Millicent Craig has asked me to write a New Year message for all our readers. Let me start by wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous year ahead. This newsletter reaches DGS members, and many others who are interested in Dalton family history, in all corners of the world and I am currently on a visit to Australia, which will include attending the DGS Australian Gathering taking place in Sydney on Saturday 3 January 2004. This is being organised by our Australian secretary, Maureen Collins, and is looked forward to with eager anticipation. The last time I was in Australia was back in 1988, when the DGS set up its stall at the Australian International Genealogical Congress, that took place in the newly opened Darling Harbour Convention Centre in Sydney and coincided with Australia’s bicentennial. Although that is now 15 years ago, I have vivid memories of meeting many who shared that common interest in the Dalton surname and the seeds were sown then for what has been a sustained Australian membership of the Society ever since.

As Chairman of the Dalton Genealogical Society, I am immensely encouraged by what the Society has been able to achieve, particularly over the past few years. This website has contributed enormously to this and it is therefore highly appropriate for me to be able to congratulate Millicent on maintaining and expanding it to what you see today, with a regular monthly newsletter "Daltons in History", the wonderful Dalton Data Bank and the index of contents of the Journal of the Dalton Genealogical Society right back to its inception in 1970. The thanks of all of us worldwide go to Millicent for her hard work, determination and enthusiasm.

As I write this (on 16 December 2003), I am at Mackay in Queensland, which is half way between Cairns and Brisbane. I am travelling with my wife, Kate and my son, James, and we will be joining Kate’s sister and her husband in Sydney for Christmas. We left England on 7 December 2003 and celebrated Christmas very early with the family back at home on 29 November 2003. So for us, Christmas this year is spread out in terms of both time and geography. It will certainly feel strange being in such warm and sunny climes on Christmas Day! I sincerely hope that, wherever you may be, you will have enjoyed a peaceful and relaxing Christmas time with your families.

So, we say farewell to 2003…….. The last year has been an eventful one for the DGS – mid-year we enjoyed a well-attended Gathering, held on the Gower Peninsula in South Wales, studying the Welsh Daltons who arrived there in the mid 17th Century following defeat at the Battle of Worcester fighting for the Royalist cause. During 2003, the Dalton DNA project has been launched and is now gathering momentum as more members are tested.

…………..and we usher in 2004. The year ahead looks exciting, with the immediate prospect of the Sydney Gathering and then, back in England, on the weekend of 10/11th July 2004 we will be holding our UK Gathering in Lancashire. This website will be carrying full details. Volume 39 of the DGS Journal is about to be published and, during the course of 2004, two more issues will appear. DNA tests will continue, the website newsletter will appear each month and more source material will be added to the Dalton Data Bank. Hopefully there will be plenty to maintain the attention of each and every person who shares that common interest in Dalton family history.

Good luck to you all with your family history researches in 2004 !!

Michael Neale Dalton
Chairman and Honorary Life President of the Dalton Genealogical Society

from Millicent Craig

Recently a copy of a handwritten document arrived in the mail from John White of Maine. It contained a short genealogy of the Hampton, NH Daltons and was reportedly written by the widow of the Reverend Asa Dalton, Episcopal Minister of Portland, Maine. His descendency was from Philemon and the entry in the genealogy indicated that Asa was a grandson of Tristram Dalton Senator from MA. The Honorable Tristram is not known to have left a male heir with issue.

By using the Dalton Data Bank to search for Asa, it took less than ten minutes to establish not only his family line but to answer queries concerning the origins of the Parsonfield, Maine Daltons. It is important to the DGS and to Hampton, NH Daltons to locate members of these families. One descendent of the Hamptons has contributed his DNA to the Dalton International DNA Project and others need to be located to confirm or deny the unexpected results. If you are from the Hampton line or branches in Londonderry, Gilmanton, Sanbornton, Northwood, Exeter, Kingston, Durham, Rochester or in Massachusetts, please be in touch. Millicenty@aol.com

Finding Asa in the Dalton Data Bank

Maine file. The 1880 Census of Portland, Maine shows: Asa Dalton, age 55, b. ME., parents b. ME; wife Maria L., 54, b. MA, parents b. MA; daus Mary L. 20, and Edith L., 18, both b. ME.

Massacusetts file. Under Boston Marriages is the following entry: 20 Nov 1851 Asa Dalton and Maria Leverett.

Maine file. Under Births: 20 Oct 1824, Asa Dalton, son of Samuel and Mary Ann Huckins in Newfield, ME. The births of Asa's siblings are located in the same section.

Maine file. The following marriage appears in York County, ME. 27 Oct 1819, Samuel Dalton and Mary Ann Huckins, Parsonfield. This appears to be the secod marriage for Samuel.Other entries for Samuel: 1810 Census of Parsonfield lists a Samuel Dalton, merchant 1830 Census Cumberland County, Portland lists Samuel Dalton

New Hampshire file. #52 Samuel Dalton, son of Samuel #40, married Sarah Scott, Nov 1757; lived in Hampton, NH and finally in Parsonfield, ME. #58 Their son Samuel was christened Aug 1771 and married Mary Bennet of York. He was a merchant in Parsonfield.

Descendency

Asa's descendency was from Philemon Dalton who arrived in Hampton, N. H. from England in 1635, through son Samuel, son Philemon the Deacon, son Samuel, and son Samuel. The DDB is a great tool for making a quick initial search.

The following notices of early Wills were extracted from the on-line web site of the Public Records Office.

Copies of Wills may be obtained through their site:  http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/ This site should be checked periodically for additions.

Berkshire

31 Jul 1789, Will of Thomas Dalton, Gentleman of Fifield, Catalog Ref. Prob. 11/1181

29 Jan 1807, Will of John Dalton, Yeoman of Fyfield, Catalog Ref. Prob. 11/1454

31 Oct 1808, Will of Thomas Dalton, Yeoman of Fyfield, Catalog Ref. Prob. 11/1486

01 Jul 1813, Will of Elizabeth Dalton, Widow of Fyfield, Catalog Ref. Prob. 11/1546

Gloucestershire

09 Jun 1748, Will of Matthew Dalton, Ironmonger of Bristol, Catalog Ref. Prob. 11/762

01 Feb 1809, Will of Thomas Dalton, Potter of Saint Alphage West Greenwich, Catalog Ref. Prob. 11/1492

06 Mar 1818, Will of Eleanor Dalton, Widow of Beckford, Catalog Ref. Prob. 11/1602

04 Nov 1831, Will of John Dalton, Fellmonger of Saint Philip and Jacob, Catalog Ref. Prob. 11/1901B

 

Northamptonshire

12 Oct 1812, Will of Daniel Dalton, Cordwainer of Culworth, Catalog Ref. Prob. 11/1537

16 Nov 1818, Will of Henry Dalton Douglas, Yeoman of Chipping Warden, Catalog Ref. Prob. 11/1610

05 Nov 1855, Will of Richard Dalton of Kelmarsh, Catalog Ref. Prob. 11/2222

from Millicent Craig

According to the experiences of Family Tree DNA, the DNA matching of different surnames is likely to occur beyond the genealogical time frame of 1000 years, or beyond the time that surnames came into use. Since we are all descended from the same individuals, at some point in the past we had a common ancestor.

There are always exception to the rule and the history of Daltons is replete with exceptions. All of the following examples have occurred within the last five hundred years and many are documented in the Dalton Genealogical Society Journals. See the Index at: http://DGS.0pi.com

Inheritance and Property Rights

When a daughter was the only heir to a manor or hall owned by a Dalton, the daughter carried her surname to the marriage. In the case of the Thurnham Daltons of Lancashire, England, one such union was Fitzgerald-Dalton. Fitzgerald was from County Cork, Ireland. In Ireland, the Tuites and Daltons maintained property rights in the union of Tuite-Dalton. In a recent issue of the Journal is a story of the Grant-Daltons of Brodsworth Hall. Over time hyphens were dropped and Fitzgerald, Tuite and Grant became middle names. In America, Grant has become a given name as in Grant Dalton. In no case would descendents of these families match the DNA of Dalton participants in the Dalton International DNA Project. The matches will be with the surnames, Fitzgerald, Tuite and Grant.

Illegitimacy

In England the recording of births through christening records became mandatory in the early part of the 16th Century. Marriage, however was not mandatory. Thus for about 100 years after the church changeover the number of illegitimate births seems high in my ancestral home of Croston. Couples had several children without marrying. In many instances the children bore the name of the mother.* Whether this same phenomenon occurred in other parts of England I do not know.

One only has to study the 1880 Census records in the U. S. to see how widespread illegitimacy was across the mid-southern states and down into Texas. In both examples, the DNA of descendents of unwed Dalton mothers whose descendents carry the name Dalton, will match the DNA of other surnames, that of the biological father. For those unsure of their ancestry testing is one way to learn what your lineage really is.

Criminals

Court records of those accused of crimes in England or Ireland show the aliases used by some Daltons and are listed on the Transportation Records to Australia and to the American colonies. The fact that relatives have literally disappeared may be due to the fact that the alias became the surname. We have reported on Patrick Dalton, a bonded servant, sent to Virginia who escaped from his master, never to be found. Patrick undoubtedly began a new life under a new name. In the two instances above, no matter what the new surname of the individual, Dalton will be a matching surname.

Within the last century, a Prussian emigrated to the Midwest of the U. S. (name and place withheld for privacy of the family). He broke Federal law, was imprisoned and when released changed his name to Dalton. Descendents of this now prominent Dalton family will learn that their DNA matches a Prussian family name.

Starting a new life

It was not uncommon for emigrants coming to America to leave the past behind and begin a new life under a new name, frequently the maiden name of a mother. This was particularly true of emigrants from central European countries who changed difficult to pronounce names. The Daltuva family from Poland became Dalton. The DNA of descendents of this family will likely show a match with a Polish family.

In both the 1880 Census of the U. S. and the 1881 Census of Canada, there are a number of Daltons whose birthplace is recorded as Sweden, Germany, Austria, France, Prussia and Russia. Though the Dalton surname may be legitimate in some cases, a cursory search by your editor in the records of some countries has shown that the Dalton surname did not exist. Once again, the DNA of descendents of these emigrants may show a match with an entirely different surname.

Other Circumstances

Descendents of children who were adopted by Daltons will show that their DNA matches that of their biological father. "Taking in" of relatives' children in the U. S. was a common practice. Often time the surname of the new family became the surname of the child without going through the adoption procedure. Again in such cases, the DNA of descendents of these children will match that of the biological father.

For the few examples cited above there are hundreds of others. Our curiosity was aroused when the DNA of a participant in the Dalton International DNA Project matched the ancient Irish surname of O'Gara. The O'Gara's whose roots are in Counties Sligo and Roscommon are puzzled by the appearance of a recent ancestor at the tip of the Irish world in County Donegal. Who knows whether a Dalton/O'Gara made a connection, changed a name, or what? Since we have not yet learned the ancestral location of our Dalton participant, anything is possible.

*Editor's note. Although Church of England records show a large number of illegitimate children, one questions whether secret marriages were performed by a Catholic priest. In Croston the harborer of a priest who performed Catholic rites was arrested, drawn and quartered. In nearby Rufford Hall, the remains of the priest's passageway still exists. When the restoration of Thurnham Hall, home of the Byspham/Croston Daltons was underway, the priest's hiding cubicle was discovered. If recusants went to such extremes to practice their religion, it is logical to deduce that the practice may also have included a sanctioned marriage. Through DNA testing, descendents can learn who their paternal biological family really is.

Update (January 2004)

The Dalton Genealogical Society's Chairman Michael Neale Dalton announced an International DNA project for members at the May/June 2003 Annual Gathering and Meeting in Wales. All committee members provided samples of their DNA. It is recognized that there is a large number of members who have been unable to trace their ancestral line beyond several generations and quite rarely beyond the late 1500's through records. In Ireland it is uncommon to trace an ancestral line beyond the late 1700's.

The DGS DNA Project hopes to assist members by determining whether there are cousin relationships, whether individuals may have the same paternal roots and where to turn their attention for further records research. Daltons comprise a large segment of the population, not quite as prevalent as Smith and Jones, but nevertheless one of the largest of One Name Studies. As such it is possible that there is not one but several founding fathers. This study will begin to show whether this is indeed a possibility.

The project is being approached in a systematic manner by inviting those members with the longest ancestral records to contribute their DNA. Many of these ancestral lines have been the subject of research reports that have been published in the DGS Journal. Thus ancestral record bases exist for matching and should prove helpful to other members whose ancestral lines are not so long.

