Hingston Tree HA

Descendants of John Hingston of West Alvington born about 1675


This completely replaces older versions of Trees HA, HB, HE and HG, and has been completely renumbered.  Please discard older versions
29 March 2004 - Chris Burgoyne

For many years I was uncertain about ancestors of William Hingston and Thomas Hingston, two of Florrie Clark's ancestors.  I have searched many of the local parishes, starting with those where I knew there were many Hingstons, but I eventually found two suitable candidates in West Alvington, where there was a large community of Hingstons I had not previously suspected.  This line now includes all three of the links to Florrie Clark, and also the descendants of Mary Hanniford.  Together these constitute trees that I used to call HA, HB, HE and HG; they have all been renumbered.

There are many more Hingstons in West Alvington in the 16th and 17th centuries, but it will probably be very difficult to disentangle them, if only because John Hingston and Elizabeth were having children from 1702 to 1713; John Hingston and Phillippa were having children from 1700 to 1707, and John Hingston and Christian were having children from 1697 to 1710, and even if their marriages can be found the groom's father was not usually identified at that time.

There is one indirect reference to West Alvington in the Vine Tree (No. 749), and another in Allen and Dymond (No. 7), the latter which shows a link back to the Holbeton Hingstons.

The reading of things below is not always certain.  This tree contains, for example, three different George Hingstons, all born about 1841, all in or near Aveton Gifford.  Nevertheless, I believe the interpretation is correct unless I have indicated otherwise.

Generation No. 1

1.  JOHN HINGSTON would have been born about 1675.  He married PHILLIPPA.  She was buried 12 Apr 1711 in West Alvington.

Children of JOHN HINGSTON and PHILLIPPA are:

Generation No. 2

2.  JONAS (or JONAH) HINGSTON was baptised 20 Nov 1707 in West Alvington, the son of 1. John Hingston and Phillippa, and was buried 12 Feb 1780 in West Alvington.  At his baptism his name is quoted as Jonah, but in later entries it is shown as Jonas (in one case, with Jonah crossed out).  He seems to have married twice.  Firstly he married MARY LYDSTONE on 7 Feb 1740 at South Huish (IGI); their daughter, also MARY, was baptised in 1741, but both Marys seem to have died within the next six months (there were three burials of Mary Hingstons between Aug 1741 and Sep 1742).  He married, secondly, AMY FORDE 6 Jun 1743 in West Alvington.   She was buried 23 May 1791 in West Alvington, when she was described as a pauper.

Child of JONAS HINGSTON and MARY is:

Children of JONAS HINGSTON and AMY FORDE are:

Generation No. 3

3.  WILLIAM HINGSTON was baptised 17 Feb 1750 (OS) in West Alvington, the son of 2. Jonas Hingston and Amy Forde, and buried 7 Mar 1821 in Aveton Gifford (when he was described as aged 74).  He married JUDITH WHIDON 30 Aug 1776 in Aveton Gifford, daughter of JOHN WHIDDON and MARY.  She was born 6 Mar 1751 (OS) in Aveton Gifford, and was buried 6 May 1813 in Aveton Gifford (aged 66).  At the wedding they both signed the register - the witnesses were Richard Dunning and Henry Bastard.

Children of William Hingston and Judith Whidon were:

4.  THOMAS HINGSTON was born May 1746 in West Alvington, the son of 2. Jonas Hingston and Amy Forde. He married LYDIA ELLIOT 20 Jul 1767 in Aveton Gifford, daughter of Nicholas Elliot and Lydia.  She was born 21 Mar 1748 (OS) and was baptised at Aveton Gifford on 7 Apr 1749.

