| from the King James Army List 1689
In the time of Henry the Eighth, the district where this name was first planted witnessed its extension so widely that when, in 1545, the western portion of Meath was separated and erected into a distinct county by the title of Westmeath, a very large tract, especially described as 'The D'Alton's Country,' was, with that alias, constituted the Barony of Rathconrath. The D'Alton had previously ranked as a Palatine Baron thereof under an early grant of the dignity of Hugh de Lacy; and he and his descendents adopted and still retain the fleur-de-lis on 'their' armorials as in the right of the daughter of Louis.
Throughout the centuries of this their residence in Ireland, they supported their rank and influence by alliances not only with the noble native families but likewise with the most illustrious of Anglo-Norman descent. An inquisition of 1561 finds Gerald, Andrew, Philpok, Walter and Milo, son of Hubert D'Alton, seised in fee of the Castle of Glasken, etc.; and Milo, son of John D'Alton, seised of Ballnegal and other premises in Westmeath. In 1604 Hubert of Dundonell died, leaving John and his son and heir (as hereinafter mentioned) then aged 26 and married; as did Gerald in 1608, seised of the castle and lands of Ballinecarrow, leaving William, his son and heir, then aged only three years, and on whose death, in 1614, Hubert, a brother of said Gerald succeeded to the estate, being then aged 12.
In 1606 died Hubert D'Alton, Senior, of Noughwell, leaving Gerald his son and heir, then aged 40 and married; he died in 1612, when Nicholas his son and heir, was aged about 10 years. In 1612 Roger D'Alton had a grant of all the Seignory, Lordship, Castle, Manor, Mansion House, and demesne land of Knockmoane, containing 3,882 acres; the Castles of Ballynacourt and Cappaghlynraes, with large additions of land in the County of Waterford, courts Leet and Baron fairs and markets; the premises to be created the Manor of Knockmoane, and the castle or capital messuage to be called Castle D'Alton.
In 1628 died Edward D'Alton, seised of the Castle of Miltown, etc., leaving Oliver his son and heir, then aged 28 and married; and in 1631, Nicholas D'Alton died, seised of little Miltown, leaving Edward his son and heir, then aged 30 and unmarried. In 1639 the said Oliver of Miltown, being the head of this once powerful family in Westmeath, on the marriage of his son Christopher, with Margaret, daughter of Richard D'Alton of Molinmechan entailed the ancestral estates to the uses of the marriage, under which said Christopher died, seised in 1651, and as the inquisition expressly finds 'not in the communion of the Church of England.' He had been attained in the Outlawries of 1641, and the whole extensive possessions of this house were thereby, regardless of the infant heir Oliver, then only two years, subjected to confiscation, and doled out amongst the adherents of the usurping powers.
A funeral entry in the Office of Arms, Dublin, records the death in July, 1636, of John D'Alton, of Dundonnel, County of Westmeath, son and heir of the before-mentioned Hubert D'Alton, eldest son of Henry D'Alton, eldest son of dmund, eldest son of Henry, eldest son of John (all of Dundonell) eldest son of Pierce D'Alton of Ballymore, in said County, whose death, as son of an elder Pierce, is attributed to the plague of 1467. The first named John had married Elinor, daughter of Gerald Dillon of Portlick in said County, by whom he had five sons; 1st, Garret, married to Margaret Plunket of Loughcrew, County of Meath; 2nd Richard; 3rd Robert; 4th James;* 5th Thomas, unmarried. Said John, the defunct, was buried in Churchtown. None of this name appear on the Official Roll of Outlawries of 1642, but many fell in the contests that immediately preceded, and estates were then forfeited in Westmeath by Oliver, Nicholas, Richard, Garret, Henry, Edmund, John, Geoffrey, Walter, Theobald, and James Dalton respectively."
* Note from Dick Hamilton. "It may be permitted to say that this James, the fourth son of John D'Alton of Dundonell, married Mary or Margaret Purdon, and was the great grandfather of the compiler (John D'Alton, Esquire) of the present volumes as shown by family deeds. This single entry, therefore, suggests a retrospective pedigree of eleven generations for one who is now the only D'Alton inheriting a fee simple estate in the old Barony."
The next installment of "A History of Irish Daltons" will begin with the westward migration of the D'Altons in Ireland. |
| by DGS member, Arthur Whittaker, Haysville, UT
The Utah Daltons lived in Lancashire, England for many years (1200-1575). About 1575 they moved to Witney, Oxfordshire, England. They were Catholics and never converted to Protestantism. During the English Civil War they were Royalists. Walter Dalton (1603-1666) fought at Newbury in the regiment of his cousin, Colonel Thomas Dalton. Not deterred by Cromwell's victory at Newbury and the subsequent death of the 1King, he joined the invading Scottish Army lead by Charles II. With Walter went his younger brothers, Charles (1605-1651) and William (1614-1651), together with other relations and friends. The Scots and their supporters proved no match for the military genius of Cromwell, and the Royalist Army was routed at the Battle of Worcester in September 1651. The fight was an exceedingly bloody business even for the Civil War and many Royalists were killed, including both of Walter's brothers, Charles and William. According to one source "at this battle were ten Dalton brothers, cousins and uncles killed". A family tradition is that either Walter was the Pay Master of the Army or he was associated with that office. Walter and a relation, Rowland Vaughan, escaped from the field, laden with the royal pay chest. He hastily collected his wife and young children to make a get-a-way to South Wales. The journey lasted into the winter and the conditions were so harsh that three of Walter's youngest children died; Thomas aged 8, Ormonde aged 6, and Walter aged 3. The youngest child, James aged 1, survived and became the ancestor of the Junior Dalton Line. Walter and his surviving family settled down at Pembrey, Wales near the seat of the Earl at Golden Grove. His financial position appears to have been satisfactory and he sent his son, James, to the Inns of Court in London where he qualified as a barrister-at-law. (See 'The Flight to Wales' by Mrs. Morag Simpson. DGS Journal, Vol.6, page 24). The Utah Dalton Line, a part of the Junior Daltons, lived in Pembrey, Wales for four generations; James Dalton (1650-1721), James Ormonde Dalton (1679-1729), James Dalton (1706-1766) and Thomas Dalton (1732). Thomas Dalton emigrated to America around 1760. The rest of the Junior Dalton Line stayed in England. Pembrey is on the peninsula between the Bristol Channel and the Loughor Estuary with sandy beaches, high cliffs, open down and wide commons. It is on the South East Coast of Wales.
Rhossili Bay, Wales, Embarcation Point for Thomas and Bridget Dalton. The large sailing ships anchored off-shore and small boats transported the passengers from the shore to the ships. In this area there is a section known as Dalton Point. John Dalton (1763-) was the first of the Utah Daltons to be born in America. He was a young volunteer in the First Associated Company for the Townshp of Newton, Bucks County, Pennsylvania at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. In 1835, John Dalton, Senior and family moved to Michigan. He died about 1835 at Prob or Preb, Michigan. Three of John Dalton's sons and one grandson joined the Mormon Church. John's sons are John Dalton II, Simon Cooker Dalton, and Charles Dalton. John Dalton's grandson was Henry Simon Dalton. Two sons of John Dalton II, Henry (Harry) and Edward plus his nephew, Henry Simon Dalton (whom he had raised) all joined the Mormon Battalion when the United States of America asked for volunteers to fight in the Mexican War. The Dalton Brothers and their families were part of the Mormon Pioneers that came across the plains and settled in Utah. Each one practiced polygamy after arriving in Utah. John Dalton II had six wives, Simon Cooker Dalton had six wives, and Charles had three wives. Each one left numerous posterity. I have in my possession a book called The Dalton Book of Genealogy written by Mark Ardath Dalton. It lists most of the descendents of the first John Dalton born in America, and through 1960. My Dalton line has been traced back to 1088 AD. There are some lines that are still incomplete. Simon Cooker Dalton left his first wife in Michigan in 1840 because she refused to go with him. His wife's name was Anna Annabelle. She kept the three younger children; Sarah Elizabeth, Henry Harvey, and Harriet. I would like to find the descendents of Simon and Anna. |
| Several months ago, Len Dalton of Melrose, MA wrote asking for assistance in tracing his ancestors who had emigrated to America from the Isle of Wight. Len allowed that his grandfather was John Dalton and his great grandfather was John Henry Dalton. After recommending the usual search of parish records and censuses, he wrote that he had a medal that had been conferred upon an ancestor by Queen Victoria for service in the Crimean War. We suggested that he locate the medal for it could contain valuable information. Several weeks later a very excited Len wrote that he had found the medal, cleaned it and the following information was contained on it.
On the disk there is a relief of Queen Victoria with the word Victoria on the left and Regina on the right. On the back there is a relief of a Roman soldier with a winged figure behind holding a wreath over his head. Along the edge is SERJt Thomas Dalton 28th Reg. Above where the ribbon was are three long leaves with an acorn and the words SEBASTOPOL, BALAKLAVA, and ALMA. (We have since learned that the 28th was a Goucestershire Regiment).
This data yielded some pertinent information for Len. Firstly, the ancestor he was searching for was a Thomas not a John Dalton. Secondly, Thomas Dalton fought in the very first battle of this war, (1853-1856) which took place at the River ALMA and he continued serving in the successive campaigns. Thirdly, since Thomas Dalton held the rank of Serjeant, we can make the following assumption when searching records. His birth date could be pushed back to about 25 years or so before the beginning of the war to around 1828. Thus it gives a new name and new birth period for searching parish and census records. Fourthly, since Thomas Dalton held the rank of Serjeant at the time that this medal was conferred, it is likely that he received a pension and may well be listed in the pension records. Fifthly, the 28th Regiment was a foot regiment and this information is crucial in a search for his army records. An interesting bit of historical information surrounds the battle of BALAKLAVA. During the battle, a small brigade of British Cavalry made a gallant but useless attack on the Russian position. Less than one-third of the 600 men in this Light Brigade survived. They were remembered by Alfred Lord Tennyson in the poem, "'The Charge of the Light Brigade". The GOONS (Guild of One Name Studies) offers the information that the British Army records of the Crimean War (which are quite extensive) are to be found in the War Office and other archives in the Public Record Office, Kew, Surrey, England. The personnel records of British Army Regiments, including the 28th Regiment of Foot are also in the War Office at Kew. Our thanks go to the GOONS for their assistance.
Arkansas Daltons DGS member, Alta Simpson of Stillwater, OK, needs some help with her Dalton ancestry. Her family of Daltons came to Arkansas in the late 1840's from Tennessee. The mother of these two Dalton men was Sarah Dalton born in North Carolina about 1793. The father was a Dalton born in Virginia but Alta has not yet learned his first name. This branch of Daltons lived in Green County, Arkansas around the towns of Dalton, Marmaduke, Reyno, Success, Biggers, Piggott, Corning, Gainsville and St. Francis. Sarah was head of the household in 1850 and living with her were the following: son, Moton Dalton born 1828; daughter, Mary born 1835; daughter, Sarah born 1838; daughter, Lucy born 1842. All of the above were born in Tennessee. An older son, Timothy, was born in 1824 and he and his wife, Mary, were born in Tennessee. Their first children were twins, George S. and Sarah J., born in 1847 in Arkansas. They were followed by Fanney born about 1849, Moton born about 1852, Thomas born about 1855, James born about 1856. Family given names were repeated in this family. Son, Moton Dalton was born about 1828 in Tennessee and his wife Mary Jane was born about 1838 in Kentucky. All of their children were born in Green County , Arkansas. They are: Barbara born about 1853, Timothy born 1854, Thomas J. born 1863, William J. born 1857, John N. born 1859, James born 1867, Louisa E. born 1872 and Jackson born 1879. Hopefully a reader will be able to contribute information on the very early Daltons in Alta's line. She may be contacted directly: Mrs. Alta Simpson, 1518 S. Hartford, Stillwater, OK 74074. |
| From DGS member, Daveda Bundy, of Pickering, Ohio we have an account of a recent family reunion. Daveda is a direct descendent of the Madrid, New York Daltons who were featured in the Vol.1, No.10, the September 1998 issue of "Daltons in History". The grandchildren and other descendents of Frederick William Dalton I (1870-1959) and Annie Dorothea Benson (1874- 936) attended a Dalton Family Reunion on August 8-9 1998, at Brundage Mountain Lodge, McCall, Idaho. Present were the offspring of the following children of F. W. Dalton and Annie D. Benson and their spouses: Frederick William Dalton II and Mary Levon Labrum, Audubon M. Dalton and Helen Thurber, Bertha A. Dalton and Lloyd B. Smith, and Lygia T. Dalton and David L. Hendry. About 65 in all attended. The eldest reunion attendee was Helen Thurber Dalton, widow of Audubon Dalton and the youngest was not quite a year old. He was Dalton William Bundy, grandson of Richard P. Bundy and Daveda L. Henry. Frederick W. Dalton and Annie Dorothea Benson spent their married lives in Utah and Idaho. At the time of the reunion, they had at least 194 living descendents: 3 children, 24 grandchildren, 87 great grandchildren, 78 great, great grandchildren, and 2 great, great, great grandchildren. A barbecue was held on the evening of August 8 and a buffet breakfast was served August 9. Family members brought various memorabilia to share with others. Refrigerator magnets depicting Frederick W. Dalton I and Annie D. Benson with the date and time of the reunion were given as souvenirs of the gathering. A family medical history and a book of cousin memories are planned. The reunion was organized by Daveda H. Bundy, daughter of Lygia T. Dalton and David L. Hendry, with help from her sisters and cousins. |
| George F. Sanborn, Jr., DGS member from Derry, NH was a featured speaker at the NEHGS Annual Conference that was held in Portland ME in October. His topic was "Early Families of Hampton, NH". We hope to have a brief overview of George's talk in a future issue of "Daltons in History".
