Introduction
The history of the Perry, McClintock, Eccles, and Browne-Lecky families is rooted in the acquisition and transmission of land in Ireland from the seventeenth century onward.
The estates later known as Ecclesville and Seskinore did not arise independently, but developed through plantation grants, family settlement, inheritance, and marriage.
This section traces those origins and the legal and familial structures through which the estates were formed.
Plantation and Early Foundations
The origins of these estates lie in the Plantation of Ulster, when lands in County Tyrone were granted and reorganised under new systems of ownership.
Key developments include:
• The Plantation of Ulster and the Origins of the Seskinore Estate
• The Leigh Baronetcy of Tyrone (1622–1635)
The Formation of Ecclesville
The Eccles family established their position through the acquisition of lands at Fentonagh in the later seventeenth century.
This early holding developed into what became Ecclesville:
• Eccles Acquisition of the Fentonagh Estate (1671)
• The Manor of Fentonagh (later Ecclesville)
Mullaghmore and Seskinore
In parallel, the Perry family established their estate at Mullaghmore, later associated with Seskinore.
Through inheritance and succession, this estate passed into the McClintock family:
• Family Network and Succession of the Mullaghmore and Seskinore Estates
Marriage and Connection of the Families
The connection between the Eccles and McClintock families was formalised in 1893 through the marriage of:
Amy Henrietta Frances Eccles
and
John Knox McClintock
This union brought the two families into close association, though the estates themselves remained subject to distinct legal conditions of inheritance.
• Marriage Settlement of John Knox McClintock & Amy Henrietta Frances Eccles
Legal Structure and Inheritance
The transmission of these estates was governed by legal instruments including wills, settlements, and entail.
These structures played a decisive role in shaping how the estates passed through generations.
In particular, Ecclesville was entailed in the male line. Under the terms of the will of John Stewart (or Stuart) Eccles, the estate would have passed into the McClintock family had Amy Henrietta Eccles produced a male heir. In the absence of such issue, it instead devolved to the Delmege family as the next heirs in tail male.
Seskinore, by contrast, followed a separate line of inheritance, passing through the McClintock family and subsequently into the Joynson-Wreford family.
See Also: