| The Dalton Genealogical Society has three Secretaries to help you with your questions, or to direct you to the most appropriate member to handle your request.
All sorts of questions may arise in the course of your membership. How do I go about having my ancestral charts printed in the Journal? Where do I submit a query? How do I become a member of the DGS? What is the best method to submit subscription payment if I live in South Africa or Argentina? Who do I contact if my Journal has not arrived? How do I order a back issue of a Journal? These and many more questions are commonly asked and your Secretary is always there to help.
Your Three Secretaries
Maureen M. Collins
Pamela A. Lynam Millicent V. Craig
Maureen M. Collins is the Secretary for Australian and New Zealand Daltons. Although she travels extensively between Australia, France and Surrey, England, she has her lap top computer with her at all times. Maureen is hosting a meeting of Australian Daltons at her home in Sydney on 3 January 2004 and please contact her if you are interested in attending. Maureen's e-mail address is: mmcollins@ozemail.com.au Her postal address is: 1/11 Moruben Rd., Mossman, Sydney, NSW 2088, Australia.
Pamela A. Lynam, Secretary of the DGS, is located in England and will respond to requests for information from Daltons in the U. K., Ireland, South America, South Africa or other locations that are not the primary responsibilty of the other two Secretaries. Pamela's e-mail address is: Pam-Lynam@lineone.net Her postal address is: 11 Jordan Close, Leavesden, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD2 7AF, England.
Millicent V. Craig's responsiblity as secretary for North America covers the USA and Canada and she will respond to queries from the Caribbean. Millicent is editor of the DGS monthly web page, Daltons in History, and is the coordinator of the International Dalton DNA Project. Her e-mail address is: Millicenty@aol.com. Postal address is: 880 Ames Court, Palo Alto, CA 94303, USA. |
| The following article is printed with permission from The Family Tree Newsletter of June 2003. The concepts in this article have been expanded to an article that follows; "Genealogical Time Frame, English Descent Daltons". The Irish Daltons will be addressed in the September issue of "Daltons in History". For additional information on the subjects go to: http://familytreedna.com/
Understanding Your DNA Results
To understand how this situation occurs, we start by looking at the population before the origin of Surnames. Before the adoption of surnames, there existed various Y DNA 12 Marker and 25 Marker results in the male population. The quantity of persons with any particular Y DNA result varied, based on their success of having male children, the survival of the male children, and how many of the male children procreated more male children. There was also migrations throughout the world. In addition, during this time, markers continued to mutate, just as they do today.
Surnames began to be introduced and
adopted at different rates in different countries, typically with the
upper classes adopting surnames initially. Different persons through
out a region of the world population would have had the same 12 Marker
result at the time of the introduction of surnames. This situation would
have occurred due to some of the people being related and the others as
a result of Convergence. For more information on Convergence, see
the Facts and Genes Vol. 1, Issue 5, the article titled "Haplotypes: Convergence".
As the adoption of surnames occurred, different persons with the same 12 Marker result most likely adopted different surnames. For example, perhaps there was a person in London who adopted the surname Barker and another person existed in Scotland with the same 12 Marker result, and they adopted the surname MacGregor. Assuming that there were no mutations, the descendents today would have a 12 Marker exact match, but they are not related in a genealogical time frame.
The key element in evaluating 12/12 Matches and 25/25 matches is the time frame. We are all related at one point in time. For our family history research, we are most likely only interested in a genealogical time frame. The genealogical time frame most likely does not start before the adoption of surnames, so the first requirement to determine relatedness is the surname.
The Marker mutation rate does not care about surnames, or whether the person even had a surname. Markers mutated before surnames and after the adoption of surnames. By utilizing the criteria of surnames, you are establishing the time frame for evaluating relatedness.
If two people match 12/12 or 25/25 and the surname matches or is a variant, then they are probably related since the time of the adoption of the surname. If two people match 12/12 or 25/25, and the surname does not match, they are most likely related before the adoption of surnames. (This statement excludes adoption, and extra marital events.) Being related before the adoption of surnames is probably not relevant to those doing family history research, so matches with others of different surnames are ignored. When two people match and share the same surname, they would be related since the time of the adoption of the surname.
Scientifically, the probability that two people are related is the same on a 12 Marker match and a 25 Marker match, 99% probability that they are related. The question then becomes WHEN the relatedness occurred. A 25 Marker match has a smaller window of 1200 years, while the 12 Marker match has a much larger window of 2500 years.
