Before embarking on their journey to Wales, delegates may want to become re-acquainted with the history of Daltons in this part of the UK.

DGS members who have a complete set of Journals may want to re-read the following selections and refresh their memories of important historical events that will be covered in the AGM schedule.

For those who do not have a complete set of Journals, please go to the DGS Journal Index page. Non-members are also invited to share in this "once in a lifetime" opportunity and to expand your knowledge of the universe of Daltons.

Reading List from the DGS Journal Index

“The flight to Wales in 1651” by Morag Simpson

DGS Journal, Volume 6, page 24.

The losses in the Dalton family in the Civil War, particularly at the battle of Newbury in 1644 and the battle of Worcester in 1651 are noted, together with the flight of Walter Dalton into Wales, with the Royal Paychest and his friend Rowland Vaughan one of the Vaughan family of Golden Grove in Carmarthen. Also notes are given on this Vaughan family, Pembrey and the surviving Daltons.

“Daltons in Wales”, An introduction by Michael N. Dalton

DGS Journal, Volume 10, page 22.

This article covers the senior line, descended from Walter Dalton who fled to Wales after the battle of Worcester in 1651.  It has many photographs of the areas concerned as they are today, in the Gower peninsula.  It also reproduces some inscriptions on the Church at Pembrey and on the tombstone of James Dalton in the churchyard there.

“Daltons in Wales, Geography and Court house” by Michael N. Dalton

DGS Journal, Volume 11, page 17.

This article gives a list of the places mentioned in the Welsh branch of the Dalton family tree and places them on a map of South Wales.  It also gives a drawing and some notes on Court House, the family home for many years.

“Daltons in Wales, the Descendants of James Dalton and Joyce Vaughan” by Michael N. Dalton

DGS Journal, Volume 13, Part II, page 2.

This is the third article about Daltons in Wales.  It discusses the descendants of James Dalton, the fifth son of Walter of Kidwelly and gives extensive charts of his family descendants over five generations.

“The Junior Dalton Line, the Missing Link” by R. N. D. Hamilton

DGS Journal, Volume 14, Part I, page 7.

This paper discusses the tradition that the Daltons of Witney, the so-called junior Dalton line, are descended from Roger Dalton of Thurnham.  The author gives a transcription of the will of Roger, dated 1588, which makes no mention of a son called Walter.  The possibility that the Witney Daltons are descended from the Yorkshire Dalton line is then discussed and suggestions made for further lines of research, to clarify the connections between the Yorkshire Daltons, the three Walter Daltons at Witney and James Dalton of Pembrey.

from Millicent Craig

 

Recently a letter arrived from Tammy seeking help with the ancestry of her Minnesota Daltons. There was a casual mention  that in her Dalton line there are either carriers of, or victims of the blood disorder known as spherotycosis. This genetic aberration may be the key to finding relatives with the same hereditary medical problem.

 

Spherocytosis
Hereditary spherocytosis is a type of anemia in which the red blood cells are shaped like a sphere instead of the regular disc shape.  As a result of the shape, red blood cells are destroyed more rapidly in the spleen, the blood's filtering organ, thus leading to complications including anemia. The condition may be mild and may not be detected until adult life.  In severe cases it appears in infants and the symptons include paleness and yellow color of skin and eyes, stomach problems, fever, etc. The spleen and sometimes the gall bladder are removed, followed by a regimen of specific medicaton.  Today the surgery is performed by laparoscopy and is postponed until the child is about five years of age. (Actual case histories written by mothers, can be read on the internet. Keyword: spherocytosis).

This is not a common condition in the U. S. yet affects one in five thousand births.  The incidence is higher in  Northern European countries. Occasionally it occurs spontaneously in families without a seeming genetic history of the disorder.

 

Tammy's Family
Richard Andrew Dalton is Tammy's grandfather and is known to have had this disorder. He was born Mar 25 1898 in Minnesota  and married Ethel Marie Gardner on Nov 22, 1907. Richard was a farmer and owned land in Kimball, MN.  He died Dec 16, 1982.  His father was Andrew Dalton and that is all that is known of his parents.

The incidence of this disorder has now increased in the U. S.  Richard Andrew Dalton had eight children. They are: Doris, Gladys, Ernest, George, Richard Charles, Gerald, Beverly and Violet and were born in the 1940's.  Some may be still living.  There is a minimum of 25 grandchildren and great grand children who may be either carriers of, or afflicted with congenital anemia.

 

Whether Tammy's great grandfather, Andrew Dalton, carried this gene defect  is unknown.  By telling her story, Tammy hopes to learn more of her ancestry from others descended from the siblings of her grandfather or great grandfather.  If your Dalton ancestors once lived in MN and this condition exists in your family, please be in touch with Tammy:  RACERVIC@aol.com

 

Does this hereditary blood disorder exist anywhere else in the world of Daltons?  The given names of the above eight children suggest that the family is of English or Scottish origin rather than of Irish descent. If congenital spherocytosic anemia exists in your family please be in touch with: Millicenty@aol.com   It may be possible to learn more of family origins through it.

The Australian Red Cross has now posted a listing of those Australians who were wounded or missing in action in WWII.  It is located in the database of the Australian War Museum and is a supplement to the Nominal Roll of Honor that was previously posted.  All Daltons and variants who were on the Nominal Roll have been extracted and can be located in the Australian file of the Dalton Data Bank. http://www.daltondata.0pi.com/ 

 

Extracted below are those Daltons who were on the latest Red Cross Rolls. Eventually they will be posted in the DDB. There were no variant spellings of Dalton in the file. If one of the following entries is of interest to you, visit the website, note the file number, and view a digitised image of the file. In some cases the information is quite graphic and your editor has chosen not to print it.  http://www.awm.gov.au/    It is likely that inquiries may also be referred to the Red Cross Bureau.

 

Australian Wounded and Missing in Action.
from the Australian Red Cross.

Arthur William Victor Dalton
Service #: 2497
Rank: Private
Unit: 60th Battalion

Clarence Bernard Dalton
Service #: 2011
Rank: Private
Unit: 30th Battalion

Frank Dalton
Service #: 2685
Rank: Private
Unit: 37th Battalion

James Dalton
Service #: 2468
Rank: Sergeant
Unit: 2nd Field Artillery Brigade

William Dalton
Service #: 5963
Rank: Sergeant
Unit: 22nd Battalion

William Edward Dalton
Service #: 5792
Rank: Private
Unit: 18th Battalion

William James Dalton
Service#: 644
Rank: Gunner
Unit: 36th Heavy Artillery Group

William Leo Dalton
Service #; 18445
Rank: Bombardier
Unit: 7th Field Artillery Brigade

Witton Kenworthy Dalton
Service #: 867
Rank: Private
Unit: 30th Battalion.

from Millicent Craig

 

A most ambitious project is underway to make excerpts from Irish newspapers available to the public. It will be months before the extractions are completed and  will be a valuable supplement to Irish data.  The excerpts vary according to newspaper and can include births, marriages, deaths, poll tax lists, game tax lists and various political and criminal cases.  Noted but not included below are marriages and births of Lysaghts and Skerrits both of whom are related to Daltons.  Also in the files is the first mention  of a Valentine (surname) that has been observed by your editor and may be worth a look by the American descendents of Valentine Dalton. It occurred in the 18th Century and he was a Bishop.
http://www.newspaperabstracts.com/Ireland/index.html 

 

Clare Journal July 16 1838
Marriage
Mr. Richard Swyney, Boot and Shoe-maker, to Miss Margaret D'Alton, both of
this town.  (Ed. note.  The town was likely Ennis).

 

Clare Journal April 15 1842
Marriage
In Galway, William, eldest son of John d'Alton, Esq., Barrister-at-law, to Clarinda, relict of Geo. Comyn, Esq., and daughter of the late William  Skerritt, Esq., of Finnavara, in this county.

 

Clare Journal Apr 26 1852
Marriage
On the 21st of January, at St. Peter's Church, Dublin, by the Rev. Mr. Moffatt, Henry, eldest son of Thomas Whitestone, of Clondigad, County Clare, Esq., to Henrietta Lucinda, eldest daughter of the late Henry Santille Baker, Esq., Resident Engineer to the Wellesley Bridge and Docks of the city of Limerick, and grand niece to the late Right Hon. Oliver Count D'Alton, of Mount D'Alton, County Westmeath.

 

The Kilkenny Independent, Wednesday, August 15, 1827
KILKENNY SUMMER ASSIZES-SATURDAY- LAST DAY
Thomas Quinn v. Bartholomew Dillon . Richard Dalton, Thomas Brenan, and John Carroll were sworn, and each examined-Dalton proved that when Quinn left the lands there were crops of wheat, oats and meadowing-the wheat worth 18l and the oat 16l, and 15l worth of manure-with potatoes and many other articles.

 

The Kilkenny Independent, Wednesday, MAY 2, 1827
On Saturday night se'nnight, at Carrick-on-Suir, after a few days' illness, Miss Belinda Dalton, aged 21 years, daughter to Mr. Patrick Dalton

 

Connaught Journal, Galway Ireland, Monday April 21, 1823, County Galway
Proposals (post paid) to Stephen DALTON, No. 27, Coomhe, Dublin. Assignee of Stephen COSTELLO or Thomas DEEHAN, Banagher; or Wm. Kelly, Stamp-Office, Loughrea, who are authorized to treat with the most solvent and best bidders.  April 14, 1823

 

The Cork Examiner, 5 November 1888
A joint meeting of the Midleton Young Ireland Society and the National League was called for one o'clock to-day, but it was subsequently decided that any such meeting would be premature for the present, and none consequently took place.  In connection with the same subject, an informal meeting of the Young Ireland Society was held on Friday in their hall, under the presidency of Mr Richard Fitzgerald, and there were amongst those present -- Messrs Michael Fitzgerald, John P
Leahy, solicitor ; John Ronayne, John O'Callaghan, Michael Lynch, John O'Brien, M Dalton, J Lawton, J J Coffey, John Walsh, Wm Walsh, hon sec, &c. Steps were taken towards raising the necessary funds to give the  deceased a suitable interment.