The Dalton Family

The Dalton Family were one of the biggest families in the villages for around 400 years until the end of the nineteenth century. Over the years they embraced various trades, and various family members spread across the world, with members of the family born in the villages, or first-generation relatives, emigrating to a range of English-speaking countries.

There are many references to the family from the date that St Peter’s Church records began in the late 16^th century, detailed here, and by the time of the earliest village overview in the 18^th century there were four separate families living in Church Lawford. Members of the family at this time were working on the land, as well as being carpenters, and they also took on roles such as that of Parish Clerk.

By the time of the first 19^th Century census in 1801 there were three distinct family groups, and by the 1849/50 tithe mapping there were five family groups, including two trading as butchers, a shopkeeper, a farmer based at Limestone Hall farm, plus a further farmer in King’s Newnham at Newnham Grounds. In addition, one of the family acted as Village Constable for King’s Newnham during that century.

During this period members of the family became involved with other trades, the most notable of which was as a Clockmaker – with examples of their 18^th century work still in existence today, marked with the Church Lawford place of origin. There were three or four generations of the family with a clockmaker called Daniel Dalton, as well as a brother called Samuel who set up a clock and watch business in Rugby. Detailed studies have been made of this side of the family, as detailed in the reference documents below. There was also a link with Christoper Holtum, a clockmaker and inventor who had moved to the village in the early 18^th century. It is thought that the main craftsmanship was for the clockface and casing for either the long case clocks or the smaller clocks and watches – the actual mechanisms were often “bought-in” during those times. Much more detail about the workings of these clocks can be found in the document referenced below.

One of the male family members took the family name to the USA, emigrating to Kansas in 1870, and another branch via a female line went to Canada in 1910. Other branches could be found in New Zealand. The nineteenth century saw William Dalton (1809- 1885) expand the Dalton family by virtue of his fifteen children – 12 by his first wife Emma (nee Billingham), then a further three with Mary Ann (nee Line). Both wives were from well-established farming families in the village – the latter based out of Ling Hall farm. One of his Children was George Joseph Dalton (1866-1926) who became secretary to the Bishop of Coventry as well as a journalist based in the West Midlands. Another child from his first marriage, William Jr, emigrated to Kansas to become a successful shopkeeper in St George as well as a local politician. A daughter from his second marriage, Alice, emigrated to Ontario, Canada, and that family also hosted other family members as evacuees during local conflicts.

With the above longevity and involvement with the two villages – and beyond – it was not surprising that Church Lawford village chose to remember the Dalton name when choosing the name for the newly built close off King’s Newnham Road. It is also noted that there were two fields in the Rookery Farm area labelled Clockmakers Close and Clockmakers Meadow in the 1848/50 Tithe Records.

Information for this article, and the detailed linked articles, has been greatly enhanced with the assistance of members of the Dalton Society, including reference to their published works as follows:

• The History of a Dalton Family in Church Lawford, Warwickshire by Sue McCoy and Martin Griffiths 2011 (Local copy held in Nuneaton Library)
• A Catalogue of Dalton Clocks and Watches by Martin Griffiths 2014 (Copy supplied directly by the Dalton Society Secretary)

Both of the above documents include a great more detail about the family, with family photographs, details of the watches and clocks that have been located, and details of the family tree beyond the two villages. The copy of the latter document provided by the society has also been lodged in this archive to enhance village records (it includes far more than a basic catalogue, with a lot of genealogical detail of the watch and clock makers, as well as technical details about the clocks that have been located).

The table below gives an idea of the generations of the Dalton family that were associated with Church Lawford and King’s Newnham since St Peter’s records began in the late 16th Century. Obviously these focus on those with the Dalton surname – a much more detailed family tree is held which has the various branches to other surnames via the female line – a sample can also be seen of those names via the church records page here, or via the separate document here.