Henry Simon Dalton

The History of Henry Simon Dalton; the son of Henry Dalton, 1827-1886

By Rodney G. Dalton.

Henry Simon Dalton was born on April 3rd, 1827 in in Chenango, Broome Co. NY, one of the sons of Henry Dalton and Elizabeth Green. He grew up with his cousins near their farm in Wysox Penn. Henry Simon Dalton married Elizabeth Kittleman on March 19 1848 in San Francisco, Calif. They had 5 children.

After his father Henry Dalton drown in the Susquehanna River in 1833, he was "adopted" by his uncle, John Dalton Jr. He was with the Dalton's when they moved to Washtenaw County Michigan in 1835. Henry Simon Dalton followed his uncle's to Nauvoo where he joined the Militia.

Henry Simon Dalton was a member of the Morman Battalion, Company B. He joined the Battalion in 1846. The Captain was Jesse D. Hunter. with 12 men in Headquaters Company. There was 90 privates, Henry S. Dalton being one of them. Henry belonged to the Santa Fe. On this trek the soilders suffered from excessive heat, lack of sufficient food, improper medical treatment, and forced long distance marches. The First Division of the Battalion marched to Santa Fe on Oct. 9th, 1846. Three detachments consisting of 273 people eventually were sent to Pueblo, Colo. for the winter of 1846/47. It was this group of Mormons who first estabished the Anglo-Saxon civilization there. They held the first religious service in English, taught the first school, ans erected the first English meeting house.

On July 16th 1847 the Morman Battalion boys were discharged at Los Angeles and scattered out, some coming to San Francisco. Among them was Henry S. Dalton who went to work in a butcher shop.

Note: Here is the Story on the Mormon Battalion:

In July 1846, under the authority of U.S. Army Captain James Allen and with the encouragement of Mormon leader Brigham Young, the Mormon Battalion was mustered in at Council Bluffs, Iowa Territory. The battalion was the direct result of Brigham Young's correspondence on 26 January 1846 to Jesse C. Little, presiding elder over the New England and Middle States Mission. Young instructed Little to meet with national leaders in Washington, D.C., and to seek aid for the migrating Latter-day Saints, the majority of whom were then in the Iowa Territory. In response to Young's letter, Little journeyed to Washington, arriving on 21 May 1846, just eight days after Congress had declared war on Mexico.

Little met with President James K. Polk on 5 June 1846 and urged him to aid migrating Mormon pioneers by employing them to fortify and defend the West. The president offered to aid the pioneers by permitting them to raise a battalion of five hundred men, who were to join Colonel Stephen W. Kearny, Commander of the Army of the West, and fight for the United States in the Mexican War. Little accepted this offer.

Colonel Kearny designated Captain James Allen, later promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, to raise five companies of volunteer soldiers from the able-bodied men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five in the Mormon encampments in Iowa. On 26 June 1846 Allen arrived at the encampment of Mt. Pisgah. He was treated with suspicion as many believed that the raising of a battalion was a plot to bring trouble to the migrating Saints.

Allen journeyed from Mt. Pisgah to Council Bluffs, where on 1 July 1846 he allayed Mormon fears by giving permission for the Saints to encamp on United States lands if the Mormons would raise the desired battalion. Brigham Young accepted this, recognizing that the enlistment of the battalion was the first time the government had stretched forth its arm to aid the Mormons.

On 16 July 1846 some 543 men enlisted in the Mormon Battalion. From among these men Brigham Young selected the commissioned officers; they included Jefferson Hunt, Captain of Company A; Jesse D. Hunter, Captain of Company B; James Brown, Captain of Company C; Nelson Higgins, Captain of Company D; and Daniel C. Davis, Captain of Company E. Among the most prominent non-Mormon military officers immediately associated with the battalion march were Lt. Col. James Allen, First Lt. Andrew Jackson Smith, Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke, and Dr. George Sanderson. Also accompanying the battalion were approximately thirty-three women, twenty of whom served as laundresses, and fifty-one children.

The battalion marched from Council Bluffs on 20 July 1846, arriving on 1 August 1846 at Fort Leavenworth (Kansas), where they were outfitted for their trek to Santa Fe. Battalion members drew their arms and accoutrements, as well as a clothing allowance of forty-two dollars, at the fort. Since a military uniform was not mandatory, many of the soldiers sent their clothing allowances to their families in the encampments in Iowa..

The march from Fort Leavenworth was delayed by the sudden illness of Colonel Allen. Capt. Jefferson Hunt was instructed to begin the march to Santa Fe; he soon received word that Colonel Allen was dead. Allen's death caused confusion regarding who should lead the battalion to Santa Fe. Lt. A.J. Smith arrived from Fort Leavenworth claiming the lead, and he was chosen the commanding officer by the vote of battalion officers. The leadership transition proved difficult for many of the enlisted men, as they were not consulted about the decision.

Smith and his accompanying surgeon, a Dr. Sanderson, have been described in journals as the "heaviest burdens" of the battalion. Under Smith's dictatorial leadership and with Sanderson's antiquated prescriptions, the battalion marched to Santa Fe. On this trek the soldiers suffered from excessive heat, lack of sufficient food, improper medical treatment, and forced long-distance marches.

The first division of the Mormon Battalion approached Santa Fe on 9 October 1846. Their approach was heralded by Col. Alexander Doniphan, who ordered a one-hundred-gun salute in their honor. At Santa Fe, Smith was relieved of his command by Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke. Cooke, aware of the rugged trail between Santa Fe and California and also aware that one sick detachment had already been sent from the Arkansas River to Fort Pueblo in Colorado, ordered the remaining women and children to accompany the sick of the battalion to Pueblo for the winter. Three detachments consisting of 273 people eventually were sent to Pueblo for the winter of 1846-47.

The remaining soldiers, with four wives of officers, left Santa Fe for California on 19 October 1846. They journeyed down the Rio Grande del Norte and eventually crossed the Continental Divide on 28 November 1846. While moving up the San Pedro River in present-day Arizona, their column was attacked by a herd of wild cattle. In the ensuing fight, a number of bulls were killed and two men were wounded. Following the "Battle of the Bulls," the battalion continued their march toward Tucson, where they anticipated a possible battle with the Mexican soldiers garrisoned there. At Tucson, the Mexican defenders temporarily abandoned their positions and no conflict ensued.

On 21 December 1846 the battalion encamped on the Gila River. They crossed the Colorado River into California on 9 and 10 January 1847. By 29 January 1847 they were camped at the Mission of San Diego, about five miles from General Kearny's quarters. That evening Colonel Cooke rode to Kearny's encampment and reported the battalion's condition. On 30 January 1847 Cooke issued orders enumerating the accomplishments of the Mormon Battalion. "History may be searched in vain for an equal march of infantry. Half of it has been through a wilderness where nothing but savages and wild beasts are found, or deserts where, for lack of water, there is no living creature."

During the remainder of their enlistment, some members of the battalion were assigned to garrison duty at either San Diego, San Luis Rey, or Ciudad de los Angeles. Other soldiers were assigned to accompany General Kearny back to Fort Leavenworth. All soldiers, whether en route to the Salt Lake Valley via Pueblo or still in Los Angeles, were mustered out of the United States Army on 16 July 1847. Eighty-one men chose to reenlist and serve an additional eight months of military duty under Captain Daniel C. Davis in Company A of the Mormon Volunteers. The majority of the soldiers migrated to the Salt Lake Valley and were reunited with their pioneering families.

The men of the Mormon Battalion are honored for their willingness to fight for the United States as loyal American citizens. Their march of some 2,000 miles from Council Bluffs to California is one of the longest military marches in history. Their participation in the early development of California by building Fort Moore in Los Angeles, building a courthouse in San Diego, and making bricks and building houses in southern California contributed to the growth of the West.

Following their discharge, many men helped build flour mills and sawmills in northern California. Some of them were among the first to discover gold at Sutter's Mill. Men from Captain Davis's Company A were responsible for opening the first wagon road over the southern route from California to Utah in 1848.

