Introduction

The New Year has seen considerable activity across all elements of the Dalton Genealogical Society’s work. The events programme for 2009 is fully in place and attention has turned to planning for 2010 and our 40th Anniversary Gathering; Issue 3 of the Dalton International DNA Project Progress Report has been written and is now being finalised prior to being distributed to participants; and the DGS website continues to be updated with new information and an exciting new homepage. The officers, committee members and our various consultants are all working hard to maintain and improve the services that DGS members and visitors to the website are able to use and enjoy. I take this opportunity to thank them all for what they do. We are indeed fortunate to have such an enthusiastic, willing and able team all working together to further the aims of the Society.

Below you will find updates for each of the areas of activity that I have identified above.

Future DGS Events

The major event for 2009 is our Annual Gathering taking place in Orange, New South Wales, Australia over the weekend of Fri/Sat/Sun 13th/14th/15th March 2009. Full details are available on this website under ”Forthcoming Gatherings”. They have also been distributed with Volume 49 of the DGS Journal (December 2008). Maureen Collins and Helen Smith have worked very hard with their team out in Australia to put everything in place for what, I know, will be a superb event. I for one am much looking forward to it, and to meeting delegates from Australia, from New Zealand and from around the world. We have had an excellent response to date, and it is important for those members, who have yet to confirm their bookings and pay their deposits, to do so as soon as possible. You will then be assured of your place at what promises to be another memorable Dalton weekend.

Later in 2009 – on Saturday 22nd/Sunday 23rd August – we will hold the DGS Annual General Meeting here in England. It will be a weekend event, with the AGM itself taking place in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire on the Saturday morning and a visit to Queen Street Mill in nearby Burnley in the afternoon. There will be a dinner on the Saturday evening and the opportunity to visit Thurnham Hall on the Sunday and have lunch. For those travelling from further afield, and we hope there will be many of you, accommodation has been arranged at the Swallow Hotel, Samlesbury. Full details are published in the “Forthcoming Gatherings” section of this website and they have been distributed with Volume 49 of the DGS Journal (December 2008).

2010 marks the 40th Anniversary of the founding of the Dalton Genealogical Society and we will hold a special Gathering and Annual General Meeting in Surrey, England over the weekend of Fri/Sat/Sun 30th/31st July/1st August. Arrangements have now been made for the main events on the Saturday to take place at the Surrey National Golf Club, Chaldon, Surrey. These will include our conference during the day and a splendid celebratory dinner in the evening. The conference programme will include guest speakers and our AGM, and there will also be entertainment in the evening. The theme of the weekend will be Daltons in Surrey and we will arrange a programme of activities and visits for the Friday and the Sunday. Accommodation will be available locally. The Surrey National Golf Club is beautifully situated and has a modern clubhouse with excellent conference and dining facilities. Further information may be found at www.surreynational.co.uk.

More detailed planning for this 40th Anniversary celebration will be taking place over the coming weeks and further details will be announced here in “Daltons in History” in due course. In the meantime, please reserve the dates in your diary now. We hope that many members and their families will join us for this very special weekend, and that overseas members will use it as an opportunity to visit other parts of the UK as well.

For 2011 and beyond we have a number of suggestions already. 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)

Participants in DIDP will be pleased to learn that our consultant, Chris Pomery, has completed the draft of Issue 3 of the Dalton International DNA Project Progress Report. This includes all the new participants who have joined the project over the past few months, and whose results have now been made available by Family Tree DNA. There were 99 participants included in Issue 2 of the report published a year ago. Issue 3 has 128 sets of markers recorded and analysed. This represents an impressive expansion of the project in just a year. Additionally, many participants have extended their number of markers and this adds considerably to the value of the database as a whole to our Dalton family history researches.

The report is a landmark document and extends to 53 pages. It is now being checked through, edited and finalised prior to its distribution to all participants. This distribution by email will take place just as soon as the report is ready.

The number of separately identifiable genetic families has increased from 10 to 13. The number of singletons has increased by just three, from 18 to 21. This reflects the high success rate that we are achieving, with nearly all new project participants finding matches with existing project members.

Now with 128 Y-DNA project participants, DIDP is one of the largest and most respected projects of its type internationally, but we still need to expand it further, particularly with individuals who have documented ancestral lines that take them back to known English or Irish Dalton origins. The strength of the database as a family history research tool lies in its size, and its continued growth is of paramount importance to us all.

