Introduction

Greetings to all our readers, wherever you may be!

August has been another busy month for the DGS, the highlight being our weekend gathering in Lancashire for the Society’s AGM. The notes below include more about this together with the usual updates to keep you fully informed about all our various DGS activities.

Before that though some news "hot off the press". I am delighted to announce that the Dalton Genealogical Society has won an award as Highly Commended in the Federation of Family History Societies Best Website Awards for 2009. It was back in April that we entered our website for this annual award and the results were announced at the Federation General Meeting on Saturday, 29th August 2009 in Nottingham. This recognition has been received by the DGS Officers and Committee with much pleasure and we all want to thank Martin Fitzgerald and David Preston for their untiring efforts over the past months in establishing and maintaining our website in its current format. The main website, together with the "Dalton Data Bank" and the "Dalton Forum" are a great credit to them, and to all those who contribute material on a regular basis. Without these contributions, the website would be but a shadow of what it is, and I firmly believe that the DGS website is amongst the most vibrant one name society websites with so much new material being uploaded every month. So thank you to you all and a special thank you again to Martin and to David.

2009 Annual General Meeting

On Saturday 22nd/Sunday 23rd August 2009 the DGS Annual General Meeting and weekend took place in Lancashire, England. The weekend proved to be a great success and was much enjoyed by all those who attended. Apart from the AGM itself, which was held on the Saturday morning, delegates visited Queen Street Mill in nearby Burnley on Saturday afternoon, attended the AGM dinner on Saturday evening and then, on Sunday, visited Thurnham Hall and Cockersand Abbey. Thanks go to John Dalton, Editor of the DGS Journal, and his wife Sheila for making all the arrangements for this weekend.

A diary of the weekend will be found below, together with some photographs, and in next month’s "Daltons in History" we will publish the minutes of the AGM. All of this will also find its way into the "Past Gatherings Archive" and the "Photo Gallery" on the website.

Future DGS events

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 2010. Arrangements have 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 is currently under way and further details will be announced here in "Daltons in History" towards the end of the year, and in the next issue of the DGS Journal (Volume 51). 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 we have arranged for the DGS Annual Gathering to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA over the weekend of Fri/Sat/Sun 14th/15th/16th October 2011. This will be another very special event and I am most grateful to our North American Secretary, Karen Dalton Preston, for undertaking to be the gathering organiser. Karen and her team are now putting the more detailed plans in place and these will be announced here in "Daltons in History" in due course.

The 2011 DGS Annual General Meeting will be held in the UK earlier in the year and an announcement about that will be made later.

For 2012 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)

As has already been reported 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. As part of the Orange conference, I gave a presentation which previewed its contents. This presentation may now be viewed here on our website in the Photo/Video Gallery. I have almost completed the detailed checking, editing and finalising of the document prior to its distribution to all participants. The distribution by email is scheduled to take place soon.

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.

During August, I have distributed the relevant sections of the report in draft form to the members of a number of genetic families. This is enabling individual groups to focus on taking their research forward, both with further genetic testing and using traditional research methods.

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 shortly. 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. During the past few months we have received an encouraging number of enquiries and there are now a number of new participants in the pipeline and a stream of further results coming through from Family Tree DNA.

The DGS Journal

Volume 50 of the DGS Journal (for June 2009) was distributed in early July and all DGS members should have received their copy. If you have not received yours please contact your local secretary by email immediately. At the AGM, John Dalton, our Editor, asked for further contributions of material for the Journal. Volume 51 (for December 2009) will be published at the end of the year and contributions need to be with John by mid-November at the latest.

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 50 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 October.

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

Michael Dalton gives his personal account of the Dalton Genealogical Society’s Annual General Meeting and weekend gathering for 2009 held in Lancashire, England from Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd August 2009.

Friday, 21st August 2009

Kate and I arrived at the Swallow Hotel at Samlesbury near Preston in Lancashire in the late afternoon after a journey from Warwickshire where we had stayed the previous night. We came through torrential rain on the M6 motorway – it always seems to rain on Fridays when we are travelling! However it brightened up in the early afternoon and this gave us the opportunity to revisit the villages of Croston and Rufford, both of which have strong Dalton links.

The Swallow Hotel felt familiar as we had stayed there previously for the Annual DGS Gathering in 2004, so we were soon settled in and enjoying a swim in the indoor pool. At 7.00 pm delegates met for a pre-dinner drink and then 15 of us sat down for an enjoyable dinner and the opportunity to catch up with each other’s news.

Saturday, 22nd August 2009

After breakfast, it was a 9.00 am departure for Oswaldtwistle and the Library & Research Centre of the Lancashire Family History & Heraldry Society, which John Dalton, Editor of the DGS Journal and organiser of the weekend, had arranged as the venue for our AGM. We were joined there by other delegates who lived locally and were not staying at the Swallow. We are most grateful to the LFHHS for allowing us to use their Centre, which, although small, is well organised with a good stock of books and journals and excellent computer facilities with PCs connected to the internet.

Howard Dalton explains an intricate genealogical point to Jane Dalton

These provided the opportunity for delegates to explore various websites including our own DGS site at www.daltongensoc.com. I was able to explain different aspects of what is available and, in particular, on the Family Tree DNA website, demonstrate how genetic distance can be used to identify how far back to look for a common ancestor. I was able to talk to small groups from three genetic families in the Dalton International DNA Project as follows:

• Genetic Family E was represented by Edna Redpath, her grand daughter Hannah Redpath, and Margaret Deyes. They all descend from Daltons of Croston, Lancashire.

Cousins Edna Redpath and Margaret Deyes in earnest conversation

• Genetic Family Y was represented by John Dalton and Audrey Dalton (wife of David Dalton) – this group is descended from Daltons of Oldham, Lancashire.

• Genetic Family Z was represented by the two Howard Daltons (Howard from near Pickering in Yorkshire and our past Treasurer and Howard J from Poole in Dorset, our minutes secretary). Their Dalton ancestors come from Yorkshire and Buckinghamshire respectively and there is more research work to be undertaken to establish how they might be connected.

This informal time focusing on how the internet helps the family historian proved very valuable and was over all too soon.

The Chairman preparing for the AGM

At 11.15 am, after coffee and Sheila’s very good homemade gingerbread, I opened the Annual General Meeting.

The full minutes of this meeting will be published in "Daltons in History" next month. I was able to give a very upbeat report on the Society’s activities since the last AGM in June 2008. The undoubted highlights were the gatherings in Birr, Co Offaly, Ireland last year and in Orange, New South Wales, Australia earlier this year. The Journal and "Daltons in History" are flourishing and our website is ever expanding. The DNA project continues apace and our finances are in good health. None of this can happen without the dedicated effort of all our officers, committee and other helpers. The AGM gives me an opportunity to thank them all for what they do. All the present officers and committee offered themselves for re-election and were elected again unanimously. With much to report and discuss, the meeting concluded just in time for the arrival of hot Lancashire potato pie for our lunch and delicious it was too. Well done Sheila!

Queen Street Mill Textile Museum

In the afternoon we all travelled over to the Queen Street Mill Textile Museum at Harle Syke on the other side of Burnley. Here we were treated to a fascinating tour of the last surviving 19th century steam powered weaving mill.

Delegates viewing the weaving machines - there are 380 of them

As we were taken round, we all thought about the conditions that workers in the mills had to endure and remembered that the livelihood of many Dalton ancestors in the Oldham Dalton branch of the family depended on being employed in places such as Queen Street Mill.

The steam engine that drives the whole mill

After a cup of tea we returned to the Swallow Hotel and readied ourselves for the AGM Dinner, described on the programme as “with a Lancashire flavour”. We all enjoyed an excellent dinner and then the Lancashire flavour became clear. John, suitably attired in a waistcoat that his grandfather might have worn, regaled us with reminiscences and readings about life in the mills as his forebears had known it – and all in John’s inimitable Lancashire accent!