Historic sites associated with the battalion include the Mormon Battalion Memorial Visitor's Center in San Diego, California; Fort Moore Pioneer Memorial in Los Angeles, California; and the Mormon Battalion Monument in Memory Grove, Salt Lake City, Utah. Monuments relating to the battalion are also located in New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado, and trail markers have been placed on segments of the battalion route.

See: Sergeant Daniel Tyler, A Concise History of the Mormon Battalion in the Mexican War 1846-1848 (1969); Philip St. George Cooke, et. al., Exploring Southwestern Trails, 1846-1854 (1938); Frank Alfred Golder, Thomas A. Bailey, and Lyman J. Smith, eds., The March of the Mormon Battalion From Council Bluffs to California Taken from the Journal of Henry Standage (1928).

Source: By Susan Easton Black; Taken off the internet.

Note: A article by Elizabeth Kittleman ( Dalton) who married Henry S. Dalton

From the Book; " Our Pioneer Heritage; The Brooklyn Ship Saints."

(The Ship Brooklyn docked in Yerba Buena, arriving on a Sunday, so the Saints held a meeting to praise God for the safe journey. The William Kettleman family lived in San Francisco for three years. )

Source:

Our Pioneer Heritage

Volume 3

The Ship Brooklyn Saints

John Kittleman and His Family

A Tribute

The following story is told by Elizabeth Jane Kittleman (Dalton) concerning their voyage on the ship Brooklyn and the trek from California to Utah. She was born May 26, 1831 at Downington, Chester county, Pennsylvania, the eldest daughter of William and Elizabeth Hindman Kittleman.

In 1838, my father, William Kittleman, was working for a railroad company. One day as he was preparing to eat lunch two Mormon Elders came to talk to him. They had not eaten so he shared his lunch with them. They asked if they might call at his home and hold a cottage meeting. He assured them they would be welcome. People heard of the gathering and came from far and near to hear the Elders' message. They converted my Grandfather and Grandmother Kittleman (John and Sarah), three aunts and two uncles, George and Thomas, my father, mother, and their family. None of my mother's people were converted and were very much opposed to our joining. I was baptized in the summer of 1840 by Elijah Sheets. When I was a small girl, the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, came to Grandfather Kittleman's home and held many meetings.

January 4, 1846 my parents and their family, together with my grandparents and their family, left our home in Downington, Chester county, Pennsylvania for New York where we set sail February 4, 1846 on the good ship Brooklyn. We were on the ship six months and landed twice, once on Juan Fernandez and once on the Sandwich Islands. We landed in Yerba Buena Bay, Sunday, July 31, 1846, so we stayed on board until the following Tuesday. We, with many more of our friends, had no place to go. We took our bedding and went to stay in a large adobe house for the winter. It was the time of the Mexican-American war and the streets were guarded and every one had to be in by 9 p.m., if not they were marched to the guard house. In the spring the peace terms were settled and the people bought land and started out. Father bought a lot, built a shanty, and we moved from the adobe house. He planted a garden and raised some of the first vegetables in that settlement.

" On July 16th, 1847 the Mormon Battalion boys were discharged at Los Angeles and scattered out, some coming to San Franasco. Among them was Henry Simon Dalton (Company B) who came to work in a butcher shop and boarded in our house. (Note: Elizabeth kept a boarding house on Bush and

Montgomery Streets, Where the Mills Building now stands;) He stayed with us until the following March, when we were married by Elder Addison Platt.

We left San Francisco in June of 1849 to come to Utah. We arrived on Oct. 1st,1849 and settled in the First Ward in Salt Lake City. In 1850 we moved north to Centerville, Davis County, Utah, which is about 15 miles from Salt Lake City.

In May of 1856 we were called on a mission to Carson Valley Nev. After serving for one year in the

Carson Valley Mission, we returned to Utah, along with all the other Saints. When we arrived back home in Centerville, my husband sold the upper portion of the farm to the Cheneys and then built a new home for us on the other half. We left our home again in 1858 at the time of the Utah War and moved south to Spanish Fork. We got word that we could returned again to Centerville in July of that year."

