Introduction

As always, greetings to all readers of "Daltons in History"!!

I am writing this at the conclusion of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations which have taken centre stage in London over this special extended weekend. What a triumph they have been and I am sure that over these past days everyone has been touched by the scenes of the pageant on the River Thames, the amazing concert outside Buckingham Palace, the service at St Paul’s Cathedral and the appearance of the Royal Family on the balcony at the palace. As a Liveryman of one of London’s ancient livery companies, the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass, I was privileged to watch the river pageant from Southwark Cathedral. A special stained glass window to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee has been commissioned by the Glaziers Company and donated to the cathedral. Recently installed, it was dedicated by the Bishop of Southwark at a splendid Choral Evensong Service, held after the Royal Barge had passed by the cathedral and attended by many members of the livery.

It is only fitting that the Dalton Genealogical Society joins in these celebrations and extends congratulations to Her Majesty The Queen from all our members on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee. God bless her and long may she continue to reign over us!

May has been another busy month for the Society and, as always, you will find below all the latest news about DGS events and activities, together with other updates to keep you fully informed about what we are doing.

Future DGS events

The 2012 Gathering and AGM in Yorkshire over the weekend of Fri/Sat/Sun 27th/28th/29th July 2012 is now less than two months away. The venue for this event is the Mercure Hull West Hotel, situated between Hull, with a number of interesting Dalton connections, and Beverley with its Minster and excellent Record Office. The arrangements for the 2012 gathering have been published and they can be found in the “Forthcoming Gatherings" section of this website or just click here. These include the planned programme for the weekend, together with full details about costs, registration and how to book your place. This has proved to be a popular event for both UK and overseas members, and officially our final deadline of 31st May 2012 for registration has now passed. However, if you still wish to join us and have not already registered, it may still be possible to fit you in. The hotel has kindly offered to keep accommodation available for us until one month before, ie Wednesday 27 June 2012. Anyone still interested in attending should contact me immediately by email (michaelndalton@aol.com) and I will do my best to assist in securing a room for you and adding you to the attendance lists for the various events during the weekend.

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. In April Howard and I finalised the arrangements with the hotel and checked out each element of the programme for the weekend. There was a report in last month’s "Daltons in History" on a number of exciting details that have now been confirmed. This was the fifth in a series of articles about Yorkshire Daltons and the County of Yorkshire, which have been published month by month in the lead up to the event itself in July. All these articles can now be found in the "Forthcoming Gatherings" section of this website. This month we publish below the details of the 2012 Annual General Meeting of the Society, which will be held during the weekend on the Saturday morning.

For 2013 we are returning to Ireland. We will be based in Dublin, as we were in 2005, and the event will take place over the weekend of Fri/Sat/Sun 26th/27th/28th July 2013. It is planned that we will stay at the Ashling Hotel, where we were in 2005. Since then the hotel has been considerably refurbished and I am confident that we will be very well looked after. You can see more about the Ashling Hotel on www.ashlinghotel.ie. Ciaran Dalton, our Irish Secretary and Chieftain of Clan Dalton, and I are now working to put a detailed programme together, and we will provide further details in July at our Hull Gathering, on this website and in the next issue of the DGS Journal. In the meantime please reserve the dates in your diary. We will hope to see many DGS members there and particularly those with Irish Dalton ancestry.

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 six years, which includes the preparation of three issues of the very comprehensive project progress report, and most recently a series of six reports covering individual genetic families. He has also given informative presentations at our annual gatherings on three occasions. We now have approaching 180 participants in the project, and well over 80% of these are members of one of the 15 identified genetic families. The latest DIDP update was published in February and can be found in the "Dalton DNA Project" section of this website or just click here. This reviews the current status of the project and looks ahead with our plans for further work in 2012.

Our North American Secretary, Karen Dalton Preston announces below in her notes the appointment of Melanie Crain as the new coordinator for Genetic Family A, the Virginia Daltons. Those of us who heard Melanie speak about this family group in her presentation at the Salt Lake City gathering last September have first-hand knowledge of Melanie’s extensive research into and understanding of the family history of this Dalton group. We look forward to Melanie continuing this work and, in particular, using the outputs from DIDP to further our knowledge of the Dalton lines embraced within the group and their Dalton ancestral origins.

The DGS Journal

Volume 55 of the DGS Journal for December 2011 was published and distributed to members in mid-January. As always this latest volume of our award winning Journal contains much of interest and, if you are not a DGS member, please think about joining the Society. This will entitle you to receive the Journal regularly, and much more. Full details are in the "Join the DGS" section of this website, or just click here.

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. The deadline for material for inclusion in Volume 56 for June 2012 was the end of May. If anyone has further items they need to be sent to John immediately.

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 55 and the full synopses will be uploaded in due course. Copies of all back numbers are available for purchase and these can be obtained through your local secretary using the order form that you will find on the link above. Details of prices, including postage and packing, will be found there as well.

We are most grateful to DGS member Mrs Pat Robinson, who holds stocks of back numbers for the Society and arranges for their distribution in response to requests from the local secretaries (address: Mallards, 3 High Street, The Green, Barrington, Cambridge CB2 5QX, UK email: gandprobinson@waitrose.com.)

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 July 2012.

Thank you for your attention

Yours very sincerely

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

Notice is hereby given that the 2012 Annual General Meeting of the Dalton Genealogical Society will be held on Saturday 28 July, 2012 in the Garden Suite of the Mercure Hull West Hotel, Grange Park Lane, Willerby, Hull HU10 6EA, UK commencing at 10.00 am.

The agenda for the meeting will be as follows:

1. Welcome and opening remarks by the Chairman

2. Apologies for absence

3. Minutes of the 2011 Annual General Meeting and matters arising

4. Chairman’s report

5. Treasurer’s report

6. Secretary’s report

7. Election of officers and committee

8. Reports by the Editors of the DGS Journal and of “Daltons in History”

9. Report on the Dalton International DNA Project

10. Australia and New Zealand Secretary’s report

11. North American Secretary’s report

12. Irish Secretary’s report

13. Forthcoming gatherings and AGMs

14. Any other business

15. Close

• The minutes of the 2011 AGM were published in DGSJ Vol 54 (Jul 11) pp 41-45 and also on the DGS website (Agenda item 3). All other papers for the meeting, including the accounts for 2011 (Agenda item 5) will be made available at the meeting.

In the May 2012 issue of "Daltons in History", the last instalment in this series covered the year 1999. This personal account of the history of the Dalton Genealogical Society by Michael Dalton continues with the fourteenth instalment, commencing at the beginning of the new millennium.

Besides being the millennium year, 2000 was also the year of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Society. With the focus being on our special millennium projects which I covered last month in Part 13 of this series of articles, the committee decided not to organise a special celebratory event, and I agreed that the AGM should be held at our home in Reigate, Surrey. It had been four years since the previous event hosted by Kate and I and we were pleased to have the opportunity to entertain members of the Society again. In the event we had a small gathering of members with many apologies for absence, but those present enjoyed a lovely lunch prepared by Kate with some assistance from my mother and my aunt. The sun shone and after the AGM we relaxed in the garden with a cup of tea.

DGS Annual General Meeting held on 19 August, 2000 at the home of the Chairman in Reigate, Surrey

Jack Richards, Maureen Collins and the Chairman
tackle the cheese and biscuits!
Lucy Slater and Millicent Craig
Pamela Richards and Joan Bodie (aunt of the Chairman)
Pam Lynam and Antony Cox ponder a point of discussion
Jack Richards and Maureen Collins
Tea is enjoyed in the garden after the meeting

I particularly remember this AGM because it took place only two days after Kate and I returned from a three and a half week tour of China. With both of us working in schools we had to fit our holiday in between the end of term and the middle of the summer holiday as I needed to be back to oversee various building works at the school that had to be completed before the start of the autumn term in early September. Such was the lot of a busy bursar! But we did much enjoy visiting China and witnessing this then still emerging nation – how much it has all changed over the past 12 years.