The paternal roots of nearly all Daltons lie in either England or Ireland and this study is directed toward both the English and Irish segments of Daltons. Baselines are being established for both groups. Participants from Australia, Canada, Ireland, the U. K. and the U. S. are now part of this study all with either English or Irish ancestry and showing connections across the globe. Many have been totally surprised and are now in contact with new found relatives to exchange information and to pursue new avenues of research.

Clusters now forming

Manchester/Oldham, England workers in the textile trade. Emigrants who came to the textile plants in PA and N. E. may be part of this line. There may also be a line in Utah. This line shows Viking/Norman ancestry.

Byspham/Croston, England. There are dozens of descendents in the U. S. and many, many in England. Need male descendents of Thurnham for this section. Fitzgerald-Daltons will not carry the Dalton DNA.

Wales, Curbridge, England. Cluster now shows that hundreds of Utah Daltons belong to this line as well as many, many Daltons in England.

Mid South Ireland. This cluster is growing with American/Irish and Irish participants, hitherto unknown to each other.

Ready for Matching

The DNA for the following lines have been processed. Hampton, NH, Newburyport, MA Daltons with roots in Suffolk England. Descendents of Samuel of Mayo, VA who believe they are connected to the Samuel/Timothy of NH may want to participate and confirm or deny.

The DNA of a line of Westmeath Daltons is available for matching. This line consists of hundreds in the U. S. and many are in Utah. Members who remained around Madrid, N.Y and those who stayed in Ireland are most welcome. Argentinean Daltons are also welcome.

The Yorkshire line is most important for American and English Dalton links. Because there were so many of them, additions to this sector of the test are wanted to establish linkages with established lines.

Other Results

In future issues of the web page there will be updates of where the clusters are occurring. In the DNA pool are descendents of Daltons who were in Lincolnshire, Buckinghamshire, Norfolk, London, Dublin, Kerry. We also await the results of those members whose ancestry was in VA, TN or KY and whose origins are unknown. An announcement of historical significance will be made in the Fall DGS Journal regarding American Daltons.

Invitation

You are cordially invited to join the Dalton Genealogical Society and to participate in the Dalton International DNA Project. The procedure is simple and if your DNA is submitted by mid-October 2003, your certificate will be ready for your family by Christmas.

There are two types of tests available. A 12 marker test will show cousin relationships and the 25 marker test will show additional ethnic background information and the probabilities of having the same ancestral father if such a relationships exists. A 12 marker test is $99.00 and the full 25 marker test is $169.00. (These are group discounted prices). The latter is recommended because of the likelihood that Dalton lines go back to Norman times. Generally about seven weeks are required for results.

For those who would like to be a part of this study, please be in contact and let us know the geographical location and date of your earliest recorded Dalton ancestor. DNA kits can be mailed to any location in the world. The particulars of this study are available on the Family Tree DNA web site and Millicent Craig, the American Secretary is your current coordinator. Contact: Millicenty@aol.com

Editor's note. Please read "FAQ's" in the October 2003 issue of "Daltons in History" for answers to questions about qualifications.

During the month of December 2003, Part II of the Tennessee, U. S. file was added to the Dalton Data Bank. The six counties of Northern Ireland have been updated by DGS member William "Mike" Dalton of Oregon. They have been reformatted and will be entered on the master page under Northern Ireland in January 2004. Work is also progressing on London data by Bill Dalton of Washington state. We welcome volunteers who can extract data for Scottish Daltons. There is a dearth of such data on the internet and requests for assistance keep arriving. The Bank contains over 100,000 Dalton surnames entries and continues to be a popular site for beginning ancestral research.

TENNESSEE, Part II

Tennessee documents record the migration of Daltons from the Carolinas, Virginia and Kentucky. They often remained for one generation and then moved on to Indiana, Missouri, Texas and other mid-western states. Birth records are scarce but marriage records are plentiful. A very large section of Deeds, Warrants and Trusts was contributed by Melanie Crain, Editor of the Dalton Gang Newsletter.

Our appreciation is extended to her. This file contains approximately 3000 surname entries and was uploaded in two sections. The first section was uploaded in November 2003 and contains Marriages, City Directories, Deeds, Warrants and Trusts. Section was uploaded in December 2003 and covers a number of U. S. and Tennessee Censuses: Census Index 1796-1860; 1880 Census Section I; 1880 Census Section II; 1890 Census Index; Veteran's Schedule 1891; and Male Voter's List 1891.