John Dalton in costume... but which era!!

Full marks to John, and a round of applause, for this further insight into what the mills meant to so many. After dinner we were able to retire to the lounge, and continue our discussions and chat. A very sociable group made it an evening to remember.

Sunday, 23rd August 2009

A leisurely breakfast this morning and departure for Thurnham around 10.30 am. Kate and I wanted to visit Glasson Dock and Cockersand Abbey before meeting up for lunch at the Thurnham Mill Inn.

Datails of Cockersand Abbey

Chapter House at Cockersand Abbey looking westwards

Unfortunately it had not proved possible to book lunch at Thurnham Hall itself owing to a large christening party taking over the dining room. Never mind we had a very good lunch at Thurnham Mill and met up with John Regan, the local historian who had agreed to take the party on a tour of the Hall and then Cockersand Abbey. Kate and I were not able to stay for the Cockersand Abbey visit as we had to travel south to Cheshire to meet up with friends and a canal boat – hence our visit in the morning!

Thurnham Mill for Lunch

Then to Thurnham Hall

Our local historian gave us a fascinating tour of the outside of the Hall and, with his impressive knowledge of the history of the Daltons of Thurnham, he was able to give us a good insight into how the Daltons lived at Thurnham Hall from the mid 16th Century until 1983, when with the death of Alzira Dalton, the line came to an end.

John Regan, our local historian, explains the history of the Hall to delegates

The North facing facade of the Hall tells a story

Thurnham Hall and Cockersand Abbey are inextricably entwined with Dalton family history and over the years much has been written about both. It would be good to have a more in depth article from John Regan, and perhaps we can persuade him to write one for us. I hope so.

We were joined by a duck and her young family....

....but they decided that perhaps the history of the Hall was not for them!!

So concluded a most successful weekend. Although it was attended by a relatively small group of DGS members, the intimacy of the group enabled us all to get to know one another better and share that unique experience which is a Dalton gathering.

John and Sheila Dalton

Again, many thanks to John and Sheila Dalton for all their thought and hard work which made it such a success.

From Howard J Dalton

Bournemouth, on the south coast of England, celebrates its bicentennial year in 2010. It became renowned for natural chines and pine trees in the Victorian age and attracted those seeking better health. By the late 1880’s the residential suburb of Westbourne had developed between Bournemouth and Poole, and around 1896 there came to live William Henry Dalton, his wife Mary Emma nee Cook, and their family.

His background was unusual. He succeeded to the Manor of Thurnham, Lancashire, after the deaths of eleven relatives including his second cousin, Sir Gerald Dalton Fitzgerald. William was poor and the estate at Thurnham had been allowed to fall into disrepair. He had no direct link with his ancestral home as he had spent much of his life in America, Brazil and Argentina. William had taken an American wife, daughter of a slave owner, and at least three of his family of two sons and six daughters were born in Argentina and spoke Spanish fluently. My natural interest in Bournemouth as my own birthplace made me seek more information about the family and I visited our excellent Local Studies Section of the modern Bournemouth Central Library.

The first mention that I could discover was in the Burgess Electoral Roll for 1897-8. William Henry and his family lived at 'The Ferns', Alumhurst Road, (now demolished), close to the shopping parade in Westbourne. The 1901 census has the following entry:

'The Ferns', Alumhurst Road, Westbourne.

Mary E. Dalton Head Wife aged 48 yrs. Living on her own means b. America (Brit. Subj.)
Laura M Dalton Dghtr S aged 23 yrs. Living on her own means b. Argentina (Brit. Subj.)
Lola M Dalton Dghtr S aged 18 yrs. Living on her own means b. Argentina (Brit. Subj.)
Alzira Dalton Dghtr S aged 11 yrs. Living on her own means b. Argentina (Brit. Subj.)
Evaline Dalton Dghtr S aged 8 yrs. Living on her own means b.“on the high seas”

Another daughter, Liila Marion, born in Buenos Ayres on 25th July 1880, had died aged 16 years at Bournemouth on 28th December 1896, and her death was registered at Christchurch Registry Office. She was buried in Wimborne Road Cemetery, Bournemouth, by John Patterson, Clerk, Curate of St Ambrose, Bournemouth.

The last entry I could find for the family was at the same address in the Visitors Directory for 2nd April 1902. The property then passed into the ownership of Mr. E. H. Mooring Aldridge, a well known local solicitor. Mary Emma Dalton died at Thurnham Hall on 6th June 1945 and was buried at Lancaster Cemetery. The departure of the family from Westbourne was probably brought about by the death of William Henry in 1902 at Thurnham. His body was brought to Bournemouth for burial beside his daughter, Lilla, in the Wimborne Road Cemetery. The internment took place on 16th May 1902 and was performed by Charled Edward Gollen, Clerk. (The headstone, depicting an angel supporting a cross stands today).

The eldest son, John Henry, succeeded to the estate implementing some refurbishment to the property and was followed after his death in 1937 by his brother, William Augustus, who died in 1965. The estate then passed to the eldest surviving sister, Eda Florence, and after her death in 1971 to Alzira Eloise Dalton who continued living at Thurnham Hall until she moved into a cottage on the estate where she died in 1983. The ancient link with the Dalton family came to an end with the purchase of the Hall by Mr. And Mrs. Stanley Crabtree who carried out extensive refurbishment to the property.

I had little idea when visiting Thurnham for the first time at the DGS Lancashire Gathering in 2004 that members of the Thurnham Daltons had for a time resided just a few yards from my present home close to Westbourne and a short distance from the house called 'Skerryvore' (bombed in the Second World War but now kept as a memorial garden) where between the years 1884-87 Robert Louis Stevenson wrote “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” and “Kidnapped”!

Recent Dalton Pedigree of Thurnham Hall

From Gerry Dalton and Tom Wood - we have returned!!

Tom and I are spending the last 6 weeks of the Australian winter in the beautiful Hunter Valley of New South Wales. The Hunter is an area renowned for not only its natural beauty but also its fine wines, food and festivals. The days have been gloriously sunny with cool crisp nights and the occasional frost.

Our travel journal challenge is to base stories around how Dalton family history research and our meanderings and travels all fit together in our lives. During this past month, we have not done any new Dalton Family history research and are enjoying a quiet time relaxing and enjoying the peace and tranquility of the outer reaches of the Hunter Valley and attending local festivals and events. We have limited internet available, therefore we prepare emails and send them when we go to town or an area where we have signal. Our mobile internet’s major drawback is that we cannot use it everywhere we travel but as technology improves this could change.

With our internet not operating at the property we are care taking we’ve taken the time to do some file cleansing and trying to catch up with the data entry into the genealogical software, The Master Genealogist. The other thing we have been doing is going through our “things to do” list, preparing email enquiries, and writing letters seeking further family history information.

While sorting through the Dalton files on our computer we came across a photo of the Dalton Chapel at Saint Ignatius College, Riverview, New South Wales that a fellow researcher recently sent us. The chapel was named in honour of Father Joseph Dalton the Jesuit Priest who was one of the founders of Saint Ignatius College. We have written about Father Joseph Dalton in previous issues and we continue to find information relating to him.

The black and white copy of a photo above shows the interior of Dalton Chapel at Saint Ignatius College near Sydney

We’ve had a further development in the research of one of my Dalton branches. In 1840 an Irish Roman Catholic family with the surname of Farrelly were in Liverpool, England and boarded the barque Margaret which departed Liverpool on 23 October 1840 arriving in Sydney, New South Wales on 28 March 1841. The Margaret sailed to Sydney via the Cape of Good Hope with 246 emigrants on board. Amongst those on board the Margaret were Jane Farrelly (nee Cassidy) widow, her sons John, Michael, Charles and Patrick and daughters Catherine and Anne. The children were all assisted migrants and at this stage of our research it appears Jane paid her own passage. The Immigration records of the Farrelly children described them as being born at St Paul’s, Dublin, Ireland. One of the sons, Charles Farrelly, married Anne Mary Dalton at The Curragh near Trunkey Creek in 1875. This was over 30 years after he immigrated to Australia. Charles and Anne had six children. Anne died when the youngest child was only 2 years old in 1884 and buried in an unmarked grave at the Trunkey Creek cemetery.

It appears Charles was the only one of the Farrelly children to marry. We have found documents to suggest that Charles and two of his brothers Patrick and Michael remained in very close contact despite the distance between their residences. Charles was present when his brother Michael died in the city of Sydney in 1882 and he was present when his younger brother Patrick died near township of Bigga in New South Wales in 1898, which was just a few months prior Charles death.

If anyone has any information on St Paul’s, Dublin, Ireland, and in particular prior to 1840 we would very much appreciate you contacting us on email: tomngerrytravel@hotmail.com

From Maureen Collins our Australian and New Zealand Secretary

I have found amongst papers here in England an article from the Daily Telegraph of March 19, 2007. It is very interesting from a "Daltons in History" point of view I think. It caught my eye as my Great Grandfather (not Dalton side) died in the 2nd Afghan War with many of the Royal Horse Artillery. In essence the article is about Lt Col Anthony Lake, retired British Infantry officer, launching the Overseas Cemeteries Trust, backed by the Duke of Edinburgh, and inspired by Lt Col Lake who discovered army gravestones in Afghanistan in a bad state of repair.

Although the Commonwealth War Graves Commission does a wonderful job it’s care extends only to World Wars I and II and very little else. This leaves cemeteries in India, Afghanistan, the Crimea, Waterloo and so on with little or no preservation at all aside from a small charity, the British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia, set up in 1976 with a minimal annual budget from private donations.

Depending on your email programme, you may be able to click on the link below if you wish to read the article in full. Alternatively, you may have to open a web browser, such as Firefox or Internet Explorer, and copy the link over into the address bar.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/3631745/Preserve-these-little-pockets-of-history.html

From Mike Dalton of Oregon, USA

The following is the obituary for Fr. Patrick Dalton, the subject of last month's article.

South Bend Tribune South Bend, Indiana Dated August 20, 1939; Section 4, Page 6:

Father Patrick J. Dalton died in Ireland on August 19, 1939. He was buried with family members at Killehenny Burial Ground, Ballybunnion Townland, County Kerry, Ireland. A timeline biography of his life appeared in the August, 2009 issue of "Daltons in History".

What follows is the exact wording of the newspaper obituary:

PRIEST OF N. D. DIES IN IRELAND
Rev. Patrick J. Dalton, C. S. C., aged 63, chaplain of Reitz Memorial High school, Evansville, Ind; died suddenly of a heart attack while spending his summer vacation in his native Bally Bunnion, Ireland, according to a cable received Saturday at the University of Notre Dame. He had started on his return journey to the United States.

In a farewell sermon last week, Father Dalton spoke of his impending return to America and said "I suppose this will be the last sermon I will give in this church where I served as an altar boy 50 years ago."

Father Dalton, who was born in Kerry, Ireland, March 16, 1876, entered the novitiate at Notre Dame, Aug. 15, 1897, and was ordained priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, June 21, 1901. Before taking the post at Evansville, where he had spent one year, Father Dalton was pastor of a parish in Henderson, Ky., and chaplain of the Louisville, Ky., cathedral.

Surviving him are two brothers, James D. Dalton of Pittsburgh, Pa., and John Dalton of Cleveland, Oh., and a sister, Mrs. Margaret Teague of Pittsburgh.

A solemn requiem mass will be said for Father Dalton Monday morning in Ireland, where he will be buried.

This article is based on information supplied by Bill Dalton rnbill@centurytel.net.

Bill has two Dalton lines in his family – his line is from Surrey, England and the other is an Irish Catholic line that married one of his grandmother’s sisters.

His research has shown that a cousin, Minnie Abbott nee Dalton, was a union agitator and organiser in the early 1900’s. But who was Minnie?

