Amongst WEH's papers are two letters he received from James Hingston in Melbourne. I have transcribed them here and added some comments in italics.
The George (Hotel), St Kilda, near Melbourne, (not Chancery Lane address), Victoria, Australia
November 1894
Dear Sir
Yours of 5th Octr date is to hand enquiring as to what I can report of the 'Hingstons'.
By birth I am a Londoner of the Devonshire & Cornwall branch of the Hingstons. These, by records of the Cornish & Devon Churches and Churchyards, are descendants of Hengist the Dane to whom was granted Cornish lands. The name "Hingston" appears to devolve from Hengist's son (son of Hengist) & "Hengiston" & so down to "Hingston". (This we know to be wrong - CJB)
Of the Irish branch of the family I am ignorant - except as follows.
In "Burkes General Armory" (London, Churton, 1842) appears "Major James Hingston", an officer of the English Parliament during the Civil Wars of time of Charles the First. His son James Hingston, having filled an Office in the Commisariat Department, bought the Estate of Aglis near Cloyne in Ireland and there settled. His son took Holy Orders as the Revd. James Hingston Vicar General of Cloyne. His arms appear to have been: Crest a demi lion rampant with the motto Deum posui adjutorem. The free translation of this was probably adopted by the Major and the Commisariat son and would likely be "God helps those who help themselves". The Vicar General would probably translate it as "I have made God my helper" - a good motto that might have been put into neater Latin. (See Tree HN for correct version of this - CJB)
My father was John Williams Hingston, a Devonian who migrated from Dartmouth to London about the beginning of 19th Century. About 1820 he married one Sarah Mortimer, of Hackney and died in 1851. His wife died in 1872. He left two sons Edward P. Hingston and James Hingston. In 1852 the younger (myself) emigrated to Australia where he has since resided with the exception of 1876-7 and 1886-7. In these years he took two several journeys to see the world in all parts of it occupying in continuous travel a period of nearly 4 years. His occupation in Australia was and is that of a Notary Public.
The result of these travels was for a period, spreading over years, contributed to the Saturday editions of issues of the Melbourne "Argus", the Melbourne "Age", the Melbourne "Australian", the Melbourne "Leader", the Sydney "Herald" and the Adelaide "Register". In a work published in 1892 (by Hutchinson & Co of 25 Paternoster Square, London) entitled "The Dictionary of Australian Biography", by Philip Mennell, appears the following Notice.
"Hingston James the well known writer of Melbourne was born in London in 1830 and is the brother of E P Hingston who edited Artemus Ward's writings and introduced that eccentric genius to the American and English public. James Hingston left London for Melbourne in 1852 and worked for a year on the gold diggings of Victoria. Since 1853 he has been in practice as a Notary Public and Patent Agent in Melbourne acting also as Agent for the Edison Phonograph Company of London. He has been a prolific contributor to the Australian journals. His best known productions are a series of articles or 'travel talk' which appeared in the Australian journals under the signature 'J.H.' . Two volumes of selections from these & articles were published in London by Sampson Low & Co in 1879 and 1880 under the popular title of 'The Australian Abroad'. A colonial edition in one volume, profusely illustrated, was afterwards produced in Melbourne in 1885. He is a bachelor."
The E.P. Hingston referred to in above extract was all his life (1824-1876) a theatrical agent. In this capacity his first venture was the London exhibition of Banvard's panorama of the Mississippi shown at the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly early in the years of the Forties. This was followed by the panorama of the Nile scenery painted by Warren, Fahey & Bonomi. E.P.H. then introduced Anderson the "Wizard of the North" to the London public and in 1857 accompanied him to Australia. After a tour with the Wizard in that quarter they went to California journeying thence to New York. It was here that E.P.H. found three talented men for whose sakes he parted company with Anderson. These were Charles F. Brown, then a journalist, a German named Bandmann with a taste for the stage, and a musical wizard named Robt. Heller.
Mr E.P. Hingston accompanied Charles F. Brown under the name of Artemus Ward on a lecturing tour through the States and subsequently in the early days of the Sixties, across the continent to San Francisco. The hardships of this travel, done before any transcontinental railway had been made was injurious to the health of both and laid the seeds of that break up of constitution which caused Ward's death in some few years afterwards. This was while on a visit to London where, under Hingston's agency, he lectured at the Egyptian Hall. The readers of Ward's books will recall the numerous instances in which the name of "Dr Hingston", as he was christened by Ward, occur. As Ward's health did not permit of much work the production of these books lay mostly with his agent who wrote prefaces to the English editions of them. Subsequently to Ward's death E.P. Hingston produced a 2 volume record of Artemus Ward's life and work entitled "The Genial Showman" published by J C Hotten of Piccadilly, London in 1870. E.P.H. married in 1859 a Scottish lady named Stage. (EPH married Elizabeth Stage in Sep 1857 - CJB)
A visit to the British Museum Library lately led to a reference to that prodigious work its Literary Index. The name of "Hingston" appears therein only in connection with the above named works by the brothers EPH and JH. It has not apparently been a literary family except in these two branches of it - if their little contributions can be so regarded.
In the Melbourne Directory for 1893 appears the names of "Arthur Hingston, 2 Charles Hingstons and a Richard Hingston". Their occupations are not stated and they have not in any way come prominently before the public. The death of a James Hingston occurred near Melbourne in 1891 whose occupation at that time had been that of a gardener. Nothing is known of his family or those of the others.
A nephew of the Australian J Hingston, who is also a son of EPH is resident in Sydney where he is married and has a family of three children. His profession is that of a surveyor in which he was for some years engaged under the South Australian Government at that northern territory of theirs known as Port Darwin in Torres Straits. It was here that he married to a daughter of the Harbour Master.
A daughter of E.P. Hingston was and is favourably known to the London public as "Lilian Hingston" & from 1880 to the time of her marriage followed the stage as a profession (This wording implies that Lilian is not her real name - CJB). About 1891 she married a Mr Lewis also connected with the stage. Since his premature death in 1893 she has returned to her profession. Another daughter has married Mr Gebhart a London merchant (the marriage of a Dora Rowena B Hingston and Heinrich Martin Gebhardt is listed in Pancras district in Sep 1885 - CJB) and a son John, also married, follows mercantile pursuit in the office of his brother in law.
This letter is of course for your assistance & not for publication as written. It is suggested that you might write to the 4 other Melbourne Hingstons mentioned above (Arthur, 2 Charles & Richard) 'Melbourne District Melbourne' will be address enough. They have never sought me though my name has for years been prominent.
James Hingston
The George (Hotel), St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
February 7 /95
Dear Sir
Yours of 23 Decr arrived yesterday.
Thanks for all the useful and interesting particulars it contains. I have made two copies and sent them one to Mrs Lilian Lewis (late Hingston) 142 New Bond Street London, the other Mr Samuel H Davey (Hingston Davey), Draper etc, Exeter England.
Mrs Lewis, I have told you, is eldest liv... (living? word cut off in my copy - CJB) daughter of my late brother EPH.
Mr Davey is a grandson of one of my 1/2 sisters. Our father, who died at 90 in 1851, married twice but of the first wife I know nothing and have forgotten her name. By that first marriage he had two sons John & Joseph - men who were almost strangers to EPH & myself. John emigrated to America in the twenties of this century and returned to England in the forties. He became an inmate of "The Charterhouse" in London where he died in the seventies - a widower and childless. I never heard his wife's name. In America he was a piano forte factor and tuner of New York.
Joseph Hingston lived and died in Camden Town near London. He married someone whose name I never knew and left two sons John and Charles Hingston. Whether they ever married or not I am ignorant, and whether John is living or not Charles Hingston is or was a spice and foreign produce merchant in Mincing Lane, London but has likely retired. See London Directory. (Matches info about HO23 - CJB)
With these branches of the elder family of my father neither I nor my brother ever corresponded.
The 3 daughters by my father's first marriage were Phillis, Hannah and Mary. The first married a Mr Lewellyn, the second a Mr Deane & the third a Mr Davey of Exeter. The Mr S H Davey of Exeter is a grandson of Mrs Mary (Hingston) Davey.
I cannot venture on filling up your form for want of facts & dates & names.
Myself and EPH were baptized at St Pancras Church in the Euston Road London but I have no copy of the register which would supply, I believe, the names of my mother's father and mother & date of the marriage of John William Hingston and Sarah Mortimer (my father & mother). Father, Mother & EPH lie in the grave I bought at Kensal Green Cemetery near London. I am sole survivor of both families.
You have undertaken a task which none could carry out except in the spirit in which you have taken it up - viz as a labour of love.
The scheme you have hit upon for carrying it through seems to be well fitted for carrying out the undertaking.
It was only last month that Mr Samuel Davey of Exeter wrote me that one of his lady customers, he is a Draper, seeing that his name was S. Hingston Davey, as he proudly prints it, asked him where she could ascertain any particulars of the Hingstons?
On hearing that from him I wrote to him with a copy of your first letter of Novr last and told him that your intended "Record & Register" when issued would be likely to satisfy the Enquirer - should he have kept a note of whom she was.
"The labour we delight in Physic's pain" says Shakespeare and therefore the tedious task you have undertaken should in that way have its reward.
It is curious in my father's case that the eldest son, John, of his first marriage should have migrated to America and there stayed for very long time & that the youngest son of second marriage - the first and last of his families - should have migrated to Australia & there stuck for 43 years. Neither of them - these alpha & omega have added to the families of the Hingstons.
Jas Hingston
PS. Thanks for the crest and motto of the Hingstonians as forwarded.
Return to Hingston One-Name Study
Added 17 Mar 2015 C J Burgoyne