Turning to the AGM itself, the minutes record another year of progress for the Society. It was a particular pleasure to have both Millicent and Maureen present and they each gave full accounts of the development of the DGS in America and in Australia respectively. Lucy announced her retirement as Executive Secretary of the Society. With her advancing years and declining health she had reluctantly decided it was time to hand the baton on, but she agreed to stay on the committee and continue doing Dalton family history research for members, her first love. Pam Lynam, who had been Minutes Secretary since 1993, was appointed to take over as Executive Secretary and Michael Cayley joined the committee as Librarian.

During the year, the usual two volumes of the DGS Journal appeared, and a quick look at their contents shows that they were both packed with interesting and informative articles. Many of these were written by Pamela Richards, Michael Cayley and Millicent Craig and all three are owed a great debt of gratitude by the Society for their prolific writing in the Journal, extending over many years. Of course there have been several other prolific contributors and Lucy Slater and Dick Hamilton immediately come to mind in this regard. This leads me to the sad news of the year 2000.

Dick Hamilton had been ill for some time suffering a serious stroke which necessitated him going into hospital and then into a nursing home, where he died on 8 September, 2000 at the age of 86. I was privileged to be asked to deliver an appreciation of his life at his funeral, which was held at the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Glynde in Sussex. I had first met Dick some 30 years before and we shared much together over those years with his close interest in and involvement with the Society. He was a stalwart member of the DGS committee from 1979, when he was elected at our first Gathering and AGM, until his death. The enduring testimony to Dick is of course the collection of those numerous scholarly and meticulously researched articles that he wrote for the DGS Journal over so many years. To start and review those here would take time and space not available to me, but one day I will write such a review. They are the backbone of so much of what we now have recorded in the annals of Dalton family history. Dick was buried in the churchyard at Glynde, a place where he joined his mother and many members of his Dalton family, his grandfather having been the Rev William Edward Dalton, Vicar of Glynde for so many years until his death in 1928.

With Dick’s passing, what I call the "old guard" of the DGS had all departed. Joyce Parker, Morag Simpson and Dick Hamilton were all close Dalton cousins of mine, sharing common ancestry, descending from John Dalton and Hannah Neale; and each of them had a profound effect on the development of my interest in Dalton family history, and the formation of the Dalton Genealogical Society. We still miss them and treasure their memory.

Next time I will move onto 2001. As this series of articles progresses we move to more familiar territory, and much more of what I record will be familiar to a larger cross section of the audience for this personal history of the Society. I will endeavour to keep it personal and at times it will be anecdotal. I am conscious that, with the advent of the DGS website, much more of the last ten years of this history has been recorded in some depth already, and I will try not to be too repetitive. As always, it will be for the reader to judge if I have succeeded!

This is the sixth instalment of the Dalton family who were descended from John and Susannah Dalton of Ireland, based on information given by Bill Dalton of Gig Harbour, Washington, USA with additional information from the Editor.

When you first begin to collect information about your family it is all too easy to see each individual in isolation and not the family as a whole. As we search for births, marriages and deaths, if we are not careful, you can finish up with lists of names and numbers, almost as though you are collecting car registrations! It is important to look at the environment and historical setting that our families are growing up in.

When Bill Dalton first sent to me the information, he had collected about his Dalton family, little was I to know that it would lead me to find out about life and conditions in the Welsh coalfields during the nineteenth century, to think about why young families emigrated to a new life across the water and to begin to research the coalmining industry of Philadelphia, USA. I have followed the family from the city of Dublin, Ireland to the green of Duncormick, County Wexford in Southeast Ireland, across the Irish Sea to Aberdare, South Wales and finally to Pennsylvania USA.

In past editions of Daltons in History I have mentioned the family as they arrived in Pennsylvania and followed Robert and Winifred Dalton as their family grew. This time I decided to draw up a time line recording the children’s births to try and get a picture of the family and the places where they lived.

Over a period of nearly 30 years fourteen children were born. The eldest daughter possibly called Hannah (no records at present) and the eldest son John, the latter being born Sept 21 1870 in Aberdare Wales.

The young family crossed the Atlantic to set up home in Pennsylvania where on 12th December, 1872 their second son James Francis is born followed two years later by Peter.

The following three children Mary Agnes, 10th April, 1876, Susan, 1871 and Robert F. May 1879 were born in Dunbar, a borough of Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The family, with six children the eldest not quite 9 years of age, were living in a small town some 50 miles from Pittsburgh.

This area had only been settled in the 1790’s and only became incorporated as a town in 1883 after the family had moved there. The town was originally called Frogtown, then Dunbar City and then finally its present name Dunbar. It is not recorded when these name changes took place. The town was named after Colonel Thomas Dunbar who was in charge of the 48th Regiment of Foot during the undeclared French/Indian war. The Colonel had come to America with General Edward Braddock in 1755 to help regain Fort Dusquesue. In 1793 Isaac Meason founded the Union Furnace which drew many people to the area for work – perhaps this is why Robert Dalton brought his family there? The area eventually became a rich industrial area. Iron was made from coke in 1854 even before the iron mills of Pittsburgh were set up. As recently as 2000 Dunbar’s population was only 1219.

More information including videos and pictures of the historical buildings can be viewed at www.dunbarhistoricalsociety.com

The family are next recorded in the 1880 census living in Jefferson Township, Alleghany County – father Robert had been unemployed for 7 months previously, normally he would have worked as a miner. More information can be read in the February 2012 issue of "Daltons in History" (Vol 15 Number 2) about this area.

The family continued to move probably as Robert searched for work. In 1881 they are recorded as living in West Elizabeth, Pennsylvania where on 2nd April a fifth son William J. is born. Again they were living in a small township, only laid out in 1833 less than 50 years earlier. The settlement was on the west bank of the Monongahela River and was known for coal mining and ship building. Along the river coal was transported by barge to feed the industries of Pittsburgh.

The town had been founded in 1787 by a Samuel Mackay, Colonel Stephen Bayard and his wife Elizabeth Mackay Bayard, from whom the town was named after. In 1834 it received its charter. Amongst its earliest industries were glass making, safe making, steamboat and ship building. In 1872 there were two coal inclines – the O’Neil and Company Coal 1 incline on pool 1 and Lobb’s Run Incline on pool 2.

Sketch of Elizabeth and West Elizabeth around 1897

See the article on local history at the time at http://elizabethboro.com/history/Elizabeth%20Herald%20November%204,%201887.html

Also see maps/pictures from http://www.city-data.com/city/west-Elizabeth-Pennsylvania.html

In the following three years two more daughters arrived. First Elizabeth C. 6th May, 1883 followed by Johanna March 1884 recorded in Alleghany County. The family of 9 children, the eldest by now 17 years of age, then moved across the river to East Elizabeth where Thomas E. is born 28th January, 1887. This again was a small settlement – as recently as 2010 the population was only 518.

What must it have been like to have to support a growing family? It cannot have been easy, always on the move looking for work and searching for accommodation.

By 1890 the family have moved again, this time to Homestead, Pennsylvania where they settled for a number of years.

Homestead lies in the Mon Valley seven miles to the southeast of Pittsburgh and as before they are living on the southern bank of the Monogahela River. The first white settlers had only reached this area in the 1770’s and it was not until a hundred years later much of the existing farmland, on the flats and hillsides by the river, was purchased and laid out in lots. The land was sold by local banks and landowners to create the town of Homestead. The town’s charter was signed in 1870, the first iron mill was opened in 1881 and in 1883 Andrew Carnegie bought the Homestead Steel Works to add to his expanding industrial empire.

On 25th June, 1890 their seventh son Edward N. was born at Homestead. Little was the family yet to know that they would probably witness and may be involved in an important part of labour relations in the U.S.A.

For, in Spring 1892, Henry Clay Frick, manager for Andrew Carnegie owner of the steelworks, announced that the wages of all skilled workers would be reduced. The advisory committee of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers refused to sign the new contract. The management then locked out the workforce and said that they would no longer recognise the union.

Andrew Carnegie
Henry Clay Frick

To break the strike and secure the mill from the disgruntled workers, Henry Clay Frick hired hundreds of armed men from the Pinkerton Detective Agency. On the morning of 6th July, 1892 barges arrived at the mill containing these men. The striking workers and local townspeople are reported as waiting on the river bank. Eye witness accounts differ on who fired the first shot. The struggle lasted throughout the day and by the end there were eleven deaths and numerous injuries. The Governor of Pennsylvania called out the National Guard to restore order and to take control of the mill.

