A HISTORY OF THE McCLINTOCK FAMILY By Col. R S McClintock Additions by Sylvia Wright, née McClintock Chapter I Early Origins The name Mac Lintock, McLintock or McClintock is a Highland one, and, in Scotland, though nowhere else, is chiefly to be found in the South-western Highlands and especially in the district round Loch Lomond, formerly subject to the Laird of Luss whose name was Colquhoun. In Gaelic it is spelt “Mac Ghiolla Fhionntog”, or – to adopt the Scottish method which omits the mute letters – “Mac’ill’intog”, and means “son of the servant (i.e. religious follower) of Fintag”. Fintag, like the better known name of Fintan, is a diminutive of Fionn (anglicized Finn) meaning fair-haired. Who this Fintag was is unknown, but he was undoubtedly an ecclesiastic much revered for sanctity in his day. The earliest mention of the name McClintock at present known is in “The Dean of Lismore’s Book”, a collection of Gaelic poems made in about 1512 by Sir James MacGregor, lay Dean of Lismore, and written in a semi-phonetic spelling of his own devising. One of these poems, addressed to Malcolm son of Eoin dubh Mac Gregor of Glenurchy and reciting his ancestry, is headed (translation): “The Author of this was Mac Gillindak the man of songs.” As this Malcolm MacGregor is known to have died in 1440, the poem must have been written before that date. An old family friend, Elsie Grant, while making researches in Edinburgh in connection with a book which she was writing on the Economic History of Scotland, came across the record of an action taken in 1528 by the Abbot of Cambuskenneth against the parishioners of the parish of Kilmarnock in Dumbartonshire. These parishioners were sued for refusing to pay their “tiends” or tithes which were due to the Abbot, who was patron of the parish. Elsie Grant was of the opinion that this lapse was not due to contumacy on the part of the delinquents but was probably caused by the Abbot neglecting to appoint a minister and putting the stipend into his own pocket. However this may be, we have a list of the defaulting parishioners with the amounts of their assessments, and among such names, in modern spelling, Buchanan, Haldane, Crawford, Forsyth, Logan and Galbraith, we find three McClintocks: Andrew of Ballagane, Donald of Balloch and Andrew of Boturich: probably there was only one Andrew – who was assessed on two separate holdings. Balloch is at the south end of Loch Lomond where the river Leven flows out of the Loch and Ballagane and Boturich lay 2 and 4 miles respectively to the northwards. Another mention of the name occurs in connection with the massacre of Glen Fruin in 1603. In 1602 there was a battle between the Colquhouns and the MacGregors at Glenfinlas, and the widows of the slain Colquhouns took the bloody shirts of the husbands and laid them before the King at Dumbarton. This appeal resulted in stringent measures of repression against the MacGregors, and led to a second attack made by the MacGregors on the Colquhouns and the defeat of the latter at Glen Fruin in 1603. This glen lies to the west of Loch Lomond and empties into the loch near Luss, a few miles north of Balloch. (Editors comments: Glen Fruin empties into the loch about 5 or 6 miles south of Luss, about a mile north of Arden). In this battle the Colquhouns lost 60 men and the MacGregors only one or two, but among those was Ian Dhu MacGregor, son of the chief of the MacGregors who was killed by an arrow from one of the fugitives. The natives of the district point to two large stones called “Clachan MacGregor” as marking the spot where the incident occurred, and the bard of the Colquhouns wrote a poem to commemorate the action, one verse of which translated from the original Gaelic runs: “Quickly didst thou turn, young MacLintock, By thee was slain Black John of the mail, MacGregor’s Victorious son.” In connection of this and an earlier incident, it is worth while repeating in full a letter written to my brother, John, by a friend who afterwards became Admiral of the Fleet, Sir Rhoderick MacGrigor: 18th Oct. 1924 My dear Admiral, On 10th October 1531 to the horror and dismay of every true Highland gentleman, the atrocity to which you refer occurred. Finlay McClintock and some MacGregor companions of his were outlawed by a dastardly Campbell for non-appearance on a charge of stealing 3 bulls and 2 cows. Full particulars of this unspeakable outrage are given in a book called the “History of the Clan Gregor” Vol. 1 page 87. If it were not that we have already become reconciled over the body of a Campbell some years ago in the ‘Conqueror’, I should hesitate to bring to your notice a very disagreeable incident in the history of our ancestors. At the conflict of Glen Fruin on 7th Feb. 1603, when the MacGregors routed a stronger force of Colquhouns with some slaughter, John Dhu MacGregor was killed by an arrow aimed by a stripling named McClintock, who succeeded in hitting him through the neck joint of his mail. As the Colquhouns seems to have been shooting badly that day, it is interesting to see that the McClintocks already showed promise in the gunnery world. The old spelling of the name varies considerably and takes forms such as MacGilliondaig, McIlandick, McLentic and James McIllandaig, who was the last of the Breadalbane smugglers. The name might be more common but for a habit which grew up, when English was beginning to supplant the Gaelic language, of anglicising it to “Lindsay” with which it has not connection beyond a certain similarity of sound. In confirmation of this there exists a poem written by Allan MacDougall addressed to the Lochaber Volunteers in 1795. One verse of this poem, translated from the original Gaelic reads: “How shall the gentry assemble without Lindsay being in the reckoning, whose name is Colin MacLintock to turn it into Gaelic”. I had always imagined that the McClintocks were people of importance and I pictured them as striding over the heather in kilts with an eagle’s feather in their bonnet, but this dream was rudely shattered when I was lunching with the Duke of Argyll at Rosneath – I asked whether there were many of the name in Argyll. “Oh