Captain John Dalton

Born on 22 October 1833 at Harpham Field House in Yorkshire, England.[1] He was the eldest child of Thomas and Ann Dalton.[1]

When his father he joined the North Sea Scroop.[1] He worked for Danish transport company transporting transport in both the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny .[1] He served on S.S Maitland and went on to become captain and sailed between Australia, Newcastle, South Africa, Ireland and Scotland.[1] He became a qualified Master Marnier and sailed between Newcastle and Sydney on the streamer Waratah.[1] S.S Kingsly was a fish and oyster boat which worked between Port Stephens to Paddy's Markets .[1]

He earned a living shipping vegetable to Sydney from the Hawkesbury River.[1] Then he moved his family to Port Stephens to settle at Nelson Bay.[1] In 1882 he built his house Westward Ho on 40 acres at Nelson Bay. On 27 November 1911 he purchased a property in Stockton.[1]

He married his first wife Margaret Otto and had a daughter Annie born on 25 September 1878 before Margaret died of smallpox.[1] As a young man he thrown overboard in Atlantic and never learnt to swim.[2] On 3 July 1882 he married Eliza Jane Cox at the Chapel House in Castlereagh Street, Sydney.[3] They had six children together.[1] James born on 25 May 1883, John born on 25 May 1885, Frances born 12 July 1887, Eliza (Ida) born on 12 July 1887, Henry (Harry) born on 4 March 1893 and William Dalton born 11 March 1897.[2] On 11 August 1912 he died in Pepitee Pah Private Hospital.[1] He is buried at the Methodist section of Sandgate Cemetery.[2]