Further information about material from Issue 3 of the report will be published in the “Dalton DNA Project” section of the website soon. In the meantime, please do contact me by email if you would like to join the project, or if you have any questions which you wish to raise.

The DGS website

Regular visitors to this website will by now have become familiar with the new Dalton Data Bank (DDB) and Dalton Forum facilities. If you still have not seen them, then please take a look and try them out by using the links from the homepage. Search the extensive records in the DDB and post an enquiry or a comment on the Dalton Forum. These facilities are freely available to all and we hope you will enjoy using them. We will also welcome any comments you may have, and take these into account in our planning for future developments. Work is currently in progress on these and we want to ensure, as far as possible, that the facilities we offer are in line with your Dalton family history research requirements.

If you entered the site via the homepage, you will already have seen a considerably enhanced presentation on that page. By making it dynamic and by refreshing the information in each box, we are providing a window into all the different aspects of the Dalton Genealogical Society, its publications, its events, its projects and its archives. We anticipate that this will encourage visitors to the site to explore its extensive resources further. Let us know what you think! And a big thank you to Martin Fitzgerald, our website consultant, for implementing this.

The DGS Journal

Volume 49 of the Journal for December 2008 has now been distributed and all DGS members should have received their copies. If you are a DGS member and still have not received your copy, please be in contact with your local secretary.

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 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 available for Volumes 42 to 49 and the full synopses will be available 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 at the beginning of March.

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

DGS MEETING AT ORANGE, NSW, AUSTRALIA 13-15 MARCH 2009

A great deal of interest was shown in the Gathering when it was first announced and a number of members, friends and relatives indicated their intention to attend. About half of those who did so have confirmed their attendance with registration forms and deposits and I am grateful for their interest and early registrations.

I realise that I gave a final date for registration of 20 January 2009 but this is to let you know that it is not too late to book. In many areas Australia Day on the 26 January 2009 marks the start of a new year, before schools, families and other holiday makers return from summer holidays and get back to work. This being the normal order of things, could I ask those still intending to come to the Gathering in Orange to let me know as soon as you can.

Duntryleague

Members will have received their copies of DGS Journal Volume 49 with registration forms for Orange and for Lancashire included so please make use of these. Otherwise the details are still available from the DGS website. If anyone has any kind of difficulty with this, please contact me (mmcollins@ozemail.com.au), Helen Smith (h-smith70@bigpond.com) or Wendy Fleming (wendy.fleming@optusnet.com.au).

Let’s show the DGS world that we can do things equally well down under as we know we can.

Maureen Collins

Rod (Rudolph) and Dorothy Hilbert, DGS members of Whittlesea, Victoria, celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary on the 18 December 2008 when they received well-deserved congratulatory cards from the Queen and Governor General amongst many others. This note is to add congratulations from the DGS and to encourage you to read more about Rod and Dorothy and the celebrations in your next DGS Journal. Dorothy is descended from William Dalton (b. circa 1766) of Merton, Norfolk and a distant cousin of Maureen Collins and Pamela Lynam.

From our Happy Travellers Tom Wood and Gerry Dalton

Tom and I arrived at the lovely “Dalton Cottage” at Moss Vale, home of my older brother Chris Dalton, in mid November 2008. The roses and lavender at “Dalton Cottage” were in bloom and such a welcoming site. Moss Vale is located in the magnificent New South Wales Southern Highlands. Moss Vale, situated not far from the original settlement in that district, i.e. Bong Bong, which was at the ford on the Wingecarribee River. Stephen Giddings, my niece Irene nee Dalton’s husband, takes Tom on fishing trips on the Wingecarribee River in his canoe. Huge European carp inhabit this waterway causing environmental problems to the river system. Fishing in the Wingecarribee for carp is a case of “catch and kill” as the introduced species of carp are a declared pest. It is quite usual on a fishing trip on the Wingecarribee to catch several fish in the 2-3 kg range.

Moss Vale is over 100 kilometers south of Sydney and still has the quaint village atmosphere and friendly local folk, just as it would have in its early days. The Southern Highlands hosts many annual festivals and events. Tom and I were fortunate enough to be in the area for the Wine, Art and Roses Festival, an annual event that highlights the best of the magnificent gardens, local artists and renowned cool climate wineries.

Tom and I arranged to meet up with Janice (nee McMillan) and her husband Colin Burrows and their son Jeff at “Back ‘o the Moon” gardens, Moss Vale on Saturday, 15th November 2008. “Back ‘o the Moon” is a 3 acre garden and is not the most lavish garden in the Southern Highland however it features extensive lawns set amongst large pine trees and woodland areas.

