Visit to California in May

Copyright(C) 2012 Rick Walton

I took a break from my 1940 Census project in May, combining business and pleasure, to travel to California. While there, I met our cousin Gayle (Walton) Judd and her husband Evan.

Gayle invited me to visit her lovely home in Saratoga, California where we traded stories and documents of our Walton family genealogy conquests and triumphs.Gayle has been researching the Walton family since the 1960's and is responsible for many Walton records available on the Family Search Website.

Gayle's grandfather, John William Walton, is George Walton, my great-grandfather's, older brother. Many of you reading this are descended from George. John and George are both son's of John and Eliza Walton.

Apparently John William came to America between 1880-1882, although we have not pinned down his exact departure and arrival dates. It is amazing how many John Walton's there where in that time period...he may as well have been John Smith! 

The Walton Brothers In America
John William Walton (1862-1936)	George Walton (1864-1910) Photo Circa 1887

We can conclude that George arrived in America around 1882 because of a job reference¹ from the Danyrallt estate in Llangadocks (modern day LLangadog), South Wales, where he was employed as "a groom under a coachman for somewhat more than a year." The job reference further states: "He is leaving me on the 6th instant [November 6, 1882] in order that he may join his brother in America, where he thinks he may be able to do better for himself than if he remained in England [signed] John Peel, 4th November 1882."

Is it signed H or S. L. Breese?
 Let me know your opinion.

A job reference² dated 1883 has George working as a groom for S. L. Breese (or possibly H. Breese). Unfortunately there is no address and, so far, I have been able to locate anyone of that name in the census or city directories in the U. S. or England. I don't know for sure if George made it to America in 1882 as planned. I do know, from a highly complimentary  job reference³ dated 1886, that George Walton  had been working as a groom for George E. Dodge of 72 Wall Street, New York City since 1884. Dodge was a successful Lumber merchant, Philanthropist and horse fancier. His glowing remarks about George Walton’s ability with horses is especially significant coming from someone who knows and appreciates horses like Mr. Dodge did.

The only brother unaccounted for in the 1881 English census is John William. coupled with the information in the job reference, it is an easy conclusion that John is the brother George is going to join. John's absence from the 1880 U. S. census leads us to conclude that John probably arrived after the census, but before the job reference was written, so he most likely arrived within the 1880 to 1882 time period. Anyone who can provide conclusive evidence of either brothers departure or arrival will be very much appreciated!   
 

Rick visiting Gayle and Evan Judd in California , May 17, 2012

 Like me, Gayle traveled to England and walked the same streets as our ancestors in search of clues.She related many interesting and funny stories, including an experience in Cheddleton. She traveled to England with her husband who was part of a choral group and decided to take a side trip to Cheddleton while her husband's group traveled to Scotland for a concert.She had taken a bus from nearby Stoke-on-Trent and traveled throughout Cheddleton on foot visiting many of the same places that I did, including the church. As daylight waned, she was trying to get in as much site seeing as possible before the bus was scheduled to depart. She asked some local women for directions to Sunnyside, The Walton family house, which is about a mile from the church. The local ladies offered to drive her over and a friendship was soon struck up. Although complete strangers, they ended up offering her the grand tour of the town the following day and convinced her to miss the bus and stay overnight with them.

Like two kids swapping baseball cards, we flipped through an amazingly similar set of photos taken a decade apart, trading stories and observations.That evening, Evan treated Gayle, my wife Ruthann and I to dinner at a favorite restaurant where we enjoyed a wonderful meal and good company. Genealogy talk had to take a break because Evan and Ruthann voted to ban the topic after a short time, allowing for more general conversation as we got to know each other a little better. This encouraged Gayle and me get together for an unplanned second day to discuss more genealogy "on our own time". 

 Gayle and I spent the whole next day together looking through several notebooks of documents she had compiled on her genealogical research. Given the short time window, we focused on the English Walton documents that were a common denominator. I helped Gayle set up a digital archive on her computer and we scanned in 22 documents, mainly English Civil Registration documents, that she has collected since the 1960's. I saved copies to my hard drive and was able to carry this treasure trove home to my archives.

As the hours ticked by, I was so absorbed in scanning and discovering... that I probably overstayed my welcome. I know I made poor Gayle miss lunch and I appreciate her patience with me.

As a result I have the following documents available and thanks to Gayle's permission, I am happy to share them with you by your request. Many of these will be explored in future blogs as we continue to document the Walton's of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire. 

First Generation (Children of John and Eliza Walton of Cheddleton)

Father	John Walton	1852 English Civil Registration Marriage Certificate
		1890 English Civil Registration Death Certificate
Mother	Eliza Walton	1893 English Civil Registration Death Certificate
1.1	Emily Walton	1853 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
1.2	Elizabeth Walton	1855 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
		1861 English Civil Registration Death Certificate
1.3	Jane Ann Walton	1857 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
		1868 English Civil Registration Death Certificate
1.4	Mary Walton	1859 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
1.5	John Joseph Walton	1860 English Civil Registration Death Certificate
1.6	John William Walton	1862 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
1.7	George Walton	1864 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
1.8	Edwin Walton	1865 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
1.9	Louisa Walton	1867 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
1.10	Rose Walton	1870 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
		1937 English Civil Registration Death Certificate
1.11	Frederick Walton	1872 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
1.12	Charles Walton	1874 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate

Note: Brothers John and George, the subject of this article, are highlighted

Second Generation (Children of George & Wilhelmina Constance Walton)  

1.7.5	Robert Walton	1936 SS Application
1.7.7	Charles Walton	1900 Baptism Certificate
		1937 SS Application
1.7.12	Frederick Walton	1936 SS Application

Footnotes:
1. Peel, Robert, Job reference for George Walton, 4 November 1882, Danyrallt estate in Llangadocks (modern day LLangadog), South Wales, from the personal papers of George Walton passed on to daughter Constance Walton McMonagle and then passed on to grandaughter Mabel (Molly) Walton Lewis who provided copies in 2000 to current holder and transcriber Frederick Walton, Raleigh, NC.

2. Breese, S. L., Job reference for George Walton, 1883, location not stated, from the personal papers of George Walton passed on to daughter Constance Walton McMonagle and then passed on to grandaughter Mabel (Molly) Walton Lewis who provided copies in 2000 to current holder and transcriber Frederick Walton, Raleigh, NC.

3. Dodge, George E., Job reference for George Walton, 1 Feb. 1886, 72 Wall St., New York, New York., from the personal papers of George Walton passed on to daughter Constance Walton McMonagle and then passed on to grandaughter Mabel (Molly) Walton Lewis who provided copies in 2000 to current holder and transcriber Frederick Walton, Raleigh, NC.