The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and
Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 722 

ALBERT A. DALTON.

The voyage of life for Albert A. Dalton has at times been a rough and
tempestuous one, but he has come to anchor at last in a safe harbor, being now
most pleasantly located in Yakima county. His experiences have indeed been
varied. He has met the hardships of prospecting; and mining in Alaska, has
pioneered in different sections of the country, but is now meeting with
substantial profit through his wisely directed efforts as an orchardist of the
Yakima valley.

Mr. Dalton was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, February 16, 1869, a son of Michael
and Susan (Keys) Dalton. The father was born in Virginia and in 1849, attracted
by the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast, made his way to California. Upon
his return eastward he located in Indiana and there devoted his life largely to
farming and mining. It was in that state that he wedded Susan Keys, who was born
in Evansville, Indiana. His death occurred in the Hoosier state in 1877, while
his wife survived him for twenty years, passing away in 1897.

Albert A. Dalton mastered the branches of learning taught in the public schools
near his father's faun and before attaining his majority went to Cheyenne,
Wyoming. Later he was a resident of Colorado, where he was employed as a cowboy,
and afterward he engaged in railway construction work in New Mexico. He next
went to Seattle in 1890, and was there engaged in the dairying business on his
own account until 1896. In the latter year he went to Alaska, being one of the
first to go over the Chilkoot Pass. He stopped at Sixty Mile Post and thence
proceeded up the Indian river and to the headwaters of the Klondike. He opened a
claim on Gold Bottom and engaged in freighting by boat and by pack trains. The
short seasons there, however, made it necessary for him to give up the claim
but nevertheless he had worked out a good grubstake. Subsequently he staked a
claim on Hunker creek, twenty-seven miles from Dawson, and froth that made over
thirty-three thousand dollars but lost it all in The Last Chance. Later he spent
two years in Seattle but again returned to Alaska and was one of the first to go
over the Fairbanks trail. His raft was wrecked on the Tananna river and he lost
everything but his blankets. He worked on Cleary creek for F. G. Manley in the
vicinity of Fairbanks, becoming foreman of his employer's interests at that
point. Mr. Dalton obtained an interest in other claims but finally sold out his
mining property at a good price and with the capital thus secured returned to
Seattle. It was in 1908 that he made his way over to the Yakima valley and
purchased eighteen acres of two-year-old orchards. He now has a fine orchard
property and is meeting with very substantial success as the result of his
careful cultivation thereof.

On the 18th of December, 1898, Mr. Dalton was married to Miss Josie Soper, who
was born in Virginia City, Nevada, a daughter of T. D. and Caroline (Sandrock)
Soper, her father a pioneer mining man of Nevada now living in Seattle. He is a
stepson of Joseph B. McCurdy, who was a pioneer of Nevada and about 1898 came to
Yakima county. Mr. Soper was born in Indiana and his wife in Missouri. Mr. and
Mrs. Dalton have two children: Charles, seventeen years of age, residing in
Seattle: and Ruth, aged four.

Fraternally Mr. Dalton is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
and expects to join the Masons and he also has membership with the Sour Doughs,
a society that draws its membership from former residents of Alaska. His
political faith is that of the socialist party. There is no phase of pioneering
in the northwest with which he is not familiar, and though he has met many
obstacles, hardships and difficulties, he has overcome these by determined
purpose and has had the sound judgment to know when and where to make
investments and sales. This has enabled him to gain a good start in life and he
is today the owner of valuable orchard property in the Yakima valley, from
which he derives a gratifying annual income.

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Submitted to the Washington Bios Project in January 2008 by Jeffrey L. Elmer.
Submitter has no additional information about the subject of this article.