Charles E. Dalton

DALTON, K.C.S.G., HONOURABLE CHARLES, druggist, farmer, and tox breeder; b. 9 June 1850 in Tignish, son of Patrick Dalton and Margaret McCarthy, both of lreland; m. 30 June 1874 Annie Gavin, and they had 12 children, C. Howard M.D., Freda, Nora, Julia P., Florence, Edith, Irene, Gerald, Zita, Joseph Arnold, Catherine, and Mary B.; Roman Catholic; d. 9 December 1933 in Charlottetown. Dalton, a Conservative, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1912 for 1st Prince. He was re-elected in the general election of 1915. He was defeated in the general elections of 1908 and 1919. In 1915 Dalton was appointed to Executive Council as a Minister without Portfolio. On 29 November 1930 he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor. Dalton received his education in the provincial public schools. He lived in Tignish during his childhood and early adult years, and later moved to Charlottetown. Though successful in his political ambitions, it was in the fox breeding industry that Dalton had his greatest achievements. There he was a pioneer, becoming world-renowned and financially prosperous. Nonetheless, financial success did not come easily. In 1890 he was struggling as a farmer and as a druggist. Unknown to the people of the Tignish area, Dalton, in partnership with Robert Oulton, secretly perfected the art of breeding silver foxes. From 1900 to 1914, they bred the most valuable foxes in the world. Dalton became the president of the Charles Dalton Silver Black Fox Company. The effort to develop a rare and distinctive breed of foxes made him a fortune. Dalton and five other fox breeders, Silas and B. I. Rayner, Robert Tuplin, Captain James Gordon, and Robert T. Oulton, forged a pact known as the "Big Six Combine." Its purpose was to limit the number of participants in the business and therefore keep prices soaring. Although the monopoly did not last indefinitely, it survived long enough to enrich Dalton and his associates. From 1912 to ca. 1921, Dalton was the maiority owner of The Guardian. Dalton was benevolent to his country and to the Island community. He financed the construction of Dalton Hall at St. Dunstan's College. During the First World War, he donated a fully equipped motor field ambulance to the Canadian Forces. As a result of the death of two of his children from tuberculosis, he built Dalton Sanatorium in North Wiltshire, which was completed in 1916, and donated it to the province. Dalton's local community benefitted from his largesse when he donated the Dalton Normal School to the Parish of Tignish. Dalton donated money to aid in the reconstruction of St. Dunstan's Basilica. He also served as a governor of the Owen Connolly Trust Estate, a trust established for aid in the education of sons of Irish fathers. In 1917 Dalton was bestowed the honour of Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great by Pope Benedict XV. Charles Dalton died 9 December 1933 of pneumonia while serving as Lieutenant-Governor. Annie Dalton, the daughter of Michael Gavin and Catharine O'Neil, was born 12 September 1854 and died 25 December 1938.