Hi All, I am enjoying the interesting discussion about Stone Masons. One man in our line is James Ritchie, born 1809, listed in the 1851 and 1871 censuses as living in Kirkconnel with the occupation of "Stone Breaker." Any thoughts on: 1. what exactly a Stone Breaker did, and 2. where it is most likely that a Kirkconnel Stone Breaker would be working? 3. any records related to that place of employment? Harrison McKnight Michigan

Hi Harrison In the days before tarmacadam men were employed to break stones for making and repairing roads. Best wishes Ian A McClumpha Need help with your Scottish Family History research? Let Imchad Ancestry assist you. Please look at our website: www.imchad.freeola.com -----Original Message----- From: dumfries-galloway-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:dumfries-galloway-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Harrison McKnight Sent: 02 February 2010 15:21 To: DUMFRIES-GALLOWAY@rootsweb.com Subject: [DUMFRIES-GALLOWAY] James Ritchie, Kirkconnel "Stone Breaker" Hi All, I am enjoying the interesting discussion about Stone Masons. One man in our line is James Ritchie, born 1809, listed in the 1851 and 1871 censuses as living in Kirkconnel with the occupation of "Stone Breaker." Any thoughts on: 1. what exactly a Stone Breaker did, and 2. where it is most likely that a Kirkconnel Stone Breaker would be working? 3. any records related to that place of employment? Harrison McKnight Michigan ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to DUMFRIES-GALLOWAY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message