| My last message on the website appeared in the August 1998 edition of "Daltons in History". Even in the short time since then much has happened by way of development, both of the Society and on a wider front in genealogy and family history across the world. I therefore welcome this opportunity to write again with some thoughts which look forward to the new millennium, which I think and hope will be an especially exciting time for the DGS.
Over the years the DGS has developed skills in communicating with and assisting members in their quest for information about their family history. Undoubtedly we have built up our knowledge of Dalton ancestry and lineage and we endeavour to share this as widely as possible. We are a group of enthusiasts who do what we do because we enjoy it. It gives us immense pleasure when we can help people with their researches or put them in touch with someone who has pertinent information. Long may we continue to succeed in this way. It is in this spirit of helping ourselves and others that we have established the Dalton Genealogical Society Millennium Project. The Society's committee have been thinking about a suitable way to celebrate the arrival of the new millennium and we want to involve members and create a tangible output which will add to the store of family history available to us all.
Those who saw my message in August 1998 will remember "The Dalton Book" by Mrs. Frances Edith Leaning. This 800 page typescript magnum opus was the result of years of research by Mrs. Leaning and first appeared in 1951 on a very limited circulation. I first saw a copy in 1967 and it was the inspiration that set me on the path of founding the Society. Since then a number of further copies have been made from one of the original carbon copies, but the book has never been officially published. The book is divided into two parts each containing a wealth of information about Dalton family history. Book I traces the history of Daltons of Lancashire from their Norman origins in the 12th Century through the Bispham and Thurnham lines up to the 20th Century. Book II deals with the so called Junior Dalton Line which is the Dalton family that lived in Curbridge, near Witney in Oxfordshire, and then in Pembrey, South Wales. This line is almost certainly descended from the Daltons of Thurnham back in the 16th Century and these are the forbears of many Daltons living today including myself.
For our Millennium Project we are publishing a second edition of Book I. The content of this book will have wide appeal because it records the earliest Dalton family history. Millicent Craig, the editor of this newsletter, has already recruited a team of volunteers to retype the original into a computer word processor file. Regrettably the original is not sufficiently clear for us to scan the image into a computer. Once we have it on line we will then set about updating and editing the text, supplementing it where appropriate with material that the Society has created over the past 25 years. We wish to create something which, on the one hand, is a new work adding considerably to the wealth of published Dalton history but, at the same time, is recognisably an extension of Mrs. Leaning's original work. The final phase will involve adding photographs, charts, maps and diagrams to illustrate the book and then arranging for it to be reproduced in a bound form in sufficient quantity to meet anticipated demand and at a price which all those who are interested can afford.
A major project you may think, but I know that we have the resources within the Society to achieve this. It will be tangible proof of what the Society can do, it will make a fitting contribution to the celebration of the new millennium and, perhaps more importantly, it will be a lasting tribute to the wonderful work that Mrs. Leaning undertook 50 years ago. During the coming year you will hear more about progress on this project and, of course, if anyone has any ideas about how the project might develop, or better still, wishes to offer help with an aspect of the work, we will be very pleased to hear from you. Please contact Millicent Craig or myself.
Now for some other news. Two years ago I launched an appeal to help restore the effigy of Sir Richard Dalton in St. Leonard's Church at Apethorpe in Northamptonshire. The alabaster effigy is very old - Sir Richard is descended from the Daltons of Lancashire included in "The Dalton Book" referred to above and he died in 1442. The effigy had fallen into a very poor state of repair and an estimated 3,500 pounds was needed to restore it. I am pleased to be able to report that the hard work of the Parochial Church Council in raising funds, which have been supplemented by a sum of well over 1,000 pounds contributed by members of the DGS, means that work is now under way on the restoration. The effigy has been taken to the workshop of a specialist restorer and when this is finished, Sir Richard will be returned to his rightful home on the chancel window sill. It is hoped that this will all have been completed by Christmas time. We will keep you informed of the progress and, in due course, we will publish a photograph of the restored effigy on the website.
