Introduction

Greetings to all readers of “Daltons in History” !!

With a late publication of the July edition and an early deadline set by the Editor for this August edition, it is not long since my last notes, so this month they will be brief. The minutes of our Annual General Meeting which took place on 18th June have been published and you will find these, together with the DGS accounts for 2010 reproduced in a separate section of this issue.

Immediately below you will find the latest information about the DGS together with the usual updates to keep you fully informed about everything that we are doing.

Future DGS events

The DGS Annual Gathering for 2011 is being held in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA over the weekend of Fri/Sat/Sun 23rd/24th/25th September 2011. This very special event is being organised by our North American Secretary, Karen Dalton Preston. Karen and her team now have all the plans in place. Full details can be found in the “Forthcoming Gatherings” section of this website, just click here for the link. The third of the regular email newsletters to keep you informed was published in June and it included full details for registration and booking. Please note that the final deadline for booking guaranteed hotel rooms was 30 June. Anyone without a reservation who still wishes to attend should contact Karen immediately.

For the 2012 Gathering and AGM we are returning to Yorkshire over the weekend of Fri/Sat/Sun 27th/28th/29th July 2012. The venue for this event will be the Ramada Hull Hotel. This hotel is very accessible and is ideally situated between Hull, which has a number of interesting Dalton connections, and Beverley with its Minster and an excellent Record Office. More details of the hotel, which is a 19th Century manor house set in 12 acres of gardens, can be found at www.ramadajarvis.co.uk/hotels/hull.aspx?mckv=mkwid|stdl8vXAWRm|pcrid|50623303531|plid||kword|. I am most grateful to Howard Dalton of Pickering for taking on the task of gathering organiser. Howard is a past DGS Treasurer and well known to many DGS members. He organised previous DGS Gatherings in Scarborough in 1992 and in Pickering in 2002. Howard and I visited Hull back in April and further information will be found in the “Forthcoming Gatherings” section of this website, just click here for the link. Full details of the programme and booking arrangements will appear in the autumn.

For 2013 we are considering returning to Ireland and for 2014 and beyond we have a number of suggestions already. But, 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 Dalton International DNA Project (DIDP)

We are indebted to our DNA consultant, Chris Pomery for all his assistance with the project over the past five years, which includes the preparation of three issues of the very comprehensive project progress report, and most informative presentations at our annual gatherings on two occasions. We now have approaching 170 participants in the project, and well over 80% of these are members of one of the 15 identified genetic families. The latest DIDP news and a full DIDP update were published in December 2010, and these can be found in the “Dalton DNA Project” section of this website, or simply click here for the link.

The emphasis is now on providing updated reports for each individual genetic family. The first of these, for genetic family A, was published in December and, with the template for these reports now established, the remainder will follow during 2011. The ones for genetic families B, C and D will be ready for publication soon. Further information on this programme was published in a separate report in May and can now be found in the “Dalton DNA Project” section of this website.

The DGS Journal

Our editor, John Dalton informs me that Volume 54 of the DGS Journal is about to go to the printers, and it is expected that it will be mailed to all DGS members during the first half of August.

John always welcomes articles and other items for publication in the Journal. Any material for publication should be sent to him as early as possible, so that he can plan the content of future issues. John is happy to advise and assist contributors and, if you have any questions or need help, please contact him by email at johndalton78@hotmail.com.

Back issues of the DGS Journal continue to be available. On this website you can access the “DGS Journal Index” from the homepage or by clicking here. 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 given for Volumes 42 to 53 and the full synopses will be uploaded 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 in September.

Thank you for your attention.

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

The DGS AGM for 2011 was held in Hampshire, England in June. The minutes of the meeting, together with the annual accounts for 2010, are published here. These also appear in the DGS Journal, Volume 54 for July 2011, which is to be published shortly.

THE DALTON GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

Minutes of the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

held in the Napier Hall, Horndean, Hampshire
on Saturday 18th June 2011 at 11.30 am

1) Welcome and Opening remarks by the Chairman

Sir Geoffrey Dalton welcomed members and friends to the meeting at Napier Hall and gave an interesting biography of Sir Charles Napier MP, after whom the hall was named. DGS Chairman Michael Neale Dalton then thanked Geoffrey and Jane Dalton for hosting the event and welcomed everyone present, including Malcolm Brown from New Zealand with his sons, Alistair and Warwick, and Rosemary and Charles Dow from Brazil.

2) Apologies for Absence

Apologies were received from Dairne and Mel Irwin; Karen and David Preston; Martin and Sarah Fitzgerald; Chris Pomery; Howard and Jen Dalton; Alicia Riley; Alan Green; Audrey and David Dalton; Sue Brown; Pat and Geoffrey Robinson; and Wendy Fleming.

3) Minutes of the 2010 Annual Meeting and matters arising

The Minutes of the 2010 Annual General Meeting were accepted by the meeting and signed by the Chairman as a true record with no matters arising.

4) Chairman’s Report

Michael Neale Dalton thanked the Officers and Committee for their work during the past year, continuing a fine tradition of a good team working together, and coupled this with the names of the three Honorary Members, Martin Fitzgerald and David Preston with gratitude for their splendid input on the DGS website, and Chris Pomery for his superb work on the DNA project.

The Society had continued to flourish and had been busy in the past year. He reported that following the 40th Anniversary in 2010, he had started a series of articles entitled “The DGS – the first 40 years” for “Daltons in History” covering the history and development of the Society. With eight instalments completed he had reached 1993. Photographs originally published in black and white in the Journal had been included in colour, with improved quality on the website.

Another ongoing series entitled “From the Lucy Slater Archives” had commenced in “Daltons in History”. The Chairman had selected items from sixteen arch files and other papers from Lucy now in his possession. So far five articles have covered the first five files. These introduce much previously unpublished material, and there is the opportunity for further work to be done. An appeal was made for volunteers.

In recent months the Chairman had attended the Society of Genealogists Centenary Conference; and the Guild of One Name Studies Annual Conference at Warrington, Cheshire with the theme “Northern Lights”. The Guild had set up local groups including one for the Surrey and West London area, and he had hosted a meeting at his home in March 2011, when DNA was a major topic and he presented material from the Dalton project.

5) Treasurer’s Report

In the absence of the Treasurer this report was given by the Chairman and the Accounts for 2010, reproduced below, were circulated to the meeting. A small deficit of £126 had been transferred to the capital account leaving a balance of £7,172 at 31st December 2010. The cost of printing and distribution of the Journal continued to be the largest part of the Society’s expenditure. The loss in the year was despite income received from claiming Gift Aid and a small surplus from the 2010 gathering. Administrative changes were awaited from the Charity Commission which would then enable a further claim for the balance of Gift Aid due, amounting to £453. The Treasurer requested that all UK members, who pay Income Tax, complete a new Gift Aid form, which will be included in the forthcoming Journal and return it to him.

Adoption of the Accounts was proposed by Gerald Milner and seconded by Mike Dalton and carried unanimously.

Michael Neale Dalton thanked Mel Irwin for his excellent work on behalf of the Society. Margaret Deyes and Mike Dalton asked if there were any plans to raise the membership subscription rates, and John Dalton again highlighted the increasing postage costs of the Journal. Maureen Collins explained the slightly higher overseas membership subscription rates to allow for posting the Journal by airmail. Following discussion, it was resolved that subscriptions should remain unchanged, and the matter would be reviewed at the next AGM.

6) Secretary’s Report

Pamela Lynam reported a steady level of membership with 86 UK members including three new members. Sadly, three members had recently passed away including her father, Dennis Dalton, and Elaine Austin who had the distinction of holding DGS membership number one. American membership stood at approximately 180 and Australia/New Zealand 43 members. She reported that membership in Eire stood at 10 members and a recent contact with the Ulster Family History Society would hopefully promote interest. A steady but slow level of enquiries had been received during the past year and she stressed the need to promote membership. She also requested that members inform her of any changes of postal, and particularly email address. Michael Neale Dalton thanked Pamela for her hard work.

7) Elections of Officers and Committee

The Chairman reported that all present members were willing to be re-elected and that co-opted committee member Mike Dalton should be formally elected to the committee. With no further nominations, this was proposed by Martin Griffiths, seconded by Margaret Deyes and carried unanimously.

8) Editorial Team Report

In her absence, Dairne Irwin (Editor of “Daltons in History”) submitted a written report thanking those who had contributed in the past year. Thanks were extended to Mel Irwin and Martin Fitzgerald for their technical expertise. The number of contributors has decreased recently and she urged greater input. Dairne reported an interesting statistic from David Preston that ‘77.4% of all visitors to the DGS site went to the “Daltons in History” section in 2011 to date’, and she appealed for articles, queries, photographs, and even challenges of any length to be forwarded to her.

John Dalton (Editor of the DGS Journal) stressed that communication was the key to success and appealed afresh for contributions long or short, sent by post or by email.

The Chairman expressed his thanks to Dairne, Mel and Martin, and John for their great contribution to the Society, and sent sincere wishes to Dairne after illness prevented her attending the AGM.

Maureen Collins suggested that some articles already published in the Journal could be repeated in “Daltons in History”, and vice versa.

9) Dalton International DNA Project Report

The number of participants in the DNA project stood at 170. The Chairman highlighted the new report for Genetic Family Group A, which had been distributed to all group members. This report format has been adopted for five further group reports, which are currently in draft. Gratitude was expressed to Chris Pomery for his continuing expertise and guidance.

10) Australian/New Zealand Secretary’s Report

Maureen Collins said that with the 40th anniversary of the DGS, there were no signs of any lessening of enthusiasm for the Society. Membership in Australia and New Zealand had remained at approximately the same level over the past few years. The DGS website contributed greatly to the interest shown.

A$783 (£509) had been handed to the Treasurer for subscriptions. It was not possible to use the Gift Aid scheme. Membership in New Zealand remained at three with a total membership of 43 and most being up to date financially. There was one honorary member and two members that had rejoined over the past two years. She stressed the importance of the personal touch in keeping contact.

The successful Meeting held in Sydney in February 2011 had been reported in “Daltons in History” and in the Journal. She keenly awaited the 2011 Annual Gathering in Salt Lake City. The Chairman thanked Maureen for her continued enthusiasm.

11) North American Secretary’s Report

The Chairman stated that there was no formal report from Karen Dalton Preston. The Society continues to flourish in the United States. Karen and her husband David were unable to be present and had sent good wishes for a successful meeting. They were working hard to prepare for the 2011 Gathering at Salt Lake City. Michael Neale Dalton expressed his gratitude to Karen and David for their great enthusiasm and hard work on behalf of the Society.

12) Irish Secretary’s Report

No formal report had been received from Ciaran Dalton. The Chairman hoped that an Irish DGS Gathering might be arranged for 2013 and he will be discussing this with Ciaran.

13) Forthcoming Gatherings and AGMs

The Chairman looked forward to the 2011 Gathering in Salt Lake City in September.

The 2012 Gathering is planned to take place in Yorkshire and will be based in Hull. This event is being organised by Howard Dalton for the weekend of 27th to 30th July.

A suggestion was put forward by Mike Dalton for a future event in France with the possibility of visiting Autun to research the origins of the earliest Dalton families. He will investigate this further.

14) Any other business

There was no other business. The Chairman closed the meeting at 1.05 pm.

