The place name Hinton means “old town”, and there are several villages bearing the name in England, any one of which might be the origin of our family.  A Hinton family from Hynton-Woodford in Northamptonshire is documented back to the Norman Conquest, but whether our own family is an offshoot of this line remains to be established.  As a surname, Hinton is more usually found in Shropshire and the southern counties of England, but the earliest records of our particular Hinton family are in the Cheshire village of Lymm, where they first appear in the early 1700’s. 

John Hinton was the first of our family to settle in Lymm: he was not born there, but married Elizabeth Williamson in St Mary's parish church on 13 April 1732.  Elizabeth was christened in Lymm on 23 September 1706, and was the daughter of John Williamson and his wife Ann Wright. 

John and Elizabeth had five children:

The younger John Hinton married a woman called Mary: possibly the Mary Vernon whose marriage to a John Hinton is recorded in nearby Weaverham on 29 November 1767.

John and Mary had either seven or eight children, all born in Lymm:

Although there is no record of Mary's death in Lymm between 1786 and 1791, the baptismal record of John's youngest child gives his mother's name as Ann, which is possibly an error.  (There was apparently only one man named John Hinton living in Lymm at this time.)  John died in Statham, on the outskirts of Lymm, at the age of 79, and was buried on 2 August 1817.  A Mary Hinton aged 81 died in Statham in 1827.

Thomas Hinton, youngest son of John Hinton, was born in Lymm on 7 August 1791, and married a woman called Miriam.  He worked originally as a labourer, but was described as a carrier when his older children were born.  Thomas and Miriam had ten children, all born in Statham and christened in Lymm:

Miriam was buried in Lymm on 16 July 1854, and Thomas on 1 August 1869.

William Hinton, oldest child of Thomas Hinton and Miriam, was born in Statham, and christened in Lymm on 31 January 1813. He married a woman named Hannah, and had five children:

Hannah died some time between the birth of her youngest child in 1855 and the 1861 census.  William died in Manchester in 1873.

Sophia Hinton, daughter of Thomas Hinton and Miriam, was christened in Lymm on 11 August 1816, and had an illegitimate daughter by Joseph Marsland:

Sophia then married Peter Moores, a rock salt miner, in Witton on 31 October 1836, and had another eight children:

Peter died in Witton in 1888, and Sophia died in Whitegate in 1893.

Note: For reasons of clarity, the descendants of this Moores line are followed on a separate page.

Mary Hinton, daughter of Thomas Hinton and Miriam, was born in Statham, and christened in Lymm on 1 February 1818.  She had two illegitimate children by James Clayton, a fustian cutter from Lymm:

Mary then married John Ditchfield, another fustian cutter, at St Elphin's Church, Warrington on 3 February 1845.  John was christened in Lymm on 10 December 1820, and was the son of John and Ann Ditchfield.   Mary and John had ten children, all born in Lymm:

John died in Lymm in 1873, and Mary in 1900.

Note:  For reasons of clarity, the descendants of the Ditchfield line are followed on a separate page. 

Miriam Hinton, daughter of Thomas Hinton and Miriam, was born in Statham, and christened in Lymm on 16 July 1821.  She married James Moss, a butcher, in Lymm on 1 January 1839, and had one daughter:

Miriam died in Manchester in 1857.

Anne Hinton, daughter of Thomas Hinton and Miriam, was born in Statham, and christened in Lymm on 30 Mar 1823.  She married Thomas Astbury (or Asprey) at St Elphin's Church, Warrington in 1844, and had eight children, all born in Lymm:

Anne died in Lymm in 1857, shortly after the birth of her youngest child, and Thomas died in 1870.  The two youngest children then lived with their newly-married brother Peter for a while.

John Hinton, son of Thomas Hinton and Miriam, was born in Statham, and christened in Lymm on 14 September 1828.  He married Mary Brookes in Lymm on 13 August 1855, but the marriage was childless, and she died in 1864.  John then married Sarah Sorton in Manchester Cathedral on 13 July 1867.  Sarah was born in Hulme, Manchester on 23 April 1843, and was the daughter of Richard Sorton and his wife Esther Barlow.

