 The name Greer is a contraction of MacGregor, another family name.Her maternal grandfather was David Greer ( 1848-1913) from Kilrea, County Londonderry, an RIC sergeant stationed for a time in Castlewellan, County Down.In the 1870s or 1880s, he became a land steward to the Annesley family, wealthy landlords who built the town of Castlewellan.