From David Preston, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Dorothy Dalton – Silent Film Actress

Date of Birth: 22 September, 1893, Chicago Illinois

Date of Death: 13 April, 1972, Scarsdale, New York

Marriages:

Lew Cody (1919 -1923) (Jersey City NJ, divorced)
Arthur Hammerstein (1924 – 1955) (Chicago, Ill, until his death)

Salary:

The Disciple (1915) $40/week
Law of the Lawless (1923) $7,500/week

Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame: Placed February 8, 1960

Dorothy Dalton

Dorothy Dalton was a silent film star who worked her way up from a stock company to a top-billed silent movie star. She made her film debut in 1914 in "Pierre of the Plains", co-starring Edgar Selwyn, and appeared in "Across the Pacific" that same year. Her career spanned 10 years and 56 movies from 1914-1924.

She made "The Disciple" (1915) and "The Three Musketeers" (1916) working for Kay-Bee Pictures and the New York Motion Picture Co.

In the span between 1916 -1917, she starred in 15 more movies at Kaybee/New York Picture/Triangle, nine of them for Producer/Director Thomas Ince.

Her film co-stars at the studio included William S. Hart, Jean Hersholt, William Conklin, and a young John Gilbert.

After appearing in "The Ten of Diamonds" (1917) for Triangle Film, she left the studio to join Paramount Pictures.

Dorothy Dalton’s listing in the 1919 Motion Picture Studio Directory

Her Paramount debut was "The Price Mark" (1917), followed by "Love Letters" (1917), both of which co-starred William Conklin.

She also made "The Dark Mirror" (1920), in which the production was supervised by Ince. Altogether, they collaborated on 31 pictures between 1915 and 1920.

Dorothy Dalton was always a top-billed star working with the best talent and hot properties, such as "Guilty of Love" (1920), based on dramatist Avery Hopwood's 1909 Broadway play "This Woman and This Man," Cecil B. DeMille's "Fool's Paradise" (1921), "Moran of the Lady Letty" (1922), in which she co-starred with Rudolph Valentino, and Victor
Fleming's "Law of the Lawless" (1923).

Rudolph Valentino

She made all of her remaining films for Paramount, except for her last film, "The Lone Wolf (1924), in which she co-starred with Tyrone Power, Sr.

Once married to actor Lew Cody, the divorced Dalton married theatrical impresario Arthur Hammerstein, the uncle of Oscar Hammerstein II, and retired from the screen. Her last film was "The Moral Sinner (1924)," which was directed by Thomas Ince's younger brother Ralph. She was married to Hammerstein for over 30 years, through his death in 1955. Dorothy Dalton Hammerstein died at the age of 78.

Dorothy Dalton Billboard

The eighth instalment of this personal account of the history of the Dalton Genealogical Society by Michael Dalton was published here in “Daltons in History” back in April. In this ninth instalment, Michael resumes the story of the DGS covering the years 1994 and 1995.

At the conclusion of Part 8, I left the story towards the end of 1993, by which time I had settled fully into my new role as bursar at de Stafford School and the DGS had been reorganised with a much strengthened team of officers and committee members. After three difficult years my life and that of the DGS were back on a more even keel!

In November 1993, Vol 20 No 2 of the Journal finally appeared, the first issue to be edited by Morag Simpson and Lucy Slater. It had been over a year since Vol 20 No 1 was published, so it was a relief to see the Journal back again and congratulations were due to Morag and Lucy for their efforts. A particular article in that issue was one by Millicent Craig reporting on a “Dalton Afternoon Social” held on 4 July 1993 at the Roseneath Guest House in Charnock Richard, Lancashire. Millicent, who lived in Palo Alto, California, USA had joined the DGS in 1991 and had undertaken a considerable amount of research on her Lancashire Dalton forebears. This meeting brought together 37 descendants of William Dalton of Dob Cross Farm, Croston, Lancashire, who married Ann Glover and had no less than 17 children, many with Dalton descendants living today (this Lancashire Dalton family is Genetic Family Group E in DIDP). The party was joined Lucy Slater and John Dalton and his family, and Lucy gave a talk about Daltons of Lancashire going back to the earliest known Daltons of Byspham with their Norman origins. Most of those present knew little or nothing about these early Daltons and they were fascinated to hear Lucy’s account of them. A video recording was made of the event including Lucy’s lecture, copies of which are still held by the DGS. Such was the success of this event that it was agreed that there should be another get together a year later to coincide with the 900th anniversary of St Michael’s Church, Croston. This turned into the official DGS Gathering for 1994, more of which in a moment. The other very positive outcome of this first meeting of Millicent with members of the DGS was that she agreed to become the American secretary for the Society. The DGS had built up a considerable number of members in the United States and Canada, and following on the success of the appointment of an Australian secretary back in 1988, I had been keen to identify someone suitable to take on the American role. Millicent was the perfect choice, as has been amply illustrated over the past 18 years.

I attended another Dalton event in November 1993 – a Dalton family reunion held in the village hall at Box Hill near Dorking in Surrey. This was organised by Maureen Collins and brought together over 60 people, most of whom were descended from Zebedee and Maria Dalton who lived in the village of Watton in Norfolk. This is the Norfolk Dalton family from which both Maureen Collins and Pam Lynam are descended and it was through the DGS that Maureen and Pam first met. The reunion was a great success and much work has been done since to establish more details of this Dalton line. So, in 1993, apart from the DGS Gathering in Cambridge, two very successful Dalton reunions took place, one in Lancashire and the other in Surrey. It was clear to me that you cannot hold Daltons back from discovering and sharing their family history!

Moving on to 1994, Lucy and Morag produced Vol 21 of the Journal which was published in June. They had decided to revert to an annual issue of the Journal with a newsletter between volumes. However, such was the flow of material, that Vol 22 appeared in October, and with this issue, for the first time we had the benefit of computer typesetting undertaken by John Dalton’s brother, Tony, which much improved the appearance of the publication.

The 1994 Gathering and AGM held at Charnock Richard and Croston, Lancashire in July 1994

In July 1994, Millicent hosted the gathering and AGM in Lancashire. We stayed at the Roseneath Guest House at Charnock Richard and enjoyed the festivities in Croston over the weekend. The AGM was held at Roseneath Guest House on the Saturday morning. Derek Dalton of Parbold, Lancashire and a cousin of Millicent, was co-opted onto the committee. Jill Warren had announced her retirement as Australian secretary after seven years and had arranged for Joy Chesson, a DGS member living near Sydney, to take over from her. The AGM confirmed Joy as the new Australian Secretary and Millicent as the American Secretary and co-opted both onto the committee. All other officers and committee members continued as before.

One of the floats in the colourful "Coffee Day" parade in Croston	Another view of the parade

The cobbled street leading up to Croston Church DGS members, Jack and Pamela Richards with Faith and Bill Keymer in the foreground	Millicent Craig, Lucy Slater and Alicia Riley help themselves to the buffet at the Hind's Head, Charnock Richard

On the Saturday afternoon, we travelled over to nearby Croston to view the Coffee Day procession, so called because in earlier days participants were served with coffee and cake at a local home following the walk round the village. It is an old tradition that relatives and friends all try to come back to Croston for this event, which stems from the old ceremony of walking the boundaries of the parish. The procession was a very colourful spectacle and included a horse drawn cart festooned with flowers, carrying the Sunday school class and belonging to Derek Dalton. As Millicent reported in the Journal, there were many Dalton cousins in the procession and “in the midst of the throngs of people lining the streets were dozens of Daltons, all related to each other, cousins, half cousins, aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces”. In the evening we returned to Charnock Richard and went to the nearby Hind’s Head hostelry which provided us with a very fine buffet dinner, memorable for the quality (and the quantity) of the lamb chops! After dinner Millicent gave a talk about her great great grandfather, William Dalton of Dob Cross Farm, with some humorous stories about some of his many descendants. On Sunday we attended morning service at Croston Church and the vicar, the Rev Robert Brunswick gave the DGS a special welcome. We then visited Dob Cross Farm, and also took the opportunity to visit Byspham Green and Rufford Hall before, for me, a long drive home on Sunday evening, so that I could be back at my bursar’s desk on Monday morning.

