Map of Crawfordsburn
The descendants of James & Sarah Ferguson McDonald in the United States need to understand Ireland had (and still has) a very different concept of land ownership than we have in the United States. It was individual land ownership that was a major draw for Europeans to immigrate to the US. Our ancestors lived in Crawfordsburn named after William “Sharman” Crawford’s ancestors. In Ireland, land ownership was only by the privileged few who were Lords. These few Lords made up the House of Lords in Ireland and in the UK. William “Sharman” Crawford’s mansion is still in the center of Crawfordsburn. James & Sarah owned the home they lived in, but not the land it stood upon. The land was owned by William “Sharman” Crawford. James & Sarah were not peasants, as some of their descendants supposed. In fact, they were better off than most of their community. Their home in Crawfordsburn was referred to as “The big hoose”. Their home was large enough for 20 members to meet in for church services. They had fresh milk from their own goat which was not common. They were able to sell their home for enough money (either $200 or 200 pounds by various accounts) which was enough to purchase passage for their family of 9 to the United States. James was a flax dresser and worked for William “Sharman” Crawford. William “Sharman” Crawford was beloved as a landlord and fought for tenants’ rights and religious tolerance in The House of Lords.
1892 survey map of Crawfordsburn County Down. The original is so detailed it shows houses and William “Sharman” Crawford’s mansion. The compressed version can be saved by right mouse clicking and saving the compressed jpg image to your computer.It can be magnified, but won’t be as clear an image when magnified. My source for the original copy is listed under Source Documents links to online sources. Rex & Mary Ann McDonald provided this copy of a painting of Crawfordsburn, Down, Ireland by Jean Hadden.
Most of what we know about Crawfordsburn, County Down, Ireland in the 1800’s we learned from Ed Clyde’s 1885-1886 Missionary Journal entries. Ed Clyde was the son of Jane McDonald Clyde from Heber, Utah. He returned to Crawfordsburn on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He described his grandparents’ house in great detail. He said it was thirty feet long which explains why it was known as “the big hoose”. It was made of whitewashed “iron stone” with a slate roof. He also described his Aunt Mary McDonald and conversations with her and McCracken relatives. His references to “burns” are streams. Communities were usually along a stream or “burn” such as Crawfordsburn. 
Maps of County Down
Our ancestors are known to have lived in North County Down including Belfast, Bangor, Crawfordsburn, Drumbo, & Newtownards. Maps are from www.ulsterancestry.com/ua-free-pages.php a great Internet source for Ulster genealogy.
Civil Parish map of County Down with green circles around parishes in which our ancestors resided.
Carnmoney & Rosemary St. Presbyterian Churches were in Belfast
Maps of County Antrim
Belfast lies in both South County Antrim & North County Down. Our ancestors lived in both Antrim & Down within a 10 mile radius.
