Introduction

As always, greetings to all readers of "Daltons in History"!!

Kate and I returned from our trip to the United States and Canada on 10th October, so October has been a short month for us at home, catching up with everything after nearly a month away, and now the time has come round quicker than ever for me to write my notes for the November issue of “Daltons in History”. No matter, there is plenty to report, so here goes!

First of all I will report on a number of important new matters, and then below them you will find the latest news about DGS events and activities, together with the usual updates to keep you fully informed about what we are doing.

The Salt Lake City Gathering

It is now over a month, since we bid our farewells in Salt Lake City after the 2011 DGS Gathering, a truly memorable event, about which you will find further reports in this issue of “Daltons in History”. In the last issue you will have seen brief reports from myself and Karen Preston, a few photographs and links to the videos of all the presentations, compiled by David Preston. This month we carry my personal diary of the weekend, reminiscences from delegates, more from Karen, and links to the full photo gallery. We have also improved the video file by providing links to versions on You Tube, which for those of you who may have had difficulties with playing the other versions, should provide a much improved viewing experience. Try them out and let us know if you are still having problems.

Award for the Journal of the Dalton Genealogical Society

Each year the Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS), to which the DGS is affiliated, makes awards for the best websites and the best journals. Two years ago we won an award for our website. I am delighted to announce that we have just been notified that the DGS Journal has won an Elizabeth Simpson Award in the One Name Society category of the 2011 competition. This prestigious award will be presented at the FFHS AGM and General Meeting in London on 24th March 2012 and John Dalton, our editor, and I plan to be there to receive it. Many congratulations to John – a very well deserved recognition of all his hard work. John took over as editor of the DGS Journal in 2005, and he has been on the editorial team since 1993 when Lucy Slater and Morag Simpson took over from me as joint editors. Just on a historical note, Elizabeth Simpson was the first General Secretary of the Federation when it was formed in 1974 and I remember her well. The awards for best Journal were started many years ago in her name, and are a permanent reminder of the pioneering work that she undertook in the early days of the Federation.

The Dalton Genealogical Society on LinkedIn

Many DGS members and other readers of “Daltons in History” are on LinkedIn, the business networking website – indeed as a member of LinkedIn myself, I am connected to close on 100 of you! For some time, I have thought that this particular network is a valuable tool for promoting the DGS, and I have now taken the further step of setting up a Dalton Genealogical Society page which can be accessed by anybody – you can find us in the “Companies” section of the LinkedIn website at www.linkedin.com. If you are on LinkedIn yourself, you can click on the box to “follow” the DGS and become a “follower”. By doing this you will be supporting the DGS, and you will automatically receive notification of updates to our page, which we will post on a regular basis. Do please become a follower – the more the merrier!

Advertisement in “Discover your Ancestors"

And another publicity opportunity has just come our way! “Discover your Ancestors” is an exciting new UK publication being set up by publishers the Discovery Media Group in conjunction with Ancestry.com. Through the Guild of One Name Studies, we have been invited to be included in a listing of family history societies with a brief description of the DGS and what we do. With an initial print run of 50,000 and high quality articles about the study of family history, this new magazine promises to be at the forefront of genealogical publishing, and I am very pleased that the DGS will be featured in this first issue.

Overseas visitors to London

From time to time, DGS members from overseas come to London and it is always a pleasure to meet up with them if it can be arranged. Recently we have had visits from Robyn Dalton and Cathy & Regina Negrycz. Robyn comes from near Sydney in Australia and is the widow of Vernon Dalton, one of my fourth cousins. She was in London in early September and came to visit Kate and I in Reigate. We last met in Sydney back in 2004, and enjoyed a full day with never enough time to catch up on everything! Cathy Negrycz attended the Salt Lake City Gathering with her husband, Ray. In mid-October she came to London on a whistle stop tour with her daughter, Regina, to meet up with a long lost Dalton cousin. I caught up with them for lunch in London while they were here and it was good to see them both again. Cathy is the genealogist for our DNA project Genetic Family D and she and Regina both came to the Ireland DGS gathering held in Birr in 2008, when they found another long lost Dalton cousin, who became their DIDP testee!

Future DGS events

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 will be the Mercure Hull West Hotel. Please note that this hotel has changed its name from the Ramada Hull, Ramada having been taken over by Mercure. 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. More details of the hotel, which is a 19th Century manor house set in 12 acres of gardens, can be found here. It should be noted that Mercure are revamping their website and only limited information is available at present. I am assured that the new details on the web will be completed soon. I can also confirm that the arrangements that we have in place for the 2012 Gathering remain unaltered and I am confident that we will be extremely well looked after by the new management. I am 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. Howard and I visited Hull back in April and further information will be found in the "Forthcoming Gatherings" section of this website, just click here for the link. Full details of the programme and booking arrangements will appear next month, in the December issue of “Daltons in History”, and they will also be included in a flyer to be distributed with Volume 55 of the DGS Journal, due at the end of the year.

For 2013 we are considering returning to Ireland and for 2014 and beyond we have a number of suggestions already. But, if you have any particular thoughts about where you might like to meet, or a particular Dalton theme you think we should incorporate, we would really like to hear from you with your ideas.

The Dalton International DNA Project (DIDP)

We are indebted to our DNA consultant, Chris Pomery for all his assistance with the project over the past five years, which includes the preparation of three issues of the very comprehensive project progress report, and most informative presentations at our annual gatherings on two occasions. We now have approaching 170 participants in the project, and well over 80% of these are members of one of the 15 identified genetic families. The latest DIDP news and a full DIDP update were published in December 2010, and these can be found in the "Dalton DNA Project" section of this website, or simply click here for the link.

The emphasis is now on providing updated reports for each individual genetic family. The first of these, for genetic family A, was published in December 2010, establishing the template for these reports. During September we completed initial versions of the reports for genetic families B, C and D in time for the Salt Lake City Gathering, so we now have four reports available as follows:

- Genetic Family A - the Virginia Daltons

- Genetic Family B - the Eireann Daltons

- Genetic Family C - the Carmarthenshire Daltons

- Genetic Family D - the Golden Vale Daltons

These proved very useful at the gathering with each of these groups well represented by delegates, and much useful discussion took place, both formally and informally. On the formal side, Chris Pomery gave a video presentation updating us all on the project, and then participated in a discussion and question time via a live link up from his home in Yorkshire, UK. Also Melanie Crain, Rodney Dalton and Cathy Negrycz gave presentations about groups A, C and D respectively. This all helped us to take forward both the details of the project by identifying specific further research for these groups, and also the project as a whole by demonstrating it's breadth and depth, and the ways in which it will help other delegates in due course. Links to all the presentations and the supporting slides will be found by clicking here.

There are two further reports still to be published as follows:

- The first will cover genetic families E, F, G, H, J and K together with R1b singletons

- The second will cover genetic families Q, W, X, Y and Z together with non-R1b singletons

It is planned to complete these over the next few weeks.

All these reports are made available to the members of the group or groups covered in each one, and it is generally a requirement that recipients of reports are paid up DGS members. This enables us to reimburse Chris Pomery as our DNA consultant for the immense amount of work that he undertakes on an ongoing basis for the project.

Karen Preston and I are now in discussion with Chris about how we propose to take the project forward in 2012, and we will be making further announcements about this in the coming weeks, so watch this space!

The DGS Journal

Volume 55 of the DGS Journal for December 2011 is due to be published by the end of the year. Editor, John Dalton will shortly commence assembling and preparing the material for Vol 55 and all contributions should be sent to him by 21st November at the latest.

John always welcomes articles and other items for publication in the Journal. Any material for publication should be sent to him as early as possible, so that he can plan the content of future issues. John is happy to advise and assist contributors and, if you have any questions or need help, please contact him by email at johndalton78@hotmail.com.

Back issues of the DGS Journal continue to be available. On this website you can access the "DGS Journal Index" from the homepage or by clicking here. Here you will find a full 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. Lists of contents are given for Volumes 42 to 54 and the full synopses will be uploaded in due course. 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 December.

Thank you for your attention.

Yours very sincerely

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

In the October 2011 issue of “Daltons in History”, there were some brief notes about the event. Here Michael Dalton gives his fuller and more personal account of the Dalton Genealogical Society’s Annual Gathering for 2011 held in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA from Friday 23rd September, 2011 to Monday 26th September, 2011. The weekend was based at the Plaza Hotel on the edge of Temple Square.

Friday 23rd September, 2011

Kate and I arrived in Salt Lake City at lunch time, having already spent a week in the United States. After a long flight from London via Montreal we had arrived in Las Vegas late in the evening on Thursday 15th September, 2011. When we were finally at our hotel, because of the 8 hour time difference it was nearly breakfast time back home, so we were more than ready for a night’s sleep! We woke on Friday morning refreshed and ready to go, and spent all day and the evening enjoying the sights and sounds of Las Vegas. What an amazing place! So many very smart hotels, all having casinos with acres of gaming tables and slot machines, and even good old fashioned one armed bandits. A fun party atmosphere everywhere - you have to see it to believe it! It’s all rather over the top and 24 hours was enough for us, so on the Saturday morning we returned to the airport to pick up our rental car, an impressive Ford Escape SUV which served us very well travelling 3,000 miles in three weeks, and headed out of town. We travelled north to Cedar City in Utah where we had a three night stay booked and made visits to Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks both with most spectacular scenery. From Cedar City we drove north east through amazing terraine via Escalante on Route 12, described as a “scenic byway”, to Torrey, close to Capitol Reef National Park, for a two night stay. With its rugged terraine and deep canyons, this park enabled us to understand something of the life endured by the early Mormon pioneers, who established the village of Fruita on the River Fremont in 1880. From Torrey we drove north east making an overnight stop at Springville en route to Salt Lake City. On the Friday morning we saw the Great Salt Lake and visited the Saltair Pavilion, now left high and dry with the low water levels of the lake, and looking rather desolate.

Saltair - Original Location
Saltair around 1900
Saltair Today

(Original building destroyed by fire in 1925. Has had a chequered history but presently used as a music venue)

Las Vegas

On arrival at the Plaza Hotel we were greeted by Karen and David who had already set up the DGS registration table just inside the entrance. They pointed us towards the coffee shop for a quick bite to eat for lunch and then we found our room on the 9th floor and settled in. I spent most of the afternoon in the hotel lobby by our registration table, where I was able to meet delegates as they arrived. It was a great opportunity to renew old friendships from past gatherings and to make the acquaintance of those I had not met before, about a third of the total. Some had arrived in Salt Lake City earlier in the week in order to make use of the Family History Library just next door for research. Whilst I did this, Kate went to explore the city. In the evening parties of delegates went off to various restaurants for dinner. Kate and I joined Karen & David, Martin & Sarah Fitzgerald, Mike & Kate Dalton from Norfolk, UK, and Helen & Gavan Smith from Sydney, Australia for a very enjoyable meal at the Copper Onion Restaurant – good food, good company and a truly international evening! All too soon, it was time to return to the Plaza and bid everyone goodnight.

