Hello Everyone, I've just joined the list so here are my Scottish coalmining interests: Virtually every member of my KNOX tree for which I have a known occupation seems to have been a coalminer of some sort. >From the 1881 Census I have found that: My ancestor James KNOX (born Dailly, Ayr, 1839) was a Colliery Manager at Ricccarton or Hurlford and that at least two of his sons - James and William - were Pit Engine Keepers in the same area. James' brother, John KNOX (born Dailly 1841) was a Colliery Engine Keeper and his son James was a Junior Clerk Colliery also at Hurlford. Another brother, Joseph (born Dailly 1844) my direct line ancestor, was and Engine Driver Coalpit at Cockpen, Edinburgh. His second wife Janet is listed as "Engine Driver's Wife" and his son James (my great great grandad) as a Check Weight Winder.They lived in Polton Hall 3 and I believe there was a pit called Polton pit which must have been where they worked. A fourth brother, William KNOX ( born Dailly 1835) was listed as Engine Keeper at Polton and they also had a lodger, James MCKAY who was a coal miner. Another relative, nephew, as far as I can tell, of James, John, Joseph and William whose name was James Hamilton KNOX was also an Engine Keeper and seemed to flit between Cockpen and Riccarton. I would like to find out more about the jobs which my ancestors performed, the pits in which they worked and the sort of life they would have had there. And also more about the people themselves. It is an old family story that my grandfather's uncle George Knox, who was reknowned throughout his family and his home village of Bonnyrigg, Midlothian as a mean and greedy man, "got what was coming to him" when he came to a painful and untimely end in a terrible pit accident. I would love to know more! George would have been born in about 1890, probably in Bonnyrigg which is part of Cockpen. If anyone can shed any light on the questions and queries above or thinks they might link to any of the people mentioned please let me know and we can swap information! Happy Researching, Daisy