William Henry Dalton - Not at Convict ?

William Harding Dalton

Is William Henry Dalton a convict? I have my doubts.

I asked my cousin who teaches genealogy, she kindly asked her friend who specializes in convicts.

Here is the reply.

I have just received an email from Louise and she is fairly sure that the William Henry Dalton who married Charlotte Kittelty was not a convict. I have put her reasons below. She has obviously done a good bit of checking for us at the records office etc and I knew that she would be the one to contact with this query due to her vast experience with Tasmanian and convict records. She volunteers at various places in Hobart and really knows her stuff. She basically agrees with you in that he could not have married without permission, and could not have left Tasmania before completing his sentence.

I have done a quick recce of the above person and feel that it is possible he may not have been the convict mentioned.

Charlotte Kittlety arrived in Hobart aboard the Thomas in 1833, port of departure was Leith. Her family was a large one, 11 in all including the parents and they arrived as Unassisted Passengers. The father Solomon apparently was a weaver.

I could not find any record of William Henry Dalton arriving as Assisted or Unassisted. However, the Birth Reg of the child born in 1850, Henry Edward, mentions the father as a Master Mariner, the previous records have him as a seaman. There was a Capt William and sometimes W. H. Dalton plying between Hobart and Port Phillip or Geelong in the "Agnes &
Elizabeth' or the 'Clarence' between 1850-52. In the book Shipping Arrivals & Departures Victoria I noticed he was also aboard the Sisters in 1847. Strangely enough, he ended his productive years in somewhat obscurity, perhaps the Gold Rush played a part there.

It is also important to remember that Seamen arriving from England were not mentioned on Passenger Lists and there are also lots of un named people, too.
The fact that there was not A Convict Application to Marry by William Dalton leads me to believe that in fact the William Henry Dalton was never a convict, but I won't stake my life on it.
Perhaps Gail could check out the NLA site because most of the Hobart newspapers have been digitized and she may find some more evidence there. It is also important to rule out the William Dalton, Convict aboard the David Clarke, and see what may have happened to him. I also noticed there were many ways to spell Kittlety, even with a 'ton' on the end.