The Society's executive secretary, Lucy Slater, who works very hard for all of us, is preparing a supplement to the Contents List of the DGS Journal. This is in response to the many favourable comments received about the previous issue of this useful index, published in 1995 to coincide with the Society's Silver Jubilee and containing details of all issues of the Journal up to and including Volume 23. Lucy plans to publish her supplement to cover the Journals from Volume 24 through to Volume 31, scheduled for the end of 1999. The supplement will be available early in the year 2000 and will be distributed to all members.
As I write this in the middle of October, Christmas still seems a long way off. However by the time you read it on the website at the beginning of December, the festive season will be upon us, so I will close my letter by wishing you all a very Merry Christmas. May it be a peaceful and happy time and I wish you success and prosperity in 1999 and hope that you will solve some of those elusive genealogical conundrums before the new millennium is upon us.
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| from "The King James Army List, 1694"
"About this time branches of the D'Altons migrated westward, one settled at Ballycahan, in Limerick, the other at Deer Park, County Clare. The former was connected with the families of Hickman, Parks, Furnell, and Leake, and became extinct in the direct male line in the last century. Of the latter was Michael D'Alton of Deer Park, who by his first wife, Miss Fitzgerald, had one son, Edward and three daughters. The son died without issue male; Marcella, the eldest daughter, married John Singleton, grandfather of the present Mr. Singleton of Quinville Abbey, in the County of Clare ( one of the sisters of said John Singleton marrying Richard Copley of the County of Limerick, was the grandmother of the present Lord Lyndhurst:) Mary, the second daughter became the wife of William Butler, Castle-crine; Jane Eyre Dalton, the third daughter, married John Lysaght, by whom she had Edward Lysaght, the barrister, and a daughter, Jane both before alluded to.
In 1662 Lieutenant Alexander Cornet Garrett D'Alton was one of '1649' officers, an adjudication for whose services to King Charles is of record. In the same year, Peter D'Alton had a confirmatory grant of 2476 acres in Tipperary, as had John D'Alton in 1668 of 316 acres in Monaghan, and Garrett of 97 in Mayo. At the eve of the war of 1689, this family, it is of tradition, raised at their own expense, a considerable body of horse, for the service of King James; and besides the above Myles in this Regiment of Dragoons the name is found commissioned on the Infantry Regiments of the King, Colonels Henry Dillon, Richard Nugent, Walter Bourke, John Grace, Lord Salway, and Sir Michael Creagh. One of those officers, a Captain D'Alton, was taken prisoner at the siege of Athlone. * The attainders of 1691 include the above Captain Myles of Grangebeg, County of Westmeath, with John and Henry D'Alton of Doneele, Walter and Robert of Molinmechan, Richard and Tobias of Irishtown, James and Theobald of Shiglis and Roo, Christopher of Miltown and seven more proprietors in Westmeath; Richard and Andrew of Dublin, merchants; three in the County of Kilkenny and three in that of Wexford. Christopher of Miltown was adjudged within the articles of Limerick, as were Major John D'Alton of Doneele and William, his son, each of whom thus saved some portion of their estates from the consequences of the attainders. At the Court of Claimes James D'Alton then a minor, by Walter Delamere, his guardian, claimed an estate in fee in lands forfeited by Garrett D'Alton. Elizabeth D'Alton, widow, claimed dower off Doneele, forfeited by Major John D'Alton; Richard and Mary D'Alton, minors, by Bryan Kelly their procheinami, claimed a mortgage affecting County of Roscommon estates, (including Lough-Glynn, etc.), of Richard D'Alton; John Adams claimed an estate in fee in the lands of Irishtown and Raheenquin forfeited by _____ D'Alton; but his petition was disallowed. The aforesaid Christopher D'Alton was the eldest son of Oliver of Miltown by his wife Margaret, daughter of Edmund Dillon of Portlick; and he intermarried with Mary, daughter of Edmund D'Alton of Loughust, their marriage settlement bearing the date the 15th May 1694. The lands which he was, by the construction of the Artides of Limerick, permitted to retain, descended to his son, Oliver, who in 1717, married Catherine, daughter of James O'Reilly of Ballinlough, ancestor of Sir Hugh of Ballinlough, who afterwards took the name of Nugent, and also ancestor of Hirst Baroness Talbot de Malahide. This last Oliver changed the family mansion from Miltown to Loughan, which was henceforth named Mount D'Alton. ** He had four sons, three of whom, Christopher, James and Richard were necessitated, for their honour and independence, to enroll themselves in the Austrian Army, the distinguished services of James and Richard are noticed hereafter. Thomas the fourth son of Oliver, entered into Holy Orders.