Judith Matthews, a DGS member in Australia, has sent a response to a query concerning an Australian Dalton. Dalton, Mary Ann, born 1863 to John Dalton and Louisa Povey; occupation, postmistress; Religion, Church of England; married 27 Jul 1884 in Goulburn to Richard Tumbers; residence, McAlister. She died 29 April 1947. Mary Ann was postmistress at McAlister for about 40 years. Tumbers, Richard, born about 1855 at Collector to John Tumbers and Bridget?. Richard and Ann Dalton Tumbers had the following children: George, b. c. 1885; James W. b. 1886; Isabella. b. 1888; Edith S. b. 1889; Elsie L. b 1891; Ernest T. b. 1894; Beatrice M. b. 1898; Vera b. 1900 in Crookwell and married Cecil F. Yates there in 1918. Ernest Tumbers was born without legs but ran the mail from McAlister to Laggan for 40 years with a horse and sulky.
In a previous issue we discussed the Prince Edward Island Daltons, ancestors of DGS member, Tom O'Connor of Braintree, MA. You may want to visit Tom's web page for MA and PEI. Tom has accumulated some 3900 names for the surnames in his maternal and paternal lines. You may view his page at: Dalton and McCarthy Descendents.
To non-members and members, I again exhort you to make certain of your E-mail address when signing the Guest Page. There are several whom I cannot reach and therefore cannot offer assistance. Nevertheless, I thank you for visiting the site and for your kind comments.
Albemarle Revisited Several readers of "Views of Albemarle, Virginia, by Melanie D. Crain, that appeared in the October 1998 issue of "Daltons in History", have expressed their pleasure at the account of her travels in Dalton Country. One of the most eloquent responses came from Harlow Chandler whose wife is a descendent of Robert Dalton and Mary Key. "We happen to live in northeast Albemarle County. If I look out the window as I type this I see the little farm pond in front of our house from which a stream flows into Mechunk Creek. If I look out the window on the intersecting wall, I see Turkey Sag (redundantly termed Turkeysag Gap on the recent maps). ..... We have lived in this house for twenty years. This morning I discovered that my children have lived all their lives on ground where it is perfectly possible that some of their ancestors walked a couple of centuries ago. In my simple life this amounts to an event - though the kids don't seem to be too impressed". Harlow adds how much he appreciated sharing in the results of Melanie's work and offers his services to help in any way that he can. |
| We returned from England with a very limited supply of some specially commissioned Dalton Gift items. They are from Victoria House which is now the only company in England still using the original Victorian art metalworking techniques to produce handmade articles of this type. These quality items make excellent Christmas gifts for friends or relatives or for your personal enjoyment. Wrapper and postage are included in the price of the item.
Letter Opener. Stainless steel, filigree end, Dalton coat of arms impressed on both sides, pewter/copper, word DALTON beneath. 8 1/4 inches long. Gift Boxed. Price: DGS members, $20.00 ea. Price: Non-members $24.50 ea.
Silver plated Double Picture Frame. Closed -2 5/8 inches; open - 3 3/4 inches. Inside ovals for pictures; coat of arms and DALTON on both sides. Pouch enclosed. Price: DGS members, $25.00 ea. Price: Non-members $29.50 ea.
Requests from Canadians and Americans will be filled on a first come basis. If you want to insure that you receive an item, please send an E-mail to reserve the item until your check arrives. Send to: Millicenty@aol.com Checks are to be made payable to: The Dalton Genealogical Society. Be sure to indicate item and quantity of each.
Howard Dalton, Treasurer of the DGS in England, will respond to inquiries from England, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere. E-mail: h.dalton1@ntlworld.com |