Millicent gives her talk about the Croston Daltons	Other members of the attentive audience

The 1995 Gathering and AGM held at Ullingswick, Herefordshire in July 1995

May 1995 saw the publication of Vol 23 of the Journal and with this being the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Society, it was designated the Silver Jubilee Volume. In addition Lucy Slater prepared a booklet containing a contents list of the DGS Journal, which gave a synopsis of each article in all the issues of the Journal from Vol 1 in 1970 to Vol 23 in 1995. This was published in the summer of 1995 and distributed to all members. The committee also agreed that the Silver Jubilee should be celebrated in an appropriate way, and my cousin, Christopher Dalton, and his wife Susan kindly agreed to host the 1995 AGM and gathering at their home in Herefordshire, tucked away in the tiny hamlet of Ullingswick, about 10 miles north of the city of Hereford.

Preparations for the July gathering were punctuated a few weeks before by the sudden death of Joyce Parker which came as a great shock to all who knew her. Joyce suffered a serious stroke and was admitted to Worthing hospital where, after a short time, she had another stroke and died. She had turned 80 in the previous October. Her passing was a great loss to all who knew her, and particularly of course to the DGS. Joyce had been closely involved from the beginning and she was someone I had come to know very well over a period of nearly 20 years. Much of my knowledge of the family history of the descendants of John Dalton and Hannah Neale had been passed on to me by Joyce. Her great character and sense of fun, and her eccentricity, would be missed by us all.

Of course, we carried on with the arrangements for the gathering. Joyce would not have wanted it any other way. The event was a great success, with DGS members present from Australia (Pat Adams) and from the United States (Ed and Marilyn Dalton). Our AGM was held on the Saturday morning in Ullingswick village church, just next door to Christopher and Susan’s home, Upper Court. The officers and committee remained as previously, but with Howard Dalton taking on the role of Assistant Treasurer, so relieving Morag of some of her load.

Susan Dalton with the 25th Anniversary Cake	Tea in the garden at Upper court, Ullingswick, home of Christopher and Susan Dalton

Group photograph before dinner Standing: Ian and Morag Simpson, Dick Hamilton, Pat Adams, Susan Dalton, Kate and Michael Dalton, Maureen Collins, Pam Lynam, Marilyn and Edward Dalton, Pamela and Jack Richards Kneeling: Tony Dalton, Christopher Dalton, John Dalton	Drinks before dinner with Dick Hamilton, Pat Adams, Kate Dalton, Pam Lynam, Michael Dalton

Over the weekend some of us stayed at Upper Court, some at another old house in the village, and others at a hotel in Hereford. On the Saturday afternoon tea was served in the garden with a wonderful anniversary cake made by Susan, and then on the Saturday evening we held the candlelit Silver Jubilee Dinner, the highlight of which was the main course “Duckling a la Dalton”, most expertly prepared for us by Susan. After dinner the health of the DGS was proposed by Jack Richards, husband of committee member Pamela Richards. Jack is a family historian of considerable standing in his own right having founded the Offley Society as a one name society, so it was most appropriate that he should congratulate the DGS on its 25 years of recording and publishing Dalton family history. It was a pleasure for me to respond to Jack’s toast and I referred particularly to Edith Leaning, author of “The Dalton Book”, without whose work the Society would almost certainly never have been formed. In conclusion I proposed toasts to absent friends, to Edith Leaning and to Christopher and Susan for their superb hosting of the weekend.

