Note (June 2010):  We originally thought that our direct ancestor Richard Sorton (son of Thomas) belonged to the following branch of the Cheshire Sorton family, but have since found a baptismal record indicating otherwise.  However, like Richard's branch, these Sortons migrated between Cheshire and Manchester, and as they are doubtless related in some way, I have decided to leave the results of our research here for the benefit of others related to this family.

The starting point of this line at present is Thomas Sorton and his wife Mary (born about 1764), who had strong connections to the village of Over Tabley, near Lymm.  They had at least six children, all born in Manchester; however those who died as infants are buried at St Mary's Church, Rostherne (the parish church for Over Tabley) and Mary probably moved back to the village after her husband died.

Mary died at the age of 43, and was buried at St Mary's Church, Rostherne on 11 September 1821.  Thomas possibly died in Manchester in 1815 at the age of 45.

Thomas Sorton was born in Manchester in about 1794, and was an agricultural labourer.  He married Hannah Gallimore at St Mary's Church, Rostherne on 25 March 1818, and the couple settled in Over Tabley.  Hannah was born in Mere, Cheshire in 1791, and was the daughter of Joseph and Sarah Gallimore.  Thomas and Hannah had eight children, all born in Over Tabley:

Thomas died in Over Tabley in 1867, and Hannah in 1870.

George William Sorton was christened at St George's Church Manchester on 7 July 1805, and spent his adult life in Warburton, Cheshire as an agricultural labourer.  He married Elizabeth Collins ("Coluns") in Warrington in April 1832, and the couple had one son:

George died in Warburton in 1875.

Joseph Sorton, son of Thomas Sorton and Hannah Gallimore, was born in Over Tabley in about 1828, and married Eliza Walton there on 30 December 1861.  Eliza was born in Shurlach, Cheshire in 1841, and was the daughter of Thomas Walton and his wife Ann Drinkwater.  Joseph worked as an agricultural labourer and later as a gardener.  He and Eliza had seven children, all born in Over Tabley:

Joseph died in Over Tabley in 1886, and Eliza married Joseph Mather in Toft, Cheshire on 13 September 1901.

Emma Sorton, daughter of Thomas Sorton and Hannah Gallimore, was christened in Over Tabley on 27 July 1834, and married George Jones Robinson in St John's Church, Manchester in 1863.  The couple had four children:

Although George and Emma spent virtually all their married life in Manchester and Salford, two of their children were born in Tabley, and all four were christened at St Peter's Church, Oughtrington.

Emma died in Salford in 1896.

Samuel Sorton, son of George William Sorton and Elizabeth Collins, was born in Warburton, Cheshire in about 1837, and married Mary Ann Cooper at St Mary's Church, Great Budworth in 1858.  Mary Ann was christened in Ludlow, Shropshire on 24 December 1838, and was the daughter of Eliza Cooper.  Samuel was a wheelwright, and the couple had eight known children:

Mary Ann died in Warburton in 1917, and Samuel in 1919.

Thomas Sorton, son of Joseph Sorton and Eliza Walton, was born in Over Tabley on 30 March 1864, and christened at St Peter's Church, Oughtrington.  He became a blacksmith, and married Mary Fletcher at Holy Innocents' Church, Fallowfield in 1888. They had four children, born at Tabley and Lostock Gralam:

Mary Sorton, daughter of Joseph Sorton and Eliza Walton, was born in Over Tabley on 19 March 1866, and christened at St Peter's Church, Oughtrington.  She married George Edmund Wright at St Paul's Church, Over Tabley on 12 June 1884 at the age of 18.  George was born in High Legh, Cheshire on 18 January 1864, and was the son of Henry Wright, a farmer, and his wife Margaret Povey.  After their marriage, George farmed Crows Nest Farm, Swineyard Lane, High Legh, and the couple had four children:

Mary died in High Legh in 1929, and George in 1933.

