May has been a busy month for me with a visit to Worcester with Howard Dalton in preparation for our gathering at the end of July, and then a trip to Nottingham to speak at the Guild of One Name Studies Seminar on DNA. I report on both below.

The 2007 Gathering and AGM in Worcester – 27/28/29 July

We have approaching 50 delegates coming to Worcester. The Fownes Hotel is continuing to keep a few more rooms available for the DGS and it is therefore still possible for you to join us, but you will have to hurry. If you are interested, please contact Howard Dalton, our Gathering Organiser and Coordinator, immediately and advise him of your intentions. His email address is h.dalton1@ntlworld.com and he will do his best to accommodate you.

While we were in Worcester, Howard and I met Tony Spicer, who will be speaking to us about the Civil War, the Battle of Worcester and the Daltons. He took us to see some of the key locations on the battlefield and this has painted a much more vivid picture in our minds of what it would have been like to be a Royalist soldier on 3 September 1651. We also had time for a walking tour of the city centre – Worcester is an old city full of hidden history. Much of this will unfold for delegates at our gathering. And then there is the visit to Elgar’s birthplace at Lower Broadheath. We went there too and, in addition to the cottage itself, there is a wonderful visitor’s centre with displays and artefacts telling the story of Elgar’s life. We also checked out the river cruiser for our Friday afternoon trip on the River Severn.

At The Fownes Hotel, we have excellent facilities with dedicated use of The John Fownes Suite throughout the weekend. All delegates are encouraged to bring family history items for display – there will be plenty of space for this – and we will hold an informal reception here at 7.00 pm on the Friday evening. Dinner will be available in the hotel restaurant that evening. On the Sunday evening we have arranged an informal buffet supper at the nearby Diglis House Hotel, which is delightfully situated by the River Severn. We have the use of a private room with access to a charming riverside garden. All delegates will receive further information about these arrangements and be asked to book their Friday night and Sunday night dinners in advance. These details will be included with the joining instructions which will be sent out to delegates in late June/early July. They will also be carried on the DGS website.

This month, in “Daltons in History”, we feature some more of the information gleaned from our two days in Worcester, together with some photographs.

Guild of One Name Studies DNA Seminar

Chris Pomery, Organiser of the Nottingham DNA Seminar

Chris Pomery, our DNA consultant, invited me to participate in this event, a one day seminar held in Nottingham on Saturday 19 May 2007. About 80 enthusiastic family historians attended, most being active one-namers, but yet to take the plunge into DNA. Chris put together a programme which included an introduction by Clare Harvey to the underlying genetics that make the use of DNA for family history research possible, and an explanation by himself of how the Y chromosome DNA works as a tool for the family historian. There were then four presentations about active DNA projects to give a practical flavour to the seminar. These were given by John Creer, Ken Mycock, Chris and myself. The day concluded with a lively open forum.

The panel of speakers answers questions in the Open Forum session

L to R – Chris Pomery, Clare Harvey, Ken Mycock, Michael Dalton, John Creer

Creer and Mycock are relatively uncommon surnames and John and Ken both related interesting experiences on how DNA has underpinned their belief that their families flow from a single common ancestor. Chris’s study of the Pomeroy family was started back in the year 2000 with only 7 to 10 marker tests available. With over 100 testees, he is now updating his database with 37 marker tests. As with the Daltons, DNA has confirmed multiple origins for the Pomeroy family. By contrast with the other three, our Dalton DNA project relates to a much more common surname. The incidence of the name in the 1881 census gives a measure – Dalton 7,025 compared with Pomeroy 1,225; Mycock 1,030; and Creer 425. This adds a new dimension to a DNA study and, of course, although ours is one of the largest in terms of the number of testees, we still have so much more to do! My presentation emphasised the very disciplined approach that we have adopted for our project. I gave some examples of how 67 marker tests have been instrumental in understanding the inter relationships in some of our genetic families and I outlined some of our successes and also sounded a few words of caution.

The day proved to be most stimulating. All the presentations were well received and, if delegates had a complaint, it was simply that there was not enough time for discussion in the open forum. Many stayed on after the formal close of the seminar and continued a lively debate on what has become a totally absorbing and rapidly growing tool in the family historian’s armoury.

This month’s issue of “Daltons in History”, your regular monthly update on everything that is happening in the world of Dalton family history, as always contains much of interest. Please let your editor have more input from you the reader so that it becomes a lively forum for us all.

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

By Michael Neale Dalton

Following the visit to Worcester by Michael Dalton and Howard Dalton in early May, we share a taste of what is to come at our Gathering at the end of July.

The historic church in the village of Powick

Powick lies about two miles to the south of Worcester and it is here that the Royalists commenced their defence against the advances of Cromwell’s soldiers towards Worcester from the south. Colonel Pitscottie and 300 Highlanders were sent by Major General Montgomery to try and oppose Cromwell, but they were hopelessly outnumbered and soon had to retreat to Powick Bridge which spans the River Teme north of the village.

Powick Church

Tony Spicer points out to Howard Dalton the indentations on the wall of the church tower made by the canon fire from Cromwell’s troops.

Powick Bridge

This famous bridge was the scene of a major skirmish between Royalist and Parliamentarian forces following the retreat from the village. Eventually the Royalist troops were overwhelmed again and once the bridge was taken by Cromwell’s troops, the back was broken of the Royalist resistance and the Parliamentarians were able to advance into Worcester itself.

The Guildhall in Worcester’s historic centre

The present building was built in the early 18th century and replaced a 13th century timber framed structure. There is a statue of Queen Anne above the main entrance, and statues of Charles I and Charles II on either side.

The Greyfriars merchant’s house in the centre of Worcester

Built in 1480, with early 17th and 18th century additions, this fine timber-framed house was rescued from demolition after the Second World War and has been carefully restored and refurbished by the National Trust.

The “Pride of the Midlands” awaits our Friday afternoon river cruise

The memorial window to Sir Edward Elgar in Worcester Cathedral

Data extracted from various sources by Michael Cayley

UK Executions

3 Aug 1715 Edward Dalton for highway robbery, Tyburn, sentenced 13 July
12 May 1730 James Dalton for highway robbery, Tyburn, sentenced 8 April
9 Oct 1732 Edward Dalton for murder, Tyburn, sentenced 6 September
16 Aug 1805 William Dalton, Worcester Red hill, for burglary
6 Sep 1817 Patrick Dalton, Gloucester, for highway robbery
22 April 1822 John Dalton, Horsemonger Lane, Surrey, for rape of Matilda Atkinson
10 June 1925, Hubert Dalton, 39, Hull, for murder of Francis Ward

Crimean War Casualties

James Dalton, Private, 95th Foot (Derbyshire), slight wound, 1st Battle of Inkermann, 26 October 1854
M Dalton, Private 3549, 30th Foot (Cambridgeshire), slight wound, final attack on the Redan, 8 September 1855
Peter Dalton, private 3847, 38th Foot (1st Staffordshire), missing in action, 1st attack on the Redan, 18 June 1855
Thomas Dalton, private 4082, 50th Foot (The Queen's Own), killed in action, minor actions at Sebastopol, 24 April 1855
Thomas Norcliffe Dalton, Major, 49th Foot (Hertfordshire), killed in action, second Battle of Inkermann, 5 November 1854

List of the [UK] Clergy 1897

Dalton, Arthur, MA Cambridge; deacon 1852, priest 1853 (Lichfield); curate of Tamworth, Staffordshire 1852-6; Springfield, Essex 1856-67; incumbent of Headington Quarry, Oxfordshire 1867-70; general licence diocese Chichester from 1877; 60 Montpelier Road, Brighton

Dalton, Arthur Edison, MA Clare College, Cambridge; deacon 1880, priest 1881(London); curate of All Hallows, East India Docks 1880-4; vicar 1884-96; rector, drom 1896, of St Dunstan's, Stepney, London E; The Rectory, White Horse Lane, Stepney, London E

Dalton, Edward Neale, BA Trinity College Cambridge; deacon 1882 (Ely), priest 1886 (Salisbury); curate of Blunham, Bedfordshire 1882-5; Newton Toney, Salisbury 1885-7; Chesham, Buckinghamshire 1887-94; Christ Church. Sculcoates, Hull 1894-5; Kimberley, Nottinghamshire from 1896; Eastwood Road, Kimberley, Nottinghamshire

Dalton, Edward Septimus, L Th Durham; deacon 1879 (York), priest 1881 (Worcester); curate of Ledsham, Yorkshire 1879-81; Old Swinford, Worcestershire 1881-3; St Luke, Victoria Docks, London E 1883-5; Willesden, London NW 1885-7; Kirkby Stephen, Westmoreland 1887-93; St John, Horsleydown, London SE 1893-4; St Peter, Walworth, London SE 1894-6; All Saints, N Peckham, London SE from 1896

Dalton, George Forster, Caius College Cambridge; deacon 1869, priest 1870 (Ripon); curate of Kirkburton, Yorkshire 1860-71; Clitheroe, Lancashire 1872-3; St John, Pendlebury, Lancashire 1873-7; Pendleton, Lancashire 1877-82; rector from 1882, of West Clandon, Guildford, Surrey

Dalton, George William, DD Trinity College Dublin; deacon 1849 (Oxford); priest 1851 (Down); curate of Bicester, Oxfordshire 1849-50; Broughshane, Co. Antrim 1851; vicar of Kilbyran, Co. Sligo 1852-60; assistant chaplain Upper Bagot Street Episcopal Chapel, Dublin 1860-3; vicar of St Paul, Wolverhampton 1863-7; St Paul, Glenagary, Co. Dublin 1867-9; rector of Todwick, Sheffield 1891-3; assistant minister Christ Church, Leamington 1894-6; licensed preacher dioceses of London and Worcester from 1893, and Exeter from 1896; Edgecombe Cottage, Ashford, Barnstaple, N Devon

Dalton, Herbert Andrew, MA (senior student) Christ Church, Oxford; deacon 1877, priest 1877 (Oxford); headmaster of St Edward's School, Oxford 1877-84; assistant master Winchester College 1884-90; headmaster Felsted School from 1890; School House, Felsted, Essex

Dalton, John, St Bees; deacon 1842, priest 1843 (Chester); curate of Kelsall, Chester 1844-96

Dalton, John; deacon 1876, priest 1878 (York); curate of Masborough, Yorkshire 1876-8; priest of charge of Northfield Mission, Rotherham, Yorkshire 1878-85; vicar, from 1885, of Hickleton, Doncaster and priest in charge of Goldthorpe Colliery district; Kickleton Vicarage, Doncaster

Dalton, John Neale, MA Trinity College Cambridge; deacon 1865, priest 1866 (Oxford); curate of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire 1865-6; St Edward, Cambridge 1866-9; Whippingham, Isle of Wight 1869-71; governor to Their Royal Hignesses Prince Edward and Prince George of Wales 1871-84; select preacher at Cambridge 1878; acting chaplain RN 1879-82; proc. in convocation 1890-4; chaplain in ordinary to the Queen from 1881; canon of Windsor from 1885; hon chaplain to HRH the Duke of York from 1892; Cloisters, Windsor

Dalton, John Philip; deacon and priest 1876; curate of St Mary, Shrewsbury 1882-4; Montford, Shrewsbury 1884-6; Shrawardine, Shrewsbury 1886-9; vicar of Withington, Shrewsbury 1889-94; Alberbury, Shrewsbury from 1894

Dalton, Leighton Mayo, MA Trinity College Cambridge; deacon 1873, priest 1875 (Ely); headmaster of the grammar school and curate of St Gregory with St Peter, Sudbury, Suffolk 1873-80; curate of Holy Trinity, Barking Road, London E 1880-2; St Mary (in charge of St Peter's mission, Plaistow, London E) 1882-5; vicar, from 1885, of St Gabriel, Canning Town, London E

Dalton, Norcliffe, Chirchester; deacon 1877, priest 1878 (Gloucester and Bath); curate of Uley with Owlpen, Gloucestershire 1877-80; Dilton Marsh, Wiltshire 1880-2; Holy Trinity, Hounslow 1882-4 and 1886-90; All Saints, Benhilton, Sutton 1892-6; Cobridge, Stoke-on-Trent 1896

Dalton, Richard, MA University College Oxford; deacon 1838, priest 1839 (Winchester); curate of Brown and Chilton, Candover, Hampshire 1838-48; Kelmarsh, Northamptonshire 1854-62; rector from 1862; Kelmarsh Rectory, Northampton

Dalton, William; deacon 1891, priest 1892 (Melbourne); curate of Numurkah, Victoria, New South Wales 1891-2; minister 1892-5; minister, from 1895, of Ballina, Richmond River, NSW, Australia

Dalton, William Edward, Christ's College, Cambridge; deacon 1878, priest 1879 (Norwich); curate of Burgate, Suffolk 1878-80; Eye, Suffolk 1880-3; Southwold, Suffolk 1883-5; rector of Gunness, Lincolnshire 1885-90; vicar, from 1890, of Glynde, Lewes, Sussex

Dalton, William Henry, MA Christ's College, Cambridge; deacon 1864, preist 1865 (Winchester for Oxford); curate of Milton Keynes 1864-5; Holy Trinity, Islington, London N 1864; St Stephen, Islington, London N 1865-6; Southborough, Kent, 1867-8; St Andrew, Watford, Hertfordshire 1869-70; Holy Trinity, Chelsea, London SW 1870-2; vicar of St Jude, Chelsea, London SW 1872-88; Stowupland, Suffolk 1888; rector, from 1889, of Seagrave, Loughborough, Leicestershire.

from Millicent Craig

Nancy Samuelson, author of the famous "Outlaw Gang", devoted years to compiling data on the lines of Daltons from Carroll County, Virginia. Families were traced using census sources and Nancy made her document available to the DGS. With the assistance of Archie Dalton and Joyce Ringler the document was transcribed and the data will be available in the Dalton Data Bank.

Many testees in Genetic Group A of the Dalton International DNA Project, trace their ancestry to Carroll County, Virginia. Timothy, William, James or other members of this family listed below have been named as their likely earliest ancestors. Nancy's compilation may help with verification.

Background Information Prepared by Nancy Samuelson

The William Dalton family was one of the first families to move into the area that is now Carroll, County, VA. William is thought to be the son of Timothy Dalton who died in Bedford Co., VA in 1775. William was probably born in the middle 1740's since his children were born between 1770 and 1790. His wife was named Elizabeth as shown by deeds and personal property tax lists. Family tradition has it her maiden name was Sturman but no proof of this has been found.

William came to the Burks Fork part of Carroll Co., in 1772 according to his claim to the Land Commissioners ten years later. He was listed on the tax list in 1773 however the sheriff could not find him and the tax went unpaid. By 1782 Samuel, Timothy and Reuben Dalton are also in this area and they are believed to be William's brothers. By this time William is well established and was taxed for two horses and four cattle. He perfected his land claim for 140 acres and the land grant was issued in 1784. In 1785 he had another survey for 400 acres but no grant has been found for this land. In 1793 he bought Stephen Cole's farm of 220 acres on the east bank of Big Island Creek. He probably moved to this land right after he bought it. Later he bought another 200 acres on Big Reed. In 1802 he sold the old Burks Fork farm and bought another 240 acres on Bobbitts Creek. In all he owned 650 acres and apparently operated a mill on the Cole farm property.

William probably intended to give a farm to each of his sons. In 1870 he gave or sold 98 acres to his son Timothy and 48 acres to his son-in-law William Largen. However, he died around 1810 or 1811 before he could endow other children. He left no will but in 1811 five deeds were executed by his children dividing the rest of the land. The daughters did not receive any land; it was the custom of the time for sons to take the land and for daughters to receive a cow, a calf and a bed or some such equivalent when they married.

William was a Lieutenant in the county militia during the Revolution. William Bobbitt was the first Captain and commander of the company. Later the commander was Captain Jonathan Isham. William is listed as of Bobbitt's muster rolls as "not fit" meaning not able to participate.

Children of William and Elizabeth Dalton

The 1811 deeds list the ten children of William and Elizabeth Dalton:

I. James Dalton, b. ca 1770, d. 1850's, m. Sarah ?
II. John Dalton, b. 1772, d. 1850, m. Eleanor Edwards
III. Nancy Dalton, b. ca 1775, d. 1860's, m. William Largen
IV. Rachel Dalton, b. ca 1778, d. 1850's, m. Aaron Goad.
V. Patience Dalton, b. 1780, d. 1830's, m. Spencer Goad
VI. Timothy Dalton, b. ca 1783, d. 15 Dec 1872, m. Elizabeth Phillips
VII. Lewis Dalton, b. ca 1788, d. 14 Jan 1869, m. Francis Phillips
VIII. William Dalton, b.1789, d. 1870's, m. Frances Sturman
IX. Reuben Dalton, b. 1790, d. 1840's, m. Catherine Worrell
X. Susannah Dalton, b. ??, not married in 1811 and believed to have married Isaac Mabry.
Source Alderman; Carroll, 1765-1815, p. 102-103.

In the compilation prepared for the Dalton Data Bank, the following surnames are connected to the Carroll County Daltons. They are Alderman, Bobbitt, Branscome, Clay, Edwards, Hale, Gallimore, Goad, Horton, Jennings, Mabry/Mayberry, Montgomery, Phillips, Pennington, Nestor, Quesenberry, Shockley, Spencer, Sturman, Webb, and Worrell. Extensive Goad references were provided by Kenneth Haas.

Since this data was compiled, our readers may have unearthed new information and if you would like to share it, please contact Millicent Craig, Millicenty@aol.com and we will add your data to the data bank. Look for a commentary of the incidence of twins in this family in a future issue of Daltons in History. If twins are common in your line of Daltons you may also want to share this information.

Compiled by Millicent Craig

Dalton Reunion in Australia

Anne Fogarty of Australia writes. "Our reunion plans for descendants of Thomas Dalton and Margaret Ann McNamara are being held near Maroochydore on Queensland's Sunshine Coast 30th June and 1st July 2007 are going well. We have identified 185 descendents of Thomas and Margaret and expect a good attendance. Very exciting! "

Anne noted that Karen Dalton Preston of America has the name Alice Daly in her ancestry and it is also in Anne's father's Irish family and hers. Anne and Karen are now in contact.

Success at Last

For many years, Theckla Constable Ledyard of Washington State has searched for the emigration of her ancestor, Peter Dalton from England. Theckla has sent the following:

“After so very long I have finally found when my Peter Dalton came over from Liverpool, plus his family the following year. Peter Dalton was born about 1811 in England age 38, tin plate work worker. He left Liverpool on the ship Cornelia arriving in New York, NY on 11 June 1849. His wife and children followed him to America on the ship, the New World, arriving in New York, NY on 17 May 1850. Ann Dalton age 35 and b. about 1815 in England, accompanied their five children, all born in England. They were: John, age 18; James, age 15; Ann, age 7; Elizabeth, age 4; and Mary, an infant, b. Nov 14, 1849.

All three Dalton brothers, John naturalized on Oct. 15, and James and William were naturalized in Oct. 10th of 1856. The witness for the three brothers was John Dalton of 7 Greenwich St. N.Y., which left me to wonder if he was a relative. In the 1850 Census for King County, Williamsburgh section is listed a John Dalton age 43 born about 1807 and a tinsmith from England. Listed were Ann, age 39; John age 18; James 13; Ann 6; Eliza 4; and Mary 2. Also in the same household was Alice Zackerly of England.

The above is all that I have gleaned from the New York Ships lists, and the l850 Census, the following is just conjecture.

From the above data I notice that John Dalton born 1807 might be the same man who witnessed all of the Dalton brother's naturalizations, and would be the right age to be their uncle and brother to their father, Peter b. 1811. (Peter seems to have disappeared from the scene after about 1855) But also interesting is that Peter's wife was Anne Fazackerly, and John has Alice Zackerly living at his home. Zackerly is one of several variant spellings of the name Fazackerly. The very odd thing is that John has children named in the same order as Peter's and pretty much the same age. I suppose it is possible that they all moved in with John when they came over, since they do not appear elsewhere in the 1850 census.

New York State Naturalization Records

In the process of researching her ancestors, Theckla Constable Ledyard of Washington state has copied the naturalization cards of relatives and of possible Dalton relatives who were living in New York City between 1850 and 1890. She offers the following list of James, Johns, Williams and Peters in the hopes that one of them may be your long lost relative.

Bits from Newfoundland

Dianne Jackman of Newfoundland continues to find items of interest to Daltons in the Archives. Here is one from her newspaper searches:
THE ROYAL GAZETTE Tuesday, April 2, 1895. A message from St. Mary’s to the Evening Telegram says that Dalton, of Colinet Island, reports on Wednesday, the 20th, that on Wednesday, the 20th, that his boys picked up a large piece of wreckage, the deck of some steamer recently lost. The beams and decking are of pitch pine, four inches thick, with iron bars through every beam. Some spruce poles have also been picked up. They were driven in the bay with the wreckage. Colinet Island is in St. Mary’s Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

Yukon Jack Dalton

In past issues of Daltons in History we have delved into the genealogy of Jack Dalton. Carol Jefferies of Ontario, Canada sent this item taken from "Forty Years in Canada" a book by Colonel S. B. Steele, C. B., M.V.O. Sam Steele was the consummate Canadian Mountie and was in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. The time period for the biography is 1870-1910 and Carol states that it is the "most eloquent way I have ever heard a successful gunslinger described."

"During my stay I had many callers, and no two alike. One was Mr. Jack Dalton, a leading trader in the vicinity of Haines Mission and the Chilkoot Pass, where he had a post. His adventures would fill several volumes of romance, although he was still comparatively young. He had been in the western territories of the United States in the days when a man had to be "healed" (armed) if he had any property to protect, and had learned to shoot in self-defence. One of his feats was to gallop along in the pass and shoot the pine knots for recreation. His visit to me was to take the contract for the supply of our men (Mounties) who were to be posted in the Chilkoot Pass on his trail, and a good contractor he proved to be, always giving men more than their allowance. When he was with me several ladies and gentlemen dined with us, and were charmed with his manner and conversation, little knowing the serious trials through which the handsome young American had passed, or the number of times he had been compelled to defend his life at the expense of his assailant."

Millicent Craig

During the month of May three new members were added to the North American roster of members:

1. Jimmy Dalton of Riverdale, Georgia states that his Daltons emigrated from North Carolina to Georgia.

2. Katie Renee Aune of Chicago, Illinois has ordered a DNA kit for her grandfather Dalton whom she will be visiting in June. After reading the information on the Dalton International DNA Project Katie decided to learn more about her Dalton ancestry and links to other Daltons.

3. Carol Matlock of Flint, Michigan has also joined the DGS. We await Carol’s Dalton lineage information.

Also during the month of May, long time member Franklin “Tom” Daulton of Kasilof, Alaska decided to join the Dalton International DNA Project. Tom has traced his ancestry back through Tennessee to Virginia 1718, Prince William County, and to John and Rachel Dalton.

The DNA Project of the DGS now includes 86 testees and keeps growing. If you have not added your Dalton DNA to this project, it is time to do so. Contact Millicent Craig at Millicenty@aol.com and be sure to read the latest information on the DGS home page.

Mary Lou Weber-Elias visited in May and began the long procedure of upgrading the Dalton Data Bank. Over 15,000 more surnames are being added. The first file to be uploaded is the Compilation of Carroll County Daltons by Nancy Samuelson.

An impressive array of Irish data is also scheduled for uploading by the end of June. The Republic of Ireland file will contain more Irish data than is compiled anywhere else. The Australia file will double in size and the file of Canadian Daltons will be a third larger. This is all made possible by the volunteers of the Dalton Genealogical Society. Forthcoming data projects are being considered for Ireland and for England and we will be looking for volunteers to help with the extractions.

Dairne Irwin

Thank you to those of you who have contributed to the June 2007 issue of Daltons in History.

Please continue to send me your articles either by e-mail to dairneirwin@ntlworld.com or by “snail mail”.

Contributions for the July issue need to arrive by 24th June 2007 and for the August issue by 21st July 2007.