1820. The first record of him is his name on the marriage certificate of his son John Dillon in October 1871, where he was described as a broker by trade. It is believed that he came from Ireland, but it has not been possible to confirm this, as no other records of him have been found.
From later data, it seems that Patrick left Ireland during the Potato Famine. This was a period of starvation, disease and mass emigration between 1845 and 1852, when the population was reduced by ca 25 percent - about one million people died and a million more emigrated. The famine was caused by potato blight, which reduces the size of the crop. At this time, many Irish were dependent on the potato for food, which implies that our branch of the Dillon family were common people.
In April 1871, Patrick's son, John Dillon - our ancestor - gave his place of birth as Edinburgh. So it appears that Patrick emigrated to Scotland with his family. The birth took place in ca 1847, though no certificate has been found. Probably, they were travelling people with no experience of registering a birth.
For certain, Patrick Dillon was not born in Scotland. No person of that name was baptised in Scotland between 1800 and 1850. Also, in 1861, there was only one person living in England or Wales named Patrick Dillon, and he was not related.
It is known that the family had strong Protestant beliefs, to the point of being anti-Catholic, even though they were not necessarily devout churchgoers themselves. So it is possible that they came from Northern Ireland. Later members of the family in England maintained contact with the family in Ireland, and frequently went on holiday to visit them until the early 1930s. Therefore, it is possible that Patrick and his wife resettled there.
More research is needed to clarify Patrick Dillon's background.