John and Sarah had seven children:

For much of his working life, John was a fustian cutter, like several other members on the Hinton and allied families in and around Lymm: at the time fustian cutting was a thriving local cottage industry.  (Fustian is silk or cotton woven in a way which produces a surface consisting of loops: these were then cut by hand by pieceworkers at home or in small workshops.)  Shortly after his marriage, John is recorded as a horse keeper at Canal Bank, Lymm, but he later returned to fustian cutting.

Fred Hinton is believed to have emigrated to South Africa, and probably left England between 1901-1911.

John died in Lymm on 21 May 1913, and Sarah on 24 October 1931.

Samuel Hinton, son of Thomas Hinton and Miriam, was born in Statham, and christened in Lymm on 16 January 1831.  He was an agricultural labourer, and married a woman named Mary.  They had one daughter:

Mary died shortly after Miriam's birth at the age of 23, and Miriam died before her first birthday.  Samuel then married Martha Starkey in Manchester Cathedral on 20 September 1858.  Martha had an illegitimate daughter, Isabella, born a year earlier, who was christened under the name Hinton in 1861 along with the first two children of the marriage, so it seems likely that Samuel was her true father.  Samuel and Martha had nine children:

Martha died in Thelwall, Cheshire in 1915 and Samuel in 1916.

Alice Hinton, youngest daughter of Thomas Hinton and Miriam, was born in Statham, and christened in Lymm on 8 September 1833.  She married William Miller, a tanyard labourer, in Lymm on 18 February 1855, and the couple had eleven children, all born in Thelwall, Cheshire:

Alice died in Thelwall in 1881, and William in 1911.

Note:  For reasons of clarity, the descendants of this line are followed on a separate page.

William Hinton, son of William Hinton and Hannah, was born in Sale, Cheshire on 12 April 1850, and married his cousin Mary Ditchfield (daughter of John Ditchfield and Mary Hinton) in Lymm on 21 April 1872.  They had four children:

William died in Lymm in 1878, aged 28, and Mary married Joseph Knight, a waterman, in Lymm on 19 August 1883.  Joseph was born in Runcorn in 1851, and was the son of Thomas Knight and his wife, Isabella Brockbank.  Mary and Joseph had four children, all born in Lymm:

Mary died in Lymm in 1909.

Hannah Maria Hinton, daughter of William Hinton and Hannah, was christened in Middleton, Lancashire on 28 October 1855, and married Thomas Eaton in Lymm in 1874.  Thomas, a fustian cutter, was born in Millington in 1842, and was the son of Joseph Eaton and his wife Sarah Whitfield.  He was a widower, with one son (Joseph) from his previous marriage to Isabella Cotsworth, and over the years worked in a variety of labouring jobs.

Thomas had ten more children with Hannah, all born in Lymm:

Ellen Hinton, illegitimate daughter of Sophia Hinton and Joseph Marsland, was christened in Lymm on 16 November 1834.  She lived with her maternal grandparents as a child, and had two illegitimate children in Lymm, whose fathers are not known:

Ellen married Edmund Woodhall, a coachman from Penistone, Yorkshire in Manchester in 1865.  He died in Manchester in 1880, and Ellen went into domestic service.  There were no children from this marriage.

Priscilla Hinton, illegitimate daughter of Mary Hinton and James Clayton, was christened in Lymm on 31 October 1841.  She lived with her maternal grandparents in Lymm as a child, and had two illegitimate daughters in Manchester whose fathers are unknown:

Priscilla married Isaac Knight, a fustian cutter, in Lymm on 27 December 1867.  He was christened in Runcorn on 5 March 1837, and was the son of Thomas Knight and his wife Isabella Brockbank.  (Isaac's younger brother Thomas was the second husband of Priscilla's half-sister Mary Ditchfield.)  Isaac and Priscilla had seven children in Lymm:

Isaac died in Lymm at the end of 1882, and Priscilla married John Clowes at St Peter, Oughtrington in 1884.  Sadly, John died just a year later, and Priscilla married Charles Booth in Altrincham in 1886.  Charles was a widower, with several children from his first marriage, although only the two youngest still lived at home.  Priscilla died in Lymm in 1913.

Margaret Aspery (or Astbury), oldest daughter of Thomas Aspery and Anne Hinton, was christened at Lymm on 27 January 1846.  She married William Cooper, a labourer, in Warrington on 21 May 1866, and the couple settled in nearby Stretton.

Their oldest daughter was born in Lymm shortly before their marriage, and registered under Margaret's maiden name of Aspery, but she subsequently used the surname Cooper.  The couple had a further six daughters, all born in Stretton near Warrington:

William died in Stretton in 1899.

Peter Aspery, son of Thomas Aspery and Anne Hinton, was christened at Lymm on 7 January 1849.  Both his christening and his civil birth registration were in the name of Astbury, but he reverted to the spelling Aspery at his marriage, and registered his children with this form of the surname.  Peter married Sarah Jane Teer in Manchester Cathedral on 24 October 1870, and although he worked as a fustian cutter in Lymm as a young man, soon after their marriage they moved to Salford, where Peter became a collier.

Sarah had at least two illegitimate children before her marriage, and on the 1911 census she stated that she had given birth to twelve living children, five of whom were still alive.  The known children are:

Peter died in Salford in 1928.

Richard Hinton, son of John Hinton and Sarah Sorton, was christened in Lymm on 3 April 1870, and married Ellen Heesom at Christ Church, Padgate in 1889.  Ellen was born in Hatton, Cheshire in 1864, and was the daughter of James Heesom and his wife Sarah Mousdale.  On the 1891 census, Ellen and the two youngest children are recorded with her parents in Warrington, and their surname is wrongly given as Heesom, but Richard is not with them.  In 1901, the family is together again, and Richard's occupation is given as cable maker. 

Richard and Ellen had seven children:

Ellen died in Warrington in 1946, and Richard in 1951.

Francis Hinton, son of John Hinton and Sarah Sorton, was born in Lymm in 1875, and married Annie Jane Deakin in Warrington in 1908.  Francis was a boilerman in the salt works at Lymm, and they had four children:

Francis died in Lymm in 1960, and Annie in 1961.

Edith Mary Hinton, daughter of John Hinton and Sarah Sorton, was born in Lymm in 1881, and married Charles Philip Clarke there in 1907.  Charles was born in High Legh, Cheshire in 1886, and was the son of Philip Clarke and his wife Mary Elizabeth Chorlton.  Charles and Edith had three sons, all born in Lymm:

Charles died in Lymm in 1923 at the age of 37.

Margaret Hinton, daughter of John Hinton and Sarah Sorton, was born in Lymm in 1885, and married George Warham Davies at St Peter's Church, Oughtrington on 26 December 1906.  George was born in Lymm in 1881, and was the son of William Davies and his wife Maria Warham Bancroft.  At different times, George was a carter, coal dealer and greengrocer.  He and Margaret had ten children:

George died in 1944, and Margaret in 1962.

Their son Oswald spent his working life in the construction industry, rising from a 15 year-old navvy to become chairman of construction giants AMEC from 1982 to 1984.  During World War II, he served in the Royal Engineers in a bomb disposal squad.  He was awarded a CBE in 1973, and was knighted in 1984.

Thomas Hinton, son of Samuel Hinton and Martha Starkey, was born in Manchester in 1858, and married Alice Jane Jones at St Paul's Church, Warrington in 1895.  Alice was born in Ellesmere, Shropshire in 1870, and was the daughter of Thomas and Harriet Jones.  Thomas and Alice had two children:

Thomas spent his working life as a plumber and painter, and died in Warrington in 1938.  Alice died in 1915.

William Hinton, son of Samuel Hinton and Martha Starkey, was born in Lymm in 1860, and married Mary Bouldin at St Mary's Church, Great Budworth in 1890.  Mary was born in Warrington in 1870, and was the daughter of Edward Bouldin and his wife Lucy Hart.  William and Mary had six children:

In the early 1900s, the family moved from Cheshire to Colwyn Bay, where their youngest daughter Joyce was born, and William died there in 1982.

Samuel Hinton, son of Samuel Hinton and Martha Starkey, was born in Lymm in 1866, and married Mary Brogden in St Mary's Church, Davyhulme in 1893.  He was a nursery gardener, and the couple had three children, born in Urmaston and Davyhulme:

Samuel died in Salford in 1952.

John Hinton, son of Samuel Hinton and Martha Starkey, was born in Lymm in 1868, and married Jessie Edwards at Christ Church, Latchford in 1891.  They had eight children:

Henry Hinton, son of Samuel Hinton and Martha Starkey, was born in Lymm in 1870, and married Mary Alice Stringer at St Elphin's Church, Warrington in 1891.  Mary was born in Warrington in 1870, and was the daughter of James and Alice Stringer.  Henry and Mary had seven children, all born in Warrington:

Their oldest son Harry Hinton served in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in WW1, and was killed in action in Flanders in August 1917.

Bertram Hinton, oldest son of William Hinton and Mary Ditchfield, was born in Lymm in 1873, and christened there on 6 June 1875, together with his younger sister Harriet Hannah.  As a young man, he worked as a farm labourer in Lymm, but after his marriage he moved to Salford and became a corporation carter.  He married Minnie Shone at St Simon's Church, Salford in 1895, and the couple had four children:

Bertram died in Salford in 1936, and Minnie in 1955.

Harriet Hannah Hinton, second child and oldest daughter of William Hinton and Mary Ditchfield, was born in Lymm in 1874, and christened there on 6 June 1875 (under the name "Harriett Anna") with her older brother Bertram.  She married George Shaw, a widower from Carlisle, in Oldham in 1905, and had four children:

George and Harriet both died in Oldham in 1931.

Alice Hinton, daughter of William Hinton and Mary Ditchfield, was christened in Lymm on 2 December 1877, and was only a year old when her father died.  She was brought up by her mother and stepfather in Lymm, and married William Lowndes at St Peter's Church, Oughtrington on 13 May 1905.  Before her marriage, Alice had an illegitimate son, born in Blundellsands, and three more children were born in Lymm from her marriage to William:

William died in Lymm in 1952, and Alice in 1956.

Isaac Knight, first child of Mary Ditchfield and her second husband Joseph Knight, was born in Lymm in 1884, and worked as a bricklayer.  He married Annie Cottrill at Thomas Street Baptist Church, Stockport in 1907, and the couple lived in Stockport where their two sons were born:

Isaac died in Stockport in 1916 at the early age of 32.

Thomas Eaton, oldest son of Thomas Eaton and Hannah Maria Hinton, was christened at St Peter's Church, Oughtrington on 27 February 1876.  He worked as a groom as a young man, and married Florence Rice in Basford in 1897.  The couple returned to Manchester where their two children were born, and Thomas is recorded as a police constable on the 1901 census. 

By 1911, Thomas was the a relieving officer, responsible for distributing parish relief to the local poor and unemployed.  He probably died in Manchester in 1932, and Florence in 1959.

Harriet Eaton, daughter of Thomas Eaton and Hannah Maria Hinton, was christened at St Peter's Church, Oughtrington on 30 December 1877, and married James Pearson in the same church on 1 September 1897.  James, a clerk, was born in Altrincham and christened in Dunham Massey on 19 January 1873, the son of James Pearson and his wife Ellen.

Harriet and James had one child:

Thomas, an engineer's apprentice, enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps on 25 July 1916, but was discharged on 23 April 1917, shortly after his mobilisation, as "no longer physically fit for War Service".

Charles Eaton, son of Thomas Eaton and Hannah Maria Hinton, was christened at St Peter's Church, Oughtrington on 25 January 1885, and worked as a groom.  He married Agnes Campbell from Glasgow in Northwich in 1911, and had two children:

Mary Eaton, daughter  of Thomas Eaton and Hannah Maria Hinton, was born in Lymm in 1886, and married Albert Edward Tooke, a butler from Middlesbrough, in St Mary's Church, Lymm on 6 February 1908.  After their marriage, they moved firstly to Windsor, and then to Campden in Gloucestershire where Albert ran a laundry.  They had three children:

Mary died in Manchester in 1960. 