She was named Marinda “Minnie” Celia Dalton, the daughter of William Henry Dalton and Celia A. Johnson, born in Huron County, Ohio on November 19th 1871. She died on January 3rd 1957 in Berkley, Alameda County, California aged 85 years.

Little is known about her early years but in the 1880 US census there is a Marinda aged 9 years listed in the household of her father (in the house of her grandfather) in Wakeman. A family member says that Marinda Dalton was found in an entry in the 1886 - 1887 city directory living with her father in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In the years that she was listed to 1890 her name is Merinda C.

She also appears on March 12th 1889 in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan where she is recorded as marrying William “Billy” Abbott at the “Pres P.E. Church”. They were married by a Sidney H. Woodford, witnesses being Herbert and Nettie Abbott, possibly relatives of the husband. On the marriage record he is listed as a brick mason and she has no occupation listed. William was born in New York in 1866, the son of John Abbott and Laura Holden. In the 1890 city directory for Grand Rapids he is listed as a mason at 184 E Bridge, the following year as a stone mason now living at 377 N Lafayette, only a few blocks from the previous address. He continues to appear in the 1892-1894 directories. It is thought that the family left Grand Rapids 1894-1895.

William Abbott has not been found in the 1900 or subsequent censuses. Minnie has also not been found in the 1900 census but apparently she was counted amongst the 12 living children of the family in that census. In the 1910 census for Nye County, Precint 1 of Tonopah, Nevada there is a Minnie Abbott listed aged 38, born 1872 Ohio, who is a boarding house keeper. She is married (not widowed or divorced) but there is no mention of a husband. It states that it is her first marriage and that she has been married for 21 years, details which could tally with our Minnie. The record also shows that she had no children. This building is on Main Street but no specific address is given. It also says that her father is Canadian/English and that her mother is born in Ohio. Minnie Abbott rents the building from which she lets out rooms to 18 lodgers – 17 men and 1 woman with her husband.

A member of Bill’s family said Aunt Min went to California, where a death record was found but with the surname Dalton. Did she divorce, it is not known? Did she marry again? How did she become a union organiser and activist leading to the events of 1914-1915? The story will be continued in the October "Daltons in History".

From Millicent Craig, Honorary Vice-President, DGS

Mary Katherine Williams, CPS, died Aug 11, 2009 in Morrilton, Arkansas. She was the beloved spouse of Archie E. Dalton (of James A. Dalton, tracing his ancestry back to Reuben Dalton of Virginia). She was diagnosed the previous Thursday with pancreatic cancer that had spread. She died peacefully in her sleep.

She was born in Russellville, Arkansas on April 9, 1929, the daughter of Lamar and Mary Pearl Kendrick Williams. She was preceded in death by her parents, twin sisters, sister Cleotha Hallman (Dibbrell), and brothers Junior and Don. She is survived by her devoted husband of 25 years, Archie E. Dalton, brother Raymond E Williams, Sr (Rose), sisters Cleva Glentaline Williams and Imajean Himmelberg (Gilbert), two stepsons, Kenneth and Robert Dalton and a host of neices and nephews.
Mary was a Life member of the National Association of Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE), a long time member of Beta Sigma Phi, a former president of the Capital Chapter, Office Professionals International in Washington, DC, and a former member of the governing council of the District of Columbia before it gained semi-independent status.
Mary worked as an executive secretary for the Department of the Army at the Pentagon, supporting a series of general officers in research, development and acquisition, for 37 years.

Mary K could be serious enough to conduct a good meeting and could giggle with the silliest of us. She and husband Archie square danced in all 50 states. A baseball fanatic, they watched a baseball game in 30 major league parks around the country.

Funeral was held Friday, August 14th, conducted by Brother Cleo Young. Burial followed, at the Ada Valley Cemetery, Conway County, Arkansas.

Should you desire to honor her, in lieu of flowers or cards, the family requests that you make a donation to your public library. She believed that the way to be truly rich was to have a library card.


Warm Greetings to you all from the Desert Southwest, where it is a cool 105 degrees F (or 41 degrees C)!

This month the Dalton Data Bank is in the forefront of what's new in "The Colonies".

We have created a new special section of the Dalton Data Bank for light articles and entertaining stories with a Dalton theme. At this time, the articles are all the work of member Rodney Dalton in Utah. Rodney loves to write, and has a passion for "all things Dalton", as he says.

You can go to http://www.daltondatabank.org/DaltonChronicles.htm, or from the home page of he DDB site, pull down on the "General Information" tab, and you'll see "Dalton Chronicles" at the end of the list. We invite all DGS members who have interesting family stories to share, to send their contributions to David Preston, the Dalton Data Bank webmaster at webmaster@daltondatabank.org

Dalton Data Bank Usage Statistics:

3,162 visitors* between 26 July and 24 August 2009
United States - 55.8%
United Kingdom - 23.5%
Australia - 4.5%
Ireland - 2.7%
Canada - 1.8%
South Africa - 1.4%
New Zealand - 1.3%
Rest of World - 6%**

Notes:
*This is about half the number of visitors compared to the last 30 day period, due to suspension of the Google Ad Campaign.
**Including visits from Bordeaux (Martin Fitzgerald & Michael Neale Dalton?)

New Items / Updates:

David has implemented a "map-driven" User Interface, for testing as a potential new navigation system. We encourage users to try this new interface at http://www.daltondatabank.org/indextest2.html and to send email feedback to webmaster@daltondatabank.org with comments on the proposed navigation system.

In addition to the new "Dalton Chronicles" section, several DGS members have contributed new information, or added to existing databases. A huge Thank You to them all!

24 August, 2009:

Dalton Chronicles - Edward Meeks Dalton Article Contributed by Rodney Dalton, Utah
Dalton Chronicles - Medieval England Article Contributed by Rodney Dalton, Utah

23 August, 2009:

Dalton Chronicles - Mormon Battalion Article Contributed by Rodney Dalton, Utah

19 August, 2009:

Newfoundland, Canada - Newspaper Extracts Additions Contributed by Dianne Jackman, Newfoundland, Canada

18 August, 2009:

Georgia, USA - Added Cemetery & Misc. Data Contributed by Cindy Norwood, Georgia

16 August, 2009:

Georgia, USA - Added Census & Enumeration Data Contributed by Cindy Norwood, Georgia

15 August, 2009:

Added New Section - "The Dalton Chronicles" Contributed by Rodney Dalton, Utah

12 August, 2009:

Norfolk, England - Added Watton Baptisms, Marriages & Burials Contributed by Maureen Collins, Sydney, AUS

12 August, 2009:

Added Search Help file: http://www.daltondatabank.org/SearchInfo.pdf

With regards to you all,

Karen Dalton Preston
Secretary for North America

Our usual thanks to this month's contributors, glad to see Tom and Gerry back. We always look forward to receiving your e-mails and reading the latest news about your Dalton families. Why not consider putting your family history into print through "Daltons in History" or into the DGS Journal that is produced twice a year.

You will notice that some of the usual items are still missing and, again, that is because there is nothing to put in them!! We are, sadly, lacking articles for the next "Daltons in History" - PLEASE SUBMIT SOMETHING!!

We had an enjoyable time at the AGM Gathering in Lancashire and went to some very interesting places - see Michael Dalton's Diary. There will be further bits and pieces next month including the Minutes of the AGM. We have put some photos of the event in this issue and more will be available on the "Photo/Video Gallery" at http://www.daltongensoc.com/gallery/index.html.

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 and the "Anything Dalton Challenge".

We are hoping to start a new topic on places called "Dalton" around the world. All contributions will be gratefully received.

Contributions for the October issue need to be with me no later than 25th September 2009. (e-mail: dairneirwin@ntlworld.com).

Please be on time with your articles as it causes problems when it comes to actually producing "Daltons in History" and putting it up on the website.