The garden is planted with a variety of exotic specimen trees such as flowering cherries, dogwood, manchurian pears, maples and a grove of birches but, there is a noticeable absence of the Aussie gum tree.

Brenda Dayman, the owner, developed this garden over a period of 12 years.

Other features are a fragrant lilac walk that leads from a 16th-century French style parterre to the pond garden, complete with a rowboat.

The garden hosts a fine collection of bearded irises and perennial borders that overlook the surrounding paddocks and cow pastures. The garden has some other traditional elements of sculptures and a flowering vine covered arbor. The outstanding feature of the gardens is the formal garden section planted with 300 species of hybrid and David Austin roses.

Tom enjoying the parterre

Now you may be asking yourself how this fits into "Daltons in History". Janice and I share a common Dalton ancestor, Mathew Dalton. Mathew Dalton was a convict to Port Jackson, New South Wales from Dublin, Ireland in 1828. In 1840 Mathew Dalton married Jane Grier, also a convict, and they had 16 children. Their oldest daughter was Mary Jane Dalton. Mary Jane married the Scotsman Robert McMillan and they are Janice’s great grandparents. My 2 x great grandfather, John James Dalton, was the second son of convicts Mathew and Jane, therefore John James Dalton and Mary Jane McMillan nee Dalton were siblings.

Janice and I are both family history research obsessed. Janice, who, lives in coastal New South Wales, tracked me down by e-mail while Tom and I were travelling in Europe in 2007 and we have enjoyed regular e-mail contact and some enjoyable get togethers and meals since our initial contact. On our get togethers, Janice’s husband Colin and my long-suffering husband Tom chat about “bloke stuff” while Janice and I discuss family history and recent developments in our research. Being able to share information as well as meet and chat face to face with people such as Janice makes family history research more personal and meaningful and adds an element of reality to our research.

After meandering around the lawns and lovely rose gardens and browsing round the excellent local art and photographic display at “Back ‘o the Moon” we all drove a few kilometers to Mt. Ashby Estate, one of the many boutique wineries in the Moss Vale area. At Mt. Ashby, we all partook in wine tasting and afterwards enjoyed a delicious lunch in the French Provincial style setting of the Cellar Door and Restaurant. Mt. Ashby vineyards produce Pinot Gris, Merlot and Chardonnay. We all purchased some wine to remind us of a great day on the Southern Highlands.

Left to right: Jeff, Colin and Janice Burrows and Gerry Dalton

Tom took the family group photo just outside the quaint Cellar Door and Restaurant, which is the white building with the chimney. The other building in the background is an unused, partly disassembled windmill. Some of the grape vines were located just to the left and out of the photo.

Pat Baker contacted Janice around the time of our lovely day at the Wine, Art and Roses Festival. Pat read a request for family information that Janice had placed in the Sydney Daily Telegraph “In Search” column.

Pat descends from Martha Dalton, another daughter of convicts Jane and Mathew Dalton. Martha Dalton’s first husband was Andrew Johnson. Martha and Andrew had one son whose name was Andrew Dalton Johnson. Pat is the great granddaughter of Martha (nee Dalton) and Andrew Johnson.

Pat, Janice and I arranged to meet for lunch at a location central to all of us, which was Campbelltown, on 8th December 2008. Pat suggested we meet and have lunch at the Catholic Club. As both our convicts were recorded as being Roman Catholic on their respective Convict Indents, it seemed very appropriate to meet at the Catholic Club. What an enjoyable time we all had chatting and exchanging family information. Our husbands found plenty of things to discuss and there was not a quiet moment.

Left to right: Tom Wood, Gerry Dalton, Pat Baker, behind Pat is her husband Hal Baker and to the right is Colin and Janice Burrows

A woman who was dining at an adjoining table kindly took this photo. Laughter abounded when we told the other diners that we all descended from the same convicts and they asked if we still had the ball and chains attached.

It is such a bonus for Tom and I to be able to combine our travel with Dalton Family History Research and get togethers with family members. This gives us a fantastic opportunity to expand our family knowledge and increase our personal Dalton Family data bank with more information and photos as well as connecting with relatives, no matter how distant the connection is between us. We view these small family gatherings as making our own history and we are preparing data and photographic records for the future.