Christopher, his eldest married in 1748 Maria, only daughter of William Costello of Tullaghan, in Mayo, by his wife Catherine Mac Derdott Roe, of Knockranny. On his death he left Oliver, his only son, and three daughters. This last Oliver married Clare French, and died in 1799 without issue, when the family estates were partitioned between his three sisters and coheiresses: 1, Sophia-Josephina, who married Robert Dillon O'Reilly, Esq., of the County of Cavan, by whom she has left issue. 2, Elizabeth Johanna, who became the wife of her cousin, Ignatious Dillon Begg, by whom she had one son, Oliver (who married in 1846 his relative Maria Theresa Nugent, and who died in 1848 without issue male). Elizabeth Johanna had one daughter, Maria-Josephina, who married Thomas Babington, Esq., and has an only son William D'Alton Babington. 3rd heiress, Catherine, who intermarried with John O Connor, Esq., of the Offly line, and has also left issue."
References from Dick Hamilton * See Story's Impartial History, part II, p 105 ** Corrigenda note. At the beginning of Vol.1 of the second Edition of "Illustrations, etc." the following statement occurs on p.424, 1.30. "Oliver D'Alton of Mount D'Alton is here truly alleged to have four sons, but it was error to add that three of these sons including Christopher, the eldest, enrolled themselves in the Austrian Army. Two younger brothers were induced to do so, for active and honourable employment, but Christopher continued to reside on the old family property to the time of his decease, an independent and highly respected Proprietor."
The avid D'Alton researcher may be interested in the following Wills which appear to be related to D'Altons mentioned in Part III. Source: Index to Prerogative Wills of Ireland, 1536-1810. edited by Sir Arthur Vicars, F.S.A., Ulster King of Arms., 1997, p.120. 1658 Dalton, Christopher, Milton (Miltown) Co. Westmeath, gent. 1750 Dalton, Edward, Deer Park, Co, Clare, esq. 1793, Edward, Wood Park, Co. Clare, esq. 1689 Oliver, Miltown, Co. Westmeath, esq. There is also an entry for Garrett Dalton, 1658, Derrishnakilly, Co. Westmeath which was declared void. Within the list of Dalton Wills there are several with places names such as Ballacahane, Duneel, Grenanstown, Cashel, Drogheda, etc., many of which have appeared in various sections of this account.
The final installment of "A History of Irish D'Altons" will appear in the January 1999 issue of "Daltons in History". |
| by Robert L. Simpson, Manitoba, Canada
When one decides to begin the search for "family", present and past, one never knows where the "road" or "roots" will take us. I have been on my road just over a year. I never imagined that I would be talking to people all over the world, picking up sign posts, passports, maps, luggage, friendships as I collected the souvenirs of the trip. Some have been real gems while others have been never ending springs of nourishment and encouragement. I was attending my 27th high school class reunion in June of 1997, which coincided with my hometown's 50th Anniversary (Snow Lake, Manitoba, Canada). It was wonderful to see people that I hadn't seen in so many years. My brother, Doug, and I talked about how great it was to renew old friendships and meet new people. Part of our discussion got around to the "family tree" stuff and so we decided to write down the names of the relatives we knew we had, ending up with about 300 names. That was the beginning of what has now become an obsession but also one of the most enjoyable things I have ever done in my life. I had to get a new computer in November of last year just to have a better means of organizing what was becoming a mountain of names. I purchased the Family Tree Maker to organize my data. With the help of a close friend, I began to surf the net and find what was available to me. I found the Rootsweb network, and began searching for the name Dalton.
I found the Dalton Genealogical Society on the net and quickly became a member. My mother's father, Elmer A. E. Dalton, (sometimes spelled Dolton) was an American who immigrated to Saskatchewan, Canada in 1905, coming from a family of 9 children. I knew of only two of the families and had so many to search out. I found, through the net, other relatives who had the same interests and found that when we compiled our data, we had over 2000 names and that was from only going back to my great grandfather on my mother's side. The net has been my greatest resource for finding family both past and presently living relatives. I now have regular correspondence with cousins in Texas, Oregon, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, California, and most provinces in Canada.
Through other wonderful resources, the best of which was meeting Dr. Lucy Slater, Executive Secretary of the DGS, in February of this year (while on a research trip to England), I have now found five families of my Daltons living in England. The best is that two of the five are doing family tree research. There are so many gratifying experiences in my search for family that I wish to encourage all readers to log on to the net. Pieces of the puzzle are falling into place and you never know what the next E-mail message will contain. |
| Because of the large number of family members who have been identified by Robert Simpson, we have chosen to print a list of his Dalton relatives who lived in the US in the event that other readers will recognize them as part of their family tree. His ancestor's on his mother's side, came to the USA/Canada, from Cambridgeshire, England. The tree for his mother is as follows.
Naylor Dalton
B. May 21, 1835 Tipps End, Parish of Welney, Cambs, Eng M. May 20, 1859 Batavia, Kane County, Illinois, USA D. Jan 20, 1924 Graymont, Livingstone County, Illinois Naylor's wife: Mary Mehettable Meacham
B. Sep 5 1841 Whitesville, Allegany County, New York D. Jan 4, 1916 Pontiac, Livingstone, County, Illinois Naylor and Mary's Children: William Henry Dalton (Dolton)
B. Nov 08, 1860 Batavia, Kane, Illinois M. Apr 26, 1882 Pontiac, Livingston, Illinois D. Before 1898 ? (probably Illinois) Married to: Melissa Anna Bowers Elmer Anson Elsworth Dalton (Dolton)
B. Jan 08, 1863, Illinois M. Jan 01, 1896, Livingston, Illinois D. Jun 18, 1957, Preeceville, Saskatchewan, Canada Married to: Elizabeth Anne Preece Ella May Dalton (Dolton)
B. Mar 28, 1866, Naperville, Du Page County, Illinois M. Oct 03, 1883, Rugby, Livingston County, Illinois D. Nov 23, 1939, Pontiac, Livingston County, Illinois Married to: David Franklin Pillsbury Eveline (Eva) Viola Dalton (Dolton)
B. Mar 08, 1868, Ransom, LaSalle County, Illinois M. Jan 29, 1888, Owega TWP., Livingston County, Illinois D. Aug 29, 1895, Pontiac, Livingston County, Illinois Married to: Emmet Anderson Coulter Ernest Alvin Dalton (Dolton)
B. Jul 16, 1869, Dwight, Livingston County, Illinois M. Dec05, 1883 D. Oct 16, 1962, Epparos Pt., Pontiac, Livingston, Illinois Married to: Anna May McKinsey Edgar George Dalton (Dolton)
B. Aug 23, 1874 Grundy County, Illinois M. ? D. Sep 24, 1940, Pontiac, Livingston County, Illinois Married to: 1st Lottie Leady, 2nd Rosa Schafer Emma Alma Dalton (Dolton)
B. Nov 30, 1987, Pontiac, Livingston County, Illinois M. Dec 28, 1904, Pontiac, Livingston County, Illinois D. Jan 23, 1963, Graymont, Livingston County, Illinois Married to: Albert Amos Burcky Burtus Pin Dalton (Dolton)
B. Mar 07, 1881, Pontiac, Livingston County, Illinois M. Oct 05, 1905, Pontiac, Livingston County, Illinois D. May 26, 1954, Pontiac, Livingston County, Illinois Married to: Margaret Lightholder Myrtle Ivanilla Dalton (Dolton)
