The name Sorton is historically found mainly in Cheshire and on the Staffordshire border.  Different branches in Cheshire are recorded back to the 16th century,  but the origins of our own branch, which migrates between Cheshire and Manchester, are a little more obscure. 

 
Many of the family seem to have earned their living along the Bridgewater Canal, and lived along the eastern length of it.  At the Manchester end of the canal is a Sorton Street (now mostly built over). This is near Store Street, a warehouse complex initially built for canal and river traffic, but now taken over by the railways. A horse hospital still exists there, and there were huge stables as late as 1950.

The starting point of our 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 seven children, most of whom were born in Manchester, but those who died as infants are buried at Over Tabley.

Mary died at the age of 43, and was buried in Over Tabley on 11 September 1821.

Thomas Sorton was born in Manchester in about 1794, and was an agricultural labourer.  He married Hannah Gallimore in Rostherne, Cheshire on 25 March 1818, and the couple settled in Over Tabley.  Hannah was born in Mere, Cheshire in 1791, and was the daughtr 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.

Richard Sorton was born in about 1803 in Warmingham, near Middlewich in Cheshire.  His first wife was called Mary Ann, and they had three children, all born in Manchester:

Mary Ann died in Manchester in 1837, and Richard then married Esther Barlow in Manchester Cathedral on 25 October 1840.  Esther was christened in Whitchurch, Shropshire on 25 November 1801, and was the daughter of cordwainer William Barlow and his wife Mary Beckett.  The 1841 census shows them living with Richard James (known as James) and Thomas in James St, Hulme.

Richard and Esther had one daughter:

Richard worked at various times as a packer, warehouseman and boat horse keeper: all trades associated with the canal.  He was illiterate, unable to sign his name on the marriage certificate, unlike his wife Esther, who was apparently better educated.  Esther was buried in Lymm on 9 September 1862 and Richard on 7 January 1870.

George William Sorton was born in Manchester in about 1805, and spent his adult life in Warburton, Cheshire as an agricultural labourer.  He married Elizabeth Coluns (Collins?) 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 Robinson in St John's Church, Manchester in 1863.  The couple had three children:

Sarah Sorton, daughter of Richard Sorton and Esther Barlow, was born in Hulme, Manchester on 23 April 1843.  According to those who knew her in later life, she was well-educated and attractive, with the red hair which ran in the Sorton family.  She grew up in Lymm, and worked as a lady's maid, having a talent for handicrafts.

Before her marriage to John Hinton, Sarah had two children:

Esther Barlow Sorton was born in Lymm on 9 October 1863.  She went into domestic service as a teenager, first as a housemaid and later as a cook.  She married Peter Holt, a widower, in Lymm in 1902 when she was 38.

Samuel Sorton, son of George William Sorton and Elizabeth Coluns, 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 at least three 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 Derbyshire Sorton, illegitimate son of Sarah Sorton, was born in Lymm on 5 November 1861.  He worked on the railways, first as a porter, then as a station parcels inspector.  In about 1910 he was station master at Minshall Vernon, where his station often won the prize for the best-kept station gardens.  He later became station master at Crewe, a major junction which was then part of the London and North Western Railway.  He married Emma Clay in Warrington in 1885, and the couple had seven children:

William died in Nantwich in 1945, and Emma in Crewe the following year.