Introduction

Welcome to this December issue of “Daltons in History” and our thoughts immediately turn to the festive season which is nearly upon us. So I start by extending greetings to all our readers, be they DGS members or part of that much wider circle of those interested in Dalton family history, who visit this site regularly. I wish each and every one of you, and your families, a truly Happy Christmas and a peaceful and rewarding New Year.

With this issue of “Daltons in History”, Volume 10 Number 12, we complete ten years of bringing you this monthly newsletter on the web. This is a considerable milestone and I want to pay tribute to Millicent Craig, who had the vision ten years ago to start it. The very first issue appeared in January 1998 and it has appeared without fail every month since then. We salute you Millicent, and thank you for your dedication to the work of the DGS over many years.

2008 Gathering in Ireland

Friday 1st to Monday 4th August 2008 are the dates when our 2008 Gathering will take place in Birr, Co Offaly, Ireland. This is a double event – it is an Annual Gathering of the Dalton Genealogical Society and it is also the first official Gathering of Clan Dalton. Dooly’s Hotel is the venue, with its excellent conference facilities for our meetings and the annual dinner. Delegates will be able to stay at Dooly’s and we have also arranged additional accommodation at three nearby places offering bed and breakfast. Birr is located in the heart of mid-Ireland about two hours drive west of Dublin, and a similar distance east of Shannon. It is a beautiful old Georgian town with an impressive castle and much of interest to the visitor. It is also well situated to enable us to make a number of visits to places with Dalton connections. Further details will be found by clicking on the “Forthcoming Gatherings” link on this website.

Since the initial details were posted here two months ago, considerable interest has been shown in this event and the accommodation in Dooly’s Hotel is almost full. Again, if you have not already done so, you are urged to contact myself (email: michaelndalton@aol.com), and our Irish Secretary and Clan Dalton Chieftain, Ciaran Dalton (ciaran_dalton@hotmail.com) at the earliest opportunity to register your interest in attending. The full programme for the weekend and the official registration form are due to be published on the website soon, and they are also being distributed to all DGS members with Volume 47 of the DGS Journal, due to appear at the end of the year.

If, in the meantime, you have any questions about our plans for the event or need help with making your travel arrangements, please contact either Ciaran or myself.

2008 Annual General Meeting

As already announced, the Society’s 2008 Annual General Meeting is to be a separate event from the Birr Gathering, and it will take place on Saturday 7th June 2008 at the Royal Logistics Corps Museum in Camberley, Surrey, England. This venue has been chosen to give the opportunity to view the original of the Victoria Cross medal awarded in 1879 to James Langley Dalton for his gallantry at Rorke’s Drift in the Zulu War. DGS committee member, Sir Geoffrey Dalton and I have recently visited the museum to finalise the arrangements. The day will commence at 11.00 am with a tour of the medal collection, including the James Langley Dalton VC, hosted by Colonel Owen. This will be followed by a buffet lunch, after which we will have our DGS AGM. Those attending will then be free to tour the Museum which contains many interesting displays. The full programme for the day together with a booking form will be posted on the “Forthcoming Gatherings” section of this website soon, and they are also being distributed to all DGS members with Volume 47 of the DGS Journal, due to appear at the end of the year.

The Dalton International DNA Project (DIDP)

Chris Pomery, the consultant to DIDP, gave the Society a most encouraging presentation on the project at the Worcester Gathering at the end of July. He has now prepared Issue 2 of the DIDP Progress Report (for 2007) and this is still being proof read, checked and finalised prior to its distribution to all project participants. The 42 page document is a state of the art analysis of the DNA results of 98 testees. This includes some testees in the Dalton America Project whose DNA results match testees in DIDP. Further additional information has become available for incorporation into the report and we are now very close to finalising and distributing it.

Subscriptions to the Dalton Genealogical Society

Members of the Society should note that approval was given at the AGM to an increase in the UK subscription rate to £10.00 per annum with effect from 1 January 2008. The subscription rate has been held at £8.00 since 1991, a period of 17 years, and the committee believes that the Society, with all the benefits that are available to members, still offers exceptional value for money at the new rate. Revised rates for overseas members have been set as follows:

For members in the United States and Canada who remit their subscription to the American Secretary, Millicent Craig US$24.00

For members in Australia and New Zealand who remit their subscription to the Australian Secretary, Maureen Collins A$27.00

We are also investigating opening a euro account, which will enable us to accept payments in euros, and hope to announce a euro subscription rate soon.

These rates take account of the prevailing exchange rates and the costs of airmail postage for the DGS Journal.

Back issues of the DGS Journal

Back issues of the DGS Journal continue to be available. On this website you can access the DGS Journal Index from the homepage. Here you will find a synopsis of the contents of the Journal of the Dalton Genealogical Society commencing with Volume 1 published back in 1970 through to Volume 41 published in December 2004. Shortly we will be adding the synopses for Volumes 42 to 46. Copies of all back numbers are available for purchase and these can be obtained from DGS member, Mrs Pat Robinson (address: Mallards, 3 High Street, The Green, Barrington, Cambridge CB2 5QX, UK email: gandprobinson@waitrose.com. Details of prices, including postage and packing, will be found with the index.

Conclusion

Enjoy this month’s issue of “Daltons in History”, your regular monthly update on everything that is happening in the world of Dalton family history. We will be back again in the New Year.

Thank you for your attention and best wishes to you all.

Yours very sincerely

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

PLACES TO VISIT – The Giant Telescope of Birr

Research by the Editor and our Irish Secretary

At Birr Castle Demesne Ireland’s Historic Science Centre is situated. There, many pioneering achievements of the Parson’s family and other famous Irish scientists, in the fields of astronomy, engineering, botany and photography, can be seen.

Telescope on the Lawn
Telescope on the Lawn

In the grounds of the castle can be seen The Giant Telescope. This was designed and built by the Third Earl of Rosse, a member of the Parson’s family, in the 1840’s. For three quarters of a century it was the largest telescope in the world.

Contemporary Picture of Birr Telescope
Contemporary Picture of Birr Telescope

Lord Rosse constructed the mirrors, tubes and mountings for the 72” reflecting telescope over a two year period. It was first used on 15th February, 1845 to view the double star Castor. He was then able to study and record details of other far distant stellar objects.

Birr Telescope pictured as it is today
Birr Telescope pictured as it is today

After the death, in 1908, of the Fourth Earl, the Giant Telescope fell into disrepair but fortunately between 1996 and 1998 a full restoration took place so, the telescope can still be seen today in Birr.

A forward-facing picture of Birr Telescope
A forward-facing picture of Birr Telescope

Written by the Editor

A description of working in a sawmill and an ice mill in the 1950’s, based on two articles sent by Annesa Dalton Chambers of Maine, which were originally written by her late father Clyde Dalton Jr, of Rye, New Hampshire, USA.

Clyde Dalton Jr was born on the 15th September 1937 at Belgrade Lakes, Maine. During the 1950’s his father, Clyde B. Dalton ran a lumber and ice business at which his son worked.

The Dalton Lumber Company

The Dalton Lumber Company was begun by Carroll Dalton, Clyde Dalton Jr’s grandfather locating to Belgrade Lakes in 1922. The mill ran as a small four man operation. Logs were bought in and brought to the mill. The Carriage Man rolled the logs onto the carriage, turning them with a cant hook. The Sawyer was the clerk of the works, who also controlled all the functions of the mill –including the movement of the carriage as it moved backwards and forwards and the sawing of the logs into the correct size.

The third man at the lumber mill was The Marker, who handled the lumber and slabs as they came off the saw, marking the size on each board. Finally the last man, who was referred to as the “Take Away Man”, would load the slabs and lumber onto different trucks.

Clyde remembered watching his father each midday spending an hour sharpening the saw ready for the afternoon’s work. Between 2000 and 3500 feet of lumber was produced every day. Much of it was bought by out of state companies transported to their destination from the Belgrade Depot, where it had been loaded onto box cars.

At the mill large blowers were used to collect the sawdust into a pile, sometimes 30 feet deep. On it the children often played and in late summer the turtles would lay their eggs. The sawdust was given free to all and many local farmers used it as bedding in their barns. One customer even used it to make soap!

Clyde worked in the mill because it was a family business, his father needed help and it was a way of earning spending money. Every 3 or 4 weeks, on a Sunday afternoon, Clyde recalled that he had to help stack the lumber which had been returned to be put through the plane, a job that took about 4 hours.

By 1957 the mill was closed, due to increasing electricity costs, a slump in the lumber business and his father’s increasing age.

