Catherine The story of the coal and iron industry in New Cumnock is told in "The New Cumnock Coal-field" by J.L. Carvel (privately published, 1946). It says, inter alia, that in 1847 three men from the north of England obtained a lease of the Afton Minerals from W.A. Cunninghame of Logan, a grandson of Mrs Stewart of Stair, to whom the estate had passed. They founded the Afton Iron Works on the banks of the Connel Burn. "There was a plentiful supply of coal at Straid, which was brought down the glen by a tram-road constructed by the Company"....."Experienced iron workers were taken north from Shotley Bridge and Consett, in County Durham, to manage and staff the undertaking. These men were followed by influxes on a larger scale, and for the incoming workers, drawn from many parts of the country, houses had to be provided". There may be some clues here. May be worth investigating the 1851 and 1861 census for the area. Best wishes Russell Wear