McClintock of Seskinore

Tag: Eccles Family

  • The Death of Rev. James Lowry Dickson (1843): Report and Retraction

    Introduction

    In June 1843, the death of the Rev. James Lowry Dickson, rector of Lavey, County Cavan, was reported in dramatic and disturbing terms in The Times.

    However, within a day, the newspaper issued a complete retraction, declaring the original account to be entirely fabricated.

    This episode provides a striking example of the circulation of misinformation in nineteenth-century print culture, and the speed with which even major newspapers could be misled.

    Initial Report (14 June 1843)

    (Reproduced in full)

    The Times
    London, Middlesex, England

    June 14, 1843

    TRAGICAL OCCURRENCE:- We regret to have to announce the death of the Rev. James Lowry DICKSON, rector of Lavey, county of Cavan, under the following melancholy circumstances:- It appears that on Wednesday last Mr. DICKSON, having returned home from Cavan, felt somewhat fatigued, and after dinner retired to bed. Mrs. DICKSON being out visiting at the time, there was no person in the house but the servant maid and a person named ECCLES, a relative of Mrs. DICKSON, who unfortunately is subject at intervals to fits of mental derangement. This person having entered the dining-room after Mr. DICKSON had retired, and having partaken copiously of a decanter of spirits, which he found on the sideboard, commenced smashing the glasses, &q., when the servant maid, although well aware of the danger she incurred by interfering, came to the door and forbade him to act in such a manner, whereupon he pursued her upstairs, whither she fled to one of the bed-rooms   for refuge. On reaching the lobby, the maniac darted into Mr. DICKSON’S room, who was then in a profound sleep – alas! a “sleep that was to know no waking” – and having seized a razor which lay upon the dressing-table, with one stroke of (ineligible) weapon completely cut the trachea, by which respiration was instantaneously suspended, and the vital spark extinguished. An inquest was held on the body on Thursday, where a verdict in accordance with the foregoing circumstances was returned.

    Retraction (15 June 1843)

    (Reproduced in full)

    The Times

    London, Middlesex, England

    June 15, 1843

    ATROCIOUS FABRICATION:- The following appeared in the Mail of last night:- “In the Mail of Monday we gave a circumstantial account of the murder of the Rev. James Lowry Dickson, rector of Lavy [sic], in the county of Cavan, alleged to have taken place by the hand of a maniac, while in a state of furious excitement, produced by intoxication. That statement and the finding of the inquest we gave on the reputed authority of a person who represented himself in his letter as the coroner of the county, and we inserted it without entertaining a doubt of its correctness: for we could not have imagined depravity or harshness to exist to invent so atrocious a story. The whole statement is a villainous fabrication: and fortunately, having preserved the original manuscript, which we have given to a near connexion of Mr. Dickson. by whom it will be forwarded to the country by the night’s post, we are not without hope that the miscreant will yet be detected. With the view of increasing the chances of such a discovery, we hereby offer a reward of 20/. to any person who will afford evidence substantially establishing the guilt of the writer.”

    Context and Interpretation

    The juxtaposition of these two reports is remarkable.

    The first presents a highly detailed and violent account of murder, involving an individual described as a relative named Eccles. The narrative is vivid and specific, giving it an appearance of authenticity.

    Yet within twenty-four hours, the same newspaper publicly discredited the entire account, describing it as a “villainous fabrication.”

    This incident illustrates:

    • The vulnerability of nineteenth-century newspapers to false reporting
    • The reliance on correspondence of uncertain origin
    • The rapid spread of sensational but unverified stories

    It also highlights the editorial responsibility taken, at least in this instance, to correct the public record.

    Significance

    Although the initial report was false, its inclusion of an individual named Eccles—identified as a relative—demonstrates how quickly established family names could become associated with sensational narratives, regardless of accuracy.

    For historians, the episode serves as a cautionary example:

    • Not all contemporary reports can be taken at face value
    • Even reputable sources require critical evaluation

  • Dinner to Charles Eccles (1834)

    Loyalty, Tenantry, and the Living Estate

    Introduction

    On 14 May 1834, the tenants of the Ecclesville estate gathered at Sherard’s Hotel to honour their landlord, Charles Eccles.

    This was no ordinary dinner.

    It was a public expression of loyalty, respect, and shared identity between landlord and tenantry—captured in a contemporary report published in the Londonderry Sentinel.

    What survives is a rare and vivid glimpse into the social fabric of a working estate, decades before the upheavals of land reform.

     

    Full Contemporary Report 

    DINNER TO CHARLES ECCLES, ESQ.

    (From a Correspondent.)

    Londonderry Sentinel – Saturday 31 May 1834

    On Wednesday, the 14th inst., a number of the tenantry of the Ecclesville estate entertained their esteemed landlord, Charles Eccles, Esq., at Sherard’s Hotel. At six o’clock about sat down to a plentiful dinner, served up in a style highly creditable to Mrs. Sherard—the wines were excellent, and the “mountain dew” could not excelled. The chair was taken Charles Robert Lucas, Esq., supported by James Hamilton, Esq., who acted croupier. the cloth being removed the following toasts were given:—

    “The King, God bless him, may still be found to reign in the hearts of his people.”—(Drank with the usual honour.)

    The chairman now desired the company fill their glasses. He said, as they had met for a particular purpose, he would not occupy their time by going through the list of toasts generally drank at public dinners, nor would be detain them by pronouncing a panegyric the gentleman whose health he was about to propose; was well known to them all, and would, therefore, without further comment, give “Charles Eccles, Esq., may he follow the example of his late father.”— (Loud and long continued cheering.)

    Mr. Eccles returned thanks in an animated speech, of which the following is a faint outline.—He said that the marks they had given of the warmth of their friendship, not only on this but on former occasion, had made an indelible impression on his heart, and imparted home a charm which no other place could possess. When I look, said he, around me, and see myself surrounded by such a numerous and respectable body of friends and neighbours, and including many of own tenantry, I feel a glow of lofty and laudable ambition animate my bosom, for who, let me ask, would not be proud of having such a spirited and truly independent tenantry. However, when I reflect that these flattering tokens of your esteem have not been earned by me, but by one of whom it would not be my place to speak here, a feeling of gratitude awakens in my breast emotions I cannot find words to express. (Applause.) l am now come to reside among you and, being young and inexperienced in the world, what a gratifying prospect it is for me to find that I have the open and honest-hearted friends of my lamented father to assist me by their kind advice. (Applause.) The old maxim, “live and let live,” has long been the motto of the family to which I have the honour to belong, and on this principle I shall also endeavour to act. The town of Fintona has improved rapidly within the last few years—to encourage this spirit, and promote the welfare of my tenantry at large, is a duty which I trust you will find me using every possible effort to perform, so that the bond of union which has hitherto existed between landlord and tenant on the lands I possess may pass out of my hands in the same unbroken, mutual, and indissoluble chain. Mr. Eccles sat down amid loud and reiterated cheers.

     

    A Living Example of Estate Society

    Taken together, the dinner reveals:

    • A landlord aware of expectation
    • Tenants willing to publicly honour him
    • A shared belief in reciprocal obligation

    This was not yet a system in decline.

    It was still:

    Working, visible, and believed in

    Editorial Note

    This page is based on a contemporary report published in the Londonderry Sentinel, 31 May 1834.

    Selected excerpts have been lightly modernised for clarity, while preserving the meaning and tone of the original report.