Thomas Hinton, illegitimate son of Ellen Hinton, was born in Lymm in 1853, and christened there on 2 April 1854.  He worked at various labouring jobs, and married Elizabeth Hurst at St Margaret's Church, Burnage in 1877.  Elizabeth was born in Burnage in 1854, and was the daughter of John Hurst and his wife Ann.  The couple lived in and around Manchester, and had eight children:

John Hinton enlisted in the Royal Regiment of Artillery in 1900, and served in South Africa and India before being discharged on 3 January 1912.

Thomas died in Manchester in 1901.

Henrietta Hinton, illegitimate daughter of Priscilla Hinton, was born in Manchester in 1862, and christened in Manchester Cathedral on 25 January 1863.  As a young woman, she worked as a fustian cutter, before marrying David Green at All Saints' Church, Gorton in 1884.  David, an engine fitter, was born in Bury in 1863, and was the son of William Green and his wife Mary.  The couple had four children:

By 1911, David had become a shopkeeper, running a confectioner's shop in Gorton with the assistance of his wife and oldest daughter.

Henrietta died in Manchester in 1944.

Amelia Catherine Hinton, illegitimate daughter of Priscilla Hinton, was born in Manchester in 1864, and christened in Manchester Cathedral on 19 September 1865.  She was brought up by her mother and stepfather, Isaac Knight, and married Isaac's nephew Samuel Knight in Altrincham in 1889.  Samuel, a labourer, was born in Patricroft in 1861, and was the son of Samuel Knight and his wife Mary Tomkinson.

The couple lived in Widnes, and had five children:

Isaac Knight enlisted in the King's Royal Rifle Corps in 1915, but was seriously wounded on 10 June 1916, losing his left foot and part of his right foot in a shell blast.  He was officially discharged from the Army on account of his wounds on 25 May 1917.

Cyril Knight served in the 2nd Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps during WW1, and was killed in action on the Somme on 20 August 1916. 

Harry Knight served in the Coldstream Guards from 1915-1919, and permanently damaged a knee in an accident while on active service.

Amelia died in Widnes in 1914, and Samuel in 1930.

Isabella Knight, oldest daughter of Isaac Knight and Priscilla Hinton, was christened in Lymm on 7 August 1870, and worked as a domestic servant in Manchester before her marriage.  She married Samuel Moss, a tool smith, in Altrincham in 1892, and the couple spent their married life in Lymm.  Samuel was born in Millington in 1868, and was the son of John Moss and his wife Sarah.

Samuel and Isabella had four children:

Fred Moss enlisted in the Cheshire Regiment on 7 September 1914, and was sent to France a year later.  On 21 May 1916, he was wounded in the leg by a hand grenade at Vimy Ridge, and taken prisoner, spending over two years as a POW at Stendal in Germany before finally being repatriated on 26 December 1918.

Percy Moss served in the Manchester Regiment and later in the 11th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment during WW1.  He was killed in action in the Ypres Salient on 28 September 1918, less than two months before the Armistice.  He is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial, one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders, which bears the names of almost 35,000 officers and men whose graves are not known.

Samuel died in Lymm in 1935, and Isabella in 1966 at the advanced age of 96.

Mary Eda Knight, daughter of Isaac Knight and Priscilla Hinton, was born in Lymm in 1872, and was christened there on 1 June 1873.  She worked as a domestic servant as a young woman, before marrying Frederick Holt at St Mary's Church, Lymm in 1897.  The couple then lived in Lymm for a few years before moving to Irlam.   Frederick, a baker, was born in Over Tabley in 1874, and was the youngest son of John Holt from Buckinghamshire, and his wife Mary Frost.

Frederick and Mary had three children, the oldest of whom was born shortly before their marriage:
 

Mary died in Lymm in 1934.

Ada Knight, daughter of Isaac Knight and Priscilla Hinton, was christened in Lymm on 6 June 1875, and married John Frederick Hewitt in Altrincham in 1898.  John was a waggoner on a farm, born in Lymm in about 1876.

The couple had four children, born in Warrington and Stockton Heath:

Ada died in Knutsford in 1934.

Amy Knight, daughter of Isaac Knight and Priscilla Hinton, was christened in Lymm on 2 September 1877, and married Joseph Lloyd Johnson at St Peter's Church, Warrington in 1897.  Joseph was a foreman platelayer on the railway, and the couple had five known children, all born in Newton-le-Willows: