Introduction

Welcome to the January 2009 issue of “Daltons in History”. Another New Year is upon us and I reiterate my good wishes to you all for the coming year. As I said last month, our DGS community, with its diverse interests, brings a wide perspective on the world and the opportunity to study many aspects of our history, our origins and the way we live today. Each new discovery of a detail of family history potentially opens a door to another field of study, and this is very much part of the excitement of our hobby. Long may those doors continue to open for us, and a truly Happy New Year to you all!

With this issue, “Daltons in History” enters its twelfth year as a monthly web based newsletter. It has appeared each month since January 1998 and it is designed to bring you both up to date news about the Society and a wide selection of items about Dalton family history and related topics. We invite all our readers, be they DGS members or not, to contribute material for publication. Our Editor, Dairne Irwin, is always looking out for new items and will welcome your contributions. Just email her on dairneirwin@ntlworld.com.

2009 will be another milestone year for the DGS. In March we meet in Orange, New South Wales, Australia for our Annual Gathering and in August we meet again in Lancashire, England for the Annual General Meeting. More details of these events will be found below and on the “Forthcoming Gatherings” pages of the website. Additionally you will find updates on other current DGS projects and activities, including the DNA Project and new facilities now available on this website.

Future DGS Events

The major event for 2009 is our Annual Gathering taking place in Orange, New South Wales, Australia over the weekend of Fri/Sat/Sun 13th/14th/15th March 2009. Full details are available on this website under ”Forthcoming Gatherings”, and this month they are again published here in ”Daltons in History” as well. They are also being distributed with Volume 49 of the DGS Journal (December 2008). Maureen Collins and Helen Smith have worked very hard with their team out in Australia to put everything in place for what, I know, will be a superb event. I for one am much looking forward to it, and to meeting delegates from Australia, from New Zealand and from around the world. We have had an excellent response to date, and it is now important for members to confirm their bookings and pay their deposits as soon as possible. You will then be assured of your place at what promises to be another memorable Dalton weekend.

Later in 2009 – on Saturday 22nd/Sunday 23rd August – we will hold the DGS Annual General Meeting here in England. It will be a weekend event, with the AGM itself taking place in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire on the Saturday morning and a visit to Queen Street Mill in nearby Burnley in the afternoon. There will be a dinner on the Saturday evening and the opportunity to visit Thurnham Hall on the Sunday and have lunch. For those travelling from further afield, and we hope there will be many of you, accommodation has been arranged at the Swallow Hotel, Samlesbury. Full details will be found below together with a registration form. They are also published in the “Forthcoming Gatherings” section of this website and they are being distributed with Volume 49 of the DGS Journal (December 2008).

2010 marks the 40th Anniversary of the founding of the Dalton Genealogical Society and we will hold a special Gathering and Annual General Meeting in Surrey, England over the weekend of Fri/Sat/Sun 30th/31st July/1st August. Detailed planning is now under way and further details will be announced here in “Daltons in History” next month.

For 2011 and beyond we have a number of suggestions already. If you have any particular thoughts about where you might like to meet, or a particular Dalton theme you think we should incorporate, we would really like to hear from you with your ideas.

The DGS website

Last month we announced the transfer of the Dalton Data Bank (DDB) into our own webspace. For the past seven years, since its launch in 2001, the DDB has been hosted commercially with various attendant constraints on its further development. Now, thanks to the efforts of our Assistant American Secretary, Karen Preston and her husband David, the DGS has complete control over the DDB and we can plan the next steps that we wish to take in order to improve it even further. More about these plans in due course – for the time being, the link from our home page takes you to the new home of the DDB, and you will find it has a fresher look and is free of those annoying pop ups and advertisements.

We also announced the launch of the Dalton Forum. This replaces the guest book facility which has been a feature of the DGS website since it was first set up back in 1998. Again we wanted a facility over which we have complete control and David Preston has implemented the new Dalton Forum, accessed from our home page via its new link, which replaces “Submit an Enquiry”. Through the Dalton Forum, all visitors to the DGS website can submit comments and enquiries, and already there are encouraging signs that it will be well used, and a host to lively discussions on a wide range of Dalton related topics. Please take a look, register and try it out. We look forward to your participation and to your comments.

Below you will find further details of the new DDB and Dalton Forum, along with other information from Karen in her “Notes from the American Secretary”.

The Dalton International DNA Project (DIDP)

Over the past four months, we have increased substantially the number of testees in our database, and 12 out of 15 sets of results from new participants, have now come through from Family Tree DNA. Of these 12, no less than 9 are showing matches with existing genetic families (1 with Group A, 1 with Group B, 4 with Group D and 3 with Group F). The remaining three are singleton results (2 R1b and 1 R1a). This is a remarkable success with 75% of our new testees joining existing groups of participants, and it demonstrates the real value of DIDP with its ever expanding database.

All of these additions to the DIDP database will be included in Issue 3 of the DIDP Progress Report, which is due to be published early this year. I have been working with our consultant, Chris Pomery, to determine the scope and format for his third report, and we are promised a landmark document when it appears. We have also been reviewing the interpretation of more recently received results and providing feedback to individual participants.

Now with 125 Y-DNA project participants, DIDP is one of the largest and most respected projects of its type internationally, but we still need to expand it further, particularly with individuals who have documented ancestral lines that take them back to known English or Irish Dalton origins. The strength of the database as a family history research tool lies in its size, and its continued growth is of paramount importance to us all.

For further information please look at the “Dalton DNA Project” section of the website, and do please contact me by email if you would like to join the project, or if you have any questions which you wish to raise.

The DGS Journal

John Dalton, Editor of the DGS Journal, reports that Volume 49 for December 2008 has been printed and is now being distributed. At the time of writing (22nd December), copies are being posted and this task will be completed over the next few days. DGS members should allow time for their copies to arrive in the mail, bearing in mind the holiday season. The list of contents for DGSJ Volume 49 will be found in this issue of “Daltons in History”.

Back issues of the DGS Journal continue to be available. On this website you can access the DGS Journal Index from the homepage. Here you will find a full 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. Lists of contents are available for Volumes 42 to 49 and the full synopses will be available in due course. 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.

Conclusion

Enjoy this month’s issue of “Daltons in History”, your regular monthly update on everything that is happening in the world of Dalton family history. We will be back again at the beginning of February.

Thank you for your attention and best wishes to you all.

Yours very sincerely

Michael Neale Dalton
Chairman and Honorary Life President of the Dalton Genealogical Society

Update on Orange 2009
From Maureen Collins, Australian Secretary

Registrations for the DGS Gathering in Orange, New South Wales, 2009 are coming in and I am pleased to note the enthusiasm and just hope that we can live up to the expectations. Thank you for your support and due to that reservations for the venues have been confirmed. Helen Smith will be in New York until the end of January 2009 awaiting the birth of her and Gavin’s daughter’s first child so she will not be available for queries for a while but I will certainly be in Sydney and Wendy Fleming in Melbourne.

Seasons greetings to all and keep those registrations for Orange coming in please.

See Article 4 below for details of Orange 2009.

From Mike Dalton of Oregon, USA

I originally visited Mount Dalton with the DGS in 2005 as part of our Annual Gathering in Dublin. I revisited on 9th August 2008.

Shows the clock, a painting of Mount Dalton, an aerial view of Mount Dalton and the Group photograph of the DGS Gathering in August 2005 “in pride of place”.

The original group photograph was taken by Barbara Craig in 2005 who is the wife of Sam Craig, the son of Millicent Craig our long time American Secretary. Barbara framed one of the photographs and donated it to the raffle at the 2006 New Hampshire, USA Gathering. The said raffled glass framed photograph was then mailed by the recipient to Mrs Catherine Gibson-Brabazon, who is the owner of the Mount Dalton Estate at Rathconrath, Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland.

A picture of Gunnin’s Pub. Gunnin’s pub is situated in the village of Rathconrath which is a short drive from the Market Town of Mulligar. It is the main building in the village. A kilometre or two north on a lane to the right is the Mount Dalton Estate through a large gate. Opposite of the pub is a lane south, but a short distance to an overgrown burial ground inhabited by old markers and their occupants grazed upon by dairy cattle.

Atop a small rise is an ivy covered tower. Within are the mortal remains of the Daltons who lived at Mount Dalton. They are known to be there but no markers bearing their names have been found.

To date no survey has been undertaken, privately or publicly funded, to read the inscriptions on existing markers or to improve the appearance of the grounds. There are still some burials at present for families who have pre-existing burial rights there.