Saturday 24th September, 2011

The programme schedule required us to be on parade at 8.30 am in the meeting room where, following a continental breakfast, Karen opened the proceedings and introduced the first session, a talk by Stan Lindaas on “Getting the most from the Family History Library”. This provided a useful guide for those delegates who were keen to use the resources of the library during the remainder of the day. For those not so inclined, and this included Kate and I because it was our first visit to Salt Lake City and we wanted to see the sights, a guided walking tour of Temple Square was organised. A group of about fifteen of us was very ably led by Shauna and John Hart, who are experienced guides for the city and Temple Square in particular. Temple Square is a magnificent array of buildings and gardens which form the worldwide hub of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to give the Mormon Church its full and accurate name. Apart from the Temple itself, which is not open to the general public, and the administrative headquarters of the church, there are several museum buildings devoted to the history of the church. These added to our knowledge of the great trek westwards led by Joseph Smith and then Brigham Young, and the establishing of Salt Lake City in 1847. We also learnt how today’s Mormon Church is organised and run. The morning tour ended with a visit to Beehive House, the Salt Lake City home of Brigham Young and this was followed by lunch at The Pantry adjacent to Beehive House. Kate and I were able to sit at a table outside with Shauna and John in a beautiful secluded courtyard and hear more of their work for the church over many years. Shauna is a descendant of John Luther Dalton, along with Rodney Dalton, Arthur Whittaker and several other delegates at the gathering, and so related to me as a member of genetic family C, sharing James Dalton (1650-1721), buried in Pembrey churchyard, Carmarthenshire in Wales, as our common ancestor.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - The Temple
The Beehive House 1
The Beehive House 2

After lunch, Kate indulged herself in a little retail therapy whilst I spent some time in the Family History Library. Here I met up with John Dalton and others and we were able to check up on the copies of the various DGS publications held by the library. After some searching all were located for us, but we did discover that two issues of the DGS Journal were missing. John undertook to rectify this. The facilities of the library are impressive and it is undoubtedly one of the most comprehensive collections of genealogy and family history books, journals and other publications held anywhere in the world. I also managed to fit in viewing the film “Legacy: A Mormon Journey”, about the lives led and the hardships endured by the early Mormon pioneers as they journeyed west. This featured two fictional converts to the Mormon faith and followed them between the 1830s and the 1890s to tell a very powerful and moving story.

All too soon, it was time to return to the Plaza Hotel and change for the reception and dinner in the evening. The reception was held in a separate room on the ground floor of the hotel and provided the opportunity to meet up with some folk I had missed earlier, and also to hear about the serious research undertaken in the library by others. The banquet took place downstairs in the room where we had met in the morning. Our table included Martin and Sarah Fitzgerald, Maureen Collins, Maureen’s cousin from Alberta, Canada, Jane White, and John and Shauna Hart. Because we were sitting close to our entertainer, Clive Romney, I was able to volunteer Maureen for the task of being Clive’s digger in “Digging in the Dirt”. Maureen performed admirably! Clive’s entertainment was memorable and included a special song he wrote for us about Edward Meeks Dalton, one of very few who was executed for polygamy. During the course of his performance he told us many stories about the Mormons and he left us with an important message for all family historians – family history only comes to life when you tell the stories of each individual who is connected by a family tree. How true this is! Click here.

With the formalities of the evening over, a small group was persuaded to cross the road to the bar at the Radisson Hotel and continue telling some more stories. A relaxing end to a memorable evening.

Sunday 25th September, 2011

Sunday began with another memorable experience – a visit to the Mormon Tabernacle on Temple Square to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir give its weekly live radio broadcast to the nation. The broadcast is the longest running radio programme ever and is listened to by an audience running into millions. As a very special group, the delegates at the DGS gathering were ushered to specially reserved seats in the packed auditorium and before the broadcast began, announcements were made to introduce us and other groups. We stood when we were introduced and acknowledged the appreciation shown by the audience. The performance itself was of the highest standard and very moving. It is wonderful that this choir, some 300 voices strong, and the accompanying orchestra and organist, can produce such fresh and lively performances Sunday after Sunday, year after year. As we walked back to the hotel, we all felt lifted by the experience.

It fell me to open the proceedings for the Sunday gathering conference. Well, follow that as they say, after the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Well, follow it I did, but I leave it to others to judge whether I struck the right chord. I wanted the opportunity to update delegates on the DGS and everything we do and I also wanted to conclude with a message, which was that above all everyone should enjoy their family history. Click here.

After a buffet lunch, the remainder of the day was taken up with a series of presentations by Melanie Crain, Rodney Dalton, Chris Pomery and Cathy Negrycz. For all of them you can find both the presentation slides and a video recording of the presentation itself on the Dalton Data Bank website or just click here for the link. Each made an important contribution to the day as a whole and many individual stories of Dalton family history were told. I want to add my sincere thanks to those already expressed by Karen, to each presenter. You all put in an immense amount of work to make these excellent presentations and that is very much appreciated. I very much hope that many other DGS members and visitors to this website will take the opportunity to view them and learn from them. Of course, all this would not be possible without the considerable effort put in by David Preston behind the scenes, to ensure that everyone’s slides were well presented and of course to make all the video recordings. So, a big thank you to David for a job very well done. What would we do without you?

David and Karen Preston being presented with their gifts (Like the shirt!!)

At the end of the afternoon Karen recognised all the speakers by presenting each of us with one of the beautiful hand crafted plates with a Dalton coat of arms that had been made specially for the occasion. The silent auction followed, and I concluded the proceedings with a big thank you to Karen and David for everything they had done to make the weekend such a success. My secret shoppers (Kate and Sarah) had been despatched to procure some small gifts for them as a memento of the event and they duly presented them to Karen and David on behalf of us all.

For the evening on Sunday, Karen had organised an informal dinner in the restaurant at the Radisson Hotel over the road and a large party of us took another opportunity to mingle with each other again and enjoy each other’s company. The stalwart few visited the Radisson’s bar again afterwards and continued exchanging stories into the small hours.

Monday 26th September, 2011

The day of departure and saying goodbye. It is never possible to say goodbye to everyone on these occasions and, to those of you to whom I was unable to say goodbye personally, I apologise. Over the many years of DGS gatherings, we have made so many friends and it is a hallmark of each Gathering that this circle of friends is widened. SLC 2011 was no exception and Kate and I, and the DGS officers and committee members present all enjoyed meeting such a wonderful group of Dalton connected people drawn from across the United States and across the world. I consider it a great privilege to lead our Society which of course is made by its members. It is a particular pleasure and privilege to attend the annual gathering each year and meet so many of you. I know that you all enjoy making new acquaintances and forging more links with Daltons with whom you share common ancestry, and in Salt Lake City this appeared to be especially prevalent.

