compiled by Millicent V. Craig An Open Response - Links to the first Irish Dalton. Since there have been a number of similar queries that have arrived on your editor's desk in the U. S. and on the desk of our researcher in England, this general reply covers all. Unless you can make an ancestral connection from the States to Ireland, it is almost impossible to make a connection to the alleged first Walter Dalton/De Aliton in Ireland. There are at least 25 generations between Walter and the Daltons born in the US toward the end of the 18th Century and the beginning of the 19th Century. You first must establish the Irish County of origin of your emigrant ancestor, and even then it is quite difficult to trace the family line in Ireland because of the absence of records. The titled, professionals and landowners left a document trail but these were not generally the categories of Daltons who emigrated. We can point you in the direction of records that could be useful, but the County of emigration must be first established. Be aware that a second line of Daltons existed in Ireland and was headed by Roger Dalton of Yorkshire, England who settled in Waterford. (Next month - one way to bridge the gap). Queries Matthew John Dalton is now living in Cologne, Germany. He writes that he was born in Madrid, New York and grew up in the St. Lawrence River Valley between Ogdensburg and Massena. Response: We immediately recognized that he was part of the family of DGS member Daveda Bundy whose Madrid ancestor settled in Utah. Matthew sent a chart of his immediate family that will be published later. If you are a member of the large Irish family from Madrid you may contact Matthew. E-mail: mdalton59@aol.com Jeannette Blankenship of Oregon is looking for information about Suzanne Clarissa Dalton born about 1795 and married to Thomas Fullilove Bennet. Her parents were William Dalton and Winnifred Foster. Any additional information about the family - pictures, journals, etc. would be welcome. E-mail: soquala@cdsnet.net Doc Hurt of Roanoke, VA seeks information on the Daltons in Pittsylvania County, VA and Campbell County, VA. His grandfathr and grandmother were buried in Pittsylvanis County. They were William Edward "Ed" Dalton and Leila Thomas Dalton. When his mother moved to Campbell County in the early 1930's she lived with an uncle named Ed Dalton. He may have been his grandmother's brother. Doc welcomes any information that you may have on this family. E-mail: dochurt@worldnet.att.net Joseph Dalton is from Irvine, Ayrshire Scotland. His father Robert Alexander
Dalton had five brothers - Joseph, John, James, George, William. They
lived at Irvine Harbour. Linda Mosley is descended from Samuel Dalton Sr., b. about 1699 in Rockingham County, VA and who was married to Anne Redd in 1730. Linda is new to genealogy and if any of the many descendents of Samuel and Anne have been able to scale the brick wall and obtain documentation of Samuel's ancestry, please be in touch with Linda. E-mail - gayle201@shighway.com Susan Young of Victoria, Texas is looking for research on the Dalton
family that moved to and lived in Texas. She would like to know from whence
they came. E-mail: youngsusan1@cs.com Vern Broadfield is looking for the parents of Samuel Dalton, born June 30, 1792 in Pittsylvania, VA and died Sept 18, 1863. He married Saludy Mustain on 27 July 1809 in Pittsylvania. If you have information contact Vern. E-mail: Vern39@cs.com Maria del Rosario Suarez Doriga of Argentina has responded to the web
site series "Argentinian Daltons". Maria found her ancestors
in the articles and has supplied additional family data in the hopes that
some one will recognize the family and make a connection to her Daltons
in County Westmeath, Ireland. Maria has sent a correction to the printed
data. Santiago Dalton, son of Christopher Dalton and Ellen Molloy married
Luisa Bracken, and Christopher Dalton, brother of Santiago married Jeromina
S. (Santiago was Maria's mother's grandfather). Children of Santiago Dalton
and Luisa Bracken were born in Venado Tuerto, Province of Santa Fe. We are deeply grateful to Maria for adding to the Argentinian Dalton data bank and hope that this ancestral information is recognized by other Westmeath Daltons. Maria's E-mail: thedaltonfox@mail.com Jay Perez of Mexico seeks information on Guillermo Dalton, reportedly
from the Los Angeles area who practiced medicine around the mining camps
of Sinaloa and Durango. Guillermo had three children by a Mexican woman,
Celsas. They were Conception, Virginia and Guillermo, Jr. |
Compiled by Michael Cayley Holy Trinity, Goodmansgate, York 1573-1812 Births/Baptisms Marriages/Witnesses Burials The above records were extracted by Michael Cayley, DGS librarian, from
the In succeeding months there will be printed the BMD's of Holy Trinity, King's Court (otherwise Christ Church), York. (Part II). It will be followed by a set of records from several York parishes. (Part III). E-mail: cayley@lineone.net |
from Millicent V. Craig To try and give credence to the "legend" of Walter and Jane DeAliton, the alleged founders of the Irish Dalton line, your American editor spent time in August at the British Library in London examining manuscripts that might shed some light on this family. We began with tracing the references in a manuscript that was found in the effects of a British gentleman and donated to the Dalton Genealogical Society. It was undated and the author was unknown. However there were a few annotations that seemed worthy of further study. The manuscript states that Philip, son of Walter and Jane, had founded
a Cistercian monastery A search of several pertinent documents of this period revealed no such reference. What did yield information was "Medieval Religious Houses, Ireland" by Aubrey Gwynn and R. Neville Hocock, Longman Group Ltd., London, 1976. This is an impressive compendium and the following is quoted from the reference. However Kilbeggan, rather than Kibbegain is the name given and one wonders whether this is the same monastery. "Kilbeggan (Benedictio Dei). Ware and others have mistaken the Abbey Benedictio Dei for Abbeyshrule whereas papal letters prove that it was Kilbeggan. It was colonized in 1150 from Mellifont* and thought to have been founded by the Mac Coghlans.** In 1160 Catharneigh, great priest of Clonmacnois, died here in the novitiate of a monk Melaghlin Mac Coghlan, prince of Delvin, died in pilgrimage to the abbey in 1213. In 1217, the abbey received a penance for being involved in the 'riot of Jerpoint'. Abbot Mac Coghlan died in 1217 and in the same year Roderick and Melaghlen, sons of Mac Coghlan died in the abbey." The description went on to list the abbots and political struggles for the land until the 16th Century when the abbey and church ruins were seized with its lands (over 800 acres) and became the King's property. There were no references to Daltons being involved in the history of the abbey. The site of this abbey can now be located through the grant of the lands to Robert Dillon in 1569. The Augustinian convent, according to the manuscript in the DGS possession, was founded by Jane but cannot be substantiated from Augustinian records. Identified only as Beata Maria, there are no Augustinian records that survived to support this claim. The establishment of Augustinian convents in Ireland was a brief lasting phenomenom. DGS member K. T. Mapstone made a separate query to the biographer of Augustinian priests, Father David Kelly. He found no evidence of a Beata Maria Convent in Westmeath. Also in the document is the note that the story of Walter and Jane and their descendency is registered in the Herald's Office of Ireland and is founded on "tradition". This of course means that there is no documentation. Sagas may be the only sources and we have yet to uncover them. Returning to the manuscript, there are some deductions to be made. Had Philip De Aliton founded the abbey in 1150, it would likely have meant that he was at the age of majority. That means he would have been born before1129 and that his parents married before that date. It would place Walter's birth close to 1100. It then becomes rather unlikely that Walter at 70 years of age was one of the knights who accompanied Henry II on his invasion of Ireland in 1172. Lucy Slater is checking the contingents who arrived in Ireland with Strongbow and if Walter appears in that roll, we will certainly inform you. So who was Walter De Aliton and from whence did he arrive in Ireland? If you have any ideas for further searching, please contact Millicenty@aol.com * Mellifont. Mellifont formed a branch of the Order of Citeaux. There
were several Irish monks in this branch who did not conform to the strict
discipline of the French monks. He established several monasteries in
Ireland.. For those who want to take up the search, these are the volumes that
have already been checked and yielded nothing. In addition several other volumes were inspected and there was not a single reference to the name De Aliton or Dalton in any of them. Addendum. Since researching this topic, Ciaran Dalton of Ireland and K. T. Mapstone of US have continued the search and may have some promising developments to report in a future issue of "Daltons in History". |
by Millicent V. Craig Historically, the United States has given short shrift to the Mexican American War known in the U. S. as its "Westward Expansion". Over the past fifteen years, historians in the U. S. and Ireland have researched a specific aspect of the war, the role of Saint Patrick's Battalion or San Patricios, deserters from the American ranks to the Mexican Army. These men are heroes in Mexico and honored annually. Ireland now celebrates the San Patricios where they have been accorded national celebrity status. And of course, a Dalton was among the deserters. Background Conditions were ripe for desertions. On the other side of the Rio Grande was the lively town of Matamoros, Mexico. Music from the cantinas and religious festivals could be heard across the river in the American encampment. One Sunday morning, Private John Riley requested permission from his officer to attend Catholic Mass in Matamoros. Riley received permission, crossed the river and never returned. Thus was born the San Patricios. The Unit Second in command was Patrick Dalton who was born c. 1824 in the Barony
of Tirawley, near Ballina in County Mayo, Ireland. Dalton too had joined
the British Army and was stationed in Canada. He deserted and came into
New York State where he enlisted in the U. S. Army at Madison Barracks on
2 Aug 1845. Since the U. S. Army did not accept deserters, both men (and
many others) altered their vital statistics. After 14 months as a private
in the U. S. Army, Dalton deserted from Company B, Second Regiment of Infantry,
on 23 Oct 1846 while based at Camargo on the Rio Grande. Dalton's desertion
occurred after the U. S. had declared war on Mexico. He was commissioned
a First Lieutenant in the Mexican Army and later, as the unit expanded,
was made a Captain in charge of one of the San Patricio companies. By this
time, July 1847, the number of San Patricios had increased to over 200 and
thus comprised two batallions of 100 men each. They included 43 Americans
and six black slaves as well as other The U. S. declared war on Mexico on 13 May 1846 and as the U. S. Army advanced into Mexico, the San Patricios fought gallantly. From Matamoros, to Monterry, near Saltillo, Buena Vista and on south, the San Patricios stood their ground and were praised by General Santa Anna. Finally, in the southward advance they took cover in a fortified monastery in Churubusco, near Mexico City. In this battle the San Patricios suffered many casualties for they were out numbered by the U. S. Army. The remaining San Patricios surrendered. Riley and Dalton were among them. Trials and Punishments He knew that his life was in danger if he did not join. Others reported how Riley and Dalton had received authority from General Santa Anna to take the clothes of foreigners and others and force them to don the Mexican Army uniform. Riley himself claimed that he was kidnapped when he crossed the Rio Grande. In the end few escaped punishment. Fourteen were to be whipped and branded, Riley among them. They were stripped to the waist and lashed 50 times by an experienced muleteer. Riley and others were branded with a D on each side of the face. Riley's life was spared because his desertion occurred prior to the declaration of war. These men were also assigned to dig the graves of those who were hanged. Captain Patrick Dalton was among those sentenced to be hanged and actually choked to death on the gallows. He and six others made their confessions to a Catholic priest and were buried in consecrated ground. Dalton was buried in Tlaquepaque Cemetery outside the village of San Angel. The remainder were buried under the gallows. Those who were spared roamed Mexico as men without a country. After years of negotiating with the Mexican Government for back Army pay, Riley's claim was settled and he reportedly left the country. Editor's Note: For a truly objective and factual presentation of the San Patricios and U. S. involvement in the Mexican War, I recommend the book, "Shamrock and Sword" by Professor Robert Ryal Miller, University of CA at Hawyard, who spent two years researching the topic. This book was published in 1989 and may be obtained through interlibrary loan. |