GILBERT ECCLES b 1602

 

Gilbert Eccles, born 1602 in Kildonan, Ayrshire, Scotland and was christened 4 Oct 1602. He was the son of  John Eccles and Janet Cathcart.

The Eccles family settled in Fintona, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland during the reign of Charles II., and are amongst the oldest and most influential of the county families. They derived their surname from the Barony of Eccles in Dumfriesshire which they held in Scotland. Eighth in descent from John de Eccles, a person of rank, in the reign of Alexander the 3rd.

Gilbert settled in Ireland in the reign of Charles I., and purchased several manors in Tyrone and Fermanagh held under Letters Patent of Charles I to John Leigh, dated 6th August 1632.  The family owned 9,227 acres of land in County Tyrone.  He was High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, Ireland.  He died in the old church of Fintona, July 26, 1694, at the advanced age of 92, and was succeeded in the Tyrone property by his eldest son Charles Eccles, who was the High-sheriff of Tyrone in 1694, in 1703 Charles Eccles, built his house, he named it Ecclesville.

Children of Gilbert Eccles was as follows:

  1. John Eccles, born 1636 in Kildonan, Ayrshire, Scotland; died 1704/05 in Belfast, Antrim, Ireland.  He married Abt 1659 in Belfast, Antrim, Ireland Jane Eccles, born 1634 in Malone, Belfast, Antrim, Ireland; died 1689

Some time after the Plantation of Ulster in 1668 the dominant landowners in the area was the Eccles Family. Their Manor House, which was built in 1703, has been remodeled and is nowadays (2018) the Fintona Golf Club in Ecclesville Park on the Ecclesville Demense.

Original Eccles Manor House now Golf Club House

 

Ecclesville, home built by Gilbert’s son Charles 1703.

Interested in more, click on the following:

The Eccles family in Fintona, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland