Introduction

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

During August we have continued to add to the record of the Yorkshire Gathering, and if you have not yet visited the photo and video gallery created by David Preston, please do – just click here. You will find a wonderful record of the weekend in pictures, together with a collection of video recordings made of all the presentations, the AGM and the entertainment on the Saturday evening. And in this issue of "Daltons in History", you will find reminiscences from a few of those who joined us in Hull and the minutes of our AGM.

Also during the last month, the DGS committee has been busy following up on action points from the committee meeting that we held in Hull on Friday 27 July ,2012. It was a very useful meeting and you will be hearing more from me about a number of important initiatives that we will be implementing and progressing over the coming months.

As usual, 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

For the 2013 Gathering and AGM 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 accommodated 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 their website at 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 be concentrating on Dalton families with Irish ancestry. I am planning a visit to Dublin in the autumn and further details will be provided on this website in December, and in Volume 57 of the DGS Journal when it is published at the end of the year. 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.

As announced at the Annual General Meeting, plans are now being made for 2014 and 2015 with the Burgundy area of France and Virginia, USA as the suggested locations. It has also been proposed that we return to South Wales, UK, maybe in 2016. The DGS committee is actively taking these plans forward and we will be making further more detailed announcements in the coming months about locations and dates. So watch this space!

And, as we like to plan ahead and explore other options for our annual gathering events, 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)

Our DNA project continues to attract considerable interest with a regular stream of enquiries about joining being received by myself and Karen Dalton Preston as administrators of the project. Chris Pomery, our DNA consultant, joined us at our Annual DGS Dinner at the Yorkshire Gathering and gave us a brief update on what is planned in terms of project progress reporting between now and the end of 2012. You will find more about this in the DIDP Update below.

We are indebted to Chris 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 several occasions. We now have some 180 participants in the project, including three new recruits at the Yorkshire gathering, and well over 80% are members of one of the 15 identified genetic families.

The DGS Journal

Volume 56 of the DGS Journal for June 2012 was published and distributed in early July. 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.

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 56 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 October 2012.

Thank you for your attention.

Yours very sincerely

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

In the December 2011 issue of "Daltons in History", "The DGS – the first 40 Years – Part 11" included an account of the 1997 DGS Gathering held in Lincoln, which I was unable to attend and for which, unfortunately, I had no photographs to hand when writing. I am indebted to Howard Dalton of Yorkshire, who was among those who attended, for providing the photographs below which supplement the narrative, reproduced again here for completeness.

The 1997 DGS Gathering was held in Lincoln in August with Morag making the arrangements and hosting the event. Unfortunately I was unable to attend as it clashed with an already arranged holiday in France. Kate, James and I spent a week on a boat on the Canal du Nivernais, starting near Decizes, with friends and then travelled to Lot et Garonne to join Maureen Collins at La Planque, the wonderful farmhouse in which she has a share and spends a month each year. This was the first of regular, and much enjoyed visits every few years since. So it was that the 1997 gathering had to manage without Maureen or myself. And manage very well they did. The AGM was chaired by Howard Dalton (Yorkshire Howard that is!) and the meeting opened with a short talk by Jack Richards (husband of committee member Pamela) on hybridisation of fuchsia and other plants and how he had managed to cultivate a fuchsia with the name Dalton. Everyone present was presented with a plant and I wonder if any of these (or their "descendants") have survived 14 years and are living today. The Chairman’s Report was in the form of written message read out to those present and the minutes record the retirement of Joy Chesson as Australian Secretary and the appointment of Maureen as her successor. I presume that, although Maureen was absent, she had in fact agreed to this! Given that she is still in post 14 years on, I am sure she must have done. We are all indebted to Joy for what she did for the DGS down under over a period of three years. I also note from Morag’s report as Treasurer that expenditure was well covered by income and we had over £1,500 on our capital account, a very satisfactory position.

