We know of three groups of Hingstons/Hinksons in Ireland, but all three probably have connections to Devon.
The earliest group probably went to the north of Ireland as part of the Plantation of Ulster which began in 1609; there were certainly members of the family there by 1630. The spelling of the name varied but the commonest form was Hinkson. They settled in Co. Cavan near the town of Belturbet; this was originally part of Ulster but is now in the Republic of Ireland. In the early 1730s one part of this family moved to Pennsylvania and then Kentucky, which was then frontier company. That part of the family has been on this web site for many years as Tree HK. A little later, in 1764, another part of the family, which had adopted Quakerism, moved from Ulster to Pennsylvania, where they became well established. We believe that most of the descendants of this family eventually emigrated
The second group, listed on this site as Tree HN, was founded by a Major in Cromwell's army, probably in about 1650, and settled in Co. Cork in the south of Ireland. There are four sub groups; Tree HNA, centred at the family seat at Aglish; HNB, which is almost certainly linked to the first group and went to Canada; HNC which is based in the extreme west of Cork and HND. These four groups are probably linked although we cannot prove how. As with the first group we believe that most of this family eventually emigrated.
The final group in Ireland was founded by HC#4. Nathaniel Hingston who became a Customs Officer and settled in Belfast in about 1860 where I believe his descendants still live.
Page rewritten 31/12/2016. Chris Burgoyne