Children of Thomas Hingston and Lydia Elliot are:

Generation No. 4

5.  JOHN HINGSTON was baptised 3 Aug 1777 in Aveton Gifford, the son of 3. William Hingston and Judith (Whidon) and was buried 12 Jan 1846 in Aveton Gifford (aged 69). He married ELIZABETH HEXT 2 Jul 1797 in Aveton Gifford, daughter of Robert Hext and Grace.  They both made a mark and both were described as being of Aveton Gifford.  The witnesses were Benj. Searle, John Crimp and Mary Bardons.  There is no suitable Elizabeth Hext born in AG but I am fairly certain she is the Elizabeth Hext who was baptised 21 Jan 1776 at South Brent.  In the 1851 census she was living with her son Thomas in the Old Poor House (now the school) in Aveton Gifford and described as having been born at Brent.  This link is thus not absolutely sure but the circumstantial evidence for 5. John being the father of 11. Thomas is compelling.  Elizabeth is probably the one who was buried at Aveton Gifford on 24 Jun 1858, aged 86, but there are several other Elizabeth Hingstons whose deaths were registered in the Kingsbridge district in the 1850s.

Children of John Hingston and Elizabeth Hext are:

6.  NICHOLAS HINGSTONE was baptised 30 Jan 1779 in Aveton Gifford, the son of 4. Thomas Hingston and his wife Lydia (Elliot), and died Nov 1848 in Aveton Gifford.  He was a labourer.  He married MARY HANNIFORD in Modbury on 20 May 1803.  She was probably born in Churchstow in about 1782 (according to her age in the 1851 census).

This relationship is a little tenuous.  It is based on the known births of the children and the absence of any other suitable candidate. The births of the children are unexpectedly late - Nicholas would have been 37 when the eldest was born. One possibility is that Nicholas was in the forces - this being the time of the Napoleonic Wars - either in the Army or the Navy, and returned home when the war ended after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

It is further complicated by the birth to a Mary Hingston of an illegitimate son Richard Hannaford Hingston in 1811. There is no obvious candidate to be an unmarried Mary Hingston. The DFHS Marriage Index shows a marriage in 1814 between Richard Hannaford, butcher of East Stonehouse and Elizabeth (sic) Hingston of Thurlestone, but I have now concluded that that event is a complete red herring and has nothing to do with this family. This tree is based on the assumption that Nicholas and Mary were married before he went off to war. Mary remained and had her son, who was baptised with her married name (which explains why I cannot find a suitable Mary Hingston as a child) after which Nicholas returned from war and their daughters were born. What is needed is some evidence from later records which shows parentage of these children. The descendants of Richard Hanniford Hingston are not strictly descendents of this line, although they derive their name from this source so are included here for convenience.

Child of Mary Hingston is:

Children of Nicholas Hingstone and Mary are:

Generation No. 5

7.  JOHN HINGSTON, baptised 7 Oct 1797 at Aveton Gifford, the son of 5. John Hingston and Elizabeth (Hext). He married GRACE TERRY, 12 Dec 1817, Bigbury, with consent of parents (since he was under-age at the time). She was buried 15 Feb 1862 at Bigbury, age 72, so was born about 1790. In the 1851 census they were living in Bigbury - he was described as an agricultural labourer - she was described as being born in Bigbury.

The children of John Hingston and Grace Terry are:-

8.  ROBERT HINGSTON was baptised 1 Feb 1807 in Aveton Gifford, the son of 5. John Hingston and Elizabeth (Hext) and died Sep 1850 in Aveton Gifford. He was buried on 1st Oct 1850, aged 42.  He married MARY ANN MARCH 29 Apr 1829 in Woodleigh.  He was described as a labourer but if the link with 16. George is correct he may also have been a mariner at one time.  In the 1851 census Mary and her two daughters are living in the Old Poor House.

Children of Robert Hingston and Mary March are:

9.  WILLIAM HINGSTON was baptised 3 Dec 1809 in Aveton Gifford, the son of 5. John Hingston and Elizabeth (Hext). He married MARY LETHBRIDGE 28 Dec 1841 in Churchstow, daughter of John Leathbridge and Jane Steer.  She was baptised 14 Aug 1814 at Churchstow. In the 1851 census the family is living in the Old Poor House at Aveton Gifford - William is described as an agricultural labourer but was a mariner at the time of his marriage.

Children of William Hingston and Mary Lethbridge are:

10.  GEORGE HINGSTON was baptised 6 Feb 1814 in Aveton Gifford, the son of 5. John Hingston and Elizabeth (Hext). He married GRACE HURREL, daughter of Sarah in the December Qtr, 1840. Grace was born Abt. 1819 in Paignton.  In the 1851 census the family are living at Culverhay St, Paignton, where George is described as an Agricultural Labourer.

Children of George Hingston and Grace Hurrel are:

11.  THOMAS HINGSTON was probably born 1816/17 in Aveton Gifford, the son of 5. John Hingston and Elizabeth (Hext). He was a labourer and married ANN COWLEY, daughter of William Cowley and Elizabeth Purdy, at Modbury on 19 Apr 1840 (certificate); he was shown as a servant, the son of John (labourer), while she was shown as a dressmaker, the daughter of William (mason); the witnesses were John Ford and Eliza Purdy.  She was baptised 24 Jan 1813, Modbury.

Thomas used to stand at the head of a separate Tree HE because I was in doubt about his parents. I have still not confirmed the details of his baptism, which is a slight worry since all his siblings were baptised at AG.  However, I have sufficient circumstantial evidence to place him here.  The 1851 census shows Thomas Hingston age 34, an agricultural labourer, born in Aveton Gifford, so he was born c. 1817. His mother Elizabeth was widowed by 1851, and living with Thomas. She was shown as age 77, so born c. 1774, at Brent. She would have been 43 when Thomas was born, so he could well have been her last child. She was shown in the census as being a former agricultural labourer's wife.  I have assumed that she is Elizabeth Hext, who married 5. John Hingston in 1797. There was an Elizabeth Hext baptised at South Brent on 21/1/1776, which would make her 75 at the time of the census, which is not too bad. John was an agricultural labourer.  The only other Elizabeth marrying a Hingston shown in the DFHS index is Henry Hingston marrying Elizabeth Stappers at Stoke Damerel, by Licence, in Nov 1816, but he was a quarterman in the dockyard and is a member of Tree HD.

Children of Thomas Hingston and Ann Cowley are:

12.  RICHARD HANNAFORD HINGSTON was baptised 22 Oct 1811 in Aveton Gifford, and died 17 Sep 1901 in Aveton Gifford.  He was described as the base child of Mary Hingston, but the only Mary I can find of the right age is the wife of 6. Nicholas Hingston, who I assume was away serving in the Napoleonic Wars at the time.  This reading of the situation is not certain, however.  Richard married MARY HARWOOD 10 Jul 1836 in Aveton Gifford, daughter of ROGER HARWOOD.  She was born Abt. 1811 in Bigbury, and died 5 Dec 1880 in Aveton Gifford.  They are buried together at Aveton Gifford - her MI says Mary, wife of Richard Hingston aged 78 (i.e. born 1802); his says Husband of above, age 89.  He was a labourer - in 1851 they were living at Ashford; the children were born at Bigbury.

Children of RICHARD HINGSTON and MARY HARWOOD are:

13.  CHARLOTTE HINGSTONE, baptised 14 May 1820, Aveton Gifford, the daughter of 6. Nicholas Hingstone and Mary (Hanniford), and was buried 1 Feb 1877 in Aveton Gifford (age 56).  She married JAMES SEWARD ELSON 2 Aug 1840 in Parish Church, Stoke Damerel.  He was baptised 10 Oct 1817 in Stokeinteignhead, the son of William Elson and Joanna Seward.  He was an agricultural labourer. He was buried 15 Nov 1885 in Aveton Gifford (age 66).

Children of CHARLOTTE HINGSTONE and JAMES ELSON are:

14.  WILLIAM HINGSTONE was born Jan 1823 in Aveton Gifford, the son of 6. Nicholas Hingstone and Mary (Hanniford) and died Bef. 1858.  He married MARY SIBLEY 13 Oct 1851 in Aveton Gifford, daughter of ISAAC SIBLEY, a marine.  In 1851 he was described as a sailor, but he was a labourer when their daughter was christened.  His death is not recorded at AG but she remarried there to JOHN HOON, a sailor from the Isle of Wight, so presumably he died away, possibly at sea.  This was, however, the time of the Crimean War, so it is possible he died on service there.

Child of WILLIAM HINGSTONE and MARY SIBLEY is:

Generation No. 6

15.  JOHN HINGSTON was baptised 6 Mar 1824 at Bigbury, the son of 7. John Hingston and Grace Terry. He married MARY BEER 20 Jul 1849 at Bigbury. He was described as a fisherman of Duke's Mill, Bigbury.  She had been born MARY VOYSEY and married Thomas Beer at Bigbury on 26 Sep 1834, with whom she had three children (William Voysey (1834), James Gofs (1837) and John (1839)).  Thomas was buried 29 Mar 1841 aged 30 at Bigbury.   In the 1851 census John and Mary are living in Bigbury, with their daughter, Mary's mother, two sons of her first marriage, her mother and two Voisy relatives.  In a later census Mary is living with her father-in-law but John is lodging in Plymouth.  (Updated information here from Ann Holden).

The children of John Hingston and Mary Voysey are:-

34.  JOHN MARCH HINGSTON was baptised 14 Jun 1829, Aveton Gifford, the son of 8. Robert Hingston and Mary Ann (March.  He married ANN BASSETT on 26 Oct 1851 at Aveton Gifford.  She had been baptised 1 Feb 1835, the daughter of Michael and Jemima (Toope).  In the 1851 census he was a lodger at Sandquay Mill, Townstall, Dartmouth, a labourer breaking stone.  Most subsequent information about this family from Amanda Curry <aj.curry216@ntlworld.com>.

The children of John March Hingston and Ann Bassett are believed to include:-

16.  GEORGE HINGSTON was probably born Abt 1841 in Aveton Gifford, the son of 8. Robert Hingston and Mary Ann (March) and died Jun 1917 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He married JOHANNA RATCHFORD 5 Apr 1872 in St Pauls Anglican Church, Halifax, Nova Scotia, daughter of Patrick Ratchford and Catherine Connor.   According to the 1901 census he emigrated to Canada in 1870; in the Halifax Directory in 1880-81 he is shown as a "labourer" (family oral history suggests that most of his labouring work was on the docks, making him a stevedore). That continued until about 1898 (age 56). After that, he was listed as employed by the Intercontinental Railway (ICR) as a "Watchman" in some years and a "Flagman" in others (positions that didn't require great physical activity). It is suspected he had "pull" to obtain such jobs via his extended Irish family who were important in local and provincial Irish politics. That railway position continued until 1916 (74), at which time he was listed as a "Pensioner", before passing away the next year.  The only fixed date for his birth is quoted in the 1901 census where he said he was born on 7 Jan 1842.  In other records only an age is given and these give a range of dates of birth from about 1840 to 1843.

It is by no means certain that George was the son of this Robert and Mary Ann.  The link comes from family history passed down in Canada and fitting together the best-fit candidate.  A George Hingston is known to have married in Nova Scotia in 1872, when he described himself as age 29 (ie born c. 1843), son of Robert (fisherman) and Mary Ann. Robert Hingston died at Aveton Gifford in 1850, and in 1851 Mary Ann was living in the Poor House at AG. There was a George, age 11, born at AG, in the Workhouse in Churchstow. It could be that at this age he was deemed old enough to work and therefore was sent off to the Workhouse rather than living with his mother. However, we do not yet have a birth record which shows this George to be the son of Robert and Mary Ann, but the records have not yet been exhaustively checked.  The other problem is that in the records we have, Robert describes himself as a Labourer, not a fisherman.

Peter Higginbotham has a website about Workhouses, with one page, including photographs, about the Kingsbridge Union Workhouse. The workhouse is nominally in Churchstow Parish but is physically in Kingsbridge.

Children of George Hingston and Johanna Ratchford are:

27.  GEORGE HENRY HINGSTON was born 23 July 1841 in Paignton, the son of 10. George Hingston and Grace Hurrell, and died 3 March 1915.  He married ELIZA MADGE.  The information about all this family supplied by John Walter <johnwalter@tinyonline.co.uk>

Children of GEORGE HINGSTON and ELIZA MADGE are:

17.  GEORGE HINGSTON was baptised 7 Mar 1841 in Modbury, the son of 11. Thomas Hingston and Ann Cowley, and was buried 31 Jul 1930 in Aveton Gifford (supposedly aged 90).  He married ELIZABETH HINGSTONE ELSON 18 Mar 1861 in Aveton Gifford, daughter of JAMES ELSON and CHARLOTTE HINGSTONE; she was born 26 Nov 1840 in Aveton Gifford and baptised there on 26 Dec 1841.  Elizabeth Elson had a child about a year before the marriage who was later given the name Hingston, so is listed here, but it is not clear whether George was the father.  George was a sailor, apparently on the "fruit boats" which were fast schooners that made the trip to the Azores and Madeira bringing fresh produce back to the UK.

Child of Elizabeth Elson

Children of George Hingston and Elizabeth Elson are: 18.  WILLIAM RICHARD HINGSTON was born in Clanaborough and baptised at Aveton Gifford on 27 Jul 1842, the son of 12. Richard Hannaford Hingston and his wife Mary (Harwood), and died 9 May 1922 in Aveton Gifford (aged 79).  MI "Resting".  He was a Labourer and married ANN.  She was born Abt. 1843, and died 13 Jan 1910 in Aveton Gifford where she is buried (aged 67).

There is a problem to be resolved here.  The parish register says that Jessie Elizabeth Hingston, daughter of William Richard Hingston, married William James Edgecombe in 1899.  But the memorial inscription says Jessie Valentine Hingston, devoted wife of Alfred G Edgecombe, died 18 Oct 1973, on the same stone as William Richard Hingston.  There may be another generation here that needs to be sorted out.

Child of William Hingston and Ann is:

19.  JOHN HENRY HINGSTON was born in Ashford and baptised 30 Mar 1845 at Aveton Gifford, the son of 12. Richard Hannaford Hingston and his wife Mary (Harwood).  He was a labourer and married CAROLINE LAVERS 13 Jan 1871 in Aveton Gifford, daughter of WILLIAM LAVERS, a farmer.  She signed, he made a mark.

Children of John Hingston and Caroline are:

Generation No. 7

20.  PHILIP TERRY HINGSTON was baptised 11 Apr 1852 the son of 15. John Hingston and Mary (Beer).  There are several children born from 1877 to 1892 to Philip and Martha.  Where?  This needs to be checked - I don't have details.

35.  RICHARD BASSETT HINGSTON, (born Sep Qtr, Kingsbridge District) Modbury, the son of 34. John March Hingston and Ann (Bassett).  He married ROSA TUCKER, in the Sep Qtr 1892, Kingsbridge District.  She had been born about 1872 in Kingsbridge, the daughter of Richard Tucker and Hannah (Hannaford).  According to living memories, Richard and Rosa had several children before he died.  Rosa than married one of his brothers, either George or Charles, and had further children.

The children of Richard and Rosa include the following, but some may be the product of Rosa's second union, in which case they would be Richard's nephews and nieces. There are believed to have been 11 children, some of whom died young:-

21.  PATRICK JOSEPH HINGSTON was born 25 Nov 1878 in Low Point, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, the son of 16. George Hingston and Johanna (Ratchford) and died 5 Feb 1957 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He married FLORENCE DUFFIELD 23 Sep 1902 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, daughter of John Duffield and Johanna Weston.