Howard Dalton, the Vicar of Fillingham and his wife,
Morag Simpson, Dick Hamilton and Lucy Slater
at the dinner held at Bishop Grosseteste College
Lucy Slater and Millicent Craig
Morag Simpson and Dick Hamilton
Outside Lincoln Castle where a column of troops
dressed in Elizabethan uniforms were on parade

The weekend in Lincoln was much enjoyed by those present, and the venue for the meeting, the dinner and the accommodation was Bishop Grosseteste College. Amongst other activities delegates visited Lincoln Cathedral, where Peter Dalton de Gosbykirk is buried (see article by Lucy Slater on early Dalton priests in DGSJ Vol 17 No 1 p 33 for more details) and Fillingham, the village where two separate Dalton families lived, the one at Fillingham Manor and the other at Fillingham Castle (see another article by Lucy in DGSJ Vol 18 No 2 pp 21-41 for more details). So, many thanks to Morag, Howard and Lucy for such a successful weekend – I am only sorry that I was unable to be there!

Howard's wife Jen (then Redpath) with
Millicent and Morag in Fillingham church yard
Fillingham Church
Ian Simpson examines a memorial in the church yard
The Portman-Dalton gravestone

 

From Karen Dalton Preston, North American Secretary, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Rodney Garth Dalton of Farr West, Utah Remembered

Rodney Garth Dalton, 74, passed away on August 28th, 2012. He was born on April 3rd, 1938 to Edith (Fox) Dalton and Garth Dalton in Circleville, Utah.

In his younger years, Rodney enjoyed customizing hot rod cars, baseball and road trips. The love of his hobbies continued throughout his life and later Rodney found a new passion - genealogy. He spent many hours researching his family history. He has several Dalton books published, and he and his cousin, Arthur Whittaker have created a website with great history detail about the Dalton's, Whittaker's and Circleville http://www.daltwhitt.org. This brought him great joy and he was very proud of what he accomplished and always wanted to share it with the world.

DGS members will remember Rodney as a dedicated member of the DGS and as a frequent attendee of annual Dalton Gatherings. Rodney was able to travel to England and see his ancestral roots. He cherished the memories of that trip. He also joined us at the Gathering in Salt Lake City in 2011, and made a presentation on the ancestral roots of the Daltons of Utah.

Rodney's also wrote many articles for the Dalton Chronicles section of the Dalton Data Bank. His articles will serve as a living memorial to his love of Dalton family history.

Rodney is survived by his daughter, Kristina L. Dalton Dean (Kevin), his grandchildren, Jason Welch, Andrea (Welch) Allison, Ashley Dowdy, Kaden Dean and Jesse Dean, 3 great grandchildren, his sister, Sheila (Dalton) Garrard and his brother, Russell Dalton. Rodney was preceded in death by his father, Garth Dalton, his mother, Edith Dalton, his wife, Tracy Dalton, his son, Scott Welch and his favorite dog, Brindle.

Rodney Dalton in Salt Lake City
Rodney giving his presentation on the Utah Daltons

Tributes to Rodney:

From Mary Dalton Walsh:

"He leaves behind a most remarkable legacy, and his contributions to the Dalton Data Bank will not go unnoticed - Rest easy kind sir!"

From Lindsey Dalton:

"Fare thee well, cousin!"

From Dorothy Vitello Malcolm:

"My prayers and heart go out to his family. RIP, Rodney, we'll keep the DGS going, for your sake and love for this family name."

The Chairman’s Notes in this issue of "Daltons in History" refer to this latest DIDP Update. We now have plans in place for work to be undertaken in the remaining months of 2012, and here Michael Neale Dalton, the DIDP Coordinator reviews the project as it stands currently and looks ahead.

During 2011 we published six reports providing updates for each individual genetic family, as follows:

- Genetic Family A - the Virginia Daltons (December 2010)

- Genetic Family B - the Eireann Daltons (September 2011)

- Genetic Family C - the Carmarthenshire Daltons (September 2011)

- Genetic Family D - the Golden Vale Daltons (September 2011)

- Genetic Families E, F, G, H, J and K and R1b singletons (December 2011)

- Genetic Families Q, W, X, Y and Z and non-R1b singletons (December 2011)

All these reports have been made available to the members of the group or groups covered in each one, and DGS/project members, who may wish to have copies of any of the reports which have not been circulated to them, should contact either myself (michaelndalton@aol.com) or Karen Preston, Deputy DIDP Coordinator (karen@golden-hills.com).

There have been a number of innovations in this series of six reports and one of the most important of these is the inclusion of details of the oldest documented Dalton ancestor where known. Chris Pomery, our DNA consultant, has emphasised to us the importance of sharing this information as part of our quest to reconstruct and establish all our Dalton family trees, and to identify the links between them. Where this data is incomplete, we have asked project participants to supply details of their oldest documented Dalton ancestor if known, so that it can be recorded in the next update of the report.

We also have coordinators appointed for the larger genetic families (A, B, C & D) and for some of the smaller ones (E, G, H, W, Y & Z). Increasingly these coordinators are taking on responsibility for working with their groups to share data about the various known family trees and to identify further research to assist in the reconstruction of the trees. Here is the up to date list of genetic family coordinators:

Genetic Family

Co-ordinator

Email Address

A

Melanie Crain

hcrain@nc.rr.com

B

Michael Francis Dalton

mfdalton@btconnect.com

C

Michael Neale Dalton

michaelndalton@aol.com

D

Karen Dalton Preston

karen@golden-hills.com

E

Millicent Craig

millicenty@aol.com

F

to be appointed

 

G

Melanie Crain

hcrain@nc.rr.com

H

Michael Neale Dalton

michaelndalton@aol.com

J

to be appointed

 

K

to be appointed

 

Q
to be appointed  

W

Howard Dalton

howard.dalton@hotmail.co.uk

X
to be appointed  

Y

John Dalton

johndalton78@hotmail.com

Z

Howard John Dalton

h.dalton1@ntlworld.com

Singletons

Michael Neale Dalton

michaelndalton@aol.com

As everyone who has heard Chris speak at one of our gatherings or elsewhere will know, the DNA results are only the beginning of a sometimes long journey to piece together the complete family history, and there is always plenty of further more traditional research work to be done. He emphasised this point again when he joined us at our Yorkshire Gathering back in July this year.

Chris has advised that in order to focus more on the geographical origins of the earliest known ancestors of each DIDP participant, he will now produce two reports – one for those with known UK/Ireland origins, and the other for those with North American origins, or origins anywhere else outside UK/Ireland. This will bring much more focus on researching the origins of each tree, and the traditional research that we want to encourage all participants to do. Our plan is that these two reports will be completed by the end of this year.

Of course, we still need to expand our database of DNA data, both by extending those tests still at 12 or 25 markers to at least 37, and by encouraging known male Dalton descendants of UK Dalton families to join the project. This process has started with several new recruits to the project and we will be contacting others who fall into this category and inviting them to participate.

Chris summarises our current position as follows:

The DIDP DNA project is growing from strength to strength year on year. Our goal this year is to recruit more Ireland and UK-based Daltons in order to build up a comprehensive and more accurate genetic picture of British and Irish Dalton trees. With this picture in place, we can then accurately assist any Dalton living outside the UK to identify the correct tree they should be researching their link with. Our focus is gradually shifting towards checking the documentation of the trees which project members have submitted, and creating trees for those that haven't. This is a long-term task that we cannot avoid working on in order to develop the project, but each and every one will greatly contribute to clarifying the overall picture and answering the big question: 'how many Dalton families are there?'

With these thoughts in mind, we invite all project members to review the details of their oldest documented Dalton ancestor as recorded in the published reports referred to above and advise their coordinator of any updates to this information.

As always, if you have any questions, need help with interpreting the reports or you are wishing to join the project, do please contact either myself (michaelndalton@aol.com) or Karen (karen@golden-hills.com). We will do our best to assist you, and if we are unable to help, we will refer your query to Chris Pomery. We look forward to these next steps for DIDP with anticipation!

The DGS AGM for 2012 was held in Yorkshire, England in July. The minutes of the meeting, together with the annual accounts for 2011, are published below. These will also appear in the DGS Journal, Volume 57 for December 2012.

THE DALTON GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

Minutes of the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

held at the Mercure Hull Grange Park Hotel, Willerby, Hull, Yorkshire, UK
on Saturday 28th July 2012 at 10.00 am

1) Welcome and Opening remarks by the Chairman

Michael Neale Dalton welcomed members, amongst them those from the USA and Australia and those descended from Yorkshire Daltons, including the Hauxwell Dalton family descended from the Dalton Mayors of Hull. He referred to the Official Welcome by the Lord Mayor of Hull followed by the most interesting talk from local historian Helen Good on the “Dalton Mayors of Hull”, assisted by City Archivist, Martin Taylor, on the previous afternoon at the Hull History Centre. An informal buffet dinner had later been enjoyed at the hotel followed by the opportunity to watch the historic Olympic Opening Ceremony in London.

He looked forward to an exciting weekend of events including a second visit to Hull, and visits to Beverley, Garton-on-the-Wolds, and South Dalton. He thanked Howard Dalton, past DGS treasurer and committee member, for organising the weekend and looked forward to his talk on Garton-on-the-Wolds and his Dalton blacksmith forebears, and the talk by Charlie Cradock, of the East Yorkshire Family History Society.

2) Apologies for Absence

Apologies were received from Millicent Craig, Ciaran Dalton, Mel and Dairne Irwin, Karen and David Preston, Chris Pomery, Martin and Sarah Fitzgerald, Antony Cox, Pat and Geoffrey Robinson, Joy Goater, Gerald and Margaret Milner, Margaret Deyes, Bill Dalton (Gig Harbor), Mike Dalton (Oregon), Sir Richard Dalton, Jilly Warren, and others. The meeting sent best wishes to Dairne Irwin who had suffered a fall just three days before and wished her a speedy recovery.

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

These were unanimously accepted, and the Chairman signed them as a true record. There were no matters arising.

4) Chairman’s report

Michael Neale Dalton referred to the 60th DGS Committee meeting held the previous day. He congratulated John Dalton on his FFHS Elizabeth Simpson Award for the DGS Journal.

It had been decided that an "Above and Beyond" recognition award should be made annually and the first recipient was to be announced at the DGS Annual Dinner later that day.

The Dalton International DNA Project continued to be a trail blazing project and he commended Chris Pomery, DGS DNA Consultant, for his expertise and advice in this work. A new report was planned for publication later in 2012 highlighting the geographical origins of each participant as well as genetic family links.

The possibility of Lottery funding opportunities would be further investigated.

5) Treasurer’s report

With the absence of Mel Irwin the Chairman informed the meeting that no report was to hand and the Accounts for 2011 would be published on the DGS website and in the next issue of the Journal. He thanked Mel for his dedicated work on behalf of the Society. The balance carried forward was healthy and Gift Aid was increasing. After a detailed discussion by the committee it had been decided that the present membership subscription rates would remain unchanged for the coming year.

6) Secretary’s report

Pam Lynam reported a membership base of 228 members worldwide with 81 members in the UK including two new members; 90 in the USA; 5 Canadian members; Australia with 39; New Zealand 4; Eire 8; and Brazil 1.

She thanked David Preston and Dave Lynam for their dedicated work in updating the membership database and making it available online, and she urged members to advise her of any changes in address, email, and telephone contact.

The Chairman thanked Pam for her enthusiastic work for the Society.

7) Election of officers and committee

The present officers and committee had all offered themselves for re-election with no additional nominations received. The meeting was therefore asked to re-elect everyone en bloc and this was proposed by Alicia Riley, seconded by Audrey Dalton and unanimously approved by the meeting.

8) Reports by the Editors of the DGS Journal and of "Daltons in History"

John Dalton was proud of the recent Elizabeth Simpson Award from the FFHS for the excellence of the Journal and commended all those who had contributed to it as a great team effort, together with his local printer and the helpful advice of his brother Anthony. He urged present members to supply articles and paragraphs, and particularly requested that new members submit a summary of their known Dalton family history. The continuing success of the Journal could only be maintained with constant input and the furthering of family contacts.

The Chairman, on behalf of the indisposed Dairne Irwin, reported on the success of "Daltons in History" in 2011 and urged members to send in more contributions. Each edition was a sizeable document and the newly instituted correspondence section was proving popular. He congratulated Dairne on her wonderful work on behalf of the Society, putting together this monthly online newsletter and ensuring its timely publication.

The Chairman reported that the committee had agreed to set up an "editorial board" comprising himself, the editors and two others to assist the editors in encouraging contacts and managing contributions from a wider public.

9) Report on the Dalton International DNA Project

Michael Neale Dalton reported on another year of expansion for this important project as previously mentioned in the Chairman’s report, and was looking forward to a short update from Chris Pomery, who would be attending the DGS Annual Dinner later that day.

10) Report on the DGS websites

The Chairman commended David Preston and Martin Fitzgerald for their co-ordinated work in extending and constantly improving the DGS websites, and gave a report on behalf of David Preston highlighting DGS internet activity for January to June 2012. The Dalton Databank had proved very popular with approaching 150,000 visits in this 6 month period.

Social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Linkedin and Google+ were increasingly popular, and the DGS should embrace these as a method of reaching out to a wider public.

The Dalton Forum and the Databank continued to be successful and had attracted new members.

With the expansion of the websites the committee has discussed whether to restrict certain sections of them only to those who are members of the Society. This needs further careful consideration and a sub-committee is to be set up to investigate further.

11) Australian/New Zealand Secretary’s report

Maureen Collins was happy to welcome three Australian DGS members to the AGM from two different States. Membership in Australia and New Zealand which had peaked in 2002 had declined slightly in recent years. However, membership loyalty had continued unabated and a healthy total of A$675 for subscriptions had been handed over to the Treasurer. She paid tribute to Gerry Dalton as an excellent Australian Librarian in recent years and was searching for a suitable replacement. The 2011 AGM in Hampshire and the Gathering in Salt Lake City, USA, had proved most enjoyable and she was personally pleased to now be visiting the East Riding of Yorkshire, an area connected to her own Dalton family.

The Chairman thanked Maureen for her enthusiastic contribution to the Society.

12) North American Secretary’s report

The Chairman, on behalf of Karen Dalton Preston, reported the great success of the 2011 DGS Gathering in Salt Lake City, Utah, in September. There had been 41 attendees for the conference sessions and 46 attendees for the Banquet. A diverse group from the USA, Canada, Australia, and the UK with the American attendees spread over 13 different States had resulted in two new DGS memberships.

Karen Preston’s report included reference to the Dalton International DNA Project and the appointment of Melanie Crain as the coordinator for Genetic Family A, and went on to emphasise the value of social media and the presence of the DGS on Facebook.

North American membership stands at 89, plus 6 members who joined last year but have still to renew their memberships. US$2,000 was transferred to the DGS in the UK, leaving a balance of US$2,523 in hand at the year end. It is necessary to maintain a balance in excess of US$2,500 in order to qualify for the waiving of bank charges. DGS North America retains its status as a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation.

Michael Neale Dalton praised Karen and her husband David for their fantastic work on behalf of DGS.

13) Irish Secretary’s report

The Chairman, on behalf of Ciaran Dalton, looked forward to the forthcoming visit to Dublin in 2013, five years after the last gathering in Ireland, and eight years since the last visit to Dublin. Planning was in progress with an attractive programme in view. DNA Genetic family groups are particularly well represented in Ireland and it was hoped this will encourage overseas members with Irish roots to attend. DGS membership in Ireland has remained static, but there is interest in family links and the Chairman thanked Ciaran for his work on behalf of the Society.

14) Forthcoming gatherings and AGMs

After the great success of the Salt Lake City gathering in 2011 and the exciting programme of events planned for the Hull gathering, Michael Neale Dalton confirmed that the 2013 gathering would be centred in Dublin, Eire, over the weekend of Friday 26th to Monday 29th July. The venue for the event will be the Ashling Hotel where the 2005 gathering was held.

