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 the 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 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 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 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:

Sophia died in Whitegate, Cheshire in 1893.

Mary Hinton 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, a fustian cutter, at St Elphin's Church, Warrington in 1845.  John was christened in Lymm on 10 December 1820, and was the son of John and Ann Ditchfield.   Mary and John had nine children, all born in Lymm:

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

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

Miriam died in Manchester in 1857.

Anne Hinton 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.

John Hinton 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.

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

Samuel Hinton 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 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 ten children, all born in Thelwall, Cheshire:

Alice died in Thelwall in 1881.

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.  The couple had ten children, 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 eight children in Lymm:

Isaac died in Lymm at the end of 1882, before the birth of his youngest son, 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.

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 five children:

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 children:

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 known children:

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 four known children:

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 known children:

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 five known 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 four known children, all born in Warrington: