Dr. Lucy J. Slater

 

The more I study Cambridgeshire, the more deeply I am impressed by how little things change. If Oliver could rise from his coffin today, he would recognize the church, the priest's house, the guildhall, the bakery and probably many other small buildings. If he took the path over the river to Great Abington, as he must have done many times in his life, he would recognize that church and several of the houses in the village. If he walked up the road to Hildersham, he would see the church, the bridge over the river where he played as a boy, the farm and his grandfather's house. There was a John Dalton, rector of Great. Abington Church at this time. He was the son of Edward who inherited the Fustian Doublet. He was born in 1606, entered Caius in 1623, MA in 1625, a deacon and priest in 1631, vicar of Great Abington in 1633. He married Bridget, had children and died at Great Abington.

 

Old Guildhall At Linton

If Oliver went over the heath to West Wratting he would go past a windmill and recognise the Church and the house, Brook Farm, where he was born. Michael's younger son, Thomas, entered Peterhouse in 1610 and was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1616. I have not found his marriage but his wife was called Julian and they lived in Little Abington. They had six children; Abigail 1625, Michael 1627, Thomas 1629, Richard 1630, Cornelius 1632, and John who died with his mother in 1634. Michael's second wife was Mary Elrington of Carlton who was descended from the famous Spencer family. She bore him five children of whom two survived to maturity, Dorothy 1605 and John 1607. John was knighted and married a cousin of his, Elizabeth Dalton, daughter of Edward Dalton of Ratcliffe in Essex.

 

Up to now, Michael's life had been reasonably happy and peaceful. A terrier of owners of land in 1607 shows that he had rights over a very large part of the land in South East Cambridgeshire, including Oxcroft Farm with its dove cote and fish and duck ponds to supply him with delicacies. He was a religious man of Puritan tendencies and he believed in the rights of the common man and parliament rather than the divine right of kings. Some time about 1616, a delegation of lawyers headed by Sir Edward Coke (pronounced Cook) went to see King James to enter a plea for rights of the common man. James was not amused and threatened to behead all of them. They all recanted their pleas except their leader, Sir Edward, who stuck to his beliefs. He was Lord Chief Justice at the time but lost his position as a result of this incident. This was shortly before Michael published his famous book, "Country Justice", which had a great influence on these arguments. In his book, the rights of common man when before the Justices were laid out in great detail and both Sir Edward and King James must have known of the book or perhaps even read it. In any case, Michael had made a powerful enemy. But he also had some powerful friends. His second wife was a grand daughter of Sir John Spencer, a very powerful man in the Court of Queen Elizabeth. Also Michael had been in Trinity and at Lincoln's Inn at the same time as Sir Edward's son, Edward, so the two men must have been friends. The Coke family lived not far from Freckenham, at Mileham in Norfolk, and Sir Edward was the High Steward of Cambridge University at that time. In 1623, Michael wrote another book, "The Office and Authority of Sheriffs". This again was concerned with the rights of ordinary men in the courts.

 

Then Michael's daughter, Dorothy, made a little mistake. She produced a son, John Allington, alias Dalton, about 1625, five years before she married the father, Sir Gyles Allington of Horseheath. Sir Gyles was a powerful man, with a large estate and descendent of a very old family. He was about the same age as Dorothy's father and we can imagine the two men haggling together about the details of a marriage settlement. Dorothy was married to Sir Gyles on 2 Dec 1630 at West Wratting. A portrait of Sir Gyles hangs in Fulbourn Manor. He has a hard face and does not look a likeable man at all. I pity poor Dorothy.

 

On 12 May 1631, the blow fell. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners passed sentence on Sir Gyles for inter marrying with the daughter of his half-sister. Sir Gyles and Dorothy were ordered to do penance at St. Mary's in Cambridge. Sir Gyles was fined 12,000 pounds and Michael Dalton, 2000 pounds. These were very large sums of money in those days. A few days later in May, King Charles granted to the Queen the 12,000 pounds and the 2,000 pounds. But on July 14, the King pardoned Sir Gyles and Dorothy Dalton and freed them from all penances and bonds, except one bond of 2,000 pounds. A Sir Christopher Hatton of Swavesy was on of the Queen's courtiers at this time. Michael Dalton was also pardoned and got his 2,000 pounds back. In Lent, 1636, Dorothy was given permission to eat meat as she was seriously ill. Later that year, the Ecclesiastical Court were informed that Mrs. Allington was dead and so all scandal was taken away and Sir Gyles got his 2,000 pound bond back. Dorothy had a daughter, Mary, by Sir Gyles after their marriage and Mary married Sir Thomas Hatton, a courtier of Charles II. During the Civil War, Michael, Oliver's son, became the Commissioner for Sequestrations in East Anglia and so he may have been faced with the problems of sequestrating the property of his own uncle, Thomas.  In the final installment of "Cambridgeshire Daltons" the talk addresses the Will of Michael and the connection to the Tyrells.