By the actions of Henry Clay Frick the union was destroyed at not just Homestead but at his other steel mills. It was said that the battle of Homestead was a setback for the unionisation of the highly mechanised steel industry.

By the end of the century two more children had been born Charles T. 9th January, 1894 and Elizabeth C. in 1898.

Interestingly or perhaps coincidently a Carnegie Library was opened to the public in 1898 – an impressive stone building set in parkland in the nearby neighbourhood of Munhall. It was one of only three Andrew Carnegie Libraries provided with an endowment. Some people say it was a peace offering, others point out that it had been planned before the strike.

Carnegie Library, Homestead, PA

Today the Bost building, which was the headquarters of the strikers, has been restored. This brick structure is a National Landmark and is a museum and visitors centre of the Rivers of Steel Heritage area. Many churches, commercial buildings and homes of the late nineteenth century can still be seen today.

Bost Building, Homestead, PA - Union Headquarters during the strike

The Homestead Strike was an industrial lockout and strike which began on 30th June, 1892, culminating in a battle between strikers and private security agents on 6th July, 1892. The battle was the second largest and one of the most serious disputes in U.S. labor history second only to the Battle of Blair Mountain. The dispute occurred at the Homestead Steel Works in the town of Homestead, Pennsylvania, between the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers (the AA) and the Carnegie Steel Company. The final result was a major defeat for the union and a setback for efforts to unionize steelworkers.

Homestead Pennsylvania Railroad Station - Built in 1890
St Mary Magdelene Church - 1895

Many of the historic buildings in Homestead are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

By the 1900 census the family had moved to rented accommodation in Cleveland, Ohio. There were still ten children living at home John, James, Robert and William employed in the steel industry, Mary and Elizabeth and the youngest Charles at home whilst Thomas, Johanna and Edward attended school. James is recorded as having been married for a year.

Robert and Winifred Dalton and their children led a life of continuing to move around Pennsylvania, often to newly emerging small townships. They were there at the beginning of the industrialisation of the area. I wonder if Robert ever looked back to his youth in Ireland and the green fields of County Wexford.

From Cathy Negrycz, Punts Gorda, Florida, USA

We have new addition to the Dalton Clan.

Here's another Dalton in the William Dalton Family.

William (Bill) Dalton and his wife Kristin have a new addition to their family in Fort Meyers, Florida:

Seamus Patrick Dalton - Born 5th June, 2012

Weight - 7lbs. 12oz.

Length - 20"

Mum and baby are doing fine!!

Seamus Patrick Dalton

 

My goodness, where does the time go? 2012 can't possible be half over, but it is.

Here in Las Vegas, we are settling into our summer heat, so David and I are trying to spend as much time as possible in the cool indoors. This is great for doing genealogy, however - I am definitely motivated to stay at my desk in the air-conditioning.

June seems to be the official start of summer, and the beginning of summer vacations. As you plan your summer travel, if you will be doing any family history research, or traveling to any Dalton-related places, please take lots of photos and share your travels with us by submitting photos and a few words. We'd all love to see where you've been!

A New Coordinator for Genetic Family A:

I am pleased to announce that Melanie Crain of North Carolina will be replacing me as the Group Coordinator for Genetic Family A within the Dalton International DNA Project (DIDP), effective this month. Those of you who are members of Group A will know that Melanie has spent several years researching the origins of the Virginia Daltons, and documenting the various Dalton family trees within this large Genetic Family. She is also very familiar with the challenges of finding a connection between the various Dalton family lines among the Group A testees, and the search for the distant origins of the Common Ancestor.

Many of you have seen her excellent presentation on the Albemarle Daltons that was presented at the 2011 DGS Gathering in Salt Lake City, and can be viewed on the Dalton Data Bank web site at http://www.daltondatabank.org/SLCPresentations.html.

Genetic Family A continues to be the largest genetic family within the DIDP. In 2009, the DNA Project had 120 members, with over one third of the testees falling into Group A. The Project now includes 163 testees, of whom 49 are members of Group A.