Elizabeth Kettleman Dalton passed away on Dec. 13th, 1917 after living for 57 years on the land purchased in Utah in 1849. She was an active Latter-Day Saint and was a member of the first Relief Society organized in Centerville.

This record in the local newspaper tells how Henry Simon Dalton died:

DEATH OF H. S. DALTON - (Henry Simon Dalton)

The Coroner's jury found he died of injuries inflicted by Evans.

H. S. Dalton, the old gentleman who had his arm broken at Rock's Springs on Friday afternoon in a drunken quarrel with Evan's, died at the Deseret Hospital Sunday night. A coroner's inquiry was held at the city hall yesterday, the body having perilously been examined at the residence of his Son-in-law, John Brimley in the fifth Ward. Immediately upon hearing of the death of Dalton, Evans went to Marshall Dray and gave himself up.

Six witness's were summoned before the jury, whose testimony proved that all the parties were fairly drunk and got into a quarrel while at a game of pool. Dalton made some insulting remarks to Evans while getting into his buggy to return home, to which Evans reported to reply, which infuriated Dalton, who started to climb out of the buggy when he was caught by the collar and pulled to the ground. A little scuffling endured between the two, when it was found that Dalton's arm was broken. He was taken to the Desert Hospital and therefore died according to the testimony of Dr. Richards, from a concussion of the brain caused by the fall. The resolve of the jury was as followed:

Territory of Utah, County of Salt Lake, Fifth Precinct;

An investigation held at the City Hall in the Fifth Precinct of Salt Lake City on the 11th day of October 1886 before George D. Peter, Justice of the peace for said precinct, and acting Coroner of said County upon the body of H. S. Dalton, by jurors whose duties are Hereunto subscripted. The said jury on their oaths do say and from the evidence presented, that the said H. S. Dalton died on the 8th day of October 1886 of a concussion of the brain brought on by injury endured by him at Rock's Hot Springs on the 8th day of October 1886 by falling out of his wagon while engaging in a drunken fight with Parley Evans. In witness whereof, the said jurors hereunto by their hands, this day and year above written.

George D. Peter, acting Coroner.

Source: Death notice wrote in the Salt Lake Tribune - Dec. 10 1886

Offical LDS Church Records:

Dalton, Henry Simon

Birth: Dalton, Henry Simon - Date: April 3, 1827 - Place: Chenango, Broom, NY, USA

Parents: Dalton, Henry Simon - Father: Dalton, Henry - Mother: Greene, Elizabeth

Death: Dalton, Henry Simon - Date: November 10, 1886 - Place: Centerville, Davis, UT, USA Burial Date: November 12, 1886 - Buried: Centerville, Davis, UT, USA

Marriage Information: Dalton, Henry Simon - Spouse: Kettleman, Elizabeth Jane - Date: March 12, 1848 Place: San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

Children: Dalton, Henry Simon

             Name:                         Birthdate:

1. Dalton, John George December 16, 1848

2. Dalton, Sarah Elizabeth May 5, 1851

3. Dalton, Eliza Jane May 3, 1853

4. Dalton, William Henry June 17, 1855

5. Dalton, Mary Maria September 2, 1859

Church Ordinance Data: Dalton, Henry Simon - Baptism - Date: February 7, 1857

Temple Ordinance Data: Dalton, Henry Simon - Endowment Date: February 6, 1846 - Temple: Nauvoo, Hancock, IL, USA

Endowment Date: June 12, 1941

Sealed to Parents Date: June 11, 1942

Sealed to Spouse Date: February 26, 1853

Note: Proof that Henry Simon Dalton was born in New York State:

Sexton Records: Utah Cemetery Inventory

Date of Death: 10 November 1886

Location: Centerville, Davis, UT

Burial: November 1886

Location: A 17 5 8

Date of Birth: 3 April 1827

Location: Shenango, Broome, NY (Chenango)

Death notice wrote in the Salt Lake Trubune - NOV. 10 1886