It is always hard to pick out particular highlights, but with the benefit of a month’s hindsight, and our visit to the United States and Canada now more in perspective, I cannot close without recalling just a few personal ones:

• Superb organisation by Karen and David

• A prestigious location on Temple Square in the heart of Salt Lake City

• The opportunity to learn more about and understand the Mormon Church

• The opportunity to visit the Family History Library

• Clive Romney’s first class entertainment

• The Mormon Tabernacle Choir

….and of course all of you who attended, each adding another dimension to the whole experience. Thank you to everyone for making it such a wonderful time.

When Kate and I left Salt Lake City, our wonderful time continued. We travelled across Colorado and took the Mountain Trail Road in Rocky Mountain National Park which is over 12,000 feet above sea level at its highest point. Then we went on to Arches and Mesa Verde National Parks, followed by Grand Canyon where we took a helicopter trip over the canyon, Hoover Dam and back to Las Vegas, from where we flew to Calgary to visit our son, James, who has recently taken up a post there working for Shell. Whilst there we had time to visit Banff and Lake Louise in perfect weather with fresh snow on the mountain tops - just stunning! So concluded almost a month away from home, a month with so many happy memories.

View of the Colorado River from the helicopter
Safely back on the ground

More of Michael's pictures can be seen below in Section 8 entitled "Time for Photographs".

1. From: Melanie and Hal Crain, Durham, North Carolina, USA

My husband Hal and I had a great time at the Gathering in Salt Lake City. This was our first Gathering; and everyone with a Dalton connection was warm and open, fun to be with and great to talk to. I felt like I was in a group of friends within five minutes. We definitely hope to go to another Gathering when it is held in England or Ireland.

Melanie and Hal Crain

2. From: Renee Kraczek, Kaysville, Utah, USA

Just before they started the Tabernacle Chior broadcast they asked all of us from the Dalton Genealogical Society to stand and be recognized. As I stood in this historic building made from the sacrifice of mormon pioneers I felt we stood not only together but as representatives of all our Dalton ancestors who sacrificed and pioneered in their own way for each of us to be there together. This memory will go with my for the rest of my life. Thank you for sharing it with me!

Renee Kraczek

3. From: Cathy and Ray Negrycz, Punta Gorda, Florida, USA

I attended the Salt Lake City Gathering with my husband, Raymond. Raymond is not a participant in my searches for "dead people", but he came along for the event. He and I greatly enjoyed the Gathering and found the people we met delightful, the presentations enlightening, the Gathering Dinner delicious (as well as the wine!), the entertainment provided by Clive Romney very entertaining and appropriate, the scheduling, which allowed for time for research in the library very well thought out, and the tour of Temple Square with the ability to enjoy lunch with fellow members, which we did in a beautiful garden setting, just perfect. The dinner arranged for in the nearby Radisson on Sunday night was a well-chosen restaurant. Ray and I offer Karen and David our congratulations for a job very well done.

Ray and Cathy Negrycz

P.S. My daughter, Regina Negrycz, also a DGS member, and I just returned yesterday, Monday, 17th October, 2011 from London on a genealogical quest to meet a 94-year-old Dalton lady, who supplied us with some important names and dates for our research. She was my grandfather's neice. It was our pleasure to meet with Michael N. Dalton on Sunday, who came in from Reigate, to take us to the Oxford Cambridge Club, of which he is a member, for a fantastic lunch. We thank Michael and look forward to future Gatherings.

4. Mike Dalton, Portland, Oregon, USA

My journey to the 2011 DGS Gathering in Salt Lake City, Utah was via Amtrak Train through Sacramento, CA with a couple of days to tour the California Gold Country of the Sierra Nevada’s. One highlight of that tour with my brother Bob, was going to Angel Camp, Calaveras County where a certain Emmett Dalton had ‘hopped’ to fame, back in 1937 (see article). On the train ride from Sacramento to Reno, Nevada, the onboard train docent candidly reminded passengers that it was not a good idea to rob trains in California. The Dalton Gang had made an unsuccessful attempt in Southern California back in the 1890s.

It was great to renew acquaintances and exchange stories on research. I was very impressed by the Sunday presentations of Theresa, Melanie and Rodney and the live satellite feed with Chris Pomeroy in England. As I am American NFL football fan, I noted that one Andy Dalton, quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals was probably being watched by millions of fans on computers and satellite TV at the same time Chris was speaking to us live. Much thanks to Karen and David for the hard work that they did in making arrangements and coordinating activities.


Mike Dalton

5. From: Mike F Dalton, Norfolk, UK

First of all thank you very much for organising a tremendous Gathering - Kate and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and meeting the two of you and all those new Daltons really put the cream on our trip! I've attached a couple of pictures of Daltons we encountered on a our road trip. The truck sign says "Daltonmotorsautobodyinc" and the pickup has "The Dalton Gang Outlaws Ride Again" on the side and the number plate is "DLTNGNG".

"The Dalton Gang Outlaws Ride Again" - Number plate "DLTNGNG"
"Daltonmotorsautobodyinc"

Note from Mike: "The pick up truck is owned by Rick Dalton who, it now transpires, is related to all of us in DNA Group B and is closest to Daveda Bundy in Ohio - I like the number plate too which is DLTNGNG. What a serendipitous encounter".

We travelled on with Mary, Mazie, Helen and Gavan for a few days and then went on through Idaho and Washington to spend some time in Seattle before flying home. The aeroplane home was full of coughing, sneezing people and I've caught a stinker of a cold but Kate has, thankfully, managed to avoid it - genetic you know, males always have a worse time with colds than females, it's in the DNA!

Mike and Kate Dalton

6. From Cecelia and Jerry Lange, Arvada, Colorado, USA

You did a splendid job of EVERYTHING! Thank you so much. I enjoyed meeting everyone and having a bit of time to chat. The weather cooperated, the presentations were interesting, the Library was full of information (most of it still waiting to be found!!), and the company was stimulating!

If anyone is in my neck of the woods, do stop in.

Cecelia and Jerry Lange

7. From Daveda Bundy, Pickerington, Ohio, USA

I really enjoyed our Gathering in SLC in September. It was lovely to spend time with Helen and Gavan Smith and to meet Mazie and her sister Mary. Everyone, however, was most welcoming and the company was enjoyable.

You did a great job getting everything together; it was wonderful to have some mementos to bring home. I'm enjoying using the pens and use the bag as an extra when I go to the grocery store. Works great!!!

So thank you for all your hard work. I know everyone appreciated how much effort you and your husband put into the gathering. Hope you are somewhat rested up by now!

Daveda Bundy

8. From Maureen Collins, Sydney, Australia

It was a pleasure to attend the Gathering. Jane and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and would like to thank you for all your hard work in making it so successful. I of course enjoyed "starring" as the shovel beater with Clive Romney who was so entertaining with his songs and guitar playing.

Jane and I stayed on for the following week at the Radisson Hotel (no room at the Plaza) and were able to make use of what we had learnt at the week-end. It was Jane's first experience of research and she was really excited at what we managed to find out about our family. Unfortunately my Dalton family remains elusive but I live in hope of a DNA match one day and that it is just a matter of time.

We both found Salt Lake City a fascinating place and a very suitable venue for the gathering and were able to enjoy a tour to Antelope Island in the middle of Salt Lake. We saw big herds of wild bison there (locally known as buffalos but correctly called bison - different shape of head entirely), antelope and even a coyote quite close. There were also many migrating birds and the scenery was magnificent. We also went to a performance of the Utah Symphony Orchestra with a collection of amazing young performers aged from 11 to 18. I don't know how the small boy of 11 managed to play Mozart incredibly well on a huge grand piano but he certainly did!

Altogether it was a wonderful stay and I hope that members of the DGS and any other interested parties take a look at the website to check it out.

It's nice to be home in Sydney but I am only just coming down to earth after so much travel. Thank you again, Karen, and David too of course, for the wonderful time we all had.

Maureen Collins

9. From: Michael Neale Dalton, Surrey, UK

Following on from Karen's note to you all, I am writing to say what a pleasure it was to meet everyone in Salt Lake City last month, many of you for the first time. The DGS membership is a truly international community and it was good to see representation from so many of the American states, together with those from UK, Canada and Australia, a truly international gathering of the worldwide Dalton family!

Kate and I have been home for just over a week and, after being away for a total of three and a half weeks, it has taken a little while to catch up with everything back here and resume the normal routine. I think we are there now! We had an amazing trip and after SLC travelled across Colorado taking in the Mountain Trail Road in Rocky Mountain National Park which is over 12,000 feet above sea level at its highest point, Arches and Mesa Verde National Parks, Grand Canyon where we took a helicopter trip over the canyon, Hoover Dam and back to Las Vegas, from where we flew to Calgary to visit our son, James, who has recently taken up a post there working for Shell. Whilst there we had time to visit Banff and Lake Louise in perfect weather with fresh snow on the mountain tops - just stunning!

Kate and Michael Dalton

 

From: Dave Edwards, Coopertown, New York, USA

Family oral history has my grandmother Anna DALTON coming to the US from Abbeyfeale, County Limerick, Ireland, at a very young age, along with her two sisters. I have been unable to document the arrival, narrowing it down to 1880-1900. I have not been able to find Anna on the 1900 US Census. The only ship manifest I have found for “Anna DALTON” is in August 1900, returning to the US from Queenstown, Ireland. I was thinking that maybe she had returned to Ireland to visit or deal with the death of her final family member and missed the 1900 US Census. In addition, I had not been able to find her sisters in the US and was under the impression that sister Mary was in the Philadelphia area, and sister Ellen may have returned to Ireland. All speculation!!

I do know and have documented that Anna was married in 1902 in Little Falls, Herkimer County, New York, to Michael Dillon. Where she was prior to that is a mystery.

While at the Gathering in Salt Lake City, I spent most of Thursday at the Family History Center mainly documenting bits and pieces of Dalton and other genealogy. I spent a few hours Friday more or less trolling the various subscription sites that are available there. On Saturday, I decided to spend an hour or two documenting one final piece of information, which was done rather quickly. With a bit of time left late in the afternoon, I was surfing the web and decided to call it a day, but thought I should once more plug Anna DALTON into the FHC search site, with a location of New York since I was confident that she was probably in New York City area working as a domestic. I have done this several times, and two other researchers in the US have done it for me over the last few years. Up popped the same 6 names, none of which matched my Anna. Only then did I notice that the addresses were by county within New York City . That prompted me to think that I should search by New York counties, which I did. I plugged in “Herkimer County”, and up popped not Anna but Johanna DALTON, in Newport, Herkimer County, New York. Bingo! Or so I thought. Only then did I notice that Johanna was only 5 years old—my Anna was 27-28 years of age.

I reached out to turn off the computer, but then thought “I wonder what the original Census document looks like?” Two keystrokes gave me a view of the original, “Johanna Dalton, boarder, age 28, S….” A transcription (or scanning) error! The “S” in the “Married or Single” column looks very much like a “5” and the “28” is buried in some extraneous script. Here was Anna DALTON doing housework as a boarder in Newport, less than 20 miles from where she lived all her married life.

But it gets better.

Wondering who she was living with, I saw it was the Walker family, including wife Mary, only a few years older than Anna/Johanna. About that time somebody hit me in the head with a hoe handle—Mary Walker….Aunt Mary Walker….don’t ever recall meeting her, but heard a lot about her as a kid. Anna’s sister Mary, who we thought was in Philadelphia, was hiding in plain sight 20 miles away. Wow!!

So now I have a new path to follow—the Walkers of Newport.

The 1900 Census

From: Mazie Dalton, St Louis, Missouri, USA

These are photos of a Genetic Family 'B' get together in St. Louis, on 16th September, 2011, that was organized for the arrival of Mike F. and Kate Dalton before the Gathering.

We had a great, but cold and windy picnic at Creve Coeur Park this evening for the Saint Louis Dalton Clan to meet Mike and Kate. We also met Raymond Dalton, [DNA match from St Louis] and his wife.

Mike and Kate headed down the rest of Route 66 the next day and met Joe's family in Rolla.

Mike F Dalton and his wife Kate
And they ate it all!
Party Time - Tucking in
Mile cutting the cake - Yum, yum!!
Mike with Mazie and friends
Mazie with Kate and friends

 

From: Mike Dalton, Portland, Oregon, USA

Back in 1865 Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain) wrote a bestselling short story entitled: “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” Fast forward 63 years: a Jumping Frog Jubilee Contest was created in 1928 at Angels Camp, Calaveras County, California in honor of Mark Twain's story. Each entrant was given three hops to make recorded jump.

In the present day, a cash prize of $700 is rewarded to the winner and $5,000 dollars goes to record breakers. Frogs for the event are brought in, since the California red-legged frog is on United States Fish and Wildlife Service list of threatened species. Record breakers are engraved upon a trophy and winners are memorialized on Main Street of Angels Camp, CA by brass plaques on the Frog Hop of Fame. The current world record stands at 21 feet, 5 inches.

Accompanying photos of plaque and trophy were taken by Bob Dalton of California. Bob accompanied his brother Mike Dalton of Oregon to the DGS Gathering held in Dublin, Ireland during August 2005.

The 1st May, 1937 the aspiring entrant was a mud colored frog from Will Roger's Ranch in Claremont, Oklahoma. The entrant was named Emmett Dalton and his jockey was W.L. Daniels. The frog won with a record breaking jump of 13 feet, 5 inches and his jockey went home with a hefty cash prize.


Photo from Popular Science – August 1937

The Jumping Frog Trophy
Commemorative Plaque

What does this have to do genealogy? The frog was cleverly named after a known Dalton Gang member. Back in the 1890s, Claremont, Oklahoma was one of those areas that the infamous Dalton Gang was associated with. In 1937, the real Emmett Dalton, the surviving member of the Dalton Gang (not the amphibious one), was living in Los Angeles, California. His brother Littleton Dalton (the good brother) was living in Woodland, Yolo County, California, not far from Sacramento.

Emmett Dalton, the Dalton Gang member, died in Los Angeles, California on 13th July, 1937. His remains were removed to Coffeyville, Kansas. Littleton Lee Dalton, the good brother, died on 23rd January, 1942 and is buried in Woodland, California.

Before Mark Twain became famous he was known as Samuel Clemens of Hannibal, Missouri who apprenticed as typesetter for his father who published hisown newspaper. Learning the trade with him was one Frank M. Dalton whoboarded with the Clemens family for two years. Frank went on to become an accomplished publisher and Samuel went on to become the famous writer Mark Twain.

In later years, Frank would remark that Samuel would get more ink on himself than on the type, and was a practical joker. Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain would send copies of his books and works to Frank.

Frank M. Dalton or Francis M. Daulton was born during May, 1832 in Missouri. His parents were in the wave of settlers that went from Virginia to Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas and on to Missouri. Frank grew up in Missouri marriedand settled in Greene County, Arkansas by the early 1870s and published several newspapers. Frank died in 1912 and is buried in a Gainesville, Arkansas cemetery.

In summary: a Frank Dalton apprenticed with Mark Twain, who wrote a story about a frog, In later years a frog contest was established in Mark Twain's honor and one of those frogs happened to be named after an infamous Emmett Dalton, whose namesake was still living. It is not known how Frank and the two Emmetts might be genealogically or genetically connected.

Based on information given by Bill Dalton of Gig Harbour, Washington, USA with additional information from the Editor

This the 3rd instalment

ROBERT J. DALTON (1847 - 1927)

I left the story of Robert Dalton and his young wife Gwenllian/Winifred on the night of 2nd April, 1871 when they were recorded as living at the home of his wife’s parents John and Mary Morgan in Aberdare, Glamorgan, Wales. Also at the house was a boy of 7 months recorded as the nephew of John Morgan but more probably his grandson, the son of Robert and Gwenllian.

The next date which Bill has managed to find is the birth of Robert and Winifred’s second son James Francis Dalton on 12th December, 1872 not in Wales but in Pennsylvania, United States.

Why did the family move from Wales to America? I decided to research the conditions in Aberdare which may have caused the family to consider emigration.

Aberdare was a market town and parish in the county of Glamorgan. It lies at the meeting of the rivers Dare and Cynon, just 5 miles to the southwest of Merthyr Tydfil and 24 miles north of Cardiff. There were railway stations and the Glamorgan Canal had been opened. There were many collieries and ironworks which had caused the area’s population to increase rapidly from 1835 when Aberdare was only a village. In 1851 the population was 14,999 and by 1861 it had more than doubled to 32,299. It continued to increase and in 1871 the population was 37,774 (when the family were still there) before decreasing in 1881 to 35,514.

The family would have been living in a rapidly expanding town. The Aberdare Public Park, an area of 50 acres, had recently opened and the new Aberdare and Aberaman Gas Company had been opened. But did the housing conditions improve or were there shortages with the ever increasing population? Perhaps this may be why the family were living with their in-laws or, were they getting ready to emigrate? We may never know.

Reasons for emigration at this time included religious persecution, convicts who were being transported, being a member of the armed forces and business reasons. But most emigrants left for economic reasons, especially poverty at home and the inducement of a better life abroad.

Assisted emigration existed up until 1890. This was granted to the poor when some parishes would pay for a poor family’s passage and food.

America was the most popular destination and the numbers of British and Irish emigrants was especially high during the 19th Century. Between 1870 and 1920 it is estimated that 3 million British people emigrated to the United States and of these about 25% returned to Britain permanently.

Bill has been unable to find when and on what ship the family travelled but, it was in the 20 months between the Census of 1871 and the birth of their second son.

There had been an official system of listing immigrants which had begun in 1820 – the Masters of vessels arriving in the US filed lists with the custom officers. These lists contained passenger names, ages, sex, occupation, and country of origin.

Passenger lists that are retained are generally only from 1890; very few have survived before this date. Detailed records survive for most of the important ports and are held at an archive in Philadelphia and at the National Archives in Washington.

Passports were not required until 1914 but as early as 1794 British passports were issued to diplomats and merchants.

There was little control by the US Authorities over immigration at this time and it was not until 1891 that all aliens entering the country had to report to the Federal immigration officers for vetting when they were questioned about their health, place of origin and their proposed destination.

The sea journey, for the family, would have been uncomfortable and often perilous with no guarantee of entry. It was not until the 1880’s that steam powered ships reduced the crossing time from 3 months to 2 weeks.

In 1871 there was a number of coal miming disasters in the Aberdare area – perhaps this influenced the family to move?

I have found an interesting website "Welsh at Heart" http://caloncymreig.tnhillbillie.net/content/view/87/32/

At this site can be read a letter to home, written in November 1895, from a John R. Williams who emigrated from Aberdare to Pennsylvania to work in the coal fields. In his letter he describes what life was like for the Welsh miners who had come to work there. He describes how the English, Welsh and Scots miners are being driven out. “The Welsh had the best show in the mines here”.

 

From: Mazie Dalton, St Louis, Missouri, USA

I believe Gavin said he liked the Indian Museum Bannock and Shoshone Tribes in Blackfoot the best.

Mazie Dalton
Helen and Gavin Smith

We drove through 'Yellowstone Bear Park', a commercial park outside of Yellowstone. In almost 30 years of living nearby, Mary had never been there. We went because Gavin wanted to make sure he was going to see a bear this trip - since you don't always get to see bears in Yellowstone and the Tetons. As it turned out we did see bears in Yellowstone this trip.

It's a hard life!
Ride anyone?

From: Michael Neale Dalton, Chairman of the DGS, Surrey, UK

Rocky Mountain National Park - the Continental Divide
Rocky Mountain National Park - Top of the world
Arches National Park, Utah - North and South Window Arches
Mesa Verde Narional Park, Colorado - Cliff Palace

And to finish our trip we visited our son in Canada:

Banff, Alberta, Canada - Autumn colours and snow clad mountains
Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada - A perfect October day!!

 

From: Karen Dalton Preston, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA / Leslie Dalton Crunk, Crosby, Texas, USA

In the Dalton continuing circle of life, there was a new addition to the extended Dalton clan during the Gathering.

I received the following from Leslie Dalton Crunk. Her first great grandchild was born during the Gathering - Leslie received a phone call announcing the birth during the Gathering. Leslie is a cousin to Rodney Dalton, and is part of the large Dalton family that has it's origins in Utah and Wales (Genetic Family C).

"Attached are a couple picture of our 1st great grandson born during the SLC Dalton Genealogical Society Gathering. He is the great grandson of Ray and Leslie Dalton Crunk. Our granddaughter is Jessica Lynn Hill and the babies father is Kelvin Davis. He was actually born 4 weeks early".

Name: Jaeden Malek Davis

Born: Sept 25, 2011 in Loveland CO at 2:45 am - weighed 5 lbs 6 oz.

Jaeden Malek Davis 1
Jaeden Malek Davis 2

 

Another Gathering is behind us. David and I had barely caught our breath after the weekend in Salt Lake City, when we left for a cross-country drive from Las Vegas to Baltimore to celebrate the wedding of David's niece. We had a long, but enjoyable 2 weeks on the road, with a few stop overs. We traveled 5,551.6 miles in 14 days!

We are back at home, trying to get caught-up on the back log of mail, email and laundry! I am happy to being staying put for a while.

Post Gathering Follow-up

First I would like to thank all of you who made presentations at the Gathering in Salt Lake City, in order of appearance: Michael Neale Dalton, who gave a DGS update; Chris Pomery, who joined us via teleconference from Yorkshire (a DGS first!) and provided an update on the Dalton DNA Project; Melanie Crain, who spoke on the documentary evidence for the Albemarle, Virginia Daltons; Rodney Dalton, who spoke about the history of the Utah Daltons and Cathy Negrycz, who gave a presentation on the search for the common ancestor of Genetic Family D, the Golden Vale Daltons in Ireland. Videos of their presentations can be viewed on the DGS web site. Click for the link.

Thank you, too, to all of the members who traveled to Salt Lake City to join us for this year's event. Your participation is what made the event so successful!

Here's a brief recap for those of you who were unable to be with us. Most of the delegates arrived on Friday, which was an "open day". Our headquarters for the weekend was the Salt Lake City Plaza Hotel, right in the heart of downtown and close to Temple Square. Those who arrived early had time to spend in the Family History Library or to stroll around downtown.

We began on Saturday morning with a light breakfast and a presentation on "How to Get the Most out of a Visit to the LDS Library", given by professional genealogist Stan Lindaas. Stan provided lots of helpful tips to make our research time more productive.

At 10:00 am, the group dispersed. Many went to the Library to work on individual research projects. As an alternative to the Library, we offered a guided tour of the Temple Square area, conducted by Shauna and John Hart, cousins of member Rodney Dalton. The tour included the Museum of Church History and Art, the gardens and grounds of Temple Square, the Salt Lake City Tabernacle and the historic Beehive House and Lion House, home of Brigham Young. This was followed by lunch.

