Introduction During June we have continued with our preparations for Worcester now just a month away – there are more details about this below. Maureen Collins and I have met with Gerry Dalton and her husband Tom Wood from Australia. Gerry is a member of Maureen’s DGS Australian sub-committee and she and Tom are now travelling in Europe prior to attending our Gathering. Gerry is very knowledgeable about Australian Daltons and has been busy extracting substantial amounts of information about Daltons in Australia which will go into the Dalton Data Bank. I have a meeting arranged with Chris Pomery to review the Dalton International DNA Project. The project continues to gather momentum and Chris will be giving the Society a full report at Worcester. Further work has been undertaken on the development of this website and this is reported on below. The 2007 Gathering and AGM in Worcester – 27/28/29 July As our 2007 Gathering draws ever nearer, final details and joining instructions are being sent out to all delegates. These will be sent by email where we have an email address, otherwise by post. The information is also being carried on this website – just click on 2007 Gathering & AGM on the home page. Here you will also find the programme for the weekend, the agenda for the AGM, and all the Worcester related articles published since January 2007 in “Daltons in History”. The joining instructions include some questions to which we need responses by 15 July at the latest. These are as follows:
It is important to respond to Howard Dalton (preferably by email to h.dalton1@ntlworld.com) as soon as possible (and no later than 15 July) with answers to these questions so that we can plan appropriate catering arrangements and indicate to Tony Spicer how many to expect for the battlefield tour. Please do this when you read the details, and while you still remember! At Worcester, the Dalton Genealogical Society Annual General Meeting will take place on Saturday 28 July at 9.30 am. The agenda for this meeting was published in the May 2007 issue of “Daltons in History”, and it can now be found on the 2007 Gathering & AGM page of the website. We have just one and a quarter hours available to conclude the business of the meeting and this will be much facilitated if we have advance notice of any matters you wish to raise. Please notify Pam Lynam, the DGS General Secretary by emailing her on pam-lynam@lineone.net. If you are not attending the AGM, but have a matter to raise, your points will still be welcome and, of course, Pam will also be pleased to receive apologies for absence for recording in the minutes. One item of “Any other business” at the end of the AGM will be a brief introduction to the displays of Dalton family history material at the Gathering. It is hoped that delegates will bring items of interest. We have the use of the John Fownes Suite throughout the weekend and the displays can therefore remain in place throughout. For our last Worcester preview article, in “Daltons in History” this month you will find a note about John Dalton, Prebendary of Worcester Cathedral who died in 1763. His tombstone is to be found in the crypt of Worcester Cathedral and we will visit it during our walking tour on the Saturday afternoon. The DGS website Work has continued on the development of our new website and during June more sections have been transferred to www.daltongensoc.com. These include the “Daltons in History” Archive, the DGS Gathering & AGM and the DGS Officers & Committee sections. The remaining items continue to be hosted through the old website with automatic linking from the new to the old. If you find that a link is not working or you have any questions or comments on the new website, please contact the webmaster for the site at webmaster@daltongensoc.com. Back issues of the DGS Journal On this website you can access the DGS Journal Index from the homepage. Here you will find a synopsis of the contents of the Journal of the Dalton Genealogical Society commencing with Volume 1 published back in 1970 through to Volume 41 published in December 2004. Copies of all back numbers are available for purchase and these can be obtained from DGS member, Mrs Pat Robinson (address: Mallards, 3 High Street, The Green, Barrington, Cambridge CB2 5QX, UK email: gandprobinson@waitrose.com). Details of prices, including postage and packing, will be found with the index. Pat is attending the Worcester Gathering and she will be bringing sets of back numbers to Worcester for delegates to purchase at special gathering rates. Conclusion This month’s issue of “Daltons in History”, your regular monthly update on everything that is happening in the world of Dalton family history, as always contains much of interest. Its success depends on you the reader, so please send your contributions and input to the editor, Dairne Irwin, thus ensuring that it continues as a lively forum for all our readers. The August 2007 issue of “Daltons in History” has to be completed before the Worcester Gathering and therefore the deadline for sending material to Dairne is Saturday 21 July. In the September 2007 issue of “Daltons in History”, which will be published on 1 September, we will carry a full report on the Worcester Gathering. Thank you for your attention and best wishes to you all. Yours very sincerely
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Ciaran Dalton DGS Irish Secretary and Chieftain of Clan Dalton, Ciaran Dalton and DGS Chairman, Michael Dalton, both attended The Clans of Ireland AGM. Here Ciaran Dalton gives an account of the proceedings and highlights the benefits to both Clan Dalton and the DGS. The attendance by representatives of Clan Dalton and the Dalton Genealogical Society at the Annual General Meeting of The Clans of Ireland Limited held at Dublin City Library (known as “The Gilbert”) on 28 April 2007, was a positive step in the emergence of our new Clan organisation and in the history and continuity of the DGS. Both Michael Dalton and I made the acquaintance of a number of officers of The Clans of Ireland. These contacts, we hope, will prove fruitful and mutually advantageous to both our clan and our society.
As well as the general proceedings of the meeting, specific talks were arranged on a number of subjects. We both learned from these brief lectures, firstly from an excellent, well constructed and illustrated overview of the history of Ireland from earliest times, and then from a short presentation on Heraldry in Ireland. Patrick Larkin, who is a member of the Board of Directors of The Clans of Ireland Limited, gave the first talk. Entitled “The Heritage of Ireland” it covered how the island that is now Ireland emerged from the Ice Age, before which it had been part of mainland Europe along with Great Britain. Patrick traced the history of Ireland from then right through to the present day and put all the major historical events into perspective. The framework which he has created provides a most useful timeline onto which individual family histories can be hung. The talk on Heraldry in Ireland was given by our Chief Herald, Fergus Gillespie. This subject has particular relevance for the Irish Daltons of Anglo-Norman ancestry. Fergus discussed the history and modern-day workings of the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland. In brief, we learned that coats of arms were and are granted to individuals and not to families or clans as such. However descendants of those granted coat of arms are entitled to bear them. They may also be granted to corporate bodies, for example county councils and universities. Originally they were used as forms of identity on the field of battle. In large scale close combat without this identification, it would have been difficult to spot friend or foe, especially when covered in armour. It had therefore a practical use. Heraldry in Ireland consists of three strands then, Norman, Gaelic and Anglo-Irish. The custom may have been in use in Ireland from the 12th century, brought over by the Normans. The earliest records of the use of coats of arms in Gaelic Ireland were taken from seals attached to important ancient documents. We were shown a number of examples of these in the richly illustrated talk by the Chief Herald. While there was no talk of Daltons (unfortunately a minor sept), mention was made of their use by the powerful O’Neills of Ulster. It was a joy to see these seals, rare as they are. The acceptance of coats of arms by the Gaelic clans may be a recognition and acceptance by them of English authority. However in Gaelic society heraldry was not considered to be of great importance, as it was in England. Any of our readers and members who wish to learn more on the subject of Heraldry in Ireland may refer to the website of the Office of the Chief Herald, to which there is a link from the homepage of The National Library of Ireland website at www.nli.ie. The two talks only whetted our appetite for more of the same. In conclusion, both lectures were thoroughly enjoyed, learning as we did a little more of the history of our two countries. We would like to take this opportunity on behalf of Clan Dalton and The Dalton Genealogical Society to thank Clans of Ireland and their officers for arranging the lectures, Patrick Larkin and Fergus Gillespie for their entertaining and informative talks and Dublin City Library for their excellent venue. Michael and I both enjoyed meeting Clans of Ireland Officers and representatives of the many other clans present, many of whom had mounted displays. We were given copies of the Clans of Ireland Newsletter and of a CD-ROM containing a wealth of information about setting up and organising Irish Clans. All of this will be invaluable as Clan Dalton establishes its organisation and we move towards the major Gathering that will be taking place in Birr, Co Offaly from Friday 1st to Monday 4th August 2008. Further details of this event will be announced at the DGS Gathering in Worcester, on this website and in the DGS Journal. |
From Millicent Craig In the June 2007 issue of “Daltons in History” there appeared an article, "The Early Daltons of Carroll County, VA". The data had been compiled by Nancy Samuelson, author of the "Outlaw Gang". It was read by Kenneth Haas, Goad family contributor to the compilation and long time researcher and compiler of Goad/Dalton history. Ken has updated a few of his statements that are based on later research to be found in his revised edition of "The Goads, a Frontier Family" dated 1995. The complete compilation of Carroll County Daltons can be browsed in the Dalton Data Bank, Virginia, Carroll County. http://daltondata.0pi.com. Ken Haas has provided the following observations on one of the children of William Dalton, James Dalton b. about 1770 and d. 1850's. There appear to be differences of opinion as to whether James was the son of William and yet there appears to be no conclusive evidence for a definitive answer. If further research provides an answer it will be printed in a future issue of “Daltons in History”. JAMES (“SPIKE”) DALTON , BEDFORD (GRAYSON
?) COUNTY, VIRGINIA James (Spike) Dalton born ca 1778 ??, first tithe with his name, 1799, married “Sally” Turpin, Bedford County, Virginia 1802, was in Pittsylvania 1818, and disappears in 1820. (to Grayson ?). Sons: Larkin born 1804, on Grayson tax list ca 1830, census
1850 Lee County, Va., 1860 Scott County, Va. Note: The Samuelson document notes that from the cemetery listings, it would appear that James Dalton of Carroll County, VA had 7 children and they include Malinda, Lewis, Lemuel, Andrew. Sons of James Dalton of Bedford (Grayson?) County are listed above and are Larkin, Matthew and Greenville. Could this be the same family or different families? Millicent Craig. |
From Millicent Craig The following account of Exploits Bay and the life of her boat builder Dalton ancestors is the contribution of DGS member, Carol Jefferies of Stitsville, Ontario, Canada. For those with ancestry in Newfoundland, the locales may be familiar to you. For those seeking more information on Daltons in this area, the file for Canada in the Dalton Data Bank contains a huge compilation of Newfoundland Dalton data including place names mentioned in the Diary of the Minister. Dalton Boat Builders It is the spring of 1833, before the ice has melted from the salt waters on Notre Dame Bay and probably the best and easiest time to travel this harsh remote place. If you look at the map of Newfoundland, on the east coast of Canada, you will notice it is loosely in the shape of an L. In the inside bend of that elbow is Notre Dame Bay which leads into The Exploit's River. In the time period there was much lumbering going on. The trees were tall and straight and our branch of the Dalton family made good use of these timbers by building them into tall masted fishing and seal hunting boats known as schooners.
The schooners were made to withstand the rigors of the North Atlantic and below are a few of the boats that were built by my ancestors. Judging by the re-use of a schooner name, one can deduce that not all schooners returned to the harbor. Builder, name of schooner and date of construction: Charles Dalton: Isabella 1844; Perseverance 1832; Revenge 1838; Trial 1848 Eugene Dalton: Sir John Glover, 1879 G. Dalton: Sally, 1826 Garret/Garrett Dalton: Fanny,1831; Brazilian Patriot, 1836; Fanny, 1882 John Dalton: Annie D. 1882; Clara Jane, 1880; Kate, 1871; Lady Glover, 1877; Ripple, 1878; William Paterson, 1879 Mathew/Matthew Dalton: Native Lass, 1848; Native Lass1863; United Brothers, 1841; Hephzibah, 1884 Philip Dalton: Thomas Albert, 1880 Thomas Dalton: Marie Malvina, 1885 From the Diary of a Travelling Minister An itinerant minister decided that he would take a trip from Twillingate which is at the mouth of the Notre Dame Bay around to the various small villages. He kept a diary of his trip which was published in several parts in the Twillingate Sun in 1883. It tells of life in the area and some of its occupants including those of Matthew Dalton senior (my husband's great great grandfather) and his sons and some of our extended family. The minister, only identified as J. P., submitted 10 diary excerpts to The Sun. Parts 1 -5 are printed in this issue of Daltons in History and parts 6 through 12 will be published in the August 2007 issue of this newsletter. A Tour up Exploit's Bay and River: Part 1 "Mr. Editor: Will you please permit me a small space in the columns of The Sun, for an exhibit of incidents, scenes, and labors – temporal and spiritual – that have come under my notice during a visit of between three and four weeks, made in Exploit’s Bay and River, in the months of February and March. On the evening of the 27th. of February, Mr. MANUEL, (Merchant), sent one of his men over to the Mission House, to inform me that he intended, on the next morning after breakfast, to start with his horse and sleigh, for a jaunt up Exploit’s Bay and River, and that if I had a mind to start also, he would “give me a lift”. The proposition being at once accepted with compliments and thanks, accordingly, the next morning, after breakfast, Edward CLANCE, our attendant that day, came over to say that the horse and sleigh were ready and waiting; whereupon, after the usual salutations and adieus to the youngsters, etc., and with coats, valise, carpet bag, mogassins, buskins, rackets, and seal skin boots in hand, we proceeded across the harbor in the direction of the arrested sleigh. On reaching it, we were accosted with audible sounds of impatience by the Merchant and his steed. On quietly remarking to him that I did not know before such an irritable feature inherited his nature, CLANCE and I jumped into the sleigh, and off we started at full speed, in perfect harmony. Part 2 The morning was very fine, the sky clear and almost cloudless, although the atmosphere was impregnated with intense frost, and a keen breeze was blowing from the West by North. The ice on the Bay was slippery, and for the most part in good condition, except about Shimmy Island, in Duck Island Tickle, where it was said to be thin and insecure; Mr. WINSOR’s horse having put his foot through it the day before. After getting out of the Tickle, we were confronted with a vast extent of bay made ice, which, while bounded on the West by the mainland, was apparently boundless on the South and East, and intersected by a number of islands. The long distance that now lay before us, and which was only shortened by the hourly movement of the horse’s feet, presented the appearance of a vast dreary waste, with no sign whatever of any human life, and only momentarily relieved by the casual footprints of an errant fox or rabbit, whose native instinct led it back to some well known retreat in the neighboring woods. After a run on the bay of about half an hour, we were somewhat abruptly stopped by a rent in the ice, of from two or three feet wide, covered only by a thin layer, which had been recently formed, and which was easily perforated at a poke with my staff. The rent terminated on the West at Muddy Hole Point, but toward the East, for aught we knew, it extended ad infinitum. A casual remark having been thrown from the lips of our skipper, and supported by CLANCE, to the effect that, “come when you may in the winter season, there was always a rent in the ice here”, we all got out of the sleigh, and after attempting in vain, in several places, to leap the briny ditch, as a dernier resort, we were compelled to drive for the shore, where we rounded of our difficulty, and proceeded on our way. Part 3 About a mile from Great Grego, which is more gigantic in his lofty proportions than the rest of his rocky neighbors, and which is distant from the Harbor about nine nautical miles, we met a horse and coach, containing two well known friends whom we were glad to see, viz: our skipper’s brother and his brother’s brother-in-law. After a few words of salutation, etc., and an expression of regret on their part that we had not been a little farther advanced on our journey; (for they had not long since emerged from a neighboring recess in which they had made a fire, boiled the kettle, and satisfied the cravings of a good appetite), we parted as we had met, in good friendship, each pursuing an opposite direction. Proceeding through Grego and winter Tickles, we purposed to call at Gober’s Harbor, but eventually shunned it owing to the length of its indraft, and a want of more time; consequently, we did not stop – excepting once, under a lee shore, to warm ourselves by means of a little brachial exercise in the sun – until we reached Point Of The Bay. After giving the horse some oats and water, our skipper, by an intuitive instinct, peculiar to his own sensitive nature, left the landwash, proceeded about one hundred yards up a side path, and without inquiry – for there was no human being to be seen – bent his back, and entered the tilt of Henry STRIDE, - the very tilt we had purposed to enter! CLANCE, who had stumbled about a good deal, stretched his neck and peered through the trees and bushes in the hope of finding one of those snow capped dog mounds, could not refrain from expressing his satisfaction at the extraordinary success of his master. Part 4 Here we were cordially welcomed by the inmates – were provided with seats drawn near the stove, under whose grateful influence, while dinner was being prepared, we thawed our whiskers, warmed our chilled limbs, and maintained a mutual chat upon the events and experiences of the past three months. All the men were hard at work at the sawpits in the woods, save one – John BULL (BALL) who, with his boy, two dogs, and a slide, had thus emerged therefrom with a load of lumber. It is no harm to say that the man and this almost proper cognomen very much resemble each other. The contour of his physique is short and thickly set, his muscles are strong and developed by the unflinching labor of well nigh forty consecutive winters in the woods of Exploit’s Bay and River. His facial features are hardy and bronzed, and his voice is as sonorous as the voice of Stentus. His benevolent nature is as strong as his physical organism. After engaging in prayer, and leaving an appointment to be filled up in about a fort-night, on my return journey, we started away for Mr. Luke MANUEL’s, (married to Priscilla Dalton) at Northern Arm, which, included a call at High Point, a cup of tea, and a congratulatory conversation with Thomas LANGDON, (husband of Tamar Manuel) we reached in the evening twilight. Here we found, on the blocks in the dock, a schooner of about fifty-five tons, in course of construction, and the builders and sawyers in the act of leaving the scene of labor, having knocked off for the day. Part 5 This was my home for the ensuing eight days, during which, there is no need to say anything with regard to its free hearted hospitality and its unassumed aspect of comfort. My experiences during the past three years are a sufficient guarantee for the assertion that a preacher of the Gospel always finds a welcome, within this God honored retreat. Next morning, after bidding adieu to Mr. MANUEL and his man, who started away for places yet distant, up the river, a visit was made to the home of the late Mr. Edward EVANS, who died at Twillingate, last August, and who was interred in the Cemetery connected with the Methodist Church, South Side. The young men, his sons five in number, a son-in-law, and a deaf mute, were lumbering about six miles in the country, and had been, for the most part, during the winter. Among their experiences of muscular energy, which they, a few days afterwards related in the evening twilight, even while some of the youngsters were asserting their authority over the floor, and others drawing a living interest from the Maternal Bank. They referred to one in particular, in relation to a large spruce tree, in the cutting down of which, three of them had been employed five hours and a half. Its trunk, as they said, was the largest they had ever seen in the country, which, when cut up, would be very useful as timbers in the body frame of a new schooner. |
From Millicent Craig The Carroll County compilation of Daltons by Nancy Samuelson was previewed in the June issue of “Daltons in History” and the complete 34 page file has been uploaded to the Dalton Data Bank. From the 1850 Alderman Census material, 1860 Census and 1870 Census, Nancy has arranged the descendency lines of the 10 children of William and Elizabeth Dalton in a 1500 name survey. The following surnames are connected to the Carroll County Daltons; Alderman, Bobbitt, Branscome, Clay, Edwards, Hale, Gallimore, Goad, Horton, Jennings, Mabry/Mayberry, Montgomery, Phillips, Pennington, Nestor, Quesenberry, Shockley, Spencer, Sturman, Webb, and Worrell. Extensive Goad references were provided by Kenneth Haas. Go to: http://daltondata.0pi.com and scroll the Virginia file to CARROLL CO. or enter the keywords William and Mary in the Edit Find section of your computer. Daltons designated as Group A in the Dalton International DNA Project have found useful information in this file. Our appreciation is extended to Archie Dalton for his work in transcription. The DGS welcomes two new North American members during the month of June. They are Mary C. Dalton of Wheaton, Illinois and Patricia Dalton-Graham of Garnett, Kansas. There were two more testees in the Dalton International DNA Project. One has origins in Virginia and the origin of other is Glin, County Limerick, Ireland. The DNA Project has now reached 87 participants and continues to accept participants from around the world. As a DGS member, you will receive a bonus of having your DNA results analyzed by a professional consultant and receive a progress report that covers all of the participants in the project. Email your DIDP Coordinator: Millicenty@aol.com and become part of one of the larger surname projects. Your American secretary will attend the Worcester Gathering of Daltons in the England and will leave on the 16th of July returning on the 1st of August. Please hold all mail until I return. |
Dairne Irwin Thank you to all our contributors to this edition of
Daltons in History. Your Editor will be off to the DGS Gathering
at the end of July. Please ensure any contributions for the August edition
reach me by Saturday, 21 July 2007 at the latest. |