The Silver Jubilee Dinner is under way

So the DGS had reached its 25th birthday. In the next instalment I will move on and cover the next period in the Society’s development.

From Maureen Collins, Secretary for Australia and New Zealand via France

Merchant Navy Research:

As from 14th July, The Caird Library at the NMM will be relocated to the new "Sammy Ofer Wing" of the Museum and from approximately the end of September, all resources and documents previously held off site will be available in the new Caird Library due to the increased storage available following the relocation. In addition, the website indicates that the opening hours for research will be increased, probably to six days every week. Library staff will not undertake research however, a list of independent researchers is available but of course there will be a charge for this. The link is:

http://www.nmm.ac.uk/researchers/library/visiting/

The new Caird Library in the Sammy Ofer Wing

Museum of Liverpool (UK):

The new Museum of Liverpool (UK) opened on 19th July and details are available on the following link. Anyone with Liverpool ancestors planning a trip to Liverpool would find this museum very valuable for "meat on the bones". The link is:

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/

Liverpool Local Studies Collection:

Another good Liverpool (UK) site contains the new online catalogue of the Liverpool Local Studies Collection held by the Liverpool Record office at the Central Library in William Brown Street, Liverpool. The link is:

http://liverpool.gov.uk/libraries-and-archives/archives-local-and-family-history/

I hope that everyone has been enjoying the summer!

As you read this, the 2011 Gathering in Salt Lake City is about 6 weeks away. We've been planning the Gathering for a long time, and it's hard to believe that the dates for the event are fast approaching.

2011 Gathering in Salt Lake City

This year, DGS members will gather in Salt Lake City, Utah for our annual Gathering. The weekend will combine a meeting agenda of speakers on several branches of Daltons, along with time to take advantage of the research facilities at the LDS Family History Library. To acquaint us with the vast holdings in the Family History Library, we will hear from a professional genealogist who will offer tips on how to make the most of our research time in the Library.

Our roster of speakers will also talk about the Utah Daltons, who were among the first settlers of Salt Lake City and early members of the Mormon faith, and who trace their Dalton roots back to Wales. We will also here about the Virginia Daltons, Group A in the Dalton International DNA Project, and about the Irish Daltons in Group D. Our presenters will talk about how traditional research is helping to document the connections in these genetic families that were established through DNA testing. We also plan to provide a remote presentation from Chris Pomery, our DNA consultant. Chris will speak to us via teleconferencing - a DGS first.

The next installment of the Gathering newsletter, sent on 1st August, 2011 contains new and updated info on the Gathering. We have added a new speaker: Cathy Negrycz will talk about research to link the members of Genetic family D. The newsletter also includes information on live streaming of the presentations over the internet, and on new auction items added to the silent auction. You can read the Gathering Newsletter at: http://www.daltonamericas.org/gathering/August2011Gen.htm

A special note to members in the Salt Lake City area who plan to attend the Saturday night banquet and the conference session on Sunday - please note that you MUST REGISTER TO ATTEND! Please send your Registration NO LATER THAN 15th August, 2011. After 15th August, 2011 there will be a 10% increase in the prices.

Dalton Data Bank Update and Web Site Statistics:

Web Sites Update:

For the period from 1 July to 27 July, 2011.

Update to the Data Bank:

None. This is the first time that the DDB hasn’t had an update or correction in 2+ years.

DDB Web Site Usage Statistics:

35,638 visits came from 166 Countries / Territories

Map showing July DDB visitor distribution

Top 10 Countries by Visits:

1. UK – 7,396
2. India – 5,517
3. USA – 3,334
4. Pakistan – 3,226
5. Argentina – 1,430
6. Colombia – 1,301
7. South Africa – 1,155
8. Australia – 759
9. Ireland – 703
10. Mexico – 683

Top 10 Pages Visited:

1. Home Page
2. Join Us (Pop up on Home Page)
3. England
4. USA
5. Australia
6. Republic of Ireland
7. South Africa
8. Canada
9. Scotland
10. Dalton Chronicles

Comparatives:

DDB Comparison Chart

Dalton Forum:

There are a total of 242 Posts in 145 Topics by 320 Members.

During the reporting period, there were 2 new topics added, 5 new posts and 11 new members added.

DGS Web Site Usage Statistics:

1,500 Visits from 74 Countries / Territories

Map showing DGS visitor distribution

Top 10 Countries by Visits:

1. United States – 620
2. UK – 309
3. Australia – 97
4. Ireland – 80
5. Canada – 68
6. Pakistan – 49
7. India – 40
8. New Zealand – 14
9. Argentina – 13
10. South Africa – 12

Top 10 Pages Visited:

1. Home Page
2. Membership
3. Daltons in History
4. Daltons in History Archive
5. Dalton International DNA Project
6. Daltons in History Archive
7. Photo / Video Gallery
8. Journal Index
9. Daltons in History (May)
10. Archive of Gatherings

Comparatives:

DGS Comparatives

Membership Page Tracking:

There were a total of 380 visits to the Membership page. 343 Visitors (93%) were as a result of links from the DDB “Become a Member!” pop-up box and the Google Ad Campaign. One visit was as a result of a Daltons in History link. The remaining 36 Visitors (7%) were generated from within the DGS site.

The graph below depicts the flow of Visitors to the Membership Page:

Membership Page Graphics

Google Ad Campaigns:

Dalton Data Bank Site:

19,523 Visitors reached the Data Bank by clicking on one of the 1,882,563 Google Ads served during the reporting period.

DGS Site:

16 Visitors reached the DGS site by clicking on one of the 8,559 Google Ads served during the reporting period.

Google Ads for new memberships:

This Ad Campaign generated 8 visits to the Membership information from 3,587 Google Ads served during the reporting period.

And just before you go:

Are you related?

Photo from Webster & Stevens Collection, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle; reproduced by permission of the Museum of History and Industry, Seattle Washington

Mike Dalton in Oregon found this interesting photo of an auto repair and chimney sweep business in Seattle, Washington circa 1911. It appears that J. W. Dalton was an interesting entrepreneur. A preliminary search in US Census records and other on-line resources hasn't pointed to a conclusive match for J.W. Dalton Jr.

He *may* be the Joseph Dalton, Jr. listed in the 1910 census, born about 1891, living in Seattle, married to Helen M. Rose.

Does this sound familiar? Could J.W. be part of your Dalton line? If you think there is a connection please let us know, and we'll include your story in a future "Daltons in History."

And finally

I am looking forward to meeting many of you in September!

With best regards,
Karen Dalton Preston
North American Secretary

Thank you to all who have contributed to the August 2011 issue of "Daltons in History".

Salt Lake City is now drawing ever nearer!! Click this link for details. ANYONE WITHOUT A RESERVATION WHO STILL WISHES TO ATTEND SHOULD CONTACT KAREN IMMEDIATELY.

Due to time constraints the Lucy Slater Archives and the next part of Bill Dalton's family history will be back in September 2011.

Please send me any ideas you may have for future articles or areas of research we could look at. New ideas are needed!!

Please consider contributing a short description of any Dalton-related travels you may have undertaken anywhere in the world. Also members who are travelling to do research, visit a Dalton-connected site, or have made a connection to a distant cousin through the DGS. might be interested in letting other members know what they are doing through "Daltons in History". Photos from your travels would be appreciated. Also, it would be a way of helping members get to know each other a little better, and might help members who are widely dispersed geographically to feel a bit more connected.

Contributions for the September 2011 issue need to be with me no later than 25th August, 2011. (e-mail: dairneirwin@ntlworld.com).

We must now continue to stick to the set deadlines as Mel is still getting complaints about the late appearance of the "Daltons in History"!!