A Memorial To Isaac Dalton

When I walked across this bridge years ago, little did I realize that it was known as the Dalton Bridge. It is dedicated to Isaac Dalton who served for two years in the Revolutionary War. Isaac was a great, great, great, great grandson of Philemon Dalton of the Hampton, New Hampshire Daltons who arrived in 1635. He is also the great grandson of Samuel Dalton of Haverhill, MA who was killed in an Indian ambush and whose story is told in the June 1998 issue of the Dalton Genealogical Journal.

 

Isaac Dalton was born in Salisbury, MA on March 2, 1761 and while still a teen ager, served for over two years in the Revolutionary War. He married Eleanor Merrill and moved to Warner, NH in 1784. The couple had six children and Isaac earned a living as a farmer and as operator of a tannery. At this time he resided in North Warner at the foot of the Mink Hills.

 

Isaac Dalton was active in community affairs and after the Congregational Church was established he was among the first six deacons. Forever after he was addressed as Deacon Dalton. This story describes the strict adherence to religious rules practiced by the church and its members. In the summer of 1816, frost and snow had destroyed the corn and other crops and severe shortages existed. In the winter of 1817, Isaac Dalton approached a fellow parishioner, Enoch Merrill, at the end of the service. He asked for a spare bushel of corn and Enoch's reply was to ask on the morrow. Isaac trudged over four miles the next day to Enoch's house to obtain a bag of corn. Enoch's response was; "I have no corn to sell and I answered you as I did, that you might learn to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy".

 

In 1819, a lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, Warner Lodge, No. 35 was organized and Isaac Dalton was among its officers. He was considered one of the leading citizens of the town. The lodge and all its records burned in May 1849 and thus no record of its activities is available. Isaac's son, John B. Dalton, graduated from Dartmouth with a degree in medicine. Dr Dalton left Warner in 1832 for Ohio traveling by canal and steamboat. There he set up practice and continued at it for many years. Son, Isaac Dalton, Jr. was a Colonel in the state militia. Daughter, Hannah Dalton married John Stewart whose ancestors were of Scottish origin and came to New England about 1725.

 

Their son, Isaac Dalton Stewart was a teacher and minister of the Free Will Baptist church, ordained in 1843 and a prominent pastor.

 

In later life, Deacon Isaac Dalton moved to the main road, now called Joppa Rd. at the lower end of Warner village. He died in 1838 and is buried in Parade Cemetery in Warner. His modest salt box home, pictured below, is under the care of the Warner Historical Society.

 

Deacon Isaac Dalton is an ancestor of Bailey Rogers, renowned genealogist of Ohio. Bailey has made contributions to the knowledge of New Hampshire Daltons and has sent the picture of the Dalton Homestead for which we are most grateful. The Town of Warner, NH has provided a close-up picture of the bridge which was originally built in 1810.

 

Both memorials are located in a quiet peaceful area of Warner and the optimum time to visit is in the fall when the leaves are turning. The red maple leaves and birch blend with the red roof and faded exterior of the bridge, and you can actually hear the whisper of the leaves falling from the trees. Your visit would not be complete without visiting a second covered bridge in Warner, known as the Waterloo Bridge. A third bridge is being stored in a barn and the townsfolk are ready to reconstruct it.

We appreciate the contributions of the Warner Historical Society including excerpts from the History of Warner. For a delightful visit to this New Hampshire town click, http://www.warner.nh.us/

Oldham Daltons

To the member who requested information on Oldham Daltons of Lancashire, I regret that we have no additional records other than those already published in past Journals. However, John Dalton of Accrington has researched Title Deeds and Documents relating to premises in Gladstone, Oldham in the County of Lancashire. The schedule follows.

 

6th December 1845 Lease- Elijah Kershaw and his Mortgages to William Dalton, and copy thereof.

10th December 1845 Assignment - William Dalton to James Wright with Vacating Receipt dated 7th June 1851 endorsed.

 

2nd July 1864 Copy Probate of the Will of William Dalton.

31st January 1865 Attested Copy Assignment - Silvester Augustus Dalton to William Taylor

24th June 1870 Mortgage - Silvester A. Dalton to Joseph Kershaw.

9th May 1888 Assignment - Trustees of S. A. Dalton deceased to Mrs. Dalton

10th May 1888 Assignment - Mrs. E. Dalton to S Knott with Re-Assignment endorsed dated 30th June 1896.