Children of Patrick Hingston and Florence Duffield are:


28.  JOHN RANDOLPH HINGSTON was born 20 April 1865 in Torquay, the son of 27. George Henry Hingston and Eliza (Madge), and died 1 January 1907.  He married ALICE MAUDE YEO.

Children of JOHN HINGSTON and ALICE YEO are:

29.  SYDNEY HINGSTON was born 25 February 1869 in Paignton, the son of 27. George Henry Hingston and Eliza (Madge), and died 5 December 1897.  He married ANNIE ?.

Children of SYDNEY HINGSTON and ANNIE ? are:

30.  GEORGE HINGSTON was born 5 September 1873 in Upton, Torquay, the son of 27. George Henry Hingston and Eliza (Madge), and died 3 June 1959.  He married ANNIE HINGSTON.

Children of GEORGE HINGSTON and ANNIE HINGSTON are:

31.  PHILLIP WILLCOCKS HINGSTON was born 17 March 1879 in Torquay, the son of 27. George Henry Hingston and Eliza (Madge), and died 6 February 1921.  He married ALICE SIMS.

Children of PHILLIP HINGSTON and ALICE SIMS are:

32.  NORMAN HICKS HINGSTON was born 11 December 1881 in Torquay, the son of 27. George Henry Hingston and Eliza (Madge), and died 10 October 1918 in The Somme. Buried Roisel Churchyard, France.  He met ELIZABETH WESTLAKE.  (There are descendants but they are not listed for privacy reasons)

Children of NORMAN HINGSTON and ELIZABETH WESTLAKE are:

33.  WILLIAM EDGAR HINGSTON was born 18 March 1885, the son of 27. George Henry Hingston and Eliza (Madge), and died 19 April 1973.  He married JESSIE ELIZABETH TOWILL 30 April 1908 in St Johns Church Torquay.

Children of WILLIAM HINGSTON and JESSIE TOWILL are:

36.  CHARLES HENRY (ELSON) HINGSTON was born in 1859, and privately baptised at Aveton Gifford on 24 Feb 1860 when he was described as the child of Elizabeth Elson.  In the 1861 census he is shown as living with James Elson (his grandfather) when he was described as a nephew.  Elizabeth married 17. George Hingston on 18 Mar 1861 (just before the census on 7th April).   In the 1871 census he is shown as part of the family of George and Elizabeth, and with the Hingston name which he clearly used later in life and passed on to his own family.  In 1871 he is shown as a stone breaker, aged 11, but later he is shown as a carpenter.  Charles married ELIZABETH SPRY in June Qtr 1889 in Plymouth (there was another marriage in Plymouth of a Charles Henry Hingston in June Qtr 1895).  Charles died in Plymouth in 1933 aged 73 but no death record has yet been found for Elizabeth.

Children of CHARLES HENRY HINGSTON and ELIZABETH SPRY are:

22.  ELIZABETH JANE HINGSTON was baptised privately on 13 Jan 1866 in Aveton Gifford, the daughter of 17. George Hingston and Elizabeth (Elson). She married STEVEN THOMAS SAUNDERS 28 Mar 1891 in Aveton Gifford, by which time she already had a son who was born in 1885 (when she would have been 19).  There is another Elizabeth Jane Hingston who could have been the mother (the daughter of 19. John Henry and Caroline) but she would only have been 14 at the time the child was born.  It is probably worth finding the child in the 1891 census to try to confirm which Elizabeth was the mother.

Child of Elizabeth Hingston is:

Children of Elizabeth Hingston and Steven Saunders are:

The public version of this tree terminated here for reasons of privacy.

Go to the Hingston One-Name Study Page

This page updated 19th Sep 2008, C J Burgoyne.  Please discard old versions.