The Dalton Ice Company

The ice business, according to Clyde, was very different. He loved the business spending much of his teenage wakened hours there during his summer vacation. Part of his time was spent delivering ice to different customers. 1600 pounds of ice each day to the Belgrade Hotel, 400 pounds to Camp Athena and another 300 pounds each day to The Locus House. There were also 25 to 30 private homes which required ice every three days. Every month he delivered a ton of ice to the Crystal Spring Camps in Rome covering it with sawdust from the lumber mill for insulation.

In late January of each year he helped prepare for “putting the ice up”. A laborious task which began by clearing the snow off the “ice field”, an area 250 feet square. The area was then divided into sections, using a groover resulting in cakes of ice each weighing almost 500 pounds.

The ice field was about 30 feet from the lake shore linked by a narrow canal leading to the ice house. The first ice cakes to be floated down the canal had been individually cut by hand using a hand saw.

From the canal to the ice house was a wooden slip called a conveyor. In the centre of the ice house a 6 x 6 piece of lumber was stood on end. Round it was put water which froze to hold the wood stationary in place. A rope leading from a truck, on the ice, ran to the top of the pole where there was a pulley from where the rope ran to a set of tongs near the canal. By backing the truck up the ice cakes were manoeuvred into the ice house.

The ice house was 40 feet by 40 feet constructed with double walls about 8” apart. Sawdust from the lumber mill was used to insulate the wall space and to spread to a depth of 12” on top of the ice. There was no roof on the ice house.

Clyde remembers, “On summer mornings, dad and I would begin our day at about 5 a.m. by digging out a truck load of ice. After uncovering the ice, a bar was slammed under the ice, and the ice cake would bust loose. Using an ice pick the individual cakes would be cut into 4 or 5 pieces. Using the ice puller, these individual pieces were pulled end over end to a wooden platform. Using a water pump, we pumped water from the lake to wash the sawdust from the ice. The truck was backed to the wooden platform and the ice was loaded.

At 7 a.m. dad would leave me to start up the lumber mill. Prior to delivering the ice, I would drop off a few hundred pounds at my house for customers that would come while I was out on deliveries. Mom would sell this ice in my absence. The ice customers would come at all hours of the day and sometimes as late as 9 or 10 p.m.”

By the mid 50’s most of the households had replaced their ice boxes with refrigerators. The Belgrade Hotel, which used 50% of the ice sold each day, burned down on October 3, 1956 making the ice business no longer profitable. The Dalton Ice Company was then forced to close.

The 2nd part of the information extracted from the New York Times by Theckla Ledyard of Washington State in her search for Peter Dalton.

NEW YORK TIMES ARCHIVES

Sept. 12, 1888 – Regained the Old Flag – Peter Dalton, a lodging housekeeper at 73 Cherry Street, was in the Tombs police Court yesterday to answer to a summons issued at the instance of John J. Toale, secretary of the Irish Brigade Assoc. When the brigade went to Gettysburg to dedicate its monument, Sergt. McShane carried the handsome silk flag which bore in the memorable fight. On his return to New York he took it with him to Dalton’s house, where he boarded. He subsequently took sick and died in hospital, leaving his board unpaid. Dalton kept the flag as security for the board bill and refused to deliver it up, although it was frequently demanded by Mr Toale, Coroner Nugent, President of the Irish Brigade Assoc. and Brig. Gen Nugent. In response to the summons, however, he produced the flag at the Tombs yesterday, and it was handed over to the officers of the association.

May 13, 1900 – Brooklyn Musters at the Ranges – Qualifying marksmen:
Co. K. W. J. Dalton 3 4 4 3 5 – 19 4 4 2 3 3 – 16 = 35

Sept. 15, 1918 – Men Fight in Air Caisson – Policeman Descends 200 Feet and Subdues Combatants – A fight between two subway workers in a compressed air chamber two hundred feet underground early yesterday threw thirty of their fellow workers into a panic and jeopardized the lives of all for half an hour before an intrepid policeman, Peter Dalton, of the Bedford Ave. station, descended to the danger zone and used strong-arm methods to quell the disturbance. Shortly after a gang of men went down into the air caisson, working in the subway at the North Seventh Street Station, Brooklyn, the foreman on watch above received a distress signal. He summoned Patrolman Dalton, who lowered himself in a wire cage and found Thomas O’Malley of 230 Smith Street and Andrew Peransky of 109 North Ninth St. fighting furiously, while their companions looked on terrified lest they do some injury to the air caisson. Dalton separated O’Malley and Peransky, took them to the surface and then to Williamsburg Hospital, where both were attended for bruises of the face and body.

Oct. 10, 1918 – Casualties Announced in General Pershing’s Army – Wounded Severely Second Lt. Dalton, C.F., J. H. Dalton, Hotel Biltmore, New York City.

May 13, 1919 – The Civil Service – City – The list for promotions to Captain in the Fire Dept. is announced. It contains 197 names. Those who received above 83 are listed. Peter Dalton was listed as 83.45.

July 14, 1920 – British Sentence Sinn Fein Smuggler – mentions Richard Dalton……a long article.

Mar. 5, 1896 – Considerable damage was done by water to the offices of George Dalton’s stock exchange on the second floor (Article on Broadway Office Building Fire……1,180 Broadway).

Information extracted by Gerry Dalton

A short list of fallen Australian Soldiers in Rabaul Papua New Guinea during WW2. The website will provide interesting reading on the campaign.

The Rabaul Memorial 1939 – 1945

http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/47874/20050228-0000/www.jje.info/lostlives/exhib/rabaulmemorial/index.html

Background:

The Government of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea have agreed to the erection of this memorial within the Rabaul (Bita Paka) War Cemetery, the site whereof is reserved solely for use by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as a Commonwealth War Cemetery.

Register of those who fell with unknown graves:

4 February 1942 – AIF 2/22 Battalion, Australian Infantry

DALTON, Bernard Joseph, Pte, VX24210. AIF 2/22 Battalion, Australian Infantry. 4 February 1942. Age 21. Son of Joseph Simon and Eileen Mary Dalton of Warrnambool, Victoria. Panel 21.

1 July 1942 – AIF Hvy Bty, Royal Australian Artillery

DALTON, Francis Patrick, Bdr, VX129336. AIF Hvy Bty, Royal Australian Artillery. 1 July 1942. Age 26. Son of Joseph Simon and Eileen Mary Dalton of Warrnambool, Victoria. Panel 6.

1 July 1942 – AIF 2/22 Battalion, Australian Infantry

DALTON, George Christopher, Pte, VX24211. AIF 2/22 Battalion, Australian Infantry. 1 July 1942. Age 22. Son of Walter and Margaret Dalton; husband of Monica Kathleen Dalton of East Brunswick, Victoria. Panel 21.

Extracted by the Editor from:

a) The 1836 Bolton Directory (Lancashire, England) published by Pigot and Son’s.

Dalton Henry, rectifier, Knowsley St. and Higher Bridge St.

b) The 1856 Bolton Directory published by Whellan and Co.

Grocer and Tea Dealer: Dalton Thomas, 4 Kay St. Little Bolton

From Millicent V. Craig

American members were quite active during the month of November. Joseph Dalton of Florida and Tom Dalton of Oregon were welcomed to membership in the DGS and, two members of Irish descent have joined the Dalton International DNA Project. Ten Americans have already made reservations to attend the joint Clan Dalton meeting and Annual Gathering of the DGS at Birr, Offaly on August 1, 2, 3, 4, 2008. A complete Program and Reservation form will be included in the Winter Journal that should arrive after January 1, 2008.

Michael Neale Dalton, DGS Chairman, and Ciaran Dalton, Clan Dalton Chieftain and DGS Secretary in Ireland, have begun to book attendees into the three B&B's designated to handle the overflow from the hotel. We expect that the contingent from America will be quite large.

If you are interested in joining the Dalton International DNA Project and would like to learn where you fit into this huge world of Daltons as analyzed by the project consultant, Chris Pomery, please be in touch: Millicenty@aol.com

Origin of the Dalton Adding Machine

Gerry Dalton of Australia posed an interesting question about the Dalton Adding Machine that appeared in the November issue of Daltons in History. There was a quick response from our American readers who know a bit about different aspects of it.

The first reply came from senior genealogist, Ken Haas of Bettendorf, Iowa who had researched the ancestry of James Lewis Dalton, sometimes known as the inventor, but also known as the patentee and marketer of the adding machine. He was the son of Elijah Dalton Sr., son of John Elijah and Susan Sebastian Dalton who came to SE Missouri in 1812 from KY and left many descendents in Arkansas. James Lewis or "Jimmie" was born 28 Dec 1866 and was educated at the Lacrosse Collegiate Institute in Izard County, AR. In 1880 at age 14, he was living with his re-married mother, Mary Caroline Myatt/Dalton Arnold and her second husband Asebel (Asel) Arnold. He made an exact model of his mother's sewing machine in wood, it worked, his first little factory was built in Poplar Bluffs, Missouri.

From Mary Dalton of Illinois, whose father was a patent attorney, a bit more information is added to this story. The patent for the adding machine is dated 11 April 1904 and deposition to James L. Dalton, 20 Apr. 1904, Patent Applications, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. There is conflicting information on who invented the machine, but there is certainty that James Lewis patented the machine and marketed it and successive models internationally. From his headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio the business grew to a $10,000,000 operation

A distant cousin of James Louis Dalton, Carolyn Dalton Bach of Nevada also contributed information to this story. Carolyn has researched James Lewis and promised to write an article for the Journal about him. James was a respected member of the Republican Party and was elected to the State Legislature from Butler County, MO. He apparently was the investor/manufacturer/marketer of the adding machine and not the inventor. He moved the Dalton Adding machine Company from Poplar Bluff, MO to Cincinnati in 1914 and the company was bought out by Remington Rand in 1926. Carolyn is fortunate to have one of the machines, the same model as pictured. James Lewis' House in Poplar Bluff is on the Register of Historic Places, and currently houses a regional art museum. He is buried in Poplar Bluff.

A New York Connection?

In last month's issue of Daltons in History, Theckla Constable Ledyard of Washington noticed that in the ancestry of Mary Dalton of Illinois there was a mention of Roscoe Conklin Dalton. In the ancestry of Theckla's husband there is a Roscoe Conkling who was "the big Republican Political Boss in New York City". Theckla thought that it was too much of a coincidence that the two Roscoe's were not somehow connected. Mary's ancestors were also in New York and discovered that Conkling had lived in Oneida County, NY near where her great, great grandfather lived after he emigrated. So a search for a relationship is underway by Mary and Theckla. Mary and her mother spent a week-end in Wisconsin visiting with the family genealogist who has been compiling data on those Daltons after whom the village of Dalton, Wisconsin was named.

Query on the Exploits Area of Newfoundland

Received from Denise requesting help to find her Dalton relatives:

“Hello, my Gillett Newfoundland ancestor m. a Dalton, but I can't find information about them either in the Newfoundland records. Dinah (Diana, Deana), Gillett, daughter of James and Elizabeth Gillett, of Exploits, Notre Dame Bay, m. a Thomas (John) Dalton 1849 Exploits. John had a half-brother Matthew Dalton also lived in the Exploits area. John Dalton and Valentine Mahaney (Mehaney) explored the Exploits River, but finally decided on settling in the town of Exploits. James Gillett is listed in the Registry of Fishingrooms for Exploits 1818 and by the 1836 Census has 5 sons and 1 daughter under the age l4, 2 women over l4. I'm trying to prove that Dinah's mother, Elizabeth Gillett was the oldest child of Valentine Mahaney born 1796 Carbonear, but then Valentine moved his family to Exploits, Elizabeth Gillett was born also in 1796. If I'm correct, then my gggrandmother Elizabeth was the older sister of Elinor Peyton (nee Mahaney) wife of John Peyton Jr. who is famous for having 'Mary Marsh' living in his household, she was thought to be the last of her Bethook tribe. Any help would be greatly appreciate, sincerely, Denise.”

Note: Carol Jefferies and Diane Jackman have been major contributors of Exploits data for the Dalton Data Bank. Is there anyone else who has extracted from the boxes in the Wesleyan Church Archives? There is an indication that the Gilletts were associated with this church.

Holiday Greetings from the American Secretary

Best Wishes to Daltons world-wide for a very Happy Christmas with family and friends. May your New Year be prosperous and bring success in your family research.

Millicent Craig
Am. Sec. DGS
Coordinator, Dalton International DNA Project

Again my grateful thanks to all of you who have contributed to the December 2007 issue of “Daltons in History”.

A plea, from a member, has been passed on to me, asking if we could include any information/articles about the Scottish Daltons. Can any of our readers help as I would like to widen the horizons?

If anyone else has any further ideas about what you would like me to include in our monthly magazine, please let me know. My e-mail address is: dairneirwin@ntlworld.com

Contributions for the January 2008 issue will need to be with me no later than 17th December 2007.

Finally, on behalf of my husband and myself, I would like to send Happy Christmas to all of you and our best wishes for the coming New Year.