Tom and I are constantly amazed at how similar I am in looks, outlook, attitude and some health issues to my female relatives. Even though we have never met previously, the similarities are astounding and that make the connection so real and not just a part of a genealogical paper trail.

In the August 2008 edition of "Daltons in History" was a transcription regarding Reverend Joseph Dalton, a Jesuit Priest who came to Australia from Ireland.

Tom and I were searching for some information on my own Dalton family in the historical New South Wales Police Gazettes. We came across this interesting information and thought it appropriate to transcribe the following information regarding the Reverend Father Joseph Dalton for "Daltons in History".

New South Wales Police Gazette 1879
Page 16, 8 January, 1879

Lane Cove – Between the hours of 7 and 9 a.m. on the 28 ultimo, 6 orange and 5 apple trees, valued at £200, were willfully destroyed on the premises of Revd. Joseph Dalton, Lane Cove River, Lane Cove

Page 22, 15 January, 1879

Vide Police Gazette Page 16, 8 January, 1879

Lane Cove - The Rev. Joseph Dalton offers a reward of £20 for information leading to the apprehension and conviction of the person or persons who destroyed his fruit trees.

New South Wales Police Gazette 1887

Page 112, 6 April, 1887

Thomas Charles Edwards, charged with uttering to John Joseph Ryan a forged cheque on the Australian Joint Stock Bank, Sydney for £13 14s, purporting to be signed by the Rev. Joseph Dalton, has been arrested by Senior-constables Granville and Roche, Sydney Police. Offender was further charged with uttering to William Martin a forged cheque £14 18s. Committed for trial at Quarter Sessions on both charges.

Some extra information:

In 1878, Father Joseph Dalton acquired land in Lane Cove and established St Ignatius Riverview College, and by 1880, 12 students were in attendance. The famous imposing classical structure, which continues to dominate the view from the river, was added in 1889. Riverview continues to produce academic excellence today, under the instruction of the Jesuit Fathers.

The full history can be read on the Colleges website: www.riverview.nsw.edu.au/

From Gerry Dalton

1. This the only record of a Scottish born person appearing on the Australian WW2 Nominal Roll. Looks like he served in the Australian Navy:

Service Record:

Name: DALTON, William

Service: Royal Australian Navy

Service Number: 14138

Date of Birth: 2 Nov 1900

Place of Birth: GLASGOW, SCOTLAND

Date of Enlistment: 21 Dec 1923

Locality of Enlistment: UNKNOWN, SCOTLAND

Home Port/Port Division: FREEMANTLE

Next of Kin: DALTON, WINIFRED

Date of Discharge: 26 Aug 1942

Rank: SHIPT I

Posting at Discharge: PENGUIN II

WW2 Honours and Gallantry: None for Display

Prisoner of War: No

From the records of the World War II Nominal Roll at: www.ww2roll.gov.au/

There are 460 records of DALTON appearing on the Nominal Roll.

2. New South Wales Police Gazette, 1897

Page 153, 28 April, 1897

Missing Friends

John Dalton, about 26 years of age, 5 feet 8 inches high, stout square build, clean shaven except dark brown moustache, dark brown hair and eyes; a native of Invercargill, New Zealand. Last heard of December 1896 when he was a fireman on the SS "Warrimoo". Information to Mataura (N.Z.) Police.

3. Now a bit of humour rather than history, for a change:

Hourly calorie consumption of genealogical activities:

Beating around the Bush 75

Jumping to conclusions 100

Climbing the walls 150

Passing the Buck 25

Dragging your heels 100

Bending over backwards 75

Running around in circles 350

Quoted in the Family Tree, Odom Library, from the Genealogical Unlimited Society, Inc. in Valdosta, GA.

This article was submitted by Howard Dalton, Yorkshire. He picked it up in a Family History Record Office in Australia.

IMMIGRATION

A number of assisted immigration schemes were in use to Australia and New Zealand. They include:

1. Assisted Passage

The most common form of assisted passage was where colonial government subsidised the passage fare and the intending immigrant paid a contribution. The Australian Commonwealth Government continued the scheme until recently with the immigrant's contribution being ten pounds.

2. Free Passage

Depending upon the labour market some colonial governments provided free passage to particular employment categories. Free passage was also offered with a number of immigration schemes, e.g. war brides and for displaced persons from Eatern Europe after WWII.

3. Nominated or Remittance Passage

Residents of the colony could provide the fare of a friend or relation in Europe and the government representative would arrange a passage. This scheme was used in Queensland.