My own Dalton ancestry is part of the "Golden Vale" Irish Daltons in Group D. When I assumed the role of coordinator for Group A in 2009, it was always my intention to pass the baton to someone among the Group A genetic cousins who would be more familiar with the Group's ancestry. Happily, Melanie will now take on this role.

I will continue to work with Michael Neale Dalton as co-Adminstrator of our Dalton International DNA Project, and as the Family Coordinator for Genetic Family D. If anyone has questions about testing, about the DNA Project, or just needs more info, please email me at karen@golden-hills.com.

. . . and a word from Melanie Crain

Melanie Crain

It is a pleasure and a privilege to work with the Family Group A in the Dalton International DNA Project, and I thank Karen for asking me to take on this responsibility.

While the colonial Virginia Daltons are not the earliest Dalton line in colonial America, our ancestors came here almost three hundred years ago. Now, to find out, if we can, who the common ancestor(s) are. With your help, it is possible.

Activity on Facebook:

There has been a great deal of Dalton family activity on Facebook in the last month. As I wrote in the April edition of "Daltons in History", the descendants of David Dalton, Sr. (part of the Albemarle Daltons) have created a group page on Facebook. Recently, several members of the group have posted old family photos that relate to the extended family of the Dalton Gang. Even if your Dalton lineage does not include the Dalton Gang, it is very interesting to see the old photos. Do you see any family resemblance?

If you are on Facebook, you can take a look at the recent activity at - http://www.facebook.com/groups/daviddaltonsr/

And, I am pleased to see that we have a new member in the DIDP who found us through Facebook. He believes that the DNA testing will confirm that he is related to the Virginia Daltons, and will be a match to Group A in the DIDP.

Now for the usual business of the month:

Web Sites Update:

For the period from 1 May, 2012 to 31 May, 2012

Updates to the Data Bank:

11 May, 2012: Boston, Massachusetts - Added 1837 Edward Dalton Marriage Contributed by Chuck Brown, Illinois

5 May, 2012: Dalton Chronicles - Mary Emma Cook of Thurnham Hall Contributed by Rodney G. Dalton, Utah

Special Site Addition:

In compliance with the new UK / EU Law requiring websites to inform users of the use of browser cookies, we have added a pop-up that explains how we use this information, and allows the Visitor to either accept our cookies, or to go back to the page they previously visited.

DDB Web Site Usage Statistics:

19,828 visitors came from 104 Countries / Territories

DDB Web Site Usage Statistics

Top 10 pages visited

Visits by date

Dalton Forum:

There are a total of 282 Posts in 176 Topics by 391 Members.
During the reporting period, there were 4 new topic added, 5 new posts and 11 new members added.

DGS Web Site Usage Statistics:

1,482 Visits from 54 Countries / Territories

DGS Web Site Usage Statistics

Top 10 pages visited

Visits by date

Google Ad Campaigns:

Dalton Data Bank Site:

15,335 Visitors reached the Data Bank by clicking on one of the 2,043,140 Google Ads served during the reporting period.

We have started a "Join Us" Ad Campaign for the DGS site. Here are the results for the reporting period:

27 Visitors reached the DGS UK Site by clicking on one of the 9,138 Google Ads served during the reporting period.

That's all until next month.

Wishing you all a wonderful summer!

Karen Dalton Preston
North American Secretary

Thank you to all who have contributed to the June 2012 issue of "Daltons in History".

Mel and I hope you have all had a good month.

The annual Gathering in Hull is now under two months away!! Roll on the end of July!

ANYONE WHO WANTS TO ATTEND BUT HAS NOT BOOKED, PLEASE CONTACT MICHAEL! (michaelndalton@aol.com).

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

Please make use of the new "Correspondence section". We need your contributions. This section is your chance!!

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 are slipping, where are you all?? It gets harder each month to put things together!!

Contributions for the July 2012 issue need to be with me no later than 3rd July, 2012. (e-mail: dairneirwin@ntlworld.com). You have extra time use it!

Please stick to the new deadline!! There is no excuse for missing it this time around - PLAN AHEAD!!

Mel and I will be spending more time away over the coming months now that we are fully mobile, so the deadlines are more important than ever!!