15th July 1896 Mortgage - Mrs. E. Dalton and Another to Squire Knott with Re-Assignment endorsed dated 11th July 1912.

 

9th December 1929 Assent - Personal Representative of Emma Dalton deceased to Silas Dalton.

4th March 1939 Assignment - messrs. Wilfred Dalton and Harry Henthorn to Samuel Shallcross.

10th December 1957 Attested Copy Assignment -Samuel Shallcross to John Vincent Leyland.

1959 Abstract of Title.

 

September 1967 Transfer - Audrey Oldham and Barclays Bank Limited (Trustees of Samuel Shallcross dec.) to Oldham Corporation.

John writes that family historians find deeds to be a useful secondary source. They mention people's names, jobs, dates and places, all of which are grist for the mill. Sometimes there are certificates of birth, baptism, marriage or death which were used to prove descent of ownership enrolled with the deeds. In England the deeds are to be found in building societies, held by the owners, or at a bank. In West Yorkshire and in Middlesex, deeds registries have been in existence since the early 1700's. Our thanks to John for his meticulous reporting. His listing (with actual copies of deeds in hand) represents hours and hours of digging, typical of DGS researchers.

The following profile of John Luther Dalton has been abstracted from an article written by his daughter, Voyla Dalton Smith, for publication in the Dalton Genealogical Society Journal, 1972. Mrs. Smith, an early member of the DGS in England, refers to the previous coverage of the descendents of Thomas Dalton and his wife, Polly, which paid particular attention to the descendents of Thomas' eldest son, John. Mrs. Smith's thoughts are directed to John Dalton's youngest son, Charles her grandfather, and his son, John Luther Dalton, her father. This abstract is presented with the permission of the DGS.

 

Charles married his first wife, Mary Elizabeth Warner, on 11th August 1842 and subsequently the couple had three children. Both of their daughters died in infancy and a son survived. He was John Luther Dalton who was born 18th October 1843 in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois. When he was two years old, in 1846, his parents were called on a mission and followed their leaders across the Mississippi River into the wilderness of Iowa. They remained there for two years until the summer of 1848 when they started across the plains by covered wagon and on foot until they reached Utah. They traveled with the Third Company under the command of Willard Richards.

At age 11, John Luther's father was called on a mission for the Church to the Indians in Idaho. Luther as he was called, was left to care for his mother who died in November 1856. Charles had married his second wife, Eunice Daniels in 1854 and to this union six sons were born and all married in Utah. Eunice died on 4 August 1867 and Charles married his third wife, Mrs. Emily Stevens Haliday who had two living children.

 

Meanwhile Luther at age 19 was called on a mission to England, departing 28 April 1863. In England he did an extensive amount of research into genealogy. There he met Elizabeth Mary Studer and married her in Utah after she and her family arrived. The marriage took place 21 September 1866. Eleven children were born to this union. Unlike his father who was a farmer and blacksmith, Luther was a business man and owned and operated a music and book store. In 1888 Luther made another trip to England to continue his genealogical research. In his untiring efforts, he left no stone unturned to gather data as far back as possible on his Dalton progenitors.

 

Grandfather Charles was active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints until his death, 22 May 1891. Luther took another wife, Amy Edgely, on 14 February 1890 and four children were born to this union. He served another mission as President of the California Mission, 1892-1894 and a second son was born to the couple in Oakland, CA. He retired to Pocatello, ID, operated a dairy, and passed away there 29 December 1908.

 

Charles and Luther Dalton organized the first Dalton Genealogical Society in America. Their work has been an inspiration to their descendents and they have passed on a greater desire to genealogical work than one can imagine.

The records that have been developed since Charles' and Luther's time are a tribute to their memory. The Dalton Book, authored by Luther reportedly contains the names of some 4,000 descendents.

In an earlier issue of "Daltons in History", we mentioned that John Luther Dalton had stayed with Thomas Masters Dalton while in Wales. Thomas was a solicitor, turned artist. In the November 1997 issue of the DGS Journal, p.10, there is a picture of one of the artist's works, "Land's End and Longship Lighthouse, 1894". We have just learned that this painting has come on the market in England. It is priced at about 2500 American dollars.

Thomas' great, great grandparents were James Dalton and Joyce Vaughan, also the ancestors of the Luther Dalton clan in America. If there is interest, please contact me, Millicenty@aol.com

In an earlier issue of "Daltons in History" there was an item about Catherine Dalton arriving from Liverpool and Tralee to New York, on the 25th October 1853. We noted that there were few Daltons in Western Ireland at that time. We have now heard from a Dalton descendent whose ancestor emigrated thirty years earlier from a small village near Tralee. If you have a Catherine Dalton on your family tree there may be a connection to another prominent Dalton family.