John Dillinger Born

John Herbert Dillinger was born June 22, 1903 in the Oak Hill section of Indianapolis, Indiana, the younger of two children born to John Wilson Dillinger (July 2, 1864 -November 3, 1943) and Mary Ellen "Mollie" Lancaster (1860-1907), who had married August 23, 1887 in Marion County, Indiana. Dillinger's father was a grocer by trade and, reportedly, a harsh man. Dillinger's older sister, Audrey, was born March 6, 1889. Dillinger's mother died in 1907 just before his fourth birthday.

Audrey married in the same year as her mother's death to Emmett "Fred" Hancock and had the first of their seven children in 1908. Dillinger was cared for by his sister during his early life until his father remarried on May 23, 1912 in Morgan County to Elizabeth "Lizzie" Fields (1878-1933). Initially, Dillinger was jealous and disliked his stepmother, but reportedly eventually came to love her. Dillinger's father and stepmother had three children, Hubert Dillinger, born c. 1913, Doris M. Dillinger, (December 12, 1917–March 14, 2001) (married surname Hockman) and Frances Dillinger (born c. 1922).