First found in Durham where they were seated from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Ilton were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: Hugh Hilton, who settled in Virginia in 1619, a year before the "Mayflower;" Mary Hilton settled in Plymouth Mass. in 1623; William Hilton settled in Plymouth with his wife and two children in 1623.

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