yes,” said the Duke, “there are plenty – they are mostly tinkers, water tinkers.” Water tinkers, I may mention, is a branch of the trade much looked down upon by the other tinkers. However, the Duke added “They’re very good chaps: you’d like them”. We may assume that the more reputable and enterprising of the clan migrated to Ireland, but as proof that the Scottish McClintocks are not all tinkers we can point to Sir William McLintock, GBE, a distinguished Glasgow chartered accountant on whom a Baronetcy was conferred in 1934. Chapter II McClintocks of Donegal That is enough of these misty Scottish legends and we may now turn to Ireland. All available records agree that it was in or about 1597 that Alexander McClintock came to Donegal and acquired land there. We know very little about this Alexander, but he would appear to have been essentially a gentleman for he not only was in a position to set himself up in a somewhat large way in Donegal, but he brought with him a relic which is now at Lisnavagh, Co. Carlow in the possession of Lord Rathdonnell. This relic is a block of marble carved with the family arms. It is a fine example of carving and is certainly not the work of a local stonemason. This stone stood over the hall door at Trintaugh and subsequently at Drumcar and was taken from there by the second Lord Rathdonnell when he sold Drumcar and moved to Lisnavagh. These arms could be described in heraldic language as: “Per pale gules and azure, a chevron ermine between three escallop shells proper. Crest, a lion passant, motto Virtute et labore”. There are two properties in Donegal connected with the family, the one is Trintaugh in the eastern part of the County in the parish of Taboyne, (Editor’s comments: also Taughboyne) some 8 miles south of Londonderry, and the other is Rathdonnell some 5 miles south of the town of Kilmacrenan. The name Taboyne does not appear on the 1” inch Ordnance map as it is the name of the parish and not of a village, but the church where many of the McClintocks are buried is at “Church Town” two miles north of Saint Johnstown and some 4 miles north east of Trintaugh. Donegal must have been a somewhat wild neighbourhood when the first Alexander came there, for the Plantation of Ulster did not start until 1610, and the old records of the Plantation show that all the country round Taboyne belonged to the Duke of Lennox, who also became Duke of Richmond, and indications point to his retaining this land until the 40’s of that century. This Alexander’s son, another Alexander, who died in 1670, is described as “of Trintaugh”, so the probability is that the property was purchased somewhere about 1640 though it may have been rented from the Duke before that. The Rathdonnell property was granted in about 1618 to “Charles Chichester Esq.” And subsequently in 1660 belonged to a William Stafford. It does not appear in the McClintock pedigrees till we come to Henry McClintock who succeeded his father James in 1786 and is described as “of Rathdonnell” though his son-in-law describes him as “of Londonderry”. An old account says that Rathdonnell was bought by John McClintock of Trintaugh in 1740. This Henry, on account of the extravagance of his father James, sold Trintaugh and retained Rathdonnell. McClintocks of Trintaugh The original settler was succeeded by his son Alexander who married Agnes McClean from Argyllshire. There followed a John of Trintaugh who in 1687 married a Janet Lowrie, whose family subsequently added the name of Corry and were given the name of Lord Belmore. We get a glimpse into history here, for this John’s eldest son, who died in infancy, was born in Scotland where his parents had taken refuge owing to the rebellion in Ireland, and we can imagine that while James IInd’s French-Irish army was besieging Londonderry, life at Trintaugh cannot have been quiet or safe, and no house in that neighbourhood could have been described as a “home of ancient peace”. On returning from Scotland this John became the father of 13 children, of whom 7 lived to grow up which was not a bad record for those times. Of these 13 children, apart from the John that succeeded to Trintaugh, the most noteworthy was an Alexander who became a barrister at Dublin, made a large fortune and married in 1725 a wealthy Rebecca Sampson who came of a good Dublin family. Alexander McClintock, barrister, married Rebecca Sampson This Alexander, who had no children of his own, became the fairy godfather to his nephews and nieces: he bought the Drumcar property in Co. Louth and left it to one nephew, established another nephew at Seskinore in Co. Tyrone, and left money to many of his nephews and nieces. He eventually died and was buried at Dunleer, a couple of miles from Drumcar. The only other one of John’s 13 children to be noted was a Robert who married a Miss Harvey and became the ancestor of the McClintocks of Prospect, who will be dealt with later. The second John McClintock of Trintaugh who married a Susanna Chambers of Rookhill, Co. Donegal was the father of 16 children, of whom certainly 8 died young. The eldest of this long family, William, born 1724, needs some mention. He married his first cousin Francelina Nesbit, and for this offence was disinherited by his father and lived at Lifford, helped by the generosity of his uncle Alexander. This William must have been a rather pathetic figure, living in a small way and watching his younger brother James playing ducks and drakes with the property to which he was the natural heir. We may hope that his wife for whose sake he had given up his inheritance, made this sacrifice worth-while. There is a point of some interest here for this William of Lifford had a son Alexander who is shown in existing pedigrees as “died in India”. Unfortunately I can trace no dates of his birth or of his father’s marriage, but it is possible that he was the McClintock mentioned by William Hickey in his entertaining memoirs. It is worth quoting from those memoirs: At Madras in July 1769 Hickey was proposing to sail to China and Mr Chisholm, the second officer of the “Plassey” in which he was about to sail “brought a remarkably fine looking young man, about 18 years of age” of the name of McClintock “who had been about 3 years in India and was going on a sea voyage for the recovery of his health”. They shared a cabin and Hickey continues “I had reason to be highly satisfied with my companion, for during the nine subsequent months that we were inseparable I never once heard an angry or ill-natured word from his lips, so placid and fine-tempered a lad I never met with; he was also unusually accomplished and an excellent scholar”. They remained together and returned to England, reaching London in April 1770, and Hickey continues; “In May 1770 my much esteemed friend McClintock took leave of me and embarked for India, having been little more than a month in England, but he was an uncommonly prudent young man and anxious to get back to his duty. With real grief I afterwards learnt that two days after landing in excellent health in Madras he was attacked by one of the fevers of that inhospitable climate which in four and twenty hours terminated his life. A more amiable and accomplished young man never existed”. Hickey was writing from memory some 40 years later, so his dates and some of his details may not be accurate, and it is possible that Hickey’s friend of whom he speaks so highly may be this Alexander who “died in India”. William’s branch of the family died out in the next generation. The two younger sons of this family of 16 were the John and Alexander who by the generosity of their uncle Alexander were established in estates at Drumcar and Seskinore respectively. These two branches of the family will be dealt with later. The son who succeeded to Trintaugh was James born in 1735 who married Dorothea McClulloch of Ballyarton, Co. Donegal. This James, like all Irish squires of his day, was very extravagant and his son narrates his counting 29 hunters and coach-horses in his stable, and that he always drove with four horses in his coach. As a result the family estate was so reduced that on his death Trintaugh had to be sold, about the year 1790. We shall now follow this Trintaugh branch until the male line died out. James’ son was a Henry described as “of Rathdonnell”, born in 1764, who married a Mary Caldwell of Ballybogan, near Lifford. He left an only daughter, Dorothea who succeeded to what was left of the property and also to some of the furniture and contents of the house. She married the Rev. Robert Alexander, the son of a General Alexander, and became the mother of the Most Rev. William Alexander, Archbishop and Primate of Ireland. The wife of this Archbishop was the Mrs C F Alexander who wrote a number of well-known hymns, including “There is a green hill far away” and “Once in Royal David’s City”. Their granddaughter is Mrs Rhodes who now (1961) lives at Lulworth Cove in Dorset and still possess some of the furniture from Trintaugh, but Rathdonnell was sold in 1920 after the death of the Primate’s son, who was drowned when the SS “Leinster” was torpedoed by a German submarine in 1918. I believe that Rathdonnell was never a family home, but rather was in the nature of a shooting-box. There exists a very interesting relic of Trintaugh in the form of the McClintock tablecloth. When the linen industry sprang up in the Northern Ireland, some families and some town had cloths made to their own design. There is one in the Victoria & Albert Museum with the proud motto “Derry never was taken” and the McClintocks also had one made. There is only one original in existence, a very tattered relic, which now belongs to Mrs H F McClintock (Editor’s comments: the author’s sister in law) of Red House, Ardee. Co. Louth. Some years ago my brother H F McClintock had the loom set up again and a number of copies were made and distributed round the family. Apart from a floral border, some 15 inches wide, the cloth measures 7’6” x 5’3”. In the centre is the coat of arms with the motto “Virtute et Labore” and round it are various devices depicting cock-fighting, racing and drinking, hounds and one figure which seems to be a man tilting at a dummy. At each end are the words JOHN McCLINTOCK, TRINTAUGH. There is no date but the clothes of the figures are those of the early 18th century. It is noteworthy that among the various sports represented that of shooting is not included. McClintocks of Prospect I have already mentioned a Robert, the son of the first John of Trintaugh, who about the year 1740 married Helena Harvey and is referred to as “of Cartruse”. He had a son William of Prospect Hill near Londonderry. This William, who was known in the family as “stuttering Willy” had a son Henry who served in the Royal Navy, and we have some interesting letters referring to him. In 1816 the British Government decided that the Algerine pirates were an insufferable nuisance and must be suppressed. A fleet under the command of Lord Exmouth, better known as Sir Edward Pellew, bombarded Algiers and thoroughly routed out that pirates’ nest and freed the large number of merchant seamen who had been captured by the pirates and held as slaves in Algiers. Henry McClintock had been nominated to the Navy by Lord Exmouth and was serving as a cadet in Lord Exmouth’s flagship, the “Queen Charlotte”, and we have two letters from the admiral which are worth quoting in full. Queen Charlotte, Portsmouth, Oct. 6th 1816 My dear old friend Willy, Although my heart wept yesterday at the Funeral of a most noble and gallant officer, who we all loved, it ought not to prevent me from rejoicing today that I am able to give the gallant son of my old Friend a Proof that I have never forgotten his Kindness and Friendship, now upwards of thirty years ago, when I passed a year almost always under his hospitable Roof. It is not a compliment I assure you to say that your Boy deserves his Promotion. He fought for it in a very gallant style, and had your Eye been fixed on him as mine was, when he went with the first Lieutenant to board and fire the nearest Algerine Frigate, your heart would have acknowledged him for your son, and leaped with joy as mine did, when I saw him safe on board again. He is a lucky dog to have served his time, and passed only three Days before we got into the scrape. He is a good boy, full of Honour and Principle, mild and meek in his manners, and courageous in the Fight, added to which he knows his duty well, and will be an excellent officer. I bespeak his Services under my Flag, if it ever flies again, but you and I are grown musty old Fellows, myself “blanchir sur l’harnois”. You will not be sorry it was a Freeman of Derry who opened the Dungeons of Algiers and gave Freedom to Thousands. Indeed my dear Willy all the actions of my Life are nothing to the satisfaction I feel in being an humble Instrument in the hands of God for the attainment of so much good. To all and any of your sisters alive, present me affectionately and believe me, as I have always been, your sincerely affectionate and attached Friend. Exmouth P.S. Henry is the only officer I have made out of an hundred and fifty candidates. From Lord Exmouth to Henry McClintock R.N. London, Janr. 22nd. 1819 My dear Henry, I enclose you a letter of Introduction to my good friend Sir Home Popham, because I am glad to make you know to him as a boy of my own bringing up in the Service, to which if you continue as good a man as you have been a boy, you will become an Honour to your good Father, my oldest friend, and a credit to the Service. As such it is right you Commander in Chief should know you are in his Fleet and enjoy my good opinion, but it will not be decorous in me to request any favour from him, who probably has a crowded ship of his own followers, but if he should ever be able to do you any Favour, I shall be very glad to return it to any friend of his. Should I ever be brought again into actual service, you may always rest confident on my not forgetting your Interest wherever you may be, and you may bring this promise before me as long as I live, and I will as far as I am able, endeavour to make the loss of your good Father, whenever that loss may happen to you, as little detrimental to your welfare as I can. Continue to love your profession and reverence your God, & His blessing will attend you through life, and secure your happiness hereafter. Write to me when you like, and may you return in safety. Your Friend, Exmouth This Henry McClintock died young and with him the male line of this branch of the family came to an end. McClintocks of Dunmore There is another branch of the family which I have not mentioned, that is the McClintocks of Dunmore, and to deal with them we have to go back to the year 1685 when William, the younger brother of the first John McClintock of Trintaugh, married Elizabeth, the daughter of David Harvey of Dunmore, a property at Carrigans, some 5 miles south of Londonderry. From this marriage there sprang six generations of McClintocks of Dunmore, the last being Robert Lyle, a Colonel RE (Editor’s comments: Royal Engineers) who commanded Sappers and Miners at Bangalore and saw much service in Tanganyika in the first Great War (WWI). He married Jessie, daughter of Sir George Casson-Walker K.C.S.I., a distinguished Indian Civil Servant, and their only son died under peculiarly tragic circumstances in 1938. Col. R L McClintock died in 1943 and with him the male line of this branch died out. Many of this branch served in the army and the swords of four of them were preserved and left to my son Nicholas. These include two swords of interest and are inscribed. One is: “Ensign William McClintock, 103, 19, 84Foot”, the other “Captain John McClintock, 69th Foot, Haiti 1796, North Holland 1799”. The last names has left it on record that he suffered great fatigues and hardships in Holland. It seems to me that we really know very little about these early McClintocks; we know their names and that of their wives, the dates of their births, marriages and deaths, but we have no portraits or descriptions of them and no letters have survived, and we know nothing of the lives they led or of their occupations. From the tablecloth we gather that cock-fighting, racing and drinking played a considerable part in their lives and we know that James kept a number of hunters. From the relics remaining we know that at Trintaugh there were good pieces of furniture and some really fine china, but that is all. As regards their lives we know that a daughter married an O’Hara, of a well known and respected family “who had 8 children and lived long enough to dissipate a large fortune” and whose daughter died in great destitution and there was one member of the family, who shall be nameless, who had a large family of whom only the youngest was born in wedlock, though it appears that the elder ones were treated no differently on account of this disability. The general picture appears to be of family of good standing, widely known in their own district and inter-marrying with good county families but taking part in no public business and few of them launching out into the outside world. The Primate’s daughter, Eleanor Alexander, published a most beautiful account of her father’s life and we get here some glimpses of Dorothea McClintock. The Primate says of his mother that she possessed striking qualities which owed little to education. She had been brought up as a Presbyterian but joined the Church of England on her marriage. She, apparently, was not blessed with a fairy foot, for he tells of an old McClintock retainer who cried out as she came down the street “God bless Miss Dorothea and her brave big foot”. We now come to the end of the McClintocks in Donegal, for the various branches referred to have all died out in the male line. There are many McClintocks in Northern Ireland, for the name is not uncommon there, but I know of no further relationship with our family. There was a General McClintock of Hampstead Hall, Londonderry, who served with distinction in the Boer War and the first WW, and who, as I was told by an officer who had served under him in the Mounted Infantry in South Africa, was affectionately known s “Old Ventre a terre”. A few years ago, Irish papers were full of a “Boy Hero” who dived into a rough sea and saved a boy from drowning and who was described as the fourth son of Major McClintock. Also I have a photograph of the HQ of a Battalion of the Irish Guards, and next to the Commanding Officer is a regimental cook of the name, but I am afraid these other McClintocks are no relations as far as I can trace. But though the names has died out the daughters of the family married widely among the local gentry and a surprising number married clergymen. Three of these Miss McClintocks became the ancestresses of distinguished men. I have already mentioned Archbishop Alexander, the Primate. He was a man of great character and influence and was very widely known in the early 1900’s. Then there was Susannah, the daughter of James McClintock of Trintaugh who married the Rev. Law Montgomery, rector of Lochpatrick and was the mother of Sir Robert Montgomery, G.C.S.I. who was Lieut.Govenor of the Punjab during the Indian Mutiny and made a great name for himself by the firmness with which he dealt with that crisis. His son was the Rev. Sir Henry Montgomery K.C.M.G, Bishop of Tasmania and Prelate of the Order of St. Michael & St. George: his son was Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, who needs no introduction. Going further back, Elizabeth, daughter of William McClintock of Dunmore, married about the year 1728 Nathaniel Alexander, who was the grandson of Lord Stirling. This couple were the ancestors of Lord Caledon’s family and therefore of Field Marshal Lord Alexander of Tunis. We may perhaps flatter ourselves with the idea that these distinguished men may have derived some part of their character and ability from their McClintock ancestresses. Chapter III McClintocks of Drumcar We must now turn to the McClintocks of Drumcar, Co. Louth, the successors of the Alexander who had bought the estate and left it to his nephew John, who succeeded to it in 1775, and built there a white Georgian house standing on high ground facing southwards over the valley of the river Dee, a stream large enough to yield an occasional salmon. The north side of the house commanded a fine view of the Carlingford hills and the Mourne Mountains. Drumcar in 1912 Here we are dealing with less shadowy figures; not merely country squires living in a remote part of Ireland, but with people taking important parts in the affairs of the country, and it is surprising to see how many could add the letters MP to their names. The first one was John, known widely as “Bumper Jack”, who was MP in the Irish Parliament for Enniskillen and Belturbet from 1787-1797. (Editor’s comments: A bumper was a cup or glass filled to the brim, especially for a toast, or anything unusually large. This might suggest that he took every opportunity to drink to the full). He married a lady of character in Patience, the daughter of William Foster, MP of Rosey Park, Co. Louth. (Patience’s brother was John William Foster, Bishop of Clogher and her uncle was John Foster, Lord Oriel, last Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, 1848 – 1828). John of Drumcar, ‘Bumper Jack’ Patience Foster He was succeeded in 1799 by his son John who was known in the family as “The Old Turnip” from his frequent use of the expression “I don’t care an old turnip what he thinks”. John, ‘The Old Turnip’ If I use these nick-names it is purely for the sake of clarity and does not imply any lack of respect for these forebears of the family. The story goes that during the Napoleonic wars, this second John commanded a troop of Yeomanry who used to parade on the meadow beside the Dee: his only military manoeuvre was to point across the river and exclaim “There are the French: go for them boys” on which there arose much floundering and splashing and the first man across received a guinea. He may not have been a great tactician, but he certainly was imbued with the spirit of a War Office pamphlet of WWI entitled “Am I as offensive as I might be?” This John married twice, first to Jane, daughter of William Bunbury MP of Moyle Co. Carlow, to which estate she was the heiress, and secondly, (on her death,) to Lady Elizabeth Trench, daughter of the first Lord Clancarty. We must now follow the descendants of the first marriage. The eldest son was another John was MP for Louth 1857-1859 and Lord Lieutenant of that county. He was created a peer in 1868, with remainder to his nephew as he had no children, and with the consent of the Primate who then owned the property, he took the title of Lord Rathdonnell. He had married an English lady, Anne Lefroy, and it is said that when he brought his bride and her maid home the “Old Turnip” standing ready to receive them was surprised to see two smart ladies descend from the carriage. He turned to his son and exclaimed “John, John, which will I kiss?” “You may kiss them both if you like, father” was the answer “but this one is Anne”. John McClintock, 1st Lord Rathdonnell Anne Lefroy, 1st Lady Rathdonnell Also on coming to Drumcar after his elevation to the peerage he was surprised to see that the brands on the sheep were no longer the familiar J.McC. but were now R.H.L.R and was told that that stood for “Right Honourable Lord Rathdonnell”. The second son of the “Old Turnips” first marriage was Capt. William McClintock RN, MP for Carlow. He inherited his mother’s Carlow estates and added the name Bunbury so he and descendants bear the name McClintock-Bunbury: he built the house at Lisnavagh, near Rathvilly, Co. Carlow and my father has described to me how he was continually up and down the ladders examining the work of the masons. (Editor’s comments: half of this house was demolished after the 2nd WW, and it is still large!) To continue with this line, William’s son, Thomas McClintock-Bunbury, inherited the title of Rathdonnell from his uncle and both the properties of Drumcar and Lisnavagh. He was a man of considerable character and influence; he captained the boats at Eton, served in the Scots Greys, was Lord Lieutenant for Co. Carlow and for many years took a leading part in agricultural matters in Ireland. He married the daughter of the Rt. Hon. Henry Bruen of Oak Park, Carlow. His eldest son, William, served in the Scots Greys and was killed in the S. African war, and Lord Rathdonnell sold the Drumcar property