My father's family came from Cradley Heath in the Black Country, west of Birmingham. Although relatively uncommon elsewhere the surname is common in that area so there is a lot of confusing information, especially as there seem to be several common forenames; James and Tobias for instance. As is so often the case tracking the male line is considerably easier than the distaff side but I am in the process of putting together a tree for the Birch side of my father's family.

Hingley family tree Link to my father's page

I am indebted to Cradley Links website, Black Country Connections and The Genealogy Forum for their help in compiling the family tree listed above.