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Dalton family papers, 1693-1876 (majority within 1761-1769, 1777-1779)

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Summary

Creator:
Dodge, Stanley Dalton
Abstract:
The Dalton family papers document three generations of the Dalton family of Boston, Massachusetts: Captain James Dalton, Peter Roe Dalton, and Peter Roe Dalton, Jr. This wealthy family was involved in transatlantic shipping and local Boston politics.
Extent:
168 items
Language:
English
Authors:
Collection processed and finding aid created by Diana Runge, February 2010; Philip Heslip, April 2010

Background

Scope and Content:

The Dalton family papers (168 items) contain 29 letters, 35 financial records, 30 receipts, 1 account book, 66 legal documents, 2 genealogical booklets, 2 genealogical essays, and an image of the Dalton house. These document three generations of the Dalton family of Boston, Massachusetts: Captain James Dalton, Peter Roe Dalton, and Peter Roe Dalton, Jr. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing section for a list and description of each item in the collection.

The Documents, Letters and Receipts series contains commercial papers and letters, including business letters, contracts, insurance agreements, estate documents, deeds and leases, bills of lading, wage-payment receipts, customs house receipts, and army provision orders and receipts.

Of note are:
  • Records of transporting building material (boards, shingles, staves), and food (beef, herring, mackerel, molasses, sugar) between Boston and the West Indies.
  • Shipping records for the following ships: Abigail, Mauritius, Nancy, Packett, Polly, Resolution, Sarah, Swallow, Two Friends, and Willmill.
  • Documents detailing James Dalton's losses from the Great Boston Fire (March 20, 1760 and April 16, 1761)
  • A letter from Peter Roe Dalton to James Dalton (his father) discussing trading efforts in Charleston, South Carolina, and noting sickness in the area (November 27, 1766)
  • Documents concerning the Revolutionary War relating to supplying Boston troops (1777-1781)
  • Two letters about the Mexican War written on board the US Ship Lexington (March 15, 1847 and June 4, 1848)
  • A letter from N.J. Dalton, in which he described travels in California and an Indian hunt that killed 125 Indians for murdering a rancher and stealing 7 head of cattle.
  • Voucher for the Honorable William Stoughton Esquire, Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (April 26, 1693)

The Account Book series consists of a 44-page volume of accounts for the estates of Peter Roe Dalton (1743-1811) and his son Peter Roe Dalton, Jr. (1791-1861).

The Genealogy and Miscellaneous series (6 items) is comprised of two booklets with birth and death information on the Dalton Family and Simeon Skillin's ancestors; two essays on the lives of James Dalton and Peter Roe Dalton; a list of Dalton-owned church pews in King's Chapel in Boston (1754-1876); and an image of the Dalton house in Boston, on the corner of Water Street and Congress Street, which was occupied by James and Peter Roe Dalton.

Biographical / Historical:

Captain James Dalton (1718-1783) was a Boston shipmaster involved in trade with the West Indies and Europe. His first command was of the brigantine Joshua, owned by Henderson & Hughes, which sailed between Boston and London. By 1751, he owned several trade ships, such as the Abigail and the Polly, and managed a Boston based shipping business. He married Abigail Roe in 1740; they had 10 children, including Richard and Peter Roe Dalton, whom he employed as cosigners of cargo for many of his trading vessels. Richard drowned in 1768, while delivering cargo to Turks Island in the West Indies. James Dalton died in 1783.

After working for his father's shipping business, Peter Roe Dalton (1743-1811) became deputy commissioner general of issues for the Continental army, which provisioned the troops stationed in Boston during the Revolution, as well as prisoners of war in the area, and the French fleet under Charles Henri, comte d'Estaing. After the war, he was appointed by the General Court of Massachusetts to settle the state's war debts. He later worked for the Massachusetts Bank and served as the first cashier of the local branch of the Bank of the United States from 1792 until his death in 1811. Peter was first married in 1768 to Susanna Griggs. His second wife was Ann Call of Charlestown, Massachusetts; they were married in 1778 and had 11 children. After his father's death, Peter inherited his Boston estate, which he passed on to his son, Peter Roe Dalton, Jr., (1791-1861), who is also represented in the collection.

Acquisition Information:
1927. M-24 .
Processing information:

Cataloging funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the "We the People" project.

Arrangement:
This collection is organized into 3 series:
  • Series I: Documents, Letters, and Receipts
  • Series II: Account Book
  • Series III: Genealogy and Miscellaneous

Each series is ordered chronologically with undated items at the end.

Rules or Conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

Ordering Reproductions

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open for research.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright status is unknown

PREFERRED CITATION:

Dalton Family Papers, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan

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Collection

Dalton family papers, 1693-1876 (majority within 1761-1769, 1777-1779)
Total components 161
Last indexed 2025-02-09