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For more than a century and a half, the Douglas family held land in the townland of Gransha, on the southern edge of the Dromara hills. Their presence is first recorded in 1758, when a Samuel Douglass appears among the county freeholders. By the mid-nineteenth century the family occupied two neighbouring farms, later numbered 84B, 90A and 90B, forming a small but enduring cluster beside the old Rathfriland road.
James Douglas divided these lands between his sons, Robert and Samuel, whose names run through the valuation books, census returns and parish registers of the period. Samuel, farmer and grocer, built a modest shop and Post Office on his holding, anchoring the family at the roadside for the next generation. Through marriages, migrations and the gradual sale of the farms in the early twentieth century, the line continued, carrying the Gransha connection far beyond the boundaries of the townland.
DROMARA, CO. DOWN
A Structured Historical Summary
1. Geographic & Historical Setting
Gransha is an ancient Irish townland
in the Civil Parish of Dromara, Barony of Iveagh Upper, Lower Half, Co.
Down.
The document notes:
Gransha (Gaelic - An Ghráinseach) is
an Irish'ownland' ... of ancient Gaelic origin.
It covers 523 hectares / 1292 acres,
making it one of the larger townlands in Co. Down.
The Douglas family is documented in Gransha
from at least 1758, beginning with a Samuel Douglass listed as a
Freeholder.
2. Early Douglas Freeholders (1758-1813)
The earliest surviving records show:
- Samuel Douglass,
Freeholder, 1758
- Robert Douglass,
Freeholder, 1813
Listed as:
'DougIass, Robert...ransha...obert and
William Douglass, and James Baxter.'
These entries establish the Douglas presence
in Gransha long before the 19th-century valuation maps.
3. The Douglas Farms: Plots 84B, 90A & 90B
The heart of the document is the
reconstruction of landholding through Griffith's Valuation and
PRONI revision books.
Key holdings:
- Plots 90A & 90B - originally held
by James Douglas, later inherited by his sons.
- Plot 84B - acquired
by James Douglas in 1872, transferred to Samuel Douglas
in 1882.
The document states:
'Farms at 90A & 90B were owned by Robert's
Uncle (also called Robert)...the adjacent land at 84B owned by Robert's
father, Samuel.'
A shop and Post Office were later
built on 84B by Samuel.
4. Succession of Land (1864-1923)
1864-1875
- James Douglas listed as occupier of
90A/90B.
- Amendment in 1872 suggests transfer
preparations.
1876-1883
- 84B passes from
James to Samuel (1882).
- 90A/90B pass from
James to Robert (1882).
1884-1909
- Samuel and Robert continue to hold their
respective farms.
Post-1919
- After Robert (senior) dies in 1919, his
farm passes to his sister Jane Douglas (1921), who sells it
in 1922.
5. The Family of Samuel Douglas
(1840-1914)
Marriage
Samuel married Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Moore
in 1872:
Samuel Douglas...Lizzy Moore... married in the
Presbyterian Church...Residence: Gransha / Moybrick.
Lizzy was born c.1857 in Moybrick,
daughter of Joseph Moore, farmer.
Children of Samuel & Lizzy
From birth records:
- Eliza Jane Douglas
(1873)
- Robert Douglas
(1877) - [your grandfather]
- Joseph Samuel Douglas
(1882)
- Martha Douglas
(1885)
Household (1901 Census)
Residents of House 78, Gransha:
- Samuel (63), farmer & grocer
- Lizzie (48)
- Lizzie Jane (27)
- Martha (15)
- Maggie Moore (44), sister-in-law
Lizzy's Death (1910)
Lizzy died of gastric ulcer & peritonitis,
aged 57, at Moybrick:
Elizabeth Douglas ...Gastric Ulcer
Peritonitis...Informant: Ann J. Kerr, sister.
6. Robert Douglas (1826-1919)
This is Robert Senior, Samuel's
brother.
He died aged 93, described as:
Robert Douglas...Farmer...old age certified...Martha Douglas present at death.
His estate (£240 2s 6d) was administered to
his sister Jane Douglas.
7. Samuel Douglas's Death (1914)
Samuel died aged 77:
Samuel Douglas...Farmer...Cerebral
haemorrhage...Martha Douglas present at death.
His will left £227 5s 0d, administered
to Alexander Mairs (postman) and William John Frazer (farmer).
8. The Next Generation
Martha Douglas (1885-?)
Married John Malcomson in 1921.
Their daughter Elizabeth Jane Malcomson (1921-2009) emigrated to
the USA (Connecticut).
Robert Douglas (1877-?)
Married Wilhelmina 'Minnie' Craik.
Their children (as shown in the family tree):
- Joyce Elaine
- Raymond
- Molly Elizabeth
- Patricia Valentine
- Colin Stanley
9. The Gransha Post Office
The Post Office built by Samuel appears on:
- 1905-1957 maps
- 1986 maps (with
petrol pumps)
- Google Street View (2011)
at 306/308 Rathfriland Road.
10. The Ulster Covenant (1912)
Two Douglas women signed:
- Martha Douglas
- Jane Douglas
“Martha Douglas - Gransha.
This places the family firmly within the
Protestant, unionist community of rural Down.
11. The Family Tree (as reconstructed)
James Douglas (early 19th
century)
├── Robert Douglas (bachelor, d.1919)
├──
Samuel Douglas (1837-1914) m. Lizzy Moore
│ ├── Eliza
Jane
│ ├── Robert Douglas (1877) m. Wilhelmina Craik
│ ├──
Joseph Samuel
│ └── Martha (m. John Malcomson)
└── Jane Douglas
(spinster)
Concise Takeaway
The document reconstructs a continuous
Douglas presence in Gransha from 1758 to 1922, centred on two
adjacent farms (84B and 90A/90B). It traces the family through
freeholder lists, valuation maps, census returns, birth/marriage/death
records, wills, and maps, culminating in a clear genealogical line
from James Douglas...Samuel Douglas...Robert Douglas [your
grandfather].
The map
Douglas Holdings in Gransha
The map (above) of Gransha townland drawn in 1793 by James Williamson, Surveyor for Lord Dungannon. The map delineates the boundaries of the land leases by the various farmers and includes their acreages and values.
By the late nineteenth century,
the Douglas family occupied a compact cluster of farms in the southern
part of Gransha townland. Plots 84B, 90A and 90B, held by Robert and
Samuel Douglas, lay beside Plot 19, forming a continuous family estate
along the Rathfriland road. These lands, recorded in Griffith's
Valuation and later PRONI revisions, mark the enduring Douglas presence
in Dromara parish - a lineage rooted in the same fields for more than a
century.
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