Sarah Dorothy Frazer : Short Biography

Sarah Dorothy Frazer was born in Carrownacully in the small country parish of Kilmacumsy on 7 October 1880. Her parents were Alexander Frazer and Elizabeth Jane "Lizzie" Moore, Protestant farmers descending from a noble lineage but not seeming to hold much wealth. She was baptised in the Church of Ireland in Croghan Village on 13 February 1881. Her family nicknamed her "Dora", which would last for the rest of her life.

The ninth of twelve children, Dora was raised in a bustling household. Her family home had only four rooms with a thatched roof and three front windows. Her elder siblings were between thirteen and two upon her birth, and by the time she was ten, she had another brother and two sisters. Her father Alexander ran a productive farm with a stable, coach house, cow house, calf house, dairy, piggery, fowl house, barn and shed. 

Alexander and Lizzie desired a good education for their children. They sent Dora and her sisters Caroline, Elizabeth, Mary, Honor and Emily to the convent school in the nearby town of Boyle, despite it being a Catholic school. 

In 1901, Dora (20) lived at home with her parents Alexander (62) and Lizzie (54) and siblings Joseph (22), Charles (18), Jane Kate/Honor (16) and Emily L (13). According to local folklore, Dora possessed a natural gift - she could see into the future. The word spread and people flocked from all around the Boyle area to the Frazer's house to seek their fortune. She read tea leaves and palm lines and was said to be very accurate in her predictions. In return, they offered her small presents and trinkets.

Dora never married and stayed in Carrownacully. By 1911, she was thirty years old and living with Alexander (72), Lizzie (65) and Joseph (32). 

Alexander died in 1913, followed by Lizzie in 1923. Dora was joined by her brother Archibald, returned from America after the death of his wife. He arrived in 1920 with the intention of going back to his three sons in the US within two years. However, he never left, dying in Boyle in 1960. Allegedly, the farm failed under his management and went into liquidation. They were forced to sell up. 

Dora moved into Greatmeadow near Boyle town. She died on 18 January 1963 at the age of eighty two in the district hospital from various health complications.