The surname effects the time frame for when they are related. When the surname matches, the time frame is shortened, so the two people are related since the adoption of the surname. From a genealogical perspective, determining the first recorded instance of the surname would put a time frame for the adoption of the surname, even though it could have been used prior to that event, but not recorded or the documents lost or destroyed. Matches with other surnames can occur for anyone, with any 12 Marker or 25 Marker result, who belong to any Haplogroup. We happen to observe this situation occurring more frequently with those who belong to Haplogroup R1b, since this Haplogroup comprises a large percentage of the European population and their descendents.
Most matches with other surnames are not worth investigating. 12 Marker results, called Haplotypes, began evolving and mutating with the first Humans. The time frame for relatedness is a relevant factor, and surnames establish a time frame. |
| A requisite to participation in the International Dalton DNA Project, sponsored by the Dalton Genealogical Society is to identify those Daltons with the earliest genealogical records and if possible to obtain their DNA. The goal is to establish benchmarks or baselines against which other Daltons may test.
In the Domesday Book of William the Conqueror of 1088, three villages in Northern England were identified by the name Dalton. Since that time four more villages in England bear the name Dalton. See DGS Journal, Vol. 1, page 40 "From Whence We Hail" with a map of Dalton surname connected villages.
The early settlers of the villages in 1088, were not likely to have a surname. It was not until the 1200's and 1300's that surnames began to appear. In Dalton in Furness, Bernard who had only a given name, enhanced his identity by adding the name of his village to his given name. Thus he became Bernard de Dalton or Bernard of Dalton. Gradually the "de" or "of" was dropped and his name emerged as Bernard Dalton. Ralph de Dalton of Yorkshire became Ralph Dalton.
With Daltons established in possibly seven or more locations it raises the question of how many founding fathers there were. Since it appears that the Dalton surname began about the 1200's to 1300's in England, this is our genealogical time frame for surname DNA research and analysis. It means that our founding fathers emerged about 700 to 800 years ago. Additional research may make a positive link to a century earlier. Beyond the time frame of 1088, efforts for genealogical/DNA purposes are virtually useless. Read the preceding article, by FTDNA, "Understanding Your DNA Results".
The Society has established a 700 year benchmark for Daltons in Lancashire and is on the road to establishing another in Yorkshire. This one may take a little more time. The Society has also begun establishing a benchmark in Wales. What this means is, that if you have a 12 or 25 marker match with another Dalton in one of these three groups you are on the path to identifying the location of your founding father. Through previous genealogical research of the Society it may be possible to identify the founding father.
Some may find that their DNA does not match that of any others in the groups and that is to be anticipated. The larger the pool of DNA, the more likely that more matches will occur. We therefore urge you to consider becoming part of this project. It would be ideal to have about 200 Daltons in the pool. An update of the latest results are encouraging and shows perfect matches between a Lancashire and a Yorkshire Dalton; and an English and American Dalton.
For those of you who have found a
12 or 25 marker match with a surname other than Dalton, the likelihood
of it adding to your genealogical knowledge or relationships are slim.
As the FTDNA article states it would have occurred before the use of surnames
and beyond your genealogical
Editor's note. In the September issue of "Daltons in History", your editor will discuss the special historical surname situation as it applies to Irish Daltons. For more information on the Dalton International DNA Project, please contact your Project Coordinator, Millicent Craig. Millicenty@aol.com |
| The Dalton Genealogical Society's Chairman Michael Neale Dalton announced an International DNA project for members at the May/June 2003 Annual Gathering and Meeting in Wales. It is recognized that there is a large number of members who have been unable to trace their ancestral line beyond several generations and quite rarely beyond the late 1500's through records. In Ireland it is uncommon to trace an ancestral line beyond the late 1700's.
The DGS DNA Project hopes to assist members by determining whether there are cousin relationships, whether individuals may have the same paternal roots and where to turn their attention for further records research. Daltons comprise a large segment of the population, not quite as prevalent as Smith and Jones, but nevertheless one of the largest of One Name Studies. As such it is possible that there is not one but several founding fathers. This study will begin to show whether this is indeed a possiblity.
The project is being approached in a systematic manner by inviting those members with the longest ancestral records to contribute their DNA. Many of these ancestral lines have been the subject of research reports that have been published in the DGS Journal. Thus ancestral record bases exist for matching and should prove helpful to other members whose ancestral lines are not so long.
The paternal roots of nearly all Daltons lie in either England or Ireland and this study is directed toward both the English and Irish segments of Daltons. Baselines are being established for both groups. One of the longest lines is that of the Daltons of Bispham in Lancashire County, U. K where property records date back to 1324. Two descendents of this line have contributed their DNA for study. They have perfect matches in 25 markers of the test and provide a baseline for others to test against.
If your ancestry is from the Daltons of Thurnham, then you may well be a member of this line. From Bispham, Daltons migrated to other parts of England, to Yorkshire, down through the country to Wales to southern Ireland and to New Zealand. There is a large group from this line in the U. S. in New England, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas and California. It is quite likely that descendents of this line are also in Australia, Canada and South Africa.
Daltons from the Irish line are scattered all over the world.; Australia, New Zealand, Argentina. Canada, France, the U. S. and migration to the U. K. for employment was quite substantial. A pool of Irish Dalton DNA is being collected. Two families originated in Meath/Westmeath, one in Limerick, one in Tipperary and one in Kerry and more participants from all counties are invited to expand the pool that hopefully will result in some definitive answers.
Many of the above Daltons may be descended from the legendary Walter De Aliton. Other Irish Daltons may be descended from Roger Dalton, who came from Yorkshire through Wales to Southern Ireland, to Waterford area. This branch in particular may show the Lancashire connection and the same Norman roots. Without such a study, we will never know.
At the Annual Gathering of Daltons in Wales the DGS Chairman and members of the Committee contributed their DNA thus expanding the pool to include branches from other parts of Lancashire, Wales, Yorkshire (2), and Norfolk. Results of the tests will be available in the Family Tree DNA Bank by the end of July 2003. By mid-June 2003, 15 Daltons had sent their DNA sample.
There are two types of tests available. A 12 marker test will show cousin relationships and the 25 marker test will show additional ethnic background information and the probabilities of having the same ancestral father if such a relationships exists. A 12 marker test is $99.00 and the full 25 marker test is $169.00. The latter is recommended because of the likelihood that Dalton lines go back to Norman times. Generally about seven weeks are required for results.
For those who would like to be a part of this study, please be in contact and let us know the geographical location and date of your earliest recorded ancestor. DNA kits can be mailed to any location in the world. The particulars of this study are available on the Family Tree DNA web site and Millicent Craig, the American Secretary is your current coordinator. Contact: Millicenty@aol.com. |
| The following slave advertisements were extracted from 18th century editions of the Virginia Gazette by DGS member, K. T. Mapstone.
Virginia Gazette
This second story highlights the Slave Masters, John Dalton and Robert Adam. For a history of Captain John Dalton of Alexandria, go to the DGS Journal Index, Vol 28 published May 1998, there is an eight page account of Captain John Dalton, founder of Alexandria. He was a merchant, trader, land baron, and friend of George Washington. He lived from 1722-1777. You can order this issue from this website.
Virginia Gazette |
| Many of the English county files of the Dalton Data Bank draw attention to the fact that within a family two or more variants of the name Dalton can appear for children. The change was then carried on through generations. It has raised the question many times as to whether Doltons or Daultons were actually Daltons. Eric Dolton of the U. K. has spent a considerable amount of time researching the Daltons/ Doltons of West Berkshire. The results of his findings will be published in the DGS Journal.
He notes that the earliest entries of West Berkshire Daltons start in Lambourne in 1589 and in 1606 the spelling changed to Dolton and from thence forward it was Dolton for some 400 years. In the villages of Chievely/Leckhampsted a family of eight children in the early 1700's are surnamed Dolton (6), Dalton (1) and Doulton (1). In a family of Dolton of Speen in the mid 1700's five are surnamed Dolton, Doulton (1) and Doulten (1). Eric also notes that given names evolved over time such as Stephen to Steven.
In the Close Rolls and early historical documents, the spelling is invariably Dalton. Few christening records remain of the 13th to the early16th Century and even those that have survived were likely to have been written in Latin. Our DGS historian Lucy Slater writes that "prior to the time of Henry VIII, records were written in the language of the priest. In these early days the priest was often the only person in the parish who could read or write. In the towns, lawyers wrote in Latin and many of the church records were also in Latin ".
In the 16th Century, it was mandated that churches maintain records. Changes in spelling could be attributed to the scribes, their ethnic background and how they interpreted what they heard in the dialect, inflection or accent of those who did the reporting. In areas such as Lancashire there is a definite accent that can be identified anywhere in the world. Yet there were far fewer variants in the northwest and western part of England. There was a concentration of variants in eastern and southern England. In Somerset, for example, variants comprised 50% of the surname. The proximity of eastern England to the continent and the introduction and influence of scribes of various ethnicities may partly account for this phenomenon.
On the surface it would appear that Daltons/Doltons/ Doultons/ Daultons and others have the same ancestral roots and this may be determined through DNA testing. If you have an interest in the Dalton International DNA Project, described elsewhere in this issue, please contact the Project Coordinator, Millicent Craig at: Millicenty @aol.com There are also a number of Berkshire and Dolton entries in the Index of DGS Journals. |