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I have tried below to give a few more reasons why I think John Hilton of Virginia came from Westmoreland and not Bristol or Wales.
Bristol was certainly the main port of departure at that time, and being apprenticed would guarantee a landholding in Virginia after it had been completed.
However, there are strong historical links between the Hilton family and the Washington family going back centuries, and St Peter's Church in New Kent County, Virginia appears to be a common denominator, for both families; The Hilton family were Barons of the Bishoprick of Durham (i.e.reporting to the Bishop, not to Earl, Duke or King) with a long history of founding churches & parishes e.g. Hilton Parish, Cleveland, & Hilton Parish Berwickshire.
John Hilton - The Virginia Connection
Hilton Bacon, now Hilton Village is a few miles from Appleby in Westmoreland, now part of Cumbria, England.
It was originally half of the Manor of Helton, in the Barony of Appleby, inherited by Idonea, youngest daughter of Robert de Veteripont, and subsequently inherited by the Hilton family who took the name and arms of Helton.
The other half of the Manor of Helton was inherited by the de Wessyngton (Washington) family originally of Washington Old Hall, three miles from Hylton Castle in Durham County, England.
The following passage from Nicholson & Burns’ Cumberland and Westmoreland (1777) details what happened to the estate inherited by John Hilton, possibly of Virginia
“Robert Hilton of Hilton Bacon (previously Helton Bacon) esquire, aged 45 at the aforesaid visitation**. He married Mary daughter of John Hilton of Hilton (Hylton) Castle in the county of Durham, commonly called baron Hilton. They had issue, John, Thomas, Robert, Elizabeth, Alice, and Mary.
John the eldest died without issue*; for in 28 Charles II, Robert Hilton of Durham esquire and Mary his wife and Thomas Hilton of Murton gentleman, son and heir apparent of the said Robert, infranchised divers (several) customary tenements in Brackinber, Hilton Bacon, Ellerholme, and Bongate. Others of the tenements were infranchised by the Hiltons at different times. And finally, the
Manor itself and demese were sold in the year 1696, to Sir John Lowther of Lowther :
Except some lands which came by mortgage to lawyer Fletcher; and except a long lease of the royalties which had been granted to the duke of Bridgewater.”
* We can find no evidence of John Hilton being buried in England. The phrase died without issue, simply means the estate was sold off by other members of the family - It could be worthwhile checking if Fletcher the lawyers practice is still in existence (little has changed in that part of England)and/or if any correspondence exists regarding these housing disposals.
**Sir William Dugdale’s visitation in 1664.
Source; Cumberland and Westmoreland – Nicholson and Burns 1777
We have no idea where John Hilton died. The Lawyer Fletcher mentioned above was from Strickland, near Kendal.
However, from the History of the Washington family, we know there were strong connections, and regular visits between the Washingtons of Virginia and Appleby in Westmoreland
Robert de Wessyngton I (1273-1324) , son of Sir William de Wessyngton III
married Margaret de Morville of Helton Fleckett in the Barony of Appleby.
Sir William de Wessyngton III died in 1288. The main line of the de Wessyngton family in Durham County ended with the death of Sir William de Wessyngton V in 1399, whose only child was Eleanor. The male line was continued in Westmoreland and North Lancashire by descendents of Robert de Wessyngton I.
By circa 1420, the de Wessyngton name had changed to Washington, when Robert Washington III b. 1420, married the widow of John Lambertson of Warton and the family lived at Warton, North Lancashire until 1530, when Lawrence Washington, heir to his grandfather moved to Sulgrave
Virginia – Appleby Connection
Northumberland County, Virginia founded 1645 (Informally a county 1645-1648), Chickacoan District
Westmoreland County. Virginia founded 1653 out of Northumberland County.
John Washington (1633/4-1677), the first of the Washington family to settle in Virgina arrived in 1657. He was a direct descendent of Robert Washington III and the widow of John Lambertson of Warton.
His son by Anne Pope, Augustine, married Mildred Warner of Virginia. When Augustine died she remarried George Gale of Whitehaven, Cumberland, England. (further up the coast from Warton) and returned to England with Augustine’s children, John and Augustine
John and Augustine Washington of Virginia, sons of Lawrence Washington and Mildred Gale of Virginia were entered as boarders at Appleby Grammar School in England in 1701
Lawrence Washington, son of the above Augustine went to Appleby Grammar School in 1729, and his brother Augustine in 1732. They returned to Virginia in 1738 and 1741 respectively.
It seems more than a co-incidence to me that the Washingtons settled in Westmoreland County Virginia, had strong links with Appleby in Westmoreland a few miles from where John Hilton of Westmoreland England lived, and that George Washington was married at St Peters Church where John Hilton was recorded. It suggests that John Hilton may also have originatd in Westmoreland County, England.
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