to his nephew Frank McClintock, the Dean of Armagh, who will be referred to later. The fourth baron, William, took an active part in local affairs in Co. Carlow, he married Pamela Drew, well known under her maiden name as an artist, and his son Benjamin, a Naval Lieutenant, succeeded in 1959. (Editor’s comments: He is married with 2 sons, 1 daughter). To leave the McClintock-Bunburys and before dealing with the “Old Turnip’s” second marriage we must hark back to the first John of Drumcar (Bumper Jack), who in addition to his successor John, left 2 sons, who must be mentioned and perhaps I may be excused if I give a more detailed account of this branch, for as it is the part of the family to which I myself belong I am well acquainted with the facts. The eldest of these two sons was Henry who served in the 3rd Dragoon Guards. When stationed at Waterford early in the 19th Century, he fell in love with and married the daughter of the Archdeacon of Waterford, Elizabeth Melesina Fleury. Henry, married Elizabeth Melesina Fleury Fleury The Fleurys were a Huguenot family long resident in Ireland and there are still a number of persons of the name. (Editor’s comments: I was told by the author that this marriage was the first in the Fleury family to an Irishman since the family had left France in the 1680’s. SW) On his marriage, Henry left the Army and obtained the post of Collector of Customs at Dundalk within a few miles of his brother’s house at Drumcar. His salary was small and his family large, but he was a very popular and sporting person and was well known with the Louth Hounds. (Editor’s comments: His diary has recently (2001) been published). In 1830 a Captain Paget, RN was commissioning a sloop, HMS Samarang, and had at his disposal a nomination as cadet in the Navy, which patronage he transferred to his first Lieutenant, William McClintock-Bunbury, who in turn offered it to his uncle Henry. The offer was gladly accepted and Henry’s eldest son (error, 2nd son) Leopold, just 12 years old, was despatched at 24 hours notice, in charge of a tide-waiter named Perkins. (Editor’s comments: Family story: Leopold preferred the navy because he didn’t have to learn Latin! Also the whole family & servants had to kit him out and sew all his shirts etc in the 24 hours!) This pair travelled by coach to Dublin, thence by sea to Bristol, and then by coach again to Portsmouth where Perkins handed the boy over to the Samarang with the parting words “Goodbye Master Leopold, and never turn your back on an enemy while you have a face to face him with”. During the voyage to South America Leopold was weighed against a Newfoundland dog which was on board, At first the dog was the heavier, but before long Leopold beat him. One day Capt. Paget said to Leopold “If you have a sister with eyes as blue as yours I’ll marry her”, which promise he afterwards fulfilled. It was a happy ship, thought only 4’9” between decks, and William McClintock-Bunbury was a very nice fellow who looked after the lad like a father. As a habit engendered on this and later voyages, my father until the end of his life always tapped his bread or biscuit on the table before eating it. This was the way the Navy used to shake the weevils out the ship’s biscuits. Some twenty years later the chance of service in the Arctic presented itself. In 1845 Sir John Franklin had sailed with two ships, the Erebus and the Terror, and over 100 men, of the Royal Navy in order to search for the North West Passage. Those two ships vanished into the Arctic ice and nothing was ever heard of them. In 1848 the Admiralty became alarmed and despatched a relief expedition of two sailing ships under Sir James Ross and in the ship “Enterprise” Leopold served as a Lieutenant. For six years the Admiralty sent out search expeditions and many private persons scoured the Arctic seas in vain. Leopold served in two of these expeditions and made a great name for himself, largely in connection with sledge journeys, and in 1853 he carried out the record journey of 105 days, covering 1,408 miles. I have seen the programme of an entertainment organised to pass the time during the long Arctic winter in which a song contained the line “And when McClintock leads the way we will be madly rushing on”. In 1854 the Admiralty decided that there was no hope of any survivors of Franklin’s ships being alive and they abandoned the search. (Editor’s comments: Also the Crimean War had just started and the Royal Navy was needed elsewhere.) Lady Franklin, however, was not satisfied and with the help of friends purchased the “Fox”, a (steam-powered) yacht of 177 tons, fitted with an auxiliary screw, and offered the command to Leopold. The “Fox” sailed in 1857 and in September 1859 she returned, having found the records of Franklin’s expedition and followed the tracks of their sledges in their desperate attempt to reach civilisation in Canada. (Editor’s comments: A family story goes that he was once found weighing his handkerchiefs prior to his journey in the “Fox” as the officers and men were only allowed a small amount of personal luggage) Leopold had spent altogether six winters in the Arctic. Portraits of the young Sir Francis Leopold in the National Portrait Gallery, London. A knighthood was conferred on him and among other honours he was awarded the Freedom of the cities of London, Dublin and Londonderry. His last appointment was Commander in Chief on the Atlantic and West Indian Station and he retired in 1884 with the rank of Admiral and subsequently became an Elder Brother of Trinity House (Editor’s comments: they looked after all the lighthouses and the men who served in them around Britain). He died in 1907 aged 88. Sir Francis Leopold McClintock later in life: I would like to quote two tributes to my father’s character: the first is from the pen of the Primate who wrote an introductory note to Sir Clements Markham’s life of my father. The Primate wrote that “Though usually reserved, the approach of an emergency, possibly not without indications of danger, served to inspire him with the lofty touch of exhilaration which is the peculiar gift of the bravest alone. To many, Sir Leopold was a standing proof of the fine strength of the stock from which he came, which has lost little and gained much by being transferred to Irish soil.” The second tribute I saw was in The Times many years ago. In an article criticising some of Stanley’s doings in Africa it said “Where Selous and the gallant McClintock have been, there are no blood feuds to be avenged”. Since this date the name Leopold has been very commonly adopted as a Christian name in the family; it is usually a second or third name and does not appear in the attached abridged pedigree where the question of space has forbidden more than one Christian name. Sir Francis Leopold McClintock and Family Sir Leopold’s eldest son was Henry Foster who was in the home Civil Service and served in South Africa and in the Middle East in WWI. Henry Foster McClintock On retirement he lived at Red House, Ardee, Co. Louth and was well-known as an archaeologist. He married a distant cousin, Marion, daughter of Upton Gledstanes of Fardross, Clogher, Co. Tyrone. Redhouse, Ardee, in 2006 Another son was Vice Admiral John William Leopold McClintock DSO, who served at sea in command of battleships throughout the whole of WWI and was President of the Royal Naval College at Greenwich when he died. He married Rose, daughter of the 2nd Lord O’Neill. He was a marvellous character combining strength and gentleness in an unusual degree. It would not be easy for one who knew him so intimately as I do to write temperately about him, so I will only quote two tributes from old shipmates. One wrote “No one ever lived more truly to his own definition of a gentleman + Psalm 15” and another “dear little Mac whom we all loved so greatly”. John William Leopold McClintock, known as Jack I, myself, am Sir Leopold’s youngest son. I married the daughter of Major General Sir Howard Elphinstone, who had won the Victoria Cross in the Crimea, and was for many years Controller to the Duke of Connaught (Queen Victoria’s favourite son). We had two sons: the elder, John Leopold Elphinstone was a sailor first and last and before he reached the age of 30 he got command of HMS Pintail. In June 1941 this ship struck a mine and he was killed. (Editor’s comments: He was going to help another ship which had also struck a mine). My younger son, Nicholas Cole (d. 2001) entered the Nigerian Civil Service in 1939, and on the declaration of war he was posted to an RA unit. After escaping from Dunkirk, he served in the East and commanded a battery in Burma. He is now Resident of the Nigerian Province of Bornu with HQ at Maiduguri, where Augustus McClintock (Seskinore branch) was Resident nearly 50 years ago and where he lies buried. Sir Leopold also had a daughter, Anna Elizabeth, who married Sir Bernard Greenwell, Bart; and leaves behind her 1 son and 5 daughters who all have families of their own. (Editor’s comments: His youngest daughter Elizabeth/Bessie died young in 1913 of TB.) Henry McClintock of Dundalk had two other sons besides Leopold who must be mentioned. One of these was Alfred who became a leading surgeon in Dublin and was President of the College of Surgeons, the other was named Ernest who became a Colonel and settled at Port Elizabeth, South Africa where his sons were brought up. I know nothing of this Ernest, but I have a childish recollection of a photo of an officer with a pair of the largest moustaches I have ever seen on a human face. The “Old Turnip’s” second marriage to Lady Elizabeth Trench produced two sons who must be dealt with in detail. The first was named Stanley, a very fine looking and popular man with an inexhaustible fund of amusing stories. He was a Major in the Antrim Auxiliary and was generally known as the “Old Colonel” though the War Office did not recognise this honorary rank. For many years he was agent to Lord Downshire’s estate, one of the most important agencies in Ireland. He married Gertrude La Touche who was his first cousin as her mother was a sister of Lady Elizabeth Trench. It was concurrently said that horse racing was frowned upon in the family, but his house at Hillsborough luckily had a flat roof from which the races could be comfortably followed with field glasses. This Stanley left a number of sons: firstly Frederick, known as “Freddy the Fiddler” from his considerable musical attainments. He was in the London Civil Service and lived at Tite Street, Chelsea or near Brecon in the home of his attractive and accomplished wife. The second son was Charles, a very fine figure of a man who was agent to the Pakenham estate in Co. Antrim and lived at Glendaragh near Crumlin. He was often called “The Young Colonel”, but the title is not hereditary except in Ireland. He was handicapped by deafness and bad sight, else he would probably have had a distinguished career. He married Blanche the daughter of Mr Dunlop/Delap (Editor’s comments: It was originally Delap, but changed to Dunlop), of Monasterboice House, Co. Louth, the younger sister of the wife of Sir Leopold. Charles and Blanche left two sons, the elder was Stanley who served in the Gordon Highlanders and in WWI commanded in turn two Battalions of the Black Watch. He was an excellent Battalion Commander and was a very imposing figure in this Highland uniform. On retirement he lived at his wife’s home, Pilton House, Drogheda. A side light on his character is given in the following incident: when on the way to a smart tennis party, his wife noticed his hat and exclaimed “Tanny, you can’t possibly go to a party in that hat” to which he answered “A man must have a hat he can kneel on when he’s gardening”. Charles’ second son was the Rev. Edward McClintock, who married Margaret, the daughter of JH Buxton of Easney, Ware, Herts. He is a fine looking and popular man and after a long life of service now lives in retirement at Bishops Stortford. He, in turn, is succeeded by one son David and five daughters. David (d 2001) has made a name for himself for his horticultural knowledge: he has written a most excellent book of British wild flowers and his voice can often be heard on the BBC. The five daughters are all married but they do not come within the scope of this memoir. The other son of the elder Stanley was Frank, a most excellent man in every respect who combined the duties of Rector of Drumcar and Dean of Armagh. He bought land and Drumcar House from the 2Lord Rathdonnell and established his twin sisters there while he himself, being a bachelor, lived at the Rectory. These two sisters, Emily and Gertrude, as I remember them, were elderly ladies of different but pronounced characters with no pretensions to good looks, and I can recount one story of their regime at Drumcar. On the walls of the dining room there still hung two full-length and life-size portraits of the first Lord Rathdonnell and his wife: they were probably the work of a fashionable portrait painter for I cannot believe that any couple could really have been so handsome as they were depicted. My brother was staying at Drumcar when the butler gazing at these portraits remarked “I do believe the family gets more beautiful each generation”. My brother realized that he was animated by the blind loyalty of the old Irish family servant. McClintocks of Rathvinden Another son of Lady Elizabeth, George, married a Miss Stronge a sister of the wife of his half-brother Capt. William McClintock-Bunbury, and founded the branch of Rathvinden on Co. Kilkenny. There followed three generations of active and enterprising sons who mostly had military careers. I know very little of this branch of the family, but one Arthur George, a grandson of the first George, had had matrimonial trouble and it is recorded that when his mother died the old family cook said “It was a grand funeral and all Master George’s wives sent wreaths”. A younger brother of this Arthur George, by name John, was a very nice fellow: he farmed in Natal for a time and afterwards became Secretary to the Meath Hounds. He married the daughter of Col. H. Torkington of Willey Place, Farnham and has descendants living. McClintocks of Seskinore This is another branch which I have not dealt with. The rich and generous Alexander McClintock, in addition to buying Drumcar and establishing his nephew John there, also helped another nephew, Alexander to found a branch of the family at Seskinore in Co. Tyrone. (To the south of Omagh). This Alexander had served under the East India Company and had to return home on account of a wounded leg. He had, however, amassed a sizeable fortune and in 1781 married Mary, the daughter of Samuel Perry of Perrymount, Co. Tyrone, and his son Samuel McClintock is described as “of Seskinore”. The grandson of this Samuel McClintock, Col. John Knox McClintock CBE was a man of great character; he was High Sheriff for Tyrone, ADC to the Governor of Northern Ireland, and Master of the Seskinore Hounds. He made a great name for himself as Col. Commandant of the Tyrone Special Constabulary during the Troubles of 1920-21. He left an only daughter who died childless and the property has now been sold. (Editor’s comment: The daughter, Amelia Isobel married Wilfred Joynson Wreford and had a daughter Xenia, who was orphaned as an infant.) This John Knox McClintock was the eldest of a long family of sons, one of whom, Augustus, served in the Seaforth Highlanders. He was a man of great character, and served mostly in Nigeria, firstly as a Battalion Commander and later as a first class Resident under Lugard. I met him in Nigeria in 1900 and I have always looked on him as one of the nicest men I have ever known. He died in 1912 and is buried at Maiduguri near Lake Chad and in the Government Office at that place there is a memorial to him “erected by his many friends” (Editor’s comments: My father Nicky always said that when he came to serve in Northern Nigeria he had an easier time at first because of Augustus’ good reputation). Another one of these brothers was named Hubert. He was handicapped by having lost a leg in a hunting accident and he married the daughter of G. Malcolmson, the Master of the Waterford Hounds and has descendants living in Co. Tipperary. I wish I could write as fully of these other branches of the family, but I must leave this to others who know them better than I do. In this memoir and in the condensed pedigree, I have confined myself to the male line bearing the name McClintock, and for the sake of brevity I have only used the first Christian name. There were, of course, many daughters who married and founded family and many of these gave their sons the Christian names of McClintock or Leopold and are glad to claim cousinship, but to trace these many connections would be a labour far beyond my power. Anyone who has spent some time, as I have done, in tracing and recording the history of a family through a number of generations, cannot fail to be disheartened by the changed conditions of today. In the past there was always a family house round which the family centred, a house which passed from father to son, a house where family traditions, relics and papers accumulated, a house which personified the family and gave them a sense of unity. In the case of the McClintock family, Rathdonnell for 100 years was such a family house, Trintaugh for 150 years, Dunmore for 220 years, Seskinore for 100 (?200?) years and Drumcar for 200 years. These have all gone. Rathdonnell has been sold, Trintaugh vanished (Editor’s comments: only the stables and ruins remain, 2003), Dunmore sold, Seskinore demolished and Drumcar turned into a home for imbeciles. Nowadays the family consists of a number of individuals, living in houses which they can hardly hope to hand on to their descendants and with little to bind them together but their name. There is however, a hope that a knowledge of the family history and of the honourable traditions which have come down to us, may inspire us with pride and with the responsibility born of a sense of “noblesse oblige” and may build up in all members of the family a corporate feeling to take the place of the lost family houses. The fulfilment of this hope is an aim well worth striving for. We cannot all be distinguished men but we can each of us ensure that we do nothing to bring discredit on the name we bear. R. S. McClintock 1961

Robert McClintock