4. Bounty Scheme

Established in New South Wales in 1837, the bounty scheme involved the payment of a set amount for the passage of certain categories of immigrant e.g. domestic servant, agricultural labourers, which were needed in the colony. The fare was financed from the sale of crown land.

5. Indentured Immigrant

An employer paid the government a sum of money for the passage of an immigrant and the immigrant was bound under contract to work for the employer for a set period of time. This scheme was used in Queensland.

6. Unassisted Immigrant

A significant number of immigrants have arrived in Australia and New Zealand having paid their own passage. Often these were able to for first or second-class cabins while assisted immigrants were in steerage. In the 19th Century where passenger lists have not survived the only record of their arrival are the newspaper lists of ships passengers.

From Ciaran Dalton, Clan Chieftan and Irish Secretary

As we draw closer to the D.G.S 2009 Gathering at Duntryleague, Orange, N.S.W. and reflecting on the life of James Dalton of Limerick/Orange, transported from Ireland, I wondered perhaps if many other Irish Daltons had been transported. Fortunately most of the convict records of this period, that is from the late 18c to the mid 19c, have survived intact including the Transportation Registers. Searching the Net for further information I found a wonderful site in the Irish National Archives, www.nationalarchives.ie/topics/transportation/transp1.html.

Included was an interesting and informative essay by Rena Lohan entitled "Sources in the National Archive for Research into the Transportation of Irish Convicts to Australia (1791-1853)". In it the author gives a history of Irish transportation to Australia and lists for us the many primary source documents available on the subject. It is said that over 160,000 men and women were sent from the British Isles including 26-30,000 Irish. Approximately 49 Daltons surfaced on my search of this site. Included in many of the profiles was the age, place and date of trial, crime description and sentence and in some cases, the title of the ship. In a few examples aliases are shown. It should be noted, however, that the place of trial was not necessarily the county of origin of the defendants. For the purpose of this brief extract I have utilised these four headings, but more information can be gleaned from the above mentioned website. Among the Daltons listed are the following:

Name: Michael Dalton, Place of Trial: Co. Kerry, Crime: Larceny, Trial Date: 22/10/1851

Name: Michael Dalton, Place of Trial: Waterford, Crime: Sheep Stealing, Trial Date: 10/04/1848

Name: Nicholas Dalton, Place of Trial: Kilkenny, Crime: Larceny, Trial Date: 08/01/1848

Name: Patrick Dalton (alias John Byrne), Place of Trial: Co. Dublin, Crime: Felony, Trial Date: 12/01/1846

Name: Patrick Dalton, Place of Trial: Kilkenny, Crime: Cattle stealing, Trial Date: 30/10/1850

Name: Patrick Dalton (alias Mulligan), Place of Trial: Dublin City, Crime: Larceny and Former Conviction, Trial Date: 26/10/1852

As we can see many of the crimes were of a general nature, although there were of course a number transported for political crimes.

To be continued.......

Convicts awaiting Transportation

It may be a bit early, but best wishes for a Happy Valentine's Day!

Work is ongoing on the Dalton Data Bank to add new information. In mid-January, we added approximately 850 records of births, marriages and deaths for Newfoundland. This was contributed by Everett J. Dalton, Kamloops, British Columbia; thank you Everett for sharing all your hard work. The records focus on the Daltons of the St. Johns area. This is a valuable resource for any members who have traced their Dalton origins to Newfoundland.

Also thank you to Rodney Dalton in Utah for contributing his work on the History of the Daltons. Rodney's article, "A Story of Cwrt Pembre or Pembrey Court in Pembrey, Carmarthenshire" was added to the Data Bank in January. The article provides a detailed history of the castle at Pembrey or Pembrey Court. It also traces how the land and castle changed hands over time, and how the Daltons and the Vaughns came to be connected with this place. These Daltons, and some related families, are the ancestors of Thomas Dalton, 1731, who came to America in 1757-1760.

Rodney has also shared "Ogden Utah Newspaper Abstracts 1879-1906". This data set includes all newspaper articles which reference the name "Dalton". The articles and abstracts were taken mainly form the Ogden Standard Examiner. Even if you are not connected to the Utah Daltons, the abstracts make for fascinating reading and provide a wonderful glimpse into life in Utah during this period. This is the time just before and after Utah became a State in 1896.

Here is a short selection of the abstracts:

NOTICE:
TAKEN UP - "On the Church Farm, two Monly Steers, about 1 year old; one a dark red, and the other a light red, having a small crop off the right ear, and two slits in the same; supposed to have come in this year. The owner will please call, pay charges and take them away".

JOHN DALTON, Church Farm
-- Source: Deseret News dated Sept. 18, 1852

DIED:
Dalton - In this city of measles, on Wednesday, April 26, 1882, Clara Estella, daughter of J. L. Dalton.
The deceased was born March 26th, 1869, and was 13 years and one month old. The funeral services were held at the family residence, on Thursday, April 27th, when addresses appropriate to the occassion were delivered by Elder E Tilloison and Bishop N. C. Flygare.

This is the second daughter of whom Mr. and Mrs. Dalton have been bereaved within a few days past, by the same disease. We tender the afflicted parents our sincere condolence. We sympathize with them in the loss they have sustained in the death of their children.

-- Source: From the Ogden Standard Examiner dated Apr. 28, 1882.

DROWNED:
A few days ago an aged man named Charles W. Dalton of Beaver fell into an irrigation canal near his residence being enfeebled at the time of the accident from having been effected with chills, he was unable to get got out of the water. When found, life was so nearly extinct that all efforts at resuscitation failed and he expired shortly afterwards. The particulars are given in the Beaver County record.
-- Source: Deseret News dated Jul. 18, 1883

A BARN BURNS:
On Friday evening, during the performance of Louis XI, the audience was startled by hearing the fire alarm. The department was out in a few seconds, easily locating the blaze on Madison between Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh. It was a small barn in the rear of the large one owned by Mr. J. L. Dalton and was stored by Farr, Sears & Company. The fire was soon put out and the building left standing, though the seed is probably destroyed. Estimated loss is $800. Mr. and Mrs. Dalton are said to be in Logan. Spontaneous combustion is alleged to be the cause of the fire.
-- Source: From the Ogden Standard Examiner - Dated Apr. 10, 1891

DEATHS:
J. L. Dalton, a former resident of Ogden, died in Pocatello, Wednesday afternoon. He had been an invalid for two years, following an operation. He leaves a wife, three sons and three daughters in Ogden and a daughter in Montana. He was born in Nauvoo in 1842, immigrated to Salt Lake in 1849, resided later in Centerville and Hooper, and finally located in Ogden 28 years ago. He was at one time a freighter and contractor for the Z. C. M. I. (Zion Cooperative Mercantile Institution, one of America's first department stores). And took an active part in the pioneer work of up-building Utah. The date or place of funeral has not been fixed.
-- Source: The Ogden Standard Examiner - Date 12-31-1908

Finally, a link has been added to the Irish Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Pilot Site www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp. The work to make these indexes available on-line was done by volunteers for the FamilySearch.org web site. The site is still a "pilot project", meaning that the work is still in the development stages. The indexes cover both the Republic of Ireland and and Northern Ireland.

A word on record coverage, from the FamilySearch.org site: "Irish civil registration indexes begin in 1845 for non-Catholic marriages. Civil registration indexes to birth, death, and all marriages (including Catholic) begin in 1864. Indexes for all of Ireland continue from these beginning dates through 1921 when Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland became separate countries. Separate civil registration birth, marriage, and death indexes for the two counties continue from 1922 through the present.

Irish civil registration indexes include the great majority of all births, marriages, and deaths in Ireland since 1864, and the great majority of non-Catholic marriages since 1845. In the early years of registration, a significant number of events, especially births, went unregistered. Some persons who appear in the civil registration records do not appear in the civil registration indexes because they were accidentally missed or incorrectly transcribed."

The link on the Home Page of the Data Bank, under "Most-recently updated Pages", will take you directly to all of these new additions. And again, many thanks to Everett and Rodney for generously sharing their research with all of us!

If you would like to share your own research with the Dalton Data Bank, please contact me at karen@golden-hills.com, or David at dpreston@golden-hills.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

With all best wishes,

Karen Dalton Preston
Assistant Secretary for North America

Thank you to all who have contributed to the February 2009 issue of “Daltons in History”. Mel and I hope you are all keeping well.

As you can see, this issue relies heavily on Australian content with most of the contributions coming from our two happy wanderers. We must also thank all the other contributors and would like to request contributions from all our members.

Please continue to send to me any ideas for future articles and also keep looking for any information to include in the Dalton Strays section.

Contributions for the March issue need to be with me no later than 20th Febuary 2009. (e-mail: dairneirwin@ntlworld.com).