Jenings

Description

The Jennings were descended from the Norman family of de Burgo or Bourke. They were the McSeonins or sons of John, anglicised to Jonine and later to Jennings. The Jennings family held extensive lands in the barony of Kilmaine, county Mayo, before the land upheavels of the 17th century when they were deprived of most of their estates. Michael Newton from Ontario, Canada, did a large amount of research on the Jennings family in the 1980s, copies are in the library of the Irish Genealogical Society, London. The Mount Jenings and Fountainhill branches of the family spelt their name without a double 'n'. Theobald Jenings of Fountainhill and George Jenings of Castletown, uncle of George Jenings of Mount Jenings appear to have been brothers.

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Estate(s)

Name	Description
Jenings (Mount Jennings)	George Jenings, a lawyer and agent, in the mid 18th century, acquired lands from various proprietors in the parishes of Ballinchalla, Ballinrobe and Kilcommon, barony of Kilmaine, county Mayo. His nephew, another George Jenings (1732-1822), was the first to reside at Mount Jenings in the parish of Kilcommon. In 1876 Charles Bingham Jenings owned 1702 acres in county Mayo. The Mount Jenings estate of 1805 acres with a rental of £1139 was advertised for sale in the Landed Estates' Court on 16 July 1886. It included 139 acres in the parish of Annaghdown, barony of Clare, county Galway. The sale was adjourned due to insufficient bidding. Michael Newton, a Canadian descendant of the Jenings of Mount Jenings, did extensive research on the Jenings/Jennings families of counties Mayo and Galway in the late 1970s and 1980s. Some of his work is in the the library of the Irish Genealogical Society.
Jenings (Fountainhill)	The Jenings family were established at Fountainhill in the parish of Kilmainebeg, county Mayo, from at least the mid 18th century. A number of them are buried in Cong Abbey and in 1769 Ulick Jenings married Catherine, daughter of George McNamara of Cong. The estate of 251 acres including a corn mill and good dwelling house was advertised for sale in the Encumbered Estates' Court in April 1852. The Freeman's Journal reported the purchase of some of the property by Edward O'Donnell. At the time of Griffith's Valuation the property was owned by Patrick Blake.