Church History Library
Lion House
Salt Lake City Tabernacle
The Beehive House

In the evening, the members gathered for a glass of wine, followed by our annual banquet. The evening's entertainment was provided by Clive Romney. Clive is a music historian, storyteller, and composer, and he composed a song especially for our group. The song tells the story of Edward Dalton, in the traditional folk style of the Utah pioneers. Edward Dalton was shot and killed for polygamy in Parowan, Utah in the 19th century. You can watch a video of Clive's performance on the DGS web site. Click for the link.

Clive Romney

We began our Sunday with a performance of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the Tabernacle on Temple Square. The weekly concert is also broadcast on the radio, and is the nation's longest running network program, having run continuously since 1929. It was an inspirational start to the day.

Salt Lake City Tabernacle Choir 1
Salt lake City Tabernacle 2

We began our conference program at 11:00 am, beginning with Michael Neale Dalton's update on the DGS. This was followed by a lovely buffet lunch with a Hawaiian Luau theme. We reconvened for the talk by Chris Pomery. After a few fits and starts we were able to have a live question and answer session vis video conference. For the remainder of the afternoon, we turned our attention to the Dalton Family History connection in America. Our three presenters each told the story of a branch of Daltons, and their connection to Daltons in the US.

On Sunday evening we concluded with a casual dinner at the restaurant in the Radisson Hotel across the street from our location. This gave us all a chance to visit once more with old and new friends, to chat about our discoveries and to think about next year's Gathering.

DGS Gathering 2011 - Salt Lake City

Thanks to you all and until we meet again, Good Luck and Best Wishes!!

Now back to earth and onto the usual bits and pieces.

New Members:

Joyce Hansen, Centerville, Utah

Sharon Rose Hatch, San Dimas, California

Web Sites Update:

For the period from 1 October to 23 October 2011

Update to the Data Bank:

Dalton Chronicles - Matthew W. Dalton Contributed by Rodney G. Dalton

Dalton Data Bank - 2011 Salt Lake City Gathering Contributed by David Preston

NB: In addition to the Salt Lake City Gathering links on the Dalton Databank and the Dalton Genealogical Society websites, we have also uploaded the videos to YouTube for persons that were having difficulty in viewing the videos. The YouTube link is: http://www.youtube.com/user/davidjpreston50?feature=mhee.

DDB Web Site Usage Statistics:

58,997 visits came from 186 Countries / Territories

Map showing October DDB visitor distribution

Top 10 Countries by Visits:

1. UK – 16,637
2. India – 5,811
3. USA – 3,299
4. Pakistan – 3,228
5. Mexico – 2,346
6. Colombia – 2,240
7. Morocco – 1,770
8. Argentina – 1,700
9. South Africa – 1,356
10. Peru – 1,292

Top 10 Pages Visited:

1. Home Page
2. Join Us (Pop up on Home Page)
3. England
4. USA
5. Republic of Ireland
6. Australia
7. South Africa
8. Canada
9. Scotland
10. Northern Ireland

Comparatives:

DDB Comparison Chart

Dalton Forum:

There are a total of 248 Posts in 150 Topics by 341 Members.

During the reporting period, there were 3 new topics added, 3 new posts and 12 new members added.

DGS Web Site Usage Statistics:

1,567 Visits from 85 Countries / Territories

Map showing DGS visitor distribution

Top 10 Countries by Visits:

1. United States – 510
2. UK – 418
3. Australia – 100
4. Ireland – 77
5. Pakistan – 62
6. Canada – 54
7. India – 52
8. South Africa – 23
9. Argentina – 20
10. Algeria – 15

Top 10 Pages Visited:

1. Home Page
2. Membership
3. Daltons in History Archive
4. Daltons in History

5. DNA Project
6. Photo /Video Gallery
7. Clan Dalton
8. Journal Index
9. Daltons in History (January 2011 Archive)
10. Upcoming Events

Comparatives:

DGS Comparatives

Membership Page Tracking:

There were a total of 511 visits to the Membership page. 461 Visitors (89%) were as a result of links from the DDB “Become a Member!” pop-up box and the Google Ad Campaign. Three visits were from pages within the DGS site. The remaining 50 Visitors (11%) were generated from within the DGS site.

The graph below depicts the flow of Visitors to the Membership Page:

Membership Page Graphics

Google Ad Campaigns:

Dalton Data Bank Site:

31,292 Visitors reached the Data Bank by clicking on one of the 3,041,016 Google Ads served during the reporting period.

DGS Site:

6 Visitors reached the DGS site by clicking on one of the 2,631 Google Ads served during the reporting period.

Google Ads for new memberships:

This Ad Campaign generated 5 visits to the Membership information from 1,913 Google Ads served during the reporting period.

Well, that's it for this month!!

With warm regards to you all,

 

Karen Dalton Preston
North American Secretary

Thank you to all who have contributed to the November 2011 issue of "Daltons in History".

As we said last month, the Salt Lake City Gathering was a success and in this issue there has been more about the Gathering.

Thank you for sending me your stories and reminiscences about the Gathering.

Due to time constraints the Lucy Slater Archives and the First 40 Years of the DGS do not appear but will be back in December 2011.

Please send me any ideas you may have for future articles or areas of research we could look at. New ideas are needed!!

Please consider contributing a short description of any Dalton-related travels you may have undertaken anywhere in the world. Also members who are travelling to do research, visit a Dalton-connected site, or have made a connection to a distant cousin through the DGS. might be interested in letting other members know what they are doing through "Daltons in History". Photos from your travels would be appreciated. Also, it would be a way of helping members get to know each other a little better, and might help members who are widely dispersed geographically to feel a bit more connected. Those who attended Salt Lake City now have the ideal forum to take up the challenge!!

I must make special mention of Mel's efforts this month - Well Done!!

Contributions for the December 2011 issue need to be with me no later than 25th November, 2011. (e-mail: dairneirwin@ntlworld.com).

Please continue to stick to the set deadlines!! There is no excuse for missing the deadline - PLAN AHEAD!!