B. Feb 23, 1885, Owego Twp., Pontiac, Livingstone County, Illinois M. Feb 25, 1903, Pontiac Livingston County, Illinois D. Jun 23, 1947, Pontiac, Livingstone County, Illinois Married to: Edward Lewis Fosdick For further information about Robert's English, American or Canadian family, you may contact him at: majestic@mb.sympatico.ca |
| The following Dalton records are from the IGI files of the Family History Center. Two of them are listed as a relative to John Luther Dalton whose name has come up in an inquiry linking him to County Mayo, Ireland. A further search of the Ancestral Files shows that he is attached to many Daltons of Counties Clare and Mayo including Cardinal D'Alton whose story will appear in the March 1999 issue of "Daltons in History". (Other Dalton lists will be published in later issues).
Thomas B. Dalton, b. 1798, County Down, Downpatrick. Rel. John Luther Dalton Jane Dalton, m. Samuel Law, 29 Jan 1859, County Fermanagh, Aghalurcher. Luke Dalton, b. 2 Feb 1866, County Fermanagh, Roslea, to Luke Dalton and Mary Ann Smith. Thomas Dalton, b. 1850, County Fermanagh, Lisnaskea. Rel. John Luther Dalton. There is also an indication in the Ancestral Files that this John Luther is a descendent of the of the Pembrey, Wales Dalton line. Can someone help clarify this situation? We still need information on John Luther of County Mayo and Castlemaine, Kerry. Millicenty@aol.com
DGS member, Nancy Samuelson, author of "The Dalton Gang Story". now lifts the veil of myth, legends and outright lies from the Three Guardsmen (lawmen) and U.S. Marshall, B. D. Nix in her new book, "Shoot From The Lip". A hardback copy of this completely documented 220 page book may be ordered from Shooting Star Press, P.O. Box 359, Eastford CT 06242. Price $32.00 per copy, plus $3.00 handling. Nancy, who is active in the National Outlawmen Association, recently attended their meeting in Tuscon, AZ. While there, a program for Doublevision TV was filmed which features re-enactment scenes of the Dalton Gang's assault on the Coffeyville, Kansas Bank. Nancy participated in this event with Robert Barr Smith, Professor at the University of Oklahoma, who was the author of the Coffeyville raid account. The program will be aired in early summer, 1999. |
| The first year of publication of The Dalton Genealogical Society "Daltons in History" Web Page will come to a close at the end of this month. We want to thank all who have sent messages of encouragement, contributed family history information, submitted queries, and joined our world-wide organization. Your support is appreciated. It has been a remarkable year in that there have been 7000 visits to the web site. This is especially gratifying since we are an ONS (One Name Society) and appeal only to those with Dalton ancestry. As long as your interest continues we will endeaour to offer a monthly issue of little known facts, substance and quality. From North America we wish all Daltons the Happiest Christmas ever and look forward to hearing from all of you during 1999. May it be a Peaceful and Prosperous year for you and your family. From Millicent V. Craig, North American Secretary,
DGS and |
| Our Lancashire Daltons send Holiday Greetings to all Daltons world-wide. The following recipes were contributed to a Cookery Book published by St. Michael and All Angels Church in Croston, Lancashire. The following recipes are from our Dalton cousins, Joanna Dalton Early, Florence Dickinson, and Nancy Cottam. All are descended from William and Ann Glover Dalton.
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