Eliza Sorton, daughter of Joseph Sorton and Eliza Walton, was born in Over Tabley on 8 May 1868, and christened at St Peter's Church, Oughtrington.  She married Samuel Green Walker in St Mary's Church, Bowdon in 1895, and the couple settled in Sheffield.  They had four children:

Sarah Hannah Sorton, daughter of Joseph Sorton and Eliza Walton, was born in Over Tabley on 25 November 1872, and christened at St Peter's Church, Oughtrington.  She married Ernest Tom Ollier, a labourer, in Altrincham in 1893.  Ernest was born in Bowdon in 1872, and was the oldest son of Thomas Ollier and his wife, Margaret Hayman.  They had two children, both born in Bowdon:

Sarah died in Bowdon in 1896, shortly after William's birth, and Ernest moved to Liverpool with the children.  He subsequently married Charlotte Davies in Everton in 1902. 

William Hayman Ollier served with the Cheshire Regiment during WW1, and was reported missing in Turkey in April 1917: his death was finally confirmed two years later in March 1919.

Thomas George Sorton Robinson, oldest child of George Jones Robinson and Emma Sorton, was born in Tabley, and christened at St Peter's Church, Oughtrington on 5 May 1864.  He worked in various labouring jobs, and according to the 1891 census was blind in one eye from childhood.  He married Mary Ellen Southern at St Clement's Church, Salford in 1887, and the couple spent their married life in Salford.

Thomas and Mary had nine children:

Thomas died in Salford in 1933.

Herbert William Jones Robinson, youngest son of George Jones Robinson and Emma Sorton, was born in Tabley, and christened at St Peter's Church, Oughtrington on 4 October 1874.  He married Mary Ann Murgatroyd at St Clement's Church, Salford on 30 September 1899, and had one known child:

Herbert died in Salford in 1929.

Eliza Ann Sorton, oldest child of Samuel Sorton and Mary Ann Cooper, was born in Warburton in 1859, and married George Edward Jackson in Altrincham in 1881.  George was a railway porter, born in Altrincham in 1855.

Eliza and George had seven children, all born in Salford:

Elizabeth Sorton, daughter of Samuel Sorton and Mary Ann Cooper, was born in Warburton in 1863, and married Francis Tarry at St George's Church, Altrincham in 1884.  Francis was born in Woolley, Huntingdonshire on 25 March 1859, a year prior to the marriage of his parents, and his birth was registered under his mother's maiden name of Carter.  He worked as a groom, and the couple lived first in Altrincham, then in Davenham.

Francis and Elizabeth had ten children, two of whom died young:

Fred Tarry served as a driver in the Royal Regiment of Artillery during WW1, and participated in the Gallipoli campaign.  During this time he was hospitalised in Basrah for diarrhoea, but was later able to rejoin his unit. 

Percy and Willie Tarry both enlisted in the Cheshire Regiment, but Percy was rapidly found unfit for service because of his flat feet and discharged.  Willie was wounded in France, and discharged in April 1916.  (Herbert may also have served in the Cheshire Regiment, but this is unclear at present.)

Frances Adelaide Sorton, daughter of Samuel Sorton and Mary Ann Cooper, was born in Warburton in 1866, and worked as a domestic servant before her marriage.  In 1897, she married Walter Charles Douthwaite, a butcher, at St Clement's Church, Salford, and the couple lived in Cheadle for a while before returning to Salford.  Walter was born in Kirkby Moorside in 1872, and was the son of Charles Douthwaite and his wife Jane Wright.

Frances and Walter had one daughter:

Walter died in Salford in 1921, and Frances probably moved to London after she was widowed to be near her married daughter.  She died in Hampstead in 1948.

George Thomas Sorton, sixth child and only son of Samuel Sorton and Mary Ann Cooper, was christened in Warburton on 28 July 1872.  He worked as a saddler as a young man, but later became a railway carter or drayman in Salford.  He married Alice Brown in Altrincham in 1898, only to find himself a widower with a baby son a few short months later when Alice died in childbirth.  Their child survived, and was brought up by George's parents.

George never remarried, and died in Lymm in 1947.

Agnes Jane Sorton, daughter of Samuel Sorton and Mary Ann Cooper, was christened in Warburton on 1 November 1874, and worked as a domestic servant before her marriage.  She married James Castle, a butcher from Manchester, in Altrincham in 1906, and the couple had one son:

Agnes died in Northenden in 1927.