For 2014 – there is a suggestion for a further USA visit, possibly to Virginia. For 2015 – the possibility of a visit to France is being investigated. And for 2016 – a suggestion has been made for a return to South Wales.

All of these are being actively pursued and it is hoped to make further announcements about locations and dates soon.

15) Any other business

There being no other business the Chairman thanked those attending for their kind attention.

16) Close

The meeting was formally closed at 11.15 am.

1. From Maureen Collins, DGS Secretary Australia:

What a good time we all had thanks to Howard Dalton’s wonderful organising with his wife Jen and with Michael.

I arrived on the Thursday evening at the hotel with Pam and Dave Lynam, with whom I had spent two nights in their new home in a lovely part of Cambridgeshire. The gathering virtually started an hour later when we met up with Michael plus John and Sheila and Wendy Fleming in the hotel bar for a light supper.

For once we managed to plough through a committee meeting on Friday morning before lunch and the very interesting visit to History House with its excellent research facilities and a talk on the historic Hull Daltons in the 15th and 16th centuries. By that evening many other delegates had arrived and were made welcome.

The meeting on Saturday morning ran smoothly and it was followed by one of the highlights for me: Howard’s highly original talk on Garton on the Wolds, illustrated by photos. The presentation by Charlie Cradock was also excellent and a surprise when Howard J and I found we were both researching the same family in Hull that Charlie spoke about.

The final highlight for Pam Lynam and me was meeting our cousin, DGS member Barbara Watkinson, for the first time ever at the Pipe and glass Inn. Barbara has been doing some wonderful research into our family in Hull but somehow over the years we had never actually met.

All in all it was a top-class week-end and I imagine a lot of ideas for research will come from it while we wait another year for the next meeting.

2. From Wendy Fleming, Australia:

Having just finished the required reading for this Gathering, A Selection of Articles, Ed Michael Neale Dalton, I now feel sufficiently informed to write a personal account on the event.

The City of Hull 154 miles from London, whose main industries are fishing in the North Sea, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and fish and chips, has a remarkable history which entitles it to display three crowns as its crest. It is also a city in which Daltons played a part in the commercial and civic life of the city during the 15th and 16th Centuries, and of more recent times blacksmithing — a most suitable place for DGS Gathering.

The Hull Mecure hotel, 5 miles from Hull, formerly Grange Park Hotel, Willerby, is in a cul de sac off a major road, nestled in a wooded location. With many rooms and function facilities, (constantly in use for weddings), lawns, gardens and free Wi-Fi in the foyer, it proved to be a user friendly centre for our activities. In particular we found the foyer a very pleasant meeting place for relaxation. On Friday night we gathered there to vicariously share the excitement of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The central theme of England’s industrial might and subsequent demise was particularly resonant with me after seeing an abandoned coal mine, complete with silent windlasses and conveyers, on my train trip through the midlands.

At the AGM on Saturday, Howard Dalton, main speaker and descendant of the blacksmiths, speaking of his family from Garton-on-the-Wolds, set a laid-back friendly tone which was to characterise the whole weekend. Authenticity was given to our group by the presence of a number of descendants of Howard’s line, and direct descendants of the Mayors of Hull. It was a pleasure to meet up again with members of the DGS, Chairman Michael and Kate, DNA cousin, Mike Dalton and his wife Kate from Norfolk, Maureen Collins and John Prytherch also from Australia, and new US member Jack Rubiso from Texas.

The packed program actually began on Friday afternoon at the purpose built (courtesy of the National lottery Heritage fund) Hull History Museum, where we were met by the present mayor of Hull wearing a chain which included some gold from the chain originally worn by Robert Dalton 15th C Mayor.

Then Helen Good a local historian introduced us to intriguing issues about the Dalton Mayors of Hull, such as their acceptance as merchants, but exclusion as marriage partners for other merchants and their children.

Hull History Centre

Meeting and Dinner

Our meeting on Saturday and the dinner was a pleasant occasion with a raffle, special prizes from Chair, and wonderful entertainment by "The Spare Hands" who performed, singing sea shanties to raise money for the Yorkshire Garland Group.

Then it was churches, what a holy lot the Yorkshire people must be. On Saturday in between the AGM and Annual Dinner found us in the imposing Beverley Minster, climbing 113 steps in the spiral staircase to enjoy the Roof Tour. In a workroom many metres high above the altar we learnt how the workman, by means of a horse powered wheel, brought up building supplies from many metres below to complete the roofing. The size of beams and logs used in the construction was an indication of how hard it was for the horse and laborers.

Horse powered wheel

Sunday morning we visited England’s largest parish church, Holy Trinity, which is full of extraordinarily rich architecture and memorials to past and modern events all of which are well documented and photographed by other members of the party. I was intrigued to find among the many fine wood carvings some unusual creatures carved on the arms of the pews.

Pew carving in Holy Trinity Church
More pew carving

And then I found there is an Australian connection. George Henry Peck, born 1810 in Hull, painter, carver, art dealer, art entrepreneur and musician, emigrated to Hobart Town in June 1833. In 1837 he arranged the first general art exhibition held in any of the Australian colonies. He returned to Hull and lived there for a short period in 1841 when it is reported he carved these decorations. He returned to Australia and died in Sydney in 1863. So far I cannot find a Dalton connection but I will continue to look.

Sunday, still in progress, we made our way across country for the visit St Michael & All Angels church at Gorton-on-the-Wolds. A beautiful church which occupies a site on which there has been a church since the 12th Century, it is in the process of restoring Victorian wall paintings. The Dalton connection was a carved name R Dalton 1809 and a hand print on the outside all evidence of Howard’s ancestor, the blacksmith. Further evidence we were able to see was the signed door hinges at West End farm. The restoration of this farm house would send Kevin McLeod into raptures . A model of how to blend the new and old with careful integration of historical items, such as the door hinges, it seems an extremely liveable home. We were very grateful to the owners for allowing us to visit.

A fresh informal dinner at The Pipe and Glass at South Dalton ended a very successful Gathering. Next morning we went our separate ways. I went with Maureen to Hull History Centre where she and Howard J searched the archives for family connections which they excitedly found. I meanwhile read letters sent over a forty year period, by Philip Larkin to his friend and lover Monica Jones. At the railway station I said goodbye to Maureen , Howard J and Philip Larkin.

My thanks to Michael Neale Dalton and Howard Dalton for their careful planning which ensured a really interesting Gathering, to all my fellow attendees who got into the mood and made it such a sociable occasion, to the City of Hull for fish and chips, and friendliness.

A special thanks to Maureen Collins, Mike and Kate Dalton who provided my transport.

3. David and Barbara Dalton, Yorkshire, England

Our curiosity about the impending DGS Gathering in our locality was aroused by a small item in the Hull Mail. We contacted Howard, who assured us that we would enjoy the event, but we were still a little unsure about what to expect. As it turned out we thoroughly enjoyed taking part. We were welcomed most warmly and made to feel very much part of the group. Obviously Michael, Howard and the Committee had put a lot of hard work into organising the weekend, doing the groundwork and ensuring everything ran smoothly.

It was interesting to visit places we know well but to view them from a different perspective. We were surprised to learn of the extent of the influence the Daltons have had in the history of Hull, and Howard’s research involving local history gave us food for thought. Possibly being a Parisi sounds rather grand! We enjoyed seeing his blacksmith ancestor’s hand carved high up on the church wall (he must have been very tall!), and all of us trooping through the barn conversion to view the hinges forged by the same hand.

Other highlights included the Annual Dinner with the entertaining local ‘turn', "The Spare Hands", and rounding off the weekend at the appropriately named South Dalton with a splendid buffet meal at The Pipe and Glass.

We hope that everyone enjoyed visiting our patch and trust that they may be encouraged to come again to explore more or the Hull Old Town and other attractions in the East Riding area.

From Darrell Dalton, Oxley, Victoria, Australia

Leicestershire, England to Victoria, Australia

A new member of the DGS, Darrell Dalton has recently posted an enquiry on the Dalton members’ Forum.

His 3x great grandfather William Dalton travelled from Leicestershire, England to Australia in the mid 19th century. His wife’s name was Martha. They are buried with 4 children, in a substantial plot at Oxley, 50km. from Wangarratta, Victoria. William and Martha died in the 1880’s.

Their son Frank Dalton married Sara Goldsmith. They had a son Herbert Goldsmith Dalton who fought in France and whose name is recorded on a war memorial at Oxley. Their son Ronald Edward Dalton is Darrell’s father.

The family may be linked to the Dalton’s of Gippsland.

Can you help? Please contact Darrell either through the Forum or through the D in H editor dairneirwin@ntlworld.com.

 

It looks like the summer heat is finally winding down in Las Vegas, it's only 100 degrees. I am definitely looking forward to cooler weather and the beginning of fall!

New coordinator for Genetic Family G:

I am pleased to announce that Melanie Crain in North Carolina has taken on the duties of Family Group coordinator for Group G, another of the genetic families with roots in Colonial Virginia. Group G is a small group, with only a handful of members, but it is certainly as important as the larger genetic families.

Melanie is also responsible for Group A, the largest genetic family in the DNA Project, whose members also trace their roots back to Virginia. It just made sense to keep the project members of Group A and G together under one coordinator.

A big thank you to Melanie for taking on this additional role.

We still have several genetic family groups in the DIDP who are "orphans", meaning that they do not have a family coordinator. If you are a member of the DIDP, and are in one of the groups without a coordinator, I encourage you to become more involved in the project, and "adopt" your family group.

If you are interested in knowing more, please email me at karen@golden-hills.com.

Now we turn to the usual suspects for the month!

Web Sites Update:

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

Updates to the Data Bank:

4 August, 2012: Scotland - Marriage of William Matthews & Anne Dalton, 8 June, 1771 Contributed by Howard Dalton, UK

Hull Yorkshire 2012 Gathering:

Also during the month of August, the images and videos from the 2012 Hull Gathering were updated with additional pictures from Maureen Collins and Howard J. Dalton. Many thanks go out to Dave Lynam and Michael Neale Dalton for their efforts in collecting all of the Hull media on the Dalton Databank website.

The 2012 Hull Gathering Videos were viewed 133 times during the month of August.

Hull Figures 1

The Hull 2012 Gathering Photos and Presentations were viewed a total of 438 times during the month of August.

Hull Figures 2

DDB Web Site Usage Statistics:

18,798 visitors came from 98 Countries / Territories

NB: All of the Google Advertising Campaigns were modified to add India to the list of countries, hence the dramatic increase for the number of visitors from India. This change will be kept for the balance of 2012.

DDB Web Site Usage Statistics

Top 10 pages visited

Visits by date

Dalton Forum:

There are a total of 295 Posts in 185 Topics by 414 Members.

During the reporting period, there was 1 new topic added, 4 new posts and 9 new members added.

DGS Web Site Usage Statistics:

1,260 Visits from 50 Countries / Territories

DGS Web Site Usage Statistics

Top 10 pages visited

Visits by date

Google Ad Campaigns:

Dalton Data Bank Site:

16,968 Visitors reached the Data Bank by clicking on one of the 2,081,882 Google Ads served during the reporting period.

Visits to the Dalton Databank

“Join Us” Ad Campaign for the DGS Site:

24 Visitors reached the DGS UK Site by clicking on one of the 5,370 Google Ads served during the reporting period.

"Join Us" Ad Campaign

Finally, in closing, I wish you all a wonderful September!

Best regards,

Karen Dalton Preston
North American Secretary

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

Due to time constraints the usual "suspects" do not appear this month but will hopefully be back in October 2012.

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

Reminiscences of the Hull Gathering is the next important item to consider - WHAT HAPPENED, DID NOBODY ATTEND?! The contributions were very poor, can we try again for October?!

Contributions for the October 2012 issue need to be with me no later than 25th September, 2012. (e-mail: dairneirwin@ntlworld.com).

Please continue to stick to the set deadlines!! There is no excuse for missing the deadline - PLAN AHEAD!!