For the 2012 Gathering and AGM we are returning to Yorkshire over the weekend of Fri/Sat/Sun 27th/28th/29th July 2012. The venue for this event is the Mercure Hull West Hotel. The hotel is very accessible and is ideally situated between Hull, which has a number of interesting Dalton connections, and Beverley with its Minster and an excellent Record Office.

The arrangements that we have in place for the 2012 gathering are published below. These include the planned programme for the weekend, together with full details about costs, registration and how to book your place. This has turned out to be a popular event for both UK and overseas members, and, if you have not already done so, it is recommended that you register as soon as possible. Thank you to all those of you who have returned your registration forms and deposits. Reminder emails or letters have been sent out to many of you, and we look forward to further registrations from members and their families.

The Society is 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 2012 Howard and Chairman, Michael Dalton finalised the arrangements with the hotel and checked out each element of the programme for the weekend. Below you will find Michael's report,"Yorkshire Dalton Places" on a number of exciting details that have now been confirmed. This was the last 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.

The first article is entitled "The link between the Dalton of Thurnham Line and the Yorkshire Daltons", and originally appeared in the very first issue of the DGS Journal published back in 1970.

“The Dalton Jamboree – 9th May 1982” , the second article, appeared in the DGS Journal Vol 11 No 1 published in July 1982 and tells of a gathering of descendants of an 18th Century Dalton, who was a blacksmith in Garton-on-the-Wolds, organised by Howard in the village 30 years ago.

The third in "The Yorkshire Daltons" series, was written by the late Major General John Dalton, a descendant of the Daltons who were Mayors of Hull in the 16th Century. In the article, first published in Volume 5 of the DGS Journal in 1974, John Dalton traces the line from Hull to the present day with many a story of the trials and tribulations of the family through 500 years.

In a fourth article, entitled “David Hockney and the Yorkshire countryside", Kate Dalton, the wife of Chairman Michael Dalton, takes up the theme from the recent Hockney Exhibition at the Royal Academy in London. This major exhibition concentrates on David Hockney’s native Yorkshire and the prolific studies that he has made of the Yorkshire countryside.

Last update: June 2012.

The Dalton Genealogical Society extends an invitation to all DGS members and their families to attend the 2012 Gathering of the Society in Hull, Yorkshire, England from Friday 27th to Monday 30th July. All will be welcome, and the theme of the weekend will be the origins and the history of Yorkshire Dalton families and particularly those with Hull connections. Coupled with this we will review some of the projects that the Society is working on and look ahead to the future.

The weekend will include the opportunity to visit a number of interesting places local to Hull, some with Dalton connections, together with talks about Dalton family history and, of course, the opportunity to meet and chat with fellow members. The DGS Annual Dinner will take place on the Saturday evening.

Full details of the programme for the weekend, costs and booking arrangements will be found below. If you require any further information or have any queries, please contact Howard Dalton (2012 Gathering Organiser - email: howard.dalton@hotmail.co.uk) or Michael Neale Dalton (DGS Chairman & 2012 Gathering Coordinator - email: michaelndalton@aol.com) who will be pleased to assist.

A note about travel arrangements

If you are travelling to England from overseas, you may wish to consider flying to Manchester in Lancashire, which is about a two hour drive from Hull. Another option is Leeds/Bradford airport, about one hour from Hull. The journey from one of the London airports will take considerably longer. Another point to consider is that London will be extremely busy at this time with the Olympic Games starting on 27th July, 2012.

For those who wish to travel by train, there is a good direct service from London King’s Cross to Hull which takes about two and a half hours.

It is anticipated that delegates from overseas will want to combine their stay in Hull with visits to other parts of the UK. There are many options – you can hire a car and explore at your leisure; you can travel by rail between the major cities; or you can take one of the many organised coach tours around the country. It all depends on what you want to see and perhaps whether or not you are a first time visitor to England.

If you need any advice, guidance or assistance with your travel plans, please contact Howard or Michael who will do their best to help you.

A note about the Mercure Hull West Hotel

The venue for the Gathering is the Mercure Hull West Hotel. This hotel has recently been transferred from Ramada Jarvis to the Accord/Mercure Group. Originally a 19th Century manor house, the hotel is set in 12 acres of gardens and is spaciously appointed with excellent facilities for conferences and events. The bedrooms are comfortable with all the usual facilities expected in a four star hotel, including high speed internet access. Further details about the hotel can be found here.

Annual Gathering for 2012
Friday 27th to Monday 30th July, 2012
Hull, Yorkshire, England

PROGRAMME FOR THE WEEKEND

Friday 27th July 2012

from 12 noon

Check in at the Mecure Hull West Hotel and register at the DGS desk in reception. Light lunches can be taken at the Hotel.

afternoon

Visit to the Hull History Centre in the centre of Hull, where there will be an official welcome to the DGS by the Mayor of Hull and afternoon tea will be served. Archivist, Martin Taylor, will introduce us to this state of the art centre and its contents. Then Helen Good, a noted local historian, will talk to us about 16th Century Dalton Mayors of Hull. Her talk will be illustrated with documents held in the Centre’s archives.

evening

We return to the Hotel for an informal buffet supper in the Garden Suite, and the opportunity to meet other delegates and look at Dalton family history displays.

Saturday 28th July 2012

morning

The programme will commence with the DGS Annual General Meeting. This will be followed by talks about Dalton family history and the work of the Society. It will take place in the Garden Suite at the Hotel.

Buffet lunch served in the Garden Suite.

afternoon

A visit to Beverley is planned with the opportunity to explore Beverley Minster and the Beverley Record Office. There will also be free time to enjoy the delightful streets and shops in this historic town.

evening

The DGS Annual Dinner will take place in the Garden Suite at the Hotel and it will be followed by entertainment.

Sunday 29th July 2012

morning

We return to the centre of Hull to visit Holy Trinity Church, where Daltons are buried. Time will be available for further exploring of Hull city centre and a light lunch.

afternoon

We will travel to Garton-on-the-Wolds, the home of one of a number of Yorkshire Dalton families. This will include the opportunity to see the magnificent and historic church in the village with its wall paintings.

evening

En route back to the hotel we will stop in the village of South Dalton for an informal supper at the much acclaimed Pipe and Glass Inn, where our hosts will be James & Kate McKenzie, winners of the Michelin Pub of the Year 2012 award.

Monday 30th July 2012

morning

The conclusion of the DGS Gathering. Check out from your accommodation. Arrangements can be made for those who wish to stay over.

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.

The form is given below and may be downloaded as an Adobe Acrobat (registrationform.pdf) or Word (registrationform.doc) document for printing, completion and return as per the accompanying notes.

REGISTRATION FORM NOTES

The Registration Form follows. Please note the points below:

  • It is important to make your requirements absolutely clear, particularly those for your accommodation – number of nights and type of room.
  • The Society has already made certain commitments in order to be able to offer the programme for the weekend. We need to know numbers attending as early as we can in order to finalise the arrangements for the various events and visits during the weekend. If you wish to attend, it would therefore be extremely helpful if you are able to return your registration form and deposit before 29th February 2012.
  • We will endeavour to maintain availability of hotel accommodation for as long as we can, but it is unlikely that we will be able to take any more bookings after the end of May 2012.
  • We will keep you informed about take up and booking options on the DGS website at www.daltongensoc.com. Just follow the link to Forthcoming Gatherings and click on the 2012 DGS Gathering. Month by month the website will also carry further information about Yorkshire, about the speakers who will address us and about the places we will be visiting during the weekend. We will also feature articles about Yorkshire Daltons and their family history.
  • Your deposit payment of £80 sterling per room booked will be passed to Mercure Hull West Hotel and it will be deducted from your final account, for which you will be responsible personally. In addition you are asked to pay in advance a further deposit of £40 sterling per person towards the cost of the Friday supper, the Saturday morning conference and buffet lunch, the Saturday evening dinner, the Sunday evening dinner and the various visits.
  • As soon as final costings are available for the various elements of the programme, you will be advised of these and asked to confirm the elements in which you wish to participate. The balance due will be payable in sterling when you are in Hull.
  • The Society will return deposits to delegates who subsequently are unable to attend, subject to the deduction of any unrecoverable costs incurred.
  • If you wish to extend your stay either before or after the three nights (Fri/Sat/Sun), please indicate your requirements clearly on the form and we will make the reservation for you, subject to availability of rooms.

Prices for accommodation are as follows:

Mercure Hull West Hotel - £90 per night for bed & breakfast for 2 people in a double/twin room, or £80 per night for bed & breakfast for 1 person in a single room.

If you prefer to take alternative accommodation there are a number of other possible options locally. Please indicate this on the registration form and we will assist if we can. It is also possible for those who live locally to join the weekend as a day delegate.

Indicative prices for events and visits are as follows:

Friday afternoon visit to Hull History Centre

£10 per person

Buffet Supper on Friday

£30 per person

Conference and Buffet Lunch on Saturday

£35 per person

Saturday afternoon visit to Beverley

£10 per person

DGS Annual Dinner on Saturday (3 courses excl. drinks)

£35 per person

Sunday visits to Hull and Garton-on-the-Wolds (excl. lunch)

£15 per person

Sunday evening supper

£25 per person

Subject to demand, we plan to arrange transport by coach on Friday afternoon, Saturday afternoon and Sunday. The indicative prices include an allowance for this. As soon as final details and costings are known, they will be advised to all those who have made reservations, and they will be published on the DGS website.

Notes for overseas members

Members in the United States and Canada may remit to the Society’s North American Secretary in US dollars. Please convert at the rate of $1.70 to the pound sterling and send your remittance made payable to “Dalton Genealogical Society” together with a copy of the registration form to: Karen Dalton Preston, DGS North American Secretary, 2777 Turtle Head Peak Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89135, USA.

Members in Australia and New Zealand should contact the Australian Secretary, Maureen Collins by email (mmcollins@ozemail.com.au) for guidance.

Please remember that even if your remittance is being sent to either Karen Preston or Maureen Collins, you must also send your registration form with all the details to Michael N Dalton at the UK address on the form.

REGISTRATION FORM

for THE DALTON GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY GATHERING
HULL, YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND 2012

Name .....................................................................................................................................

Address .................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

Tel No ................................................... Email ......................................................................

I/we will attend the Gathering from Friday 27th to Monday 30th July 2012.

Please give the names of additional members of your party and indicate clearly the hotel rooms that you wish to book (double, twin or single), together with the nights that you wish to stay (Mercure Hull West Hotel is £90.00 per room per night for a double or twin and £80.00 per night for a single room, inclusive of breakfast)

................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

I/we wish to extend my/our visit and to book ........ no. of extra nights before

and ........ no. of extra nights after for ........ person(s).

Please indicate any special room requirements and any special needs:-

................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

A deposit of £80.00 per room (regardless of type of room and length of stay) is payable to the Dalton Genealogical Society and should be forwarded as soon as possible to:

Michael N Dalton, DGS Chairman & 2012 Gathering Coordinator
2 Harewood Close, Reigate, Surrey RH2 0HE United Kingdom

**** please now turn over and fill in form overleaf and sign declaration ****

 

Additional elements of the weekend programme

Please fill in to indicate your expected participation in the following events and the numbers in your party:-

Date

Event

Estimated Cost per head in £ sterling

Tick to indicate participation

No in party

Friday 27th July

Afternoon visit to Hull History Centre

10.00

 

 

Friday 27th July

Buffet Supper

30.00

 

 

Saturday 28th July

Conference including coffee and biscuits and buffet lunch

35.00

 

 

Saturday 28th July

Afternoon visit to Beverley

10.00

 

 

Saturday 28th July

DGS Annual Dinner

35.00

 

 

Sunday 29th July

Visits to Hull and Garton-on-the-Wolds

15.00

 

 

Sunday 29th July

Evening Supper at Pipe and Glass Inn

25.00

 

 

 

TOTAL DEPOSIT FOR EVENTS @ £40.00 PER PERSON

 

PLUS deposit of £80.00 per room (at Hotel or B&B)

 

 

TOTAL DEPOSIT COST enclosed

 

Declaration

I have read the enclosed details and ticked the boxes as requested, and enclose my cheque for the total indicated above and made payable to ‘Dalton Genealogical Society’. Alternatively I have made arrangements for the payment to be sent to one of the DGS Overseas Secretaries.

I understand the terms outlined above relating to the return of deposit monies paid to the Society.

In the event of any changes to my booking or cancellation, I undertake to notify the DGS Chairman & 2012 Gathering Coordinator, Michael N Dalton, at the earliest opportunity.

 

Signed:  ............................................................................ Date:     ............................................................................

Hull is an important location for Dalton family history, with known Dalton connections going back to the 15th century when members of the family worked in the wool trade with Europe. They were a prominent family in the city, and several Daltons were Lord Mayors of Hull during that period. So the focus of the weekend will be “The Dalton Heritage in Hull" and we plan to explore this theme with talks about Daltons of Hull, who they were and what they did; and with visits to local places of interest connected with Dalton family history. We hope that this will give delegates an understanding of the history of Hull and an insight into the part that Daltons have played during the past 600 years.

Howard is keen to contact anyone in the Hull area with knowledge of local Dalton family history and, with this in mind, a press release was issued to the local newspapers in mid-March. This resulted in a short article appearing in the Hull Daily Mail, which has generated a number of contacts. Amongst these was BBC Radio Humberside and before we knew it, Howard and I received an invitation to be guests on Lara King’s Morning Show. At 10.30 am on Tuesday 19th April, there we were sitting in the studio talking live with Lara about the DGS and our plans for the Hull gathering next year. This gave us the opportunity to explain how the DGS came to be founded back in 1970, and to talk about the large international organisation that it is today. Howard emphasised the link between Daltons and the city of Hull and appealed to listeners to contact him with any information they may have, and of course to be in touch if they are interested in joining us at next year’s event.

Howard outside BBC Radio Humberside's offices
Howard and Michael ready themselves in the studio

The venue for our Gathering is to be the Mercure Hull West Hotel. This is very pleasantly situated about 5 miles from the city centre, at Willerby just off the A164, which is the road to the west of Hull running from the Humber Bridge to Beverley. The original building of the hotel is a 19th century manor house set in 12 acres of gardens. This has been extended with modern wings for bedrooms and meeting rooms. Howard and I stayed there and it is comfortably appointed with excellent conference facilities to accommodate our Gathering, including talks, the AGM, a buffet dinner on the Friday, a buffet lunch on the Saturday and the DGS annual dinner on the Saturday evening.

Mercure Hull Hotel entrance
Hotel conference suite and garden

Whilst in Hull, we visited Holy Trinity Church, a magnificent building which is over 700 years old and a fine example of decorated and perpendicular styles of architecture. Within the church there are Dalton tombstones, including one for Thomas Dalton who was Mayor of Hull no less than three times and died in 1591. We also visited the recently opened Hull History Centre, which houses many important archives. Here we met Martin Taylor, the Hull City Archivist, who showed us a number of interesting original documents held by the Centre relating to Daltons. We plan to visit both Holy Trinity Church and the Hull History Centre during the weekend.

Holy Trinity Church, Hull
The recently opened Hull History Centre

We were also able to attend a meeting of the East Yorkshire Family History Society and heard a lecture entitled “Sex, violence and religion in Elizabethan Hull", given by Helen Good, a local historian who works for the University Hull History Department. This was a very lively and entertaining account of life in Hull in the second half of the 16th Century.

This article was originally written in 1970 by the then editor of the DGS Journal and now Chairman of the Society Michael Dalton, and published in Volume 1 of the DGS Journal. It is being republished here as the first of a series of articles taking Yorkshire Daltons as its theme, and particularly Daltons of Hull and the Daltons who were Mayors of Hull in the 15th and 16th centuries. This article contains details of these early Yorkshire Daltons and their descendants. The original article was prepared in consultation with the late Major-General Sir Charles Dalton who is one of these descendants.

In order to provide sufficient background to the contents of this article, which is really a progress report, it is necessary to give a brief summary of the structure of the Pedigree of the Dalton family beginning with Sir Rychard Dalton of Byspham in Lancashyre, Knight, who was born circa 1230 AD. Sir Rychard is the earliest Dalton recorded in the official records of the College of Arms. The information shown in Chart I is extracted from the Visitation of Yorkshire in 1563-4 by William Flower, Norroy King at Arms, as printed in the Harleian Society Publications Volume XVI pp 84-89. It shows the connection between the Daltons of Thurnham and what is commonly known as the Junior Dalton Line, from which John Dalton (1780-1851), who married Hannah Neale, is descended.

Amongst the descendants in the Junior Dalton Line is a large family resident in the United States of America. The forebear of these American Daltons emigrated across the Atlantic before the American War of Independence in 1775-6 and a certain Mark Ardath Dalton of Long Beach, California, who is a seventh cousin of the Editor’s father, has compiled an extensive genealogy of this branch of the family. In his book “The John Dalton Book of Genealogy”, published by the Dalton Family Organisation in 1964, he gives an account of the family history right back to the Sir Rychard mentioned above. The information for this section of his book was, in the main, collected by one of his family, who visited England in the 1860s and again in the 1880s. Included in his details of the earlier part of the pedigree is the statement that the Daltons of Yorkshire described below are descended from John Dalton, the third son of Robert of Bispayne who married Margaret and was born circa 1400 (ref p3, John Dalton Book of Genealogy).

Chart II shows the pedigree of the Daltons of Hawkeswell and the Daltons of Sleningford in outline. The records of this family are held by the College of Arms right back to John Dalton of Kingston upon Hull who died 10th September 1458. It is known that John Dalton had an elder brother William who was "co-executor of his brother John’s will with his widow, Joan". The proposition (or hypothesis) is that this John Dalton of Kingston upon Hull is one and the same person as John Dalton, third son of Robert of Bispayne.

In January 1969, the Editor put this proposition to Major-General Sir Charles Dalton of the Yorkshire family with whom he had been in contact for some months. Sir Charles and the Editor had been investigating the possibility of a link between their families being lost somewhere in the haze of the 15th century and this suggestion, originating from Mark Ardath Dalton’s book, was the first really plausible hypothesis. Sir Charles’s reaction was one of cautious enthusiasm. On the one hand, there was the distinct possibility of his pedigree being extended back through five generations to Sir Rychard of Byspham; on the other hand, nothing had been proved, all was supposition with a considerable amount of plausible supporting evidence. Sir Charles and his brother, Major-General John Dalton of Hauxwell Hall, after obtaining the opinion of Mr J P Brooke-Little, Richmond Herald at the College of Arms, decided to ask the College to undertake the necessary research either to prove or to disprove the theory put forward. This work is now being done by the Richmond Herald’s genealogist, Miss Colwell.

Amongst the plausible supporting evidence are the following interesting facts. It cannot be emphasised too clearly that what follows does not constitute any sort of proof of the theory.

(i) It seems that Robert Dalton of Bispayne married Margaret about 1420 and that his three sons, Rychard, William and John were born between 1420 and 1425. This means that John would have been in his thirties when he died in 1458 which fits in well with the fact that his wife Joan married a second and a third time.

(ii) There are heraldic similarities between the two families. The arms and crest of the Dalton of Thurnham Line are as follows:

Arms: Azure, semee of cross-crosslets or, a lion rampant, guardant, argent

Crest: A dragon’s head couped vert, between two wings or,

Those of Dalton of Hawkeswell are described thus:

Arms: Azure, semee of cross-crosslets or, a lion rampant, guardant, argent, a chief barry nebulee of three of the last and sable

Crest: A dragon’s head with wings displayed vert, the outside of the wings or, gorged with a collar nebulee of the last.

The Dalton of Thurnham Arms and Crest are those used at the beginning of this Journal. Those of Dalton of Hawkeswell are similar with what are known as "differences". In heraldry, in order to distinguish between the senior line of a family and the line of a second or subsequent son, the arms granted to the junior line are, to use a technical expression, "differenced". Here we have the addition of a chief barry nebulee to the arms and a collar nebulee to the crest. This fits in with John Dalton being third son of Robert.

Regrettably the work of Miss Colwell has yet to establish the validity or otherwise of the link put forward. There have been two progress reports on the research so far and her findings have served to confuse rather than clarify the situation. Searching of Wills, Chancery Proceedings and other documentation available in London and in Hull has produced a mass of information, including the complication of there apparently being not one but two Dalton families extant in Hull in the 15th century. However, conclusive proof or evidence to disprove has yet to be found. Major-General Sir Charles is continuing to support the work of Miss Colwell so that she can follow up various leads as yet unexplored but the present situation leads one to believe that it is unlikely that evidence of the kind required is in existence today.

It was stated at the beginning of this article that it would be a progress report. It is hoped that, by the time the Volume of this Journal for 1971 is published, there will be a final report available from the College of Arms.

Sadly, the further work undertaken by Miss Stella Colwell did not result in any changes to her conclusions and therefore the link remains unproved to this day. It should also be pointed out that the link between the Junior Dalton Line and the Daltons of Thurnham is not proved – this has been the subject of a series of articles in the DGS Journal by the late Dick Hamilton (see DGSJ Vols 14, 15 & 16).

CHART I – Sir Rychard Dalton of Byspham in Lancashyre, and his descendants



CHART II – Pedigree of the Yorkshire Daltons in outline
(Daltons of Hawkeswell and Daltons of Sleningford)

This article originally appeared in the DGS Journal Volume 11 Number 1 published in July 1982. It was written by the then editor of the DGS Journal and now Chairman of the Society Michael Dalton. It is being republished here as the second of a series of articles taking Yorkshire Daltons as its theme, and these include Daltons of Garton-on-the-Wolds, a small village which we will be visiting during the gathering on Sunday afternoon. The 2012 DGS Gathering Organiser is Howard Dalton, a descendant of the Daltons of Garton-on-the-Wolds and the organiser of the Dalton Jamboree in 1982.

Unbeknown to the DGS and equally without knowledge of the DGS, a Dalton genealogical event took place at Garton-on-the-Wolds, East Yorkshire on 9th May last. This came about through the enterprise of Howard Dalton from Northumberland who it turns out is descended from the same John Dalton of Garton-on-the-Wolds as DGS members Mark Dalton and Dr Antony Cox (see DGSJ Vol 10 No 1 pp 12-14 and MN&Q 10.10 & 11.6). Howard was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme on the Friday morning preceding the Sunday of the event and one of those who heard the interview was Mark. He arranged to attend and so the DGS was not unrepresented! The account of the event given below appeared in the Yorkshire Post on Monday 10th May as a ‘Weekend People’ feature:

Keith Nicholson attends the first gathering of some of the descendants of an 18th Century Yorkshire blacksmith.

FORGING A FAMILY LINK

Nearly 30 descendants of an 18th Century blacksmith made a pilgrimage yesterday to his East Yorkshire village.

At Garton-on-the-Wolds, near Driffield, they saw the site of the old forge, long since demolished and now part of a garden, where generations of Daltons worked.

On Saturday, the 20th Century members of the family had gathered in York for their first reunion and self-styled “Dalton Jamboree”. Some met for the first time at a dinner at Naburn Banqueting Hall, near York.

The gathering was organised by Howard Dalton, a 32 year old accountant, of Cresswell, near Morpeth, Northumberland, who with the help of others has traced the family history back nearly two centuries.

Mr Dalton carried out much of his earlier research into parish records and census forms with his late father Mr Eric Dalton, an organist at Dringhouses Parish Church, York, who died ten years ago.

Among those wearing “Dalton Jamboree 1982” badges during the weekend were Reg Dalton, 70, of Cossington, Leicestershire, his son, Jim from Carlisle, and his brother Professor Godfrey Dalton, of Queen’s University, Belfast. Reg and Godfrey are uncles of Howard Dalton, who had the badges made.

Professor Dalton was accompanied by his wife, Hilary, and their children, Margaret, 26, Elizabeth, 23, and Nigel, 17, who swims for Ulster.

The Dalton connection with Garton dates from the days when John Dalton arrived in the village in the 1700s to take over the smithy. It was passed down from father to son and the last Dalton to be blacksmith there, Robert, achieved fame through his habit of putting his name on nearly everything he made.

Howard Dalton yesterday pointed out Robert’s signature carved on the tower wall of the village church in 1809, together with the imprint of his hand. Family sleuths then went in search of a barn door hinge, also said to bear Robert Dalton’s name.

Another branch of the family was represented by Mr Mark Dalton, 32, of Kirkwood Way, Cookridge, Leeds, who can also trace his ancestry back to the 18th Century blacksmith, John.

Mark had travelled to Garton with his brother, Andrew, who played cricket for Yorkshire from 1970 to 1972 and is now the managing director of a Leeds printing firm.

Howard explained that the reunion was suggested during a visit to his aunt, Mrs Rene Whiteman, of Bridlington, who has helped with research.

He added: “Although John Dalton’s first child was born three months before he married a local girl, I haven’t found any family scandal. Apart from blacksmiths, they were farmers and policemen – and not surprisingly, they seem to have been very law-abiding.”

Howard Dalton has become a member of the DGS and the publicity given to the Dalton Jamboree has brought about a number of enquiries from Daltons in various parts of the country. Howard has kindly referred these to the DGS and this has resulted in several new members for the Society.

It is hoped that more details of the descendants of the Garton-on-the-Wolds Daltons will be published in a future issue of the Journal. They certainly have a formidable team of enthusiastic genealogical researchers!

This article originally appeared in Volume 5 of the DGS Journal published in 1974. It was written by the late Major General John Cecil D’Arcy Dalton and tells the story of his Yorkshire Dalton family descending from Daltons living in Kingston-upon-Hull in the middle of the 15th Century. The Gathering is taking Yorkshire Daltons as its theme, and these include this Hull based Dalton family, who were Mayors of Hull in the 16th Century and will be the subject of a talk by Helen Good at the Hull History Centre on Friday afternoon.

1. Kingston-upon-Hull

Whether or not there is a link between the Thurnham and the Yorkshire Dalton families (and the evidence is very strong even if proof is lacking), there is no doubt that the Daltons were well established in Kingston-upon-Hull by the middle of the fifteenth century.

The family were merchants of the staple (the staplers traded in wool and had their chief office at Calais) and must have been both prominent and prosperous, for as early as 1487, John Dalton was elected Mayor. The city had been founded in the reign of Edward I and the first Mayor was appointed in 1322.

All through the sixteenth century the family kept on producing the Chief Citizen, several of them serving twice or thrice over a period of years, often holding the office of Sheriff before being elected Mayor. One of them, Thomas, an Alderman and Merchant, was also very holy. By his will dated 1497 (the year Cabot sailed to Newfoundland and Labrador) he founded a Chantry in Holy Trinity Church. He also left his house near the church to the table-priests and their successors, and gave them his "great picture of beyond sea work which cost him 8 pounds sterling to set up over the Altar of St Corpus Christi in the Church". And he asked to be buried on the north side of the aisle.

The family’s activities as Mayor, however, were not always plain sailing. In 1540, King Henry VIII visited Hull on his way to meet his nephew, James V of Scotland, at York and, after being suitably entertained he left for that city. Meanwhile the election for Mayor was due, and the candidates were Mr Dalton and Mr Johnson. Alas! Before the votes were cast the King unexpectedly returned; the election was postponed and the candidates went to meet him. When he heard about the election, Henry ordered the Corporation to meet again and mentioned that Sir John Eland should be nominated along with the other two. At the election, the King voted for Sir John, and of course the latter was elected. I suspect that democracy was but skin-deep in those days, and in any case it was discreet not to thwart a Tudor monarch.

Another Dalton, Thomas, during the first of his three mayoralties, was in office in 1554 when a rich citizen called Sir William Knowles presented the Corporation with a gold chain weighing 4½ ounces upon condition that the Mayor should wear it every Sunday, holiday and on particular occasions or else forfeit 40 pence for every omission. This story has a sequel. The chain, presumably first worn by Thomas Dalton in 1554, is still the basis of the chain worn by contemporary Lord Mayors of Hull, and was worn when the writer, 10th in descent from Thomas, during his year as High Sheriff of Yorkshire, entertained the Lord Mayor of Hull to luncheon at the Assizes.

The last Dalton to be Mayor, in 1588, was Robert and I am sorry to say he brought discredit on the family. He was accused later of having "ingrossed most of the mills in his hands, taking (instead of money) moultercorn, and more of it than he should, and aggravated his offence by mixing plaster with it to increase the weight". For this grave offence he was "severely reprehended" and might well have been fined too had he not apologised and promised never to repeat the crime. Honesty compels me to record this blot; family pride makes me add that the culprit was not a direct ancestor of the present Dalton line!

By the end of the sixteenth century the family was ready to expand its life away from the channels of commerce. For some time they had married into the families of the landed gentry, and had been well educated. In particular, William Dalton, second son of that Thomas who had three times been Mayor, became a lawyer and was Recorder of Hull. He then moved and settled at or near Otley in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He was made a member of the Council of the North at York, was subsequently (in the language of the period) Attorney-General of the Northern Court – which probably meant Secretary to the Council in modern terms – and became also Recorder of York. His office was at King’s Manor in York, which is still in existence and is now part of York University. He was knighted by King Charles I at Whitehall Palace in 1629. A few years later we find his signature on a letter from the Council to the Mayor and Aldermen of Hull about the fortifications of the town and the payment for them. I hope it gave him satisfaction to take some part in the affairs of his native place. It is not known when he was born, but he died in 1649, a staunch but doubtless saddened Royalist, and was buried in York Minster. There is a portrait of him as an old man at Hauxwell Hall. It was in 1631 that he had bought Hauxwell for his son John, of whom more in a moment.

Before finally leaving Hull, it may be of interest to quote from an eighteenth century history of the town concerning the duties of Mayor in the earliest days, to show that the holders of that office were persons of consequence and had heavy responsibilities.

During his year of office he is to see the laws executed, and the King within his district exercises his authority by the Mayor’s administration, so that he is the King’s Lieutenant in his absence. The Mayor of Hull gives place and drops the insiginia of authority only to the Sovereign himself or the presumptive heir to the Crown, in the presence of whom only he is dispossessed and on such occasions carries himself the mace before the King.

2. Hauxwell

The manors of East and West Hauxwell and of Barden in Yorkshire belonged after the Conquest to Earl Alan of Richmond and his brother. They descended through various families over the years and early in the seventeenth century were possessed by the Jopsons. From this family they were acquired in 1631 by Sir William Dalton for his son John, who thus became "First of Hauxwell" for our family. John had married Dorothy D’Arcy of Hornby Castle near Bedale and only three miles from Hauxwell. The house at this date was small and simple and John was perhaps some sort of agent for the D’Arcys. He was certainly "of their party" politically and shortly became second-in-command of his brother-in-law’s troop of Royalist horse. Several pieces of armour of the period are still to be seen in the museum at Hauxwell. The family’s Hull origins were kept in mind by the inclusion in a window of Hauxwell Church of an heraldic shield of sixteenth century painted glass depicting Dalton impaling Tyrwhitt. Ann Tyrwhitt had been the second wife of Thomas Dalton of Hull and was John Dalton’s grandmother.

Whatever plans John, with his wife Dorothy, may have had as squire of Hauxwell, were shattered by the Civil War. John took service with his brother-in-law D’Arcy and in 1643 they were assigned the duty of escorting the Queen, Henrietta Maria, on her journey across England. The Queen had landed at Bridlington on the Yorkshire coast in February, and after a delay in York began the hazardous cross-country journey to join the King at Oxford. She arrived there in July, but regrettably John Dalton was no longer with her. At the crossing of the River Trent at Burton there was a skirmish with the Parliamentarian troops; John was badly wounded. He was taken back to Yorkshire, where he died a year later and was buried in York Minster. This melancholy event was recorded by his father, Sir William, in his own handwriting on one of the fly-leaves of his law manual (still at Hauxwell):

My only sonne John Dalton was wounded at Burton upon Trent the fift of July 1643 and thereof dyed 1644 the 24 or XXVth July who was a valiant man and a duetyfull and loving sonne.

Would not any of us be satisfied with such a simple and moving epitaph?

One can imagine the disruption and distress caused by the Civil War, with allegiance divided even within families. Yet things soon returned to normal, and after his restoration, Charles II now King remembered those whose families had loyally supported his parents. John’s son William was one of those knighted by Charles II. This second Sir William lived at Hauxwell and before he died had begun to enlarge the house. So far as is known, no celebrated architect was employed, but the work attributed to this period is typically restrained and eminently suitable for a squire’s house.

The Daltons continued in the male line all through the eighteenth century when their most important member was Sir Charles, younger son of the second Sir William. He had been born in 1660 and in middle life obtained some minor appointment as an Usher at the Court in London. Here he mixed with fashionable and cosmopolitan people and acquired knowledge (and possessions) which were to influence Hauxwell permanently. It was in 1717 that he became the owner of the property and commemorated the event by erecting a stone obelisk in front of his house. This monument stood sturdily for nearly 250 years before being severely damaged in the great gale which ravaged this part of Yorkshire in 1962. It has since been repaired.

Sir Charles never married. In 1727 he became Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, a position of some consequence in those days, which he held till his death twenty years later. During this time he built a wing to the house, the ground floor being a beautifully proportioned room decorated with carved wood panels and plaster work, and imported some notable pieces of Flemish tapestry which family tradition believes he "acquired" from the Palace of Westminster! He also collected books, many of which have survived, as has also his court dress sword and part of his black rod.

After Sir Charles’s death in 1747 the property passed through a somewhat twilight period. For more than 40 years his parson nephew, another Charles, was in possession and must have planted trees near the house where some very fine hard-wood specimens still stand. He in his turn was succeeded for a short time by his brother Francis. This brother had married a lady who was related to the Bathurst family and who inherited some family portraits as well as a house in Kent. This house was sold and the proceeds used to enlarge the Hauxwell estate. Francis and his wife had an only daughter who married into a distinguished local family called Gale and lived to be 95 years old. Her granddaughter, who inherited Hauxwell, took the additional name of Dalton to her married name of Wade. After three generations of Wade-Daltons, the last of that line being childless, gave the estate to his distant kinsman, Richard Dalton, born 1948, whose direct ancestor had bought it over 300 years previously.

3. Sleningford and The Hutts

We must now go back in time to chronicle the affairs of the present family.

Sir William the second, who lived at Hauxwell after the Restoration and who has already been mentioned, had a younger brother, Thomas. Nothing is known about him except that he lived at Bedale, a small country town a few miles east of Hauxwell. He had a son John, equally obscure, and this John’s only son was James, who grew up to obtain a commission in the army. So started a remarkable military tradition in the family. He himself was apparently hot-tempered and earned the nickname of "Fighting Jim" because of his propensity for duelling! His regiment was stationed for some time in Southern Ireland, where he married a Limerick lady. Later he was in Scotland, and in 1741 (having made his will and left everything he possessed to his wife Elizabeth) he set sail with his regiment for the West Indies where England was at war with Spain. He did not long survive, and within six months of leaving Scotland he had been drowned when making a landing on one of the islands.

Meanwhile his only child, a son John, had already been placed in the army and had been commissioned – at the tender age of 15 – into one of the new marine regiments raised for the Spanish war. A year later his father was dead, and what odds would have been laid against the survival of the family, vested only in young John about to go to war? Not only did he survive, but he became the head of a family that was to proliferate through several generations.

John’s career was remarkable, and started with five years as a second lieutenant on board HMS Preston of 50 guns, cruising in the East Indies and off the coast of Southern India. He then left the sea for the land and transferred to the East India Company’s service as a captain in command of the Grenadier company. This was in 1749. He became "a very intimate and worthy friend" (his own words in a letter home) of Robert Clive, a friendship which lasted for life.

From now onwards, John saw much active service in the Company’s war against the French. From 1752 he became the commander of the fortress of Trichinopoly, a key post which carried much responsibility both military and civil and which was not without excitement. Beleaguered by the French and their native allies, the commander of the fortress was the obvious target for assassination, and this was duly attempted. The would-be assassin however was caught and summarily killed by the gruesome (but effective) method of being blown from the muzzle of a gun.

By 1754, after nearly eleven years continuous service in the East Indies, John resigned his commission and sailed for home, having amassed a fortune of £10,000, and still being young and healthy. The journey home by sea took six months and covered 14,000 nautical miles. He lost no time in visiting his mother, to whom he had written many tender letters over the years and who had been living at Kendal in Westmorland since her husband’s death. It was on his journey north to see his mother that a charming and romantic episode took place. Having arrived at Bay Horse Inn at Green Hammerton, one stage out of York on the road to the north, he stopped for the night and occupied the only sitting room available. Later a coach arrived, carrying Lady Wray and her two daughters. John very naturally gave up his room to them, whereupon Lady Wray equally naturally invited him to have supper with them. He fell in love with one of the daughters, Isabella, and married her in Ripon Minster the following year – and lived happily ever after! The Church register of marriages records "John Dalton, Esq of the parish of Hauxwell and Isabella Wray of this parish". The Wrays had a property, Sleningford near Ripon. Some years later, John bought this from his brother-in-law, Sir Cecil Wray, and it remained in the family of his descendants for more than 150 years. He was a notably handsome man, perhaps a vain one too. On his visits to his mother in Kendal, he had himself painted twice by the well-known artist, George Romney, at 2½ guineas a time. Both pictures are still in the family. Later, when Romney went to London, the price went up to 5 guineas.

John had several sons. The youngest James went into the Church and became Rector of Croft in Yorkshire for over 40 years. (He was succeeded there by the Reverend Charles Dodgson, whose son "Lewis Carroll" wrote part of "Alice in Wonderland" in the Rectory garden.)

One of James’s brothers, and his son, grandson and two great grandsons all served in the army in the Royal Artillery, and all became generals. The grandson, James Cecil, retired from the army before World War I and settled at The Hutts, a small property near Ripon and not far from Sleningford. He had married Mary Caroline Barker, great granddaughter of John Barker of Clare Priory, Suffolk, who as a young officer fought in the English army in 1774-6 at Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill in the American War of Independence. The Hutts was and still is a remote and lovely place high up on the edge of moorland country and with superb views for 30 miles over the Vale of York. There he raised his family, including the author of this article and his elder brother Sir Charles, the latter going to live there on his retirement from the army. Both brothers incidentally, have served their year as High Sheriff of Yorkshire. Meanwhile the younger brother lives at Hauxwell as caretaker for one of his sons, Richard, who as has been noted above had received the estate in trust while still a child. In 1972 the wheel came full circle and Sir Charles’s son John married Amelia Stanley-Price in Ripon Cathedral 216 years after his great great great grandfather had wed Isabella Wray in the same place.

Here we leave the record of the Yorkshire Daltons for the last five hundred years. There is nothing exceptional in it, and many families could record the same sort of story. Yet, in these times of rapid change, it is a matter of gratitude to former generations who made the record that the story can be told.

The author acknowledges help from various family memoirs and papers; also from Gent’s History of Hull (1735) and History of Kingston-upon-Hull by the Rev John Tickell (1796).

The Chairman, Michael Dalton and his wife Kate recently visited the Hockney Exhibition at the Royal Academy in London. This major exhibition concentrates on David Hockney’s native Yorkshire and the prolific studies that he has made of the Yorkshire countryside. At our forthcoming Yorkshire gathering we will be visiting the Yorkshire Wolds, from where Daltons hail. Kate Dalton takes up this theme and gives a foretaste of what is to come.

A Foretaste of Yorkshire

Garrowby Hill by David Hockney 1998

Is it really only April? I feel as if the Dalton Gathering is upon me already as I meander through The Royal Academy studying the David Hockney paintings and drawings of East Yorkshire. Is this area so beautiful and does the countryside sport blue tree trunks and purple roads? The senses are touched as I feel the Yorkshire Wolds through the eyes of the artist as his imagination runs wild.

I look forward to us all meeting up in July when I hope the weather will be bright, and I will be able to remember Hockney’s interpretation of this relatively undiscovered part of Britain.

The Chairman, Michael Dalton and Gathering Organiser, Howard Dalton recently met in Hull for a series of visits and meetings to finalise various details for the forthcoming Yorkshire Gathering. Here, Michael reports on these visits and meetings and reveals some exciting details about the event.

Our first meeting was with Nicola at the Mercure Hull West Hotel, agreeing menus and details for the setting up of our room, the Garden Suite, during the Friday and the Saturday. I think we are assured of being well looked after and I am sure we will not go hungry! The weblink for the hotel is www.mercure.com/gb/hotel-8331-mercure-hull-west-hotel/index.shtml.

Our next port of call was to meet Steve Gardham, Chairman of the Yorkshire Garland Group. Steve and two of his colleagues will be entertaining us after dinner on Saturday as the folk song group "The Spare Hands". Founded in 2006, the group is dedicated to bringing Yorkshire’s traditional songs and music to the widest possible audience and we are delighted that they have agreed to join us at our gathering and bring us a programme of music connected with the sea-faring communities in and around Hull. For more details of their work and a library of songs online, visit www.yorkshirefolksong.net.

Exterior of Holy Trinity Church, Hull
The Nave of Holy Trinity Church
Tombstone of Thomas Dalton,
Mayor of Hull died 1590
Close up of the brass inscription plate on the tombstone
The magnificent ceiling in the church
Poster for the Beer Festival
Howard enjoys a glass of real ale
....... and Michael cannot resist another

We then went to Holy Trinity Church in Hull to meet with Jean Fenwick, who is the visits coordinator for the church. On Friday 20 April the church was taken over with a three day beer festival which, as the photographs show, Howard and I were unable to resist joining in! What an amazing way to promote Holy Trinity Church and entice people inside – full marks to the vicar and his team for being so innovative. On a more serious note we viewed the tombstone of Thomas Dalton, who was Mayor of Hull and died in 1590. The photographs show a brass plate on the memorial which is set in the floor of the south choir aisle with the following inscription:

THIS THO: DALTON FIRST MARIED ANN WALKER WIDOW BY WHO HE HAD NO CHILDREN &
AFTER MARIED ANN TIRWHIT DAUGHTER TO SR ROB: TYRWHIT OF KETLBIE KNIGHT &
BY HER HAD SIX SONNES & THREE DAUGHTER VIDZ ROB: JOHN WILLIAM PHILLIP EDW:
& THO: ANN ELIZ: & SUSANNA HE WAS WISE HONEST & BOUNTIFULL HE DIED BEINGE OF THE AGE
OF 74: IN THE FEARE OF GOD & LOVE OF ALL GOOD MEN WHOSE DEATH THE POORE MUCH LAMENTED

Another memorial which we will see records the deaths of Henry Dalton 1837, Richard Dalton 1838, William Middleton Dalton 1838 and Henry Dalton 1845. Those coming to our gathering will have the opportunity to attend a service at Holy Trinity on Sunday morning and there will be a guided tour of the church. For more details about this magnificent church, go to www.holy-trinity.org.uk.

Our next port of call was the Hull History Centre for a meeting with the Archivist, Martin Taylor. Everything is now in place for the Friday afternoon visit to the Centre when we will be welcomed by the present Mayor of Hull, who will be wearing the chain of office, which was first worn by Thomas Dalton, during the first of his three mayoralties, in 1554. As Major-General John Dalton stated in his article above, that was the year when a rich citizen called Sir William Knowles presented the Corporation with a gold chain weighing 4½ ounces upon condition that the Mayor should wear it every Sunday, holiday and on particular occasions or else forfeit 40 pence for every omission. The chain has survived to this day and is still the basis of the chain worn by contemporary Mayors of Hull. After tea and an opportunity to take a short tour of the Centre, Helen Good will give her talk entitled "16th Century Dalton Mayors of Hull", illustrated with documents held in the Centre’s archives. The Hull History Centre website at www.hullhistorycentre.org.uk is worth a visit for more details of their collections and facilities.

The church in its idyllic rural setting
 
Howard stands in the magnificent entrance door
...... and then points to an incription on the NW corner of the exterior
...... R Dalton 1890 (a blacksmith and brother of one of his direct ancestors)
19th Century murals inside the church
by Clayton and Bell
 
...... and stained glass windows too!

From Hull we headed north to the village of Garton-on-the-Wolds, a journey of less than half an hour. Here we will visit the village church of St Michael & All Angels on the Sunday afternoon and see a Dalton inscription on the exterior of the building. We will also see the magnificent interior with its wall paintings and stained glass by Clayton & Bell executed in the 1870s. The wall paintings underwent a major restoration programme between 1985 and 1991. Also in the village is a blacksmith’s forge, and the possible site of where Howard’s ancestor Robert Dalton had his forge.

West End Farm, Garton - the new home of the elusive Dalton hinges

With assistance from local villagers, we located the new home of the door hinges made by Robert in 1833 and originally seen by Howard back in 1982 at the time of the Dalton Jamboree visit to Garton. Delegates will hear more of this story when Howard speaks about his Garton Daltons at the Saturday morning conference. More detailed information about the village of Garton can be found at www.gartononthewolds.co.uk, where you will also see the Dalton coat of arms, a note about our visit to the village on 29 July and a link to our website.

The Pipe and Glass Inn at South Dalton

Our final destination at the end of a busy day was the Pipe & Glass Inn at South Dalton where we will be enjoying an informal buffet supper on the Sunday evening served in the conservatory. Howard had booked a table for the two of us for dinner, which was excellent – this is a pub visit not to be missed! Take a look at the website at www.pipeandglass.co.uk.

Beverley Minster - Outside
Beverley Minster - Inside

On the following day I went to Beverley to enquire about tours of the Minster. A roof tour, which is the way to see the splendid architecture of this amazing medieval building, has been booked for 3.15 pm on the Saturday afternoon. The web address is www.beverleyminster.org.uk.

I also visited the Treasure House, a new building in Beverley which is the home of the East Riding Archives and Local Studies and also of East Riding Museums Collections. There will be time for a short visit on the Saturday afternoon, but if you want to undertake any serious research, you may want to consider doing this on Friday morning, or on the Monday. More details will be found at www.eastriding.gov.uk where you can click on archives, museums and local history.

The real Garrowby Hill (on the road from Driffield to York)

My final stop before heading home was on the road from Driffield to York, which takes you down Garrowby Hill, right in the heart of the Yorkshire Wolds. The photograph, on a rather dull day, contrasts starkly with the David Hockney painting featured here in "Hockney and Yorkshire". What a beautiful part of the world this is, and oh to be an artist!

I hope all will agree that we are now set to have a very full and comprehensive visit to East Yorkshire, and it promises to be an enjoyable and interesting weekend for all those attending. Howard and I are very much looking forward to welcoming you to our Gathering and taking you to each of the places about which I have given you further details in this article. See you there!!