The Annual Gathering of the DGS for 2009 is being held in Orange, NSW, Australia. The City of Orange was founded in 1846 and gold was discovered there in 1851. Orange has many sites of historical interest and the Dalton family is prominently included. The meeting will be held at Duntryleague, a grand residence built by James Dalton the younger in 1876, and the Dinner at Heritage House.

The Dalton Genealogical Society extends an invitation to all DGS members and their families to attend the 2009 Gathering of the Society from Friday 13th to Sunday 15th March 2009. A particular welcome will be extended to all those descended from the Daltons of Orange family, wherever they may now live, and the theme of the weekend will be the origins and the history of this family. The weekend will include visits to a number of places with Dalton connections, together with talks about Australian Daltons of both English and Irish descent and the opportunity to explore Orange and the surrounding area. The Annual DGS Dinner will take place on the Saturday evening.

Full details of the programme for the weekend, costs and booking arrangements are as follows. If you require any further information or have any queries, please contact either Maureen Collins DGS Australia/New Zealand Secretary and 2009 Orange Gathering Coordinator email: mmcollins@ozemail.com.au, or Helen Smith DGS Orange Gathering Organiser email: h-smith70@bigpond.com or Wendy Fleming DGS Australia Internet Secretary email: wendy.fleming@optusnet.com.au and they will be pleased to assist.

Getting to Orange

By Air: Regional Express (REX) has several direct flights to and from Sydney daily (Tel 131713 or www.regionalexpress.com.au). For further information on air transport see Airservices Australia.

By Road: Orange is 3.5 hours drive west of Sydney along the Great Western Highway. From Canberra it is a 3 hour drive passing through Yass, Cowra and Canowindra. If you don’t know how to pronounce the latter, ask an Aussie.

By Rail: Countrylink has daily trains to Orange from Sydney and Dubbo (Tel: 132232/63619500 or www.countrylink.nsw.gov.au)

By Bus: Selwood Coaches (tel: 02 63627953 or email: info@selwoods.com.au

It is anticipated that many delegates will want to combine their stay in Orange with visits to other parts of New South Wales. There are a number of travel options. You can fly either to Sydney or Canberra, both of which offer good international connections.

If you need advice, guidance or assistance with your travel plans, please contact either Maureen, Helen or Wendy who will do their best to help.

A note about the venue

Duntryleague Guesthouse, Woodward Road, former home of the Dalton family of Orange, is the venue for the Saturday morning and lunchtime gathering and a barbeque will be held in the Clubhouse there on Sunday evening.

Dinner on Saturday night will be held at Heritage House which adjoins and is run by the Central Caleula Motel, 60 Summer Street.

Annual Gathering for 2009
Friday 13th March to Sunday 15th March 2009
Orange, New South Wales, Australia

PROGRAMME FOR THE WEEKEND

Friday 13th March 2009

Saturday 14th March 2009

Sunday 15th March 2009

Monday 16th March 2009

REGISTRATION FORM

The form is given below and may be downloaded as an Adobe Acrobat (registrationform.pdf) or Word (registrationform.doc) document for printing, completion and return as per the accompanying notes.

REGISTRATION FORM NOTES

The Registration Form follows. Please note the points below:

• It is important to make your requirements absolutely clear, particularly those for your accommodation – number of nights and type of room.
• The Society has already made certain commitments in order to be able to offer the programme for the weekend. We need to know numbers attending as early as we can in order to finalise the arrangements for the visits on the Saturday afternoon and the tour on the Sunday. If you wish to attend, it would therefore be extremely helpful if you are able to return your registration form and deposit before 20 January 2009.
• We will endeavour to maintain availability of motel accommodation for as long as we can, but it is unlikely that we will be able to take any more bookings after 28 February 2009.
• We will keep you informed about take up and booking options on the DGS website at www.daltongensoc.com. Just follow the link to Forthcoming Gatherings and click on the Orange event. Month by month the website will also carry further information about Orange, the speakers who will address us on the Saturday morning and the places we will be visiting on the Saturday afternoon and Sunday. We will also feature articles about Australian Dalton family history.
• Your deposit payment of Aust$100 will be passed to the Central Caleula Motor Inn and it will be deducted from your final account, for which you will be responsible personally. In addition you are asked to pay in advance a further deposit of Aust$50 per person towards the cost of the Saturday morning conference and buffet lunch, the Saturday evening dinner, the Sunday evening at Duntryleague and the visits and tour.
• As soon as final costings are available for the various elements of the programme, you will be advised of these and asked to confirm the elements in which you wish to participate. The balance due will be payable in Australian dollars when you are in Orange.
• The Society will return deposits to delegates who subsequently are unable to attend, subject to the deduction of any unrecoverable costs incurred.
• If you wish to extend your stay either before or after the three nights (Fri/Sat/Sun), please indicate your requirements clearly on the form and we will make the reservation for you, subject to availability of rooms.

Prices for accommodation are as follows:

Central Caleula Motor Inn (tel: 02 63627699 or www.caleula.com.au) - $127 per night for a double/twin room and $109 per night for a single

Indicative prices for events and visits are as follows:

As soon as final details and costs are known, they will be advised to all those who have made reservations.

Notes for overseas members

Members in the UK, United States or elsewhere overseas, please send your remittance in Australian dollars by cheque or money order made payable to “Dalton Genealogical Society” together with a copy of this registration form to the Australian Secretary:

Maureen Collins, 1/11 Moruben Road, Mosman, Sydney NSW 2088, Australia

For guidance, overseas members should contact their local Secretary or Michael Dalton on email: michaelndalton@aol.com

REGISTRATION FORM

for THE DALTON GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY GATHERING
ORANGE, NSW, AUSTRALIA 2009

Name ……………………………………………………………………………..

Address ……………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………..

Tel No ………………………… Email ………………………………………..

I/we wish to attend the Orange Gathering from Friday 13th to Sunday 15th March 2009.

Please give the names of additional members of your party and indicate clearly the rooms that you wish to book (double, twin or single), together with the nights that you wish to stay

……………………………………………………………………………….………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

I/we wish to extend my/our visit and to book ….. no. of extra nights before
and ….. no. of extra nights after for ….. person(s)

Please indicate any special room requirements and any special needs:-

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

A deposit of $100.00 per room (regardless of type of room and length of stay) is payable to the Dalton Genealogical Society and should be forwarded as soon as possible to:

Maureen Collins, DGS 2009 Gathering Co-ordinator
1/11 Moruben Road, Mosman, Sydney NSW 2088, Australia

******* please now turn over and fill in form overleaf and sign declaration *******

Additional elements of the weekend programme

Please fill in to indicate your expected participation in the following events and the numbers in your party:-

Declaration

I have read the enclosed details and ticked the boxes as requested, and enclose my cheque for the total indicated above and made payable to ‘Dalton Genealogical Society’.

I understand the terms outlined above relating to the return of deposit monies paid to the Society.

In the event of any changes to my booking or cancellation, I undertake to notify the DGS 2009 Gathering Co-ordinator, Maureen Collins, at the earliest opportunity.

Signed : ……………………………………………………………………. Date……………………….

John Dalton, Editor of the DGS Journal, reports that Volume 49 for December 2008 has been printed and is now being distributed. John would welcome further articles for Volume 50, which is due towards the middle of 2009. You can contact John at: johndalton78@hotmail.com.

The Society’s 2009 Annual General Meeting will take place on Saturday/Sunday 22nd/23rd August 2009 in Lancashire, where we shall meet at the Library & Research Centre of the Lancashire Family History & Heraldry Society in Oswaldtwistle. There is, in the meeting room, computer access to the internet. Society Chairman Michael Dalton will use this to demonstrate the features of the DGS website before the formal business of the AGM.

In the afternoon, we shall visit what was once a typical Lancashire cotton-weaving mill. Queen St. Mill, in Burnley, is now preserved as a museum in operating condition, complete with looms and steam engine, and we hope to organise a guided tour. Many Lancashire Daltons will have worked in this type of factory, now almost extinct.

On Sunday, there is an opportunity to go up to Thurnham Hall, seat of the Daltons in Lancashire for over four centuries and now a country club, for a mid-day meal, and those who wish can visit the Cockersand Abbey Chapter House, where the Daltons of Thurnham are buried.

PROPOSED PROGRAMME

Friday 21st August 2009

Saturday 22nd August 2009

Sunday 23rd August 2009

The hotel we have chosen, the Swallow (www.swallow-hotels.com) at Samlesbury, PR5 0UL, is the one we used in 2004, and is conveniently situated both for access and the planned visits. It is 1 mile east on the A59 from M6 junction 31 and 5 miles from Preston railway station. I can meet trains if required. The rooms are all en-suite and there is an indoor swimming pool and fitness room.

We have agreed a special rate for the weekend, to include bed & breakfast on the Friday & Saturday nights, and 3-course dinner on the Saturday night, for the inclusive price of £100 per person. A non-returnable deposit of £15 per head will secure your booking.

This should be sent to me with the form below completed. The £15 will be used to defray incidental expenses, including lunch on the Saturday and admission to Queen St. Mill.

Arrangements can be made if you wish to extend your stay, or attend only part of the event. If you have any queries about the arrangements please contact me directly.

JOHN DALTON

Email: johndalton78@hotmail.com

BOOKING FORM

Please complete the booking form below, which may be downloaded as an Adobe Acrobat (bookingform.pdf) or Word (bookingform.doc) document for printing, completion and return.

DGS AGM 22nd/23rd August 2009
Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, England

NAME……………………………………………………………………………….

ADDRESS…………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………..

TEL: …………………….. EMAIL: …………………………………….

I/we wish to attend the 2009 DGS AGM and visits and enclose a non-returnable deposit of £15 per head (cheque made payable to J. Dalton).

I/we do/do not require the package arrangement at the Swallow Hotel as described.

I/we would / would not like to book Sunday lunch at Thurnham Hall. (This is to be paid for on the day)

SIGNED…………………………………….

DATE …………………….

Please complete and sign this form and return it to:

John Dalton, 5 Highfield Close, Oswaldtwistle, Lancs, BB5 3TD England

New South Wales Police Gazette 1887

“Page 64, 23 Feb 1887

Miscellaneous Information

Sydney - Found in Pitt Street, about 3.10 p.m. on the 18th instant, by Thomas Dalton, - a Lady’s silver open-face Geneva watch, No.19581, maker “Dallet, Geneva” with chain attached. Owner required.”

“Page 112, 6 April 1887

Thomas Charles Edwards, charged with uttering to John Joseph Ryan a forged cheque on the Australian Joint Stock Bank, Sydney for £13 14s, purporting to be signed by the Rev. Joseph Dalton, has been arrested by Senior Constables Granville and Roche, Sydney Police. Offender was further charged with uttering to William Martin a forged cheque £14 18s. Committed for trial at Quarter Sessions on both charges.”

“Page 148, 11 May 1887

Charles Baker, charged in warrant with embezzling the sum of £21 19s 9d and £49, the money of Mesars. Dalton Brothers, has been arrested by the Melbourne Police. Remanded to Sydney, and sentenced to three months’ hard labour.”

“Page 246, 10 August 1887

Redfern. Stolen between the hours of 3 and 6 p.m. the 6th instant, from the residence of Michael Dalton, Morehead and James Streets, Redfern, - a small gold brooch, rose pattern, garnet in centre, with ear-rings to match; a silver bracelet, (chased) 1 1/2 inches wide, and a lady’s fine silver Albert with tassels, value £5. Identifiable. Suspicion attached to two young men. 1st about 22 years of age, 5 feet 10 inches high, with thin build, fresh complexion, small dark moustache and small whiskers, very long neck; dressed in dark clothes, Oxford shirt, and soft Yankee hat. 2nd about 18 years of age, boyish appearance, very light moustache, dark hair; dressed in dark clothes. Can be identified.”

“Page 338, 9 November 1887

Deserting Wives and Families, &c

Sydney - A warrant has been issued by the Water Police for the arrest of Frederick George Dalton, charged with unlawfully deserting his wife, Thomasina Dalton, leaving her without means of support. He is 53 years of age (looks younger) 5 feet four or five inches high, medium build, whiskers and moustache (otherwise clean shaven,) fair complexion, dark hair, hazel eyes, little finger on each hand slightly bent, a medical man. Complainant at 271, Goulburn Street.”

“Page 368, 7 December 1887

……………..has been arrested by Senior Constable Hunt and Constable Dalton, Sydney Police”

“Page 377, 24 December 1887

Vide Police Gazette 1887, page 338.

Frederick George Dalton, charged on warrant with wife desertion, has been arrested at Newcastle by Detective McHattie. Remanded to Sydney and ordered to pay 20s per week for twelve months.”

Queensland Police Gazette 1887

Licensed Victualiers:

“Page 63

Name: Dalton, William.
Designation of Premises: Green Creek, Normanton.”

“Page 65

Name: Dalton, Phillip.
Designation Premises: Railway, Toowoomba”

Sydney University Calendar 1887

“Page 146, Members of the University

Dalton, Gerald T.A., M.A.”

“Page 152, Graduates Masters of Arts

Dalton, Gerald T.A. 1882”

“Page 204, Honours
Dalton, G. Class 1, 1880”

From Tom Wood and Gerry Dalton

During October and November 2008, Tom and I were staying at one of our favourite spots, Wangi Wangi, which is right on the shore of Lake Macquarie, Australia’s largest coastal saltwater lake.

Frank and Linda Wicks invited Tom and I to lunch. Frank is connected but not actually related to my Dalton family. We were delighted to accept and I asked if they could dust off the old photo albums.

Frank’s grandmother was Ellen May Wicks nee O’Donnell and her first husband, George Wicks was Frank’s grandfather. George Wicks was murdered at Silver Spur Timber camp near Texas in Queensland in 1908. Ellen and her young son Francis left that district and went to New South Wales where Ellen met and married my grandfather’s oldest brother John Joseph Dalton.

The drive down to Frank and Linda’s home took over an hour and we arrived about 11am so we had plenty of time for looking at photos before lunch. We really enjoyed looking through the old family photos albums and then Frank produced a small box of “family stuff”. Amongst this stuff was a little matchbox cover that had very interesting cartoon type graphics and the details of the business they were promoting on the sides. What a wonderful piece of my Dalton family memorabilia!

While possible not politically correct today, the humour of the 1950’s was quite clever.

Matchbox Cover - 1950's

In the 1950’s John Dalton was a hairdresser and he and his second wife Jean ran the store supplying men’s, ladies’ and children’s apparel. I was so excited to see this little match box cover. This John Dalton was the youngest son of Ellen May and John Joseph Dalton.

Matchbox Cover - Picture 1

Matchbox Cover - Picture 2

In the 1950’s Walgett was a small agricultural town in country New South Wales. Walgett is said to mean meeting of two rivers and Walgett was proclaimed a settlement in 1885.

Prior to leaving for our visit with Frank and Linda we prepared a list of questions to ask Frank about the connections between the Wicks and Dalton families. While looking at the old photos and box of stuff many of our questions were answered.

The focus of our current research is on lives of my grandfather’s siblings and having the opportunity to spend a few hours with family members who have such wonderful collections of family memorabilia is totally rewarding.

Recently Chairman, Michael Neale Dalton, and his wife Kate spent a weekend in Glasgow, Scotland and found a Dalton or two. Michael reports here on their findings.

At the beginning of November last year we paid our first visit to Glasgow to attend the wedding of a friend’s son to a Scottish lass. During the weekend we found time to do some sight seeing and, as always, we kept our eyes open for Daltons, particularly bearing in mind the pleas from Dairne Irwin, Editor of “Daltons in History”, who wants more information to be collected and published about Scottish Daltons.

Our first find was The Doulton Fountain, one of the stopping points on the open top bus tour of the city. This fountain is the largest terracotta fountain in the world, as well as the best surviving example of its kind. The fountain has recently been beautifully restored and relocated in front of the People’s Palace. It was a gift to the city from Sir Henry Doulton, and first unveiled at the Empire Exhibition held at Kelvingrove Park in 1888. The fountain was then moved to Glasgow Green in 1890.

Described by Glasgow City Council as a sculptural extravaganza, the fountain was designed to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee of 1887, and to celebrate Britain’s imperial achievements – the fountain is crowned with figurative groups representing Australia, Canada, India and South Africa. It has five tiers, is 46 feet high and 70 feet across the base. Following a £4 million refurbishment and relocation programme, it has been restored to its former glory.

The switch on of the refurbished fountain took place in May 2005. Liz Cameron, the Lord Provost of Glasgow, said “The Doulton Fountain is an enduring symbol of Glasgow, Glasgow Green and the redevelopment of the East End.” The refurbished fountain recently received a commendation from the influential Saltire Society. As part of its Arts and Crafts Architecture Awards, the Society “recognised the craftsmanship and sensitive use of material by Ibstock Harthenware in this major reconstruction of a fine Victorian commemorative fountain.” The two year project, part of Glasgow Green’s £15.5 million facelift, was the result of collaboration between the City Council, the European Regional Development Fund, the Headley Trust, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Scotland.

The missing information for us is anything further about Sir Henry Doulton. Perhaps a reader can provide some details and tell us who he was and his family links.

Our second find was in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. This magnificent Victorian building houses superb collections of British and European paintings , together with much fine sculpture, pottery, porcelain, silverware, costumes, tapestry, arms and armour. Recorded in the main hall are the names of donors to Kelvingrove, and amongst these we found Feargal and Carol Dalton. Does anyone have any further information about who Feargal and Carol might be?

I am sure there are many more Dalton connections to be found in Glasgow, but these will have to wait for another visit.

Greetings from snowy (yes, really) Las Vegas!

December in Las Vegas has been quite unique in that we had two winter storms that brought measurable snowfall to the Las Vegas valley for the first time in 30 years. Everything looks just lovely with a dusting of snow, but palm trees are just not meant to be snow-covered. It made for a very strange sight!

The strange weather made for more time indoors, which gave us more time to devote to DGS projects.

Dalton Data Bank

As Michael mentioned above, in November the Data Bank was relocated to a new hosting service. This allowed us to present the Data Bank pages without the intrusive pop-up and advertisements.

In addition, David, with a little help from me, has been hard at work on the appearance and presentation of the pages in each individual geographic section of the site. The pages have been reformatted to be easier to read. I've been working on those pages where the information lends itself to being presented in table form. In particular, the data for London/Middlesex has been reformatted to appear in an easy to read table format.

A new search function has been added. From the main Data Bank home page, you can now search the entire Data Bank. There is a "Global Search" function on the Home Page that can be used to find specific people or places in the Data Bank; within each major Section of the Data Bank (Australia, England, Republic of Ireland and the USA) there is a similar Search facility that restricts the search to just that Section of the Data Bank. Each page of the Data Bank can be further searched using your web browsers' Edit/Find function.

David has also added a map for each country, which shows the names of the states or counties for that country. You can click on the state or county name on the map, to be taken directly to the data specific to that area.

Other new features include a scrollable insert on the home page that lists all of the recently added or updated data on the site, along with name of the contributor and the date of the update. A special Thank You goes to Mike Dalton in Portland, Oregon and to Kevin Sippel in Lane Cove, Australia for their recent contributions.

This is an ambitious, ongoing project and data will be added as it is received and processed. If you have researched your Dalton family and wish to contribute your data to the Bank, it will be most welcome. Please contact David, the Webmaster for the Dalton Data Bank, if you have questions or if you wish to submit additional data.

Dalton Forum

November also saw the launch of the Dalton Forum. Please take a look, register and try it out. We look forward to your participation and to your comments. As of this writing, we have 27 members registered for the Forum. Several members have posts photos from their travels; others have posted research-related questions and offers to do look-ups and share information.

I have added a new topic section to the Forum that is dedicated to the Group D genetic Family in the DIDP. I will be using the bulletin board function to post news that relates to Group D, including welcoming new members to our genetic family.

Members can post new topics on the Forum, but a new category, like the DIDP Section, must be added by an administrator. If you have suggestions for a new category, or have suggestions for how to make the Forum more helpful to you, please email me at karen@golden-hills.com

If you haven't already visited the site, please do check it out. The Forum will be most valuable if we all get in the habit of checking it regularly to see what's new, and contribute by posting queries.

Application for Non-profit Status in the US

In early November we began the process to have the DGS registered as a non-profit, with status as a charitable organization, as it is in the UK. I am pleased to say that we have completed the first step by becoming a non-profit corporation in the US, registered in the State of Nevada. The next step is to file our application with the IRS for status as a tax-exempt charity. This process will take 3-9 months, and will be complete when the IRS issues a letter stating that we have been granted charity status.

I will keep the membership updated as the process continues to unfold.

All best wishes for a very Happy New Year, and I hope that 2009 will be a great year for all!

Karen Dalton Preston

Assistant Secretary for North America

Thank you to all who have contributed to the January 2009 issue of “Daltons in History”. Mel and I hope you all had an enjoyable feastive season. We hope you all have a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

I have at last received some information about the Scottish Daltons - Thank you Michael and Kate.

Please continue to send to me any ideas for future articles and also keep looking for any information to include in the Dalton Strays section.

Contributions for the February issue need to be with me no later than 25th January 2009. (e-mail: dairneirwin@ntlworld.com).