Jessie Sorton, youngest child of Samuel Sorton and Mary Ann Cooper, was christened in Warburton on 2 November 1879, and became a schoolmistress.  She married William Percival in Warburton in 1907, and had two daughters:

Ethel Sorton, oldest child of Thomas Sorton and Mary Fletcher, was born in Tabley, Cheshire on 30 December 1888, and christened in Frodsham on 3 February 1889.  She was a domestic servant before her marriage, and married William Thomas Groombridge, a gardener, in St Mark's Church, Broadwater Down, on 9 June 1917, while William was serving in the Royal Army Service Corps.  William was born in Mayfield, Sussex in 1888, and was the son of Joseph Groombridge, a coachman, and his wife Annie.

Ethel and William had two children

William died in Tonbridge in 1968, and Ethel in 1969.

Clarice Sorton, daughter of Thomas Sorton and Mary Fletcher, was born on 19 September 1895 in Lostock Gralam, and was a boarder at the Blue Coat School in Warrington in 1911.  She married James Percival Ferguson, an Australian, in Tonbridge in 1919, and returned with him to New South Wales.  The couple had one son:

James died in Culcairn in 1933, and Clarice died in Wagga Wagga in 1980.

Annie Wright, oldest child of George Edmund Wright and Mary Sorton, was born on 31 May 1885 in High Legh, and helped in the dairy on the family farm.  She married James Wright (no relation) at St Mary's Church, Rostherne on  28 April 1915.  James was born in High Legh on 30 June 1878, and was the son of Thomas Wright, the famer of Sworton Heath Farm, and his wife Sarah Cooper. 

James and Annie had one child:

James died in Stretford in 1943, and Annie died in Warrington in 1967.

Ethel May Walker, third child of Samuel Green Walker and Eliza Sorton, was born in Sheffield in 1901, and married George Sidney Daniel in Barnsley in 1922.  The couple had three children, all born in Sheffield:

George died in Sheffield in 1969, and Ethel in 1972.

Frank Harold Jackson, oldest son of George Edward Jackson and Eliza Ann Sorton, was christened in St Clement's Church, Salford on 16 April 1882, and married Abigail Cavanagh in the same church on 29 January 1910.  Abigail was born in Salford in 1884, and was the daughter of Thomas Cavanagh and his wife Agigail Nuttall.  As a young man, Frank worked in a dye works, but he later became a motor car fitter.

Frank and Abigail had four children, and moved from Manchester to Derby after their first child was born:

Frank died in Derby in 1958, and Abigail in 1967.

Agnes Mary Jackson, daughter of George Edward Jackson and Eliza Ann Sorton, was christened in St Clement's Church, Salford on 10 January 1886, and married Joseph Francis Sloane there on Christmas Day 1907.  The couple lived in Salford and Patricroft, and had three children:

Joseph died in Salford in 1956, and Eliza in 1961.

Herbert Tarry, oldest son of Francis Tarry and Elizabeth Sorton, was born in Altrincham, and christened in St George's Church there on 11 June 1884.  He worked as a labourer, and married Leah Cross at St Wilfrid's Church, Davenham on 15 September 1913.  The couple had one child:

Herbert died in 1961, and Leah in 1967.

Florence Tarry, second child and oldest daughter of Francis Tarry and Elizabeth Sorton, was born in Altrincham, and christened in St George's Church there on 12 May 1886.  She married James Frederick Heeson, an assurance agent from Sheffield, at St Wilfrid's Church, Davenham in 1921, and had one son:

Florence died in Crewe in 1965, and James in 1967.

Sidney Tarry, son of Francis Tarry and Elizabeth Sorton, was born in Davenham on 22 July 1891, and christened in St Wilfrid's Church on 3 January 1892.  During WW1, he was a driver in the Royal Regiment of Artillery, and served in Gallipoli, where he contracted malaria and dysentery, leading to his hospitalisation in Malta before being invalided home to England. 

On his return, he married Sallie Challinor at St Barnabas' Church, Crewe in 1919, and the couple had three children:

Sallie died in Crewe in 1971, and Sidney in 1979.

Arthur Sorton, only son of George Thomas Sorton and Alice Brown, was born in Lymm on 12 December 1898 and married Eveline Mary Kerfoot there in 1925.  Eveline was born in Lymm on 20 November 1901, and was the daughter of Elizabeth Kerfoot (née Dyer), widow of Joseph Kerfoot, a fustian cutter.

Arthur and Eveline had one son:

